There are many reasons why phones are such valuable devices. Everyone I know has one. While I would argue that innovation has stagnated a bit in recent years, foldable smartphones like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 continue to breathe new life into this segment. Ever since I got my first smartphone with a sliding QWERTY keyboard, the HTC Apache, I’ve envisioned the day when I could ditch my laptop completely and make my phone my only go-to device.
Well, that’s the reality we’re facing now with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and how it can deliver this experience I’ve been looking for. With its expansive screen and new Galaxy AI features, it deserves a place in our best foldable smartphone guide in every way. This idea of your phone replacing your laptop isn’t new, but I thought I’d give it a try using Samsung’s latest flip phone.
After testing it out for two weeks with most of my work done on a Galaxy Z Fold 6, I think there’s still room for improvement. However, I admit that I may one day stop using my laptop altogether. Before I get into that and my experience, I’ll share what I’ve been using to make the Galaxy Z Fold 6 a laptop replacement.
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 accessories I used
First and foremost, I needed a case that would allow my Galaxy Z Fold 6 to stand up on its own while using Samsung DeX. At the same time, I needed a case that would protect it from drops and other objects I put my phone in. From our best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 case guide, Spigen’s Tough Armor Pro P case checks all the marks, with a kickstand and a hidden compartment to stash your S Pen.
I then combined the Logitech Keys-to-Go 2 with the Logitech MX Anywhere 3S as a mouse and keyboard combination. I love that Keys-to-Go 2 is smooth and lightweight, yet gives me the tactile feel I’m looking for when typing on a keyboard. The MX Anywhere 3S, on the other hand, is battery-powered and small enough to fit in your backpack. This combination allows you to easily control your Galaxy Z Fold 6 when you’re on the go.
At work, I already have a monitor that connects to my Galaxy Z Fold 6, but if I need a larger canvas to work on elsewhere, I continue to wear my Viture Pro XR glasses everywhere I go. Essentially, these glasses act as a portable monitor that you can connect to your Z Fold 6 to watch videos or do some work in your private life. However, the screen is much larger.
Add up the prices of all of these accessories, including the hefty $1,899 price tag for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 itself, and this setup comes to around $2,541. This is a surprising cost to replace my laptop, but I’ll explain later why it doesn’t really need to cost that much.
Samsung DeX is still underrated
One of the biggest reasons I chose the Galaxy Z Fold 6 for this experiment over other foldable phones like the OnePlus Open or the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is because Samsung offers the closest thing to a desktop-like operating system. Because I have it. Samsung DeX has been around for quite some time, and it’s nice to have a USB-C dock connected to your Galaxy Z Fold 6 so you can also connect it to a monitor.
The interface is similar to a Windows 11 laptop, so it’s nice to be able to open multiple apps and run them next to each other. For example, keep Chrome open on one side and Slack open on the other for quick access. Also, similar to Windows 11, the layout may change dynamically as you resize each app’s window.
Many native apps are also DeX-optimized, essentially mimicking the typical layout on Android tablets. Gmail is a great example of this, as it leverages two panes to display your inbox and email content. For productivity purposes, the Z Fold 6 uses Samsung DeX to ensure you get the job done. In fact, I was able to write this entire article on my Galaxy Z Fold 6 using Tom’s Guide’s content management system.
What you can’t do with Galaxy Z Fold 6
Most of the things I do at work work perfectly on my Galaxy Z Fold 6. One of my biggest complaints is that unlike the desktop version of the Chrome browser, you can’t log in to another account. This is a hassle since it’s a work account. There are bookmarks that are not accessible in my personal bookmarks.
There are many other Chrome extensions that I use on a daily basis, but are not accessible in Chrome for Android. This isn’t a big deal, but it does add time to your work because you’re doing tasks manually without the automation that these Chrome extensions provide.
Editing photos and videos also plays a big role in our daily routine at work, and most of the time we can crop and tweak them using apps on our phones. But like these Chrome extensions, the full-fledged versions of these photo and editing apps on laptops offer even more features not available in the mobile versions, including access to premium transition effects for use in video editing. access is provided. Let’s take software as an example.
In general, some of these shortcomings can be solved with experience, but it will take time.
conclusion
After using the Galaxy Z Fold 6 as my daily driver for two weeks, this foldable phone can definitely replace my work laptop. Best of all, I find that even with all my gear added up, it’s still lighter than carrying around my laptop in my bag, which my back has certainly thanked me for.
At the same time, given the cost involved, no one is going to ditch their laptop completely and switch to the Galaxy Z Fold 6. But listen. You don’t have to pay more than $2,500 for this setup. That’s because Samsung DeX is available on a variety of Galaxy phones, including the recently announced $649 Galaxy S24 FE. The S24 FE offers the same desktop experience on the phone as the Galaxy Z Fold 6, so we think this is an incredible value.
More importantly, Samsung is the only major player offering this experience, so we’d like to see more phones offer this soon. And I think this is invaluable and shows the true power of today’s best mobile phones. We hope other device manufacturers like Apple and Google realize this and come up with similar experiences on their phones.
