Galaxy Z Flip 6: I Spent My First Day AI-ing My Way Through Paris With It

I’ve had Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 for only 24 hours, but I got to test its AI features — and see if they could make a better croissant than a Parisian bakery.

Until a few days ago, I had never been to Paris, never spoken French, and definitely never used the Galaxy Z Flip 6. Now, you might not see a connection between the City of Light, a new foldable phone and a guy who’d never flown internationally before, but there is one. It’s called Galaxy AI.

The $1,100 Galaxy Z Flip 6 is one of a pair of new Samsung foldables that debuted at the company’s July Galaxy Unpacked event, along with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and other products, like the Galaxy Ring. The event was in Paris. And when my boss asked me to go, I was excited, nervous and wondered how traveling and working internationally would all… well, work.

Aside from a new hinge, new screen and new camera, one of the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s biggest features (or at least the one that Samsung hyped the most) is Galaxy AI. And at a time when nearly every phone maker touts ways AI will improve our lives, I wanted to see if such assertions were true. What better way to spend my first day with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, right? So I charged up my review sample and headed out to explore Paris and test Samsung’s Galaxy AI.

Galaxy Z Flip 6 Interpreter got the job done — mostly

My first stop was the coffee shop Fringe, which, if you’re into specialty coffee, should be on your list of places to visit when in Paris. I don’t speak French, but I really wanted to try a cortado and learn about the beans they use. So I fired up the Z Flip 6’s AI-powered Interpreter tool to place my order and talk with the barista.

There’s a nifty mode within the tool that used the cover screen to show the barista a French translation of what I’d said in English. And on the main screen, I saw, in English, what they’d said in French. I was able to order; learn about small batch European coffee roasters; and have a cortado that was simply outstanding. Unlike my beverage, however, the Interpreter tool wasn’t great.

I noticed during my conversation with the cashier that several of the words and phrases she said in French didn’t translate to English in the way she’d intended, or they had a different meaning. She thought it might be her accent that threw off the Z Flip 6. I thought it might be the Galaxy AI. We weren’t sure. Whatever the reason, it was clear the AI translation made her feel self-conscious about her accent, a horrible situation.

Interestingly, the cashier was fascinated by the phone — not because it could translate on the fly, but because she’d never seen a foldable before. After playing with the Z Flip 6 for a minute or so, she asked me if there was an iPhone version.

Parisian croissant vs. AI croissant

After recording some videos of skateboarders doing tricks in the Place de la Republique, I walked down the Canal Saint-Martin to take some photos. I wanted to put the Z Flip 6’s new 50-megapixel main camera through its paces, but I also needed a few photos to test out a new AI feature that lets you draw new things into an image.

Using one of my canal photos, I opened the Gallery app and tapped the sparkle AI icon under the photo to bring up the Sketch to Image tool. Then I drew two curved lines to replicate the silhouette of a bird flying over the canal — I did my inner 5-year-old proud.

Then, I let AI do its thing.

The result was a bird that looked pretty realistic. I’m really impressed by this tool, but I’m not sure when I’d use it. Even as I write this, I wonder why the tool exists. I could see how this might be fun for kids, or even how it could take the old “drawing a mustache on someone’s face” gag to the next level… though I tried that several times and, sadly, nothing happened.

But what if there weren’t any photos involved? What if I wanted to take a crude sketch I’d done and make it a painting? Well, the same Sketch to Image AI tool can do that, too. And when I was at restaurant Oma, I wanted to see who made a better croissant: Galaxy AI or a Parisian bakery?

To turn a doodle into art, I opened the side navigation bar and used the built-in sketch pad. Next, I drew a very crude outline of a croissant and added a few riblike accent lines across the top. Then I pressed the Generate button, and the tool created a handful of watercolored paintings of croissants. And what do you know? They all looked like croissants (although some definitely skewed more toward a shrimp than a croissant).

It’s pretty incredible that a foldable phone can take a very crude doodle, figure out what you drew, and then make a watercolor painting of it. I could see this as a way to generate your own clip art, if you’re into that sort of thing. But otherwise, I don’t think I’ll ever use the feature again.

The Z Flip 6 turned my pal into Chance the Rapper

As I was running around Paris, I was also putting together a video for CNET, and that meant I had our talented video producer Jide Akinrinade with me filming all day. I took a few portrait-mode photos of him with the Z Flip 6 that came out great, and I decided to try one last AI feature.

While I was able to turn a sketch I made into a photo-realistic seagull, I could also turn an actual photo of someone into artwork. The tool is called Portrait Studio, and you can choose from a handful of art styles: comic, 3D cartoon, watercolor and sketch.

When I put Jide’s photo through the process, it created bold comic book–like illustrations. However, there was one problem: They looked nothing like Jide — which he confirmed with a “that’s a no.” Like the other gen AI tools, it can miss the mark; one of the options made Jide look like Chance the Rapper.

Later in the day, I ran into some other reviewers with the new Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6, and they’d had similar results. I mean, I’ve got to hand it to Samsung: Portrait Studio was great for a few laughs, but if I’m paying $1,100 for a phone, I want something that can turn out results that look a little more like me.

Galaxy Z Flip 6 final thoughts for now

Throughout my first day with the Z Flip 6, I kept track of the battery life. I started my day at 100% and ended it at 46%, which I found very impressive, especially considering how hot and humid Paris was and how many photos and videos I took, as well as how heavily I used various AI features.

I learned, too, that I easily sunburn under the Paris sun in July.

I also found out that Galaxy AI is impressive, like when it created a photo-realistic seagull from two lines I drew. It’s useful, like when it helped me have a conversation in French and order coffee. And it’s ridiculous, like when it made Jide into Chance the Rapper. AI also has a lot of other flaws, which might put some people off.

I still have so much more testing to do with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, so keep an eye out for my full in-depth review, coming soon.