The Galaxy S23 FE remains the most recent Fan Edition phone Samsung customers can buy, at least for now and until the rumored S24 FE comes along. But if you're reading this, you've probably been using your S23 FE for a while now, and maybe you recently felt tempted to switch gears and give Samsung's foldable phones a shot.
After all, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a beautiful device, and in some markets, you can get a couple hundred dollars off if you trade-in your Galaxy S23 FE for the foldable phone. But should you?
It is true that the Galaxy Z Flip 6 does many things better than your Galaxy S23 FE. It has a newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, there is no Exynos variant anywhere, and it boasts 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage as standard. So, if you want more power, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 might be a worthy upgrade.
Besides, the flip phone has a gorgeous (and bigger) foldable 6.7-inch display that can top a whopping 2600 nits of brightness and a unique folder-shaped cover screen that will really change the way you interact with One UI. Why shouldn't you consider upgrading to the Galaxy Z Flip 6?
Not everything about the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is superior
Despite the Galaxy Z Flip 6 being a newer phone with a few better qualities than the Galaxy S23 FE, it has to compromise in some key areas due to its unusual form factor. For instance, the phone would run a bit too hot if it were left unchecked by Samsung.
Proof of this is that your Galaxy S23 FE supports Samsung DeX, whereas the Galaxy Z Flip 6 does not. Even if it has better cooling and is the first flip phone with a vapor chamber, it's still not enough to make room for DeX. If you're a fan of the desktop platform, you're better off sticking with the Fan Edition phone.
Then there's the battery. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 sports a respectable 4,000mAh dual battery, which is more than the Z Flip 5 had, but your Galaxy S23 FE has a 4,500mAh unit.
You're also going to get a better telephoto camera experience if you keep using the Galaxy S23 FE. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 lacks a telephoto camera with optical zoom, and although it can achieve almost lossless quality at 2x zoom, it starts to fall apart beyond 2x. Your S23 FE, on the other hand, has a 3x optical zoom telephoto shooter.
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Last but not least, your Galaxy S23 FE has a slightly better IP68 rating, which means it's more resistant to dust and solid particles than the IP48-rated Galaxy Z Flip 6. That's another point in the FE phone's favor if you're looking for longevity.
On the other hand, Samsung won't offer your S23 FE the same premium level of firmware support as it will the Flip 6. The new flip phone grants instant access to the latest Galaxy AI features, plus it benefits from prolonged support with seven OS upgrades guaranteed.
At the end of the day, you may want to stick with your Galaxy S23 FE for a while longer unless you really want to experience Samsung's flip phones first-hand. After all, the Galaxy S23 FE is not even one year old, and perhaps the upcoming Galaxy S24 FE would be a better upgrade if you are looking for one.
