Although still not exactly commonplace, foldable phones are no longer quite the sensation they used to be. While Samsung initially led the way, other brands have quickly jumped on the foldable bandwagon - especially in other regions around the world.

And yet, until now, even I (self-confessed tech nerd and confirmed early adopter) have felt a little uncomfortable using the bendy form factor. It's always seemed a little too experimental, too fragile to justify the high price tag. Especially when premium features like hgh-end camera hardware and durability certifications were compromised in favour of a folding screen.

After a week or so with Samsung's latest folding flagship though, I think I'm starting to come around.

Critics have branded the Galaxy Z Fold6 as another iterative upgrade, not so different from the generations before it but I couldn't disagree more. From the moment I first held a Fold6 I was struck with how much more finished it felt in my hands.

For the first time this extremely expensive phone (starting at NZ$3049.00) emulates the same sharp lines and and luxurious feel of its Samsung S-Series stablemates. Available in Silver Shadow, Pink, Navy and the exclusive (and kind of boring) online-only shades of White and Crafted Black, there should be a colour to suit most tastes.

Also for the first time, the hinge has been modified to allow both halves of the internal display to shut completely flush against each other - they said the Fold5 did this last year but I reckon there was still a bit of a gap. This is a biggie for me because I tend to keep my phone in my pocket and previous Folds have always ended up with their screens covered in dust and lint - that problem has been completely taken care of here.

This is the thinnest and lightest Fold yet - and I definitely noticed the difference. It's the difference between clunky and elegant. This comes with quite the durability boost too; Armor Aluminium edges and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 make for a stronger device and Samsung has even improved the water resistance rating. This all helps with piece-of-mind given the hefty sticker price.

What's more, because of the new, sharper corners, there's slightly more usable display, both inside and out.

In saying that, the exterior screen has kind of hit its usefulness threshold. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous, 6.3-inch dynamic AMOLED panel and in most ways it works every bit as well as the display on any other premium Samsung device. In fact, I'd say I use it far more than the internal, folding or "Main" display... although that just might be me still learning to use the Fold6 better.

What I mean about that "sub display" being limited is due to its aspect ratio. As one half of a larger, almost square device when unfolded, it's very long and narrow. This not only makes typing on a small, skinny keyboard a bit hit-and-miss for my clumsy digits but when rotated to landscape, everything tends to get squashed out flat and wide - especially the widgets I've added to my home screen.

By stark contrast, the internal screen feels like a breath of fresh air when unfolded to its full 7.6-inch glory. There's plenty of room for everything - from icons, to browser windows, to games, to video. Apps you can split into two views - like Outlook - were just waiting for a form factor like this to come along.

But we know all this already. I've told you myself. We've already seen cool tricks like using the outer display as a preview screen so you can shoot selfies with the primary camera.

For some reason, Samsung is still persisting with the 4MP Under Display camera inside the Fold6. And for some other reason it's still in the weirdest place; above the right-hand side of the display - that's if you happen to be holding it that way around. Surely if you're resorting to using this camera at all (and the only reason I can think of is for online meetings) you'd be more comfortable with the phone in its half-flexed position, sitting on the desk in front of you in which case the more logical position for this strange selfie cam would be halfway along one of the longer edges. I really don't get it - even after six generations.

In fact, there hasn't been much of an upgrade in camera hardware here; still a 50MP wide / 12MP utra-wide / 10MP telephoto configuration for the "rear" primary shooter but that's better than you'll find on most phones.

However, in what is probably a trend for the future (and has definitely been the theme so far in 2024), the majority of the buzz with Samsung's new folding flagships is all about AI.

With the S-Series launch earlier in the year, Samsung revealed how Galaxy-AI was now powerful enough to perform a raft of both fun and useful photo editing tasks as well as some very impressive on-device translation.

When this same technology is combined with a folding screen and a secondary display, Galaxy AI really starts to wow the crowd. If you've ever tried doing much video or photo editing on your phone, you will have undoubtedly encountered the frustration of doing so on such a small screen. This is where the huge display of the Fold6 really comes into its own, especially with the enhanced editing capacity of Galaxy AI.

Simply place your finger on an object in your photo and you can move it, copy it, erase it, enlarge it... there are a lot of options.

Portrait Studio is more than just a library of filters, it'll create surreal caricatures in a range of artistic styles.

Sketch to Image lets you doodle your own enhancements onto a picture, (with either a stylus or just your finger) then Galaxy AI will grab actual images to replace your rough drawings - and believe me, my drawings are rough.

You can even add slow-mo sections to videos you've already recorded. 

As a creative tool, no other phone has ever been this useful.

And as a communication tool, it's even better. 

The S24-Series phones saw the introduction of Galaxy AI-powered live translation tools. Again the Fold6 takes this even further. Now you can type or talk using the internal screen and within seconds a translation will appear on the external display and your words will be spoken in the alternate language of your choice. Because you download the language packs you require ahead of time, all this happens on-device, using the built-in Neural Processor - so when travelling, you can literally chat with the locals without even having to use a data connection.

These same Galaxy-AI listening skills are also put to good use when it comes to taking notes, summarising dictation or even asking for more information about whatever you're looking at on screen. 

You won't have any trouble reading that screen either; both inner and outer displays are dramatically brighter than previous generations. Combine that with the ease and power of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy processor and suddenly your gaming experience is next level.

A more efficient processor and a new vapour chamber to keep things cool has meant a noticeable bump in battery life too.

All sounds pretty good, right?

So here's my question; Does it sound a thousand dollars better than a non-folding flagship handset? If it does, then perhaps I was a bit hasty with my earlier criticism of the price. At first I thought there was no way you could justify that much money for a single phone. But then I held it. And I used it. And for the first time it felt like a finished, polished, useful and reliable device - not just a gimmicky flex.

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6.