Foldable telephone nirvana (for a worth)

After a number of generations of iterative updates, it looks like Samsung tossed the Galaxy Z Fold 7 right into a Hyperbolic Time Chamber to create a surprising gadget that is leaner, stronger and extra highly effective than earlier than. One of the best half although is the telephone appears to be like and features similar to an everyday handset now that there’s much less bulk to lug round. However at a second’s discover, it might go Tremendous Saiyan by opening as much as reveal a good bigger 8-inch show to turn out to be a real multimedia Raidboss. Sadly, it is nonetheless extraordinarily costly at $2,000. Although when you can deal with the value, in numerous methods, Samsung has lastly achieved foldable telephone nirvana with the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Design: Chef’s kiss

When Samsung debuted its up to date tremendous glossy design language on the , it felt like a novel strategy to reimagine the S25+ as a extra partaking gadget. However when the corporate gave the identical remedy to the Z Fold 7, that engineering turned one thing really transformative. In comparison with its predecessor, Samsung’s large foldable for 2025 is 10 % lighter at simply 215 grams. The larger drop is available in thickness with Galaxy Z Fold 7 measuring a whopping 26 % thinner (simply 8.9mm when folded). This represents the largest generation-over-generation lower for the complete Z Fold line, which is sort of surprising contemplating it is taking place seven years in. The result’s a foldable that’s mainly the identical measurement and weight because the Galaxy S25 Extremely (it is truly somewhat narrower), which is not any imply feat for a category of devices that has been affected by additional heft since they first got here out.

What is likely to be simply as spectacular is that Samsung hasn’t actually reduce corners to ship the Z Fold 7’s streamlined dimensions. You continue to get an IP48 ranking for mud and water resistance (which might deal with submersions of as much as 5 ft for half-hour) together with Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 in entrance and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 in again. Samsung additionally fully re-engineered its Armor FlexHinge, which glides open and closed like a dream. Samsung even says that Z Fold 7’s ultra-thin glass is 50 % thicker than earlier than whereas additionally sporting a brand new titanium lattice that provides extra assist and sturdiness to the telephone’s versatile show.

Inside, Samsung has switched away from the under-display sensor used on earlier fashions in favor of a extra conventional hole-punch digicam. It is a little bit of a disgrace because it provides a small blemish to that in any other case beautiful display. Nonetheless, with the panel now measuring 8 inches throughout (up from 7.6 on the Z Fold 6), there’s extra of it to get pleasure from even after you account for the small cutout. Plus, the transfer to a higher-res 10-megapixel sensor for this digicam leads to considerably higher picture high quality than any of Samsung’s under-display modules.

The one small design quirk is that typically the telephone would not unfold all the best way, usually stopping simply brief at 179 levels — very like the unique . That mentioned, you possibly can all the time make it go totally flat with a bit of additional strain, although more often than not I do not even hassle as a result of that is the sort of factor that you do not actually discover except you are particularly searching for it.

Shows: Now even larger, each in and out

As for brightness and picture high quality, Samsung’s panels are nonetheless unmatched. Along with a bigger essential show, the Z Fold 7’s exterior Cowl Display is barely larger at 6.5 inches. Extra importantly, it is noticeably wider too whereas sporting even thinner bezels, which makes the entire telephone really feel extra usable. The sensation of holding a thin baton I acquired on earlier fashions is totally gone. Each screens additionally assist a 120Hz refresh price and might hit a peak brightness of two,600 nits. And when in comparison with rivals just like the Pixel 9 Professional Fold, the Fold 7’s shows simply pop a contact extra due to barely richer colours and saturation.

After introducing S Pen integration on the Z Fold 3, Samsung has eliminated stylus assist for this mannequin — a giant downgrade that will anger longtime Z Fold followers. The corporate claims it made this determination after seeing “very low” S Pen utilization on earlier generations, which frankly is not all that stunning. However, as one of many spotlight options that separated Samsung’s large foldables from virtually all of its rivals, it is nonetheless unhappy to see it go.

Efficiency and software program: The quickest large foldable telephone

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 unquestionably packs top-tier efficiency. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip together with 12GB or 16GB of RAM and as much as 1TB of storage. The whole lot feels quick and snappy whereas OneUI 8 and Android 16 deliver app optimizations that assist profit from the telephone’s large show.

The most important eye-opener for me was once I in contrast how lengthy it took the Z Fold 7 to launch my present favourite cellular sport, Sword of Convallaria, in opposition to the Pixel 9 Professional Fold. Even with the elevated efficiency of Google’s current Tensor chips, Samsung’s foldable loaded the sport in 13 seconds in comparison with 18 seconds for the Pixel. That may not sound like a ton, nevertheless it’s round 25 % quicker and when it is one thing you do a number of instances a day, shaving off even a number of seconds provides up quick..

Cameras: A serious decision bump

Whereas the Z Fold 7’s ultrawide and 3x telephoto cameras are largely unchanged, the telephone contains a large photograph improve due to a brand new 200MP sensor for its essential digicam. That is basically the identical part Samsung used within the S25 Extremely and S25 Edge, and it delivers a much-needed bump in picture high quality.

In shiny gentle, the Z Fold 7 simply retains tempo with the Pixel 9 Professional Fold. In sure conditions like when snapping pics of meals, some could favor its pictures due to Samsung’s hotter coloration profile. The telephone nonetheless tends to oversharpen issues, however colours are vibrant. For individuals who need to maximize decision, you possibly can choose the telephone’s full 200MP mode (photographs are captured at 12MP by default). At night time, the Fold 7’s pictures remained surprisingly sharp. I nonetheless favor the Pixel 9 Professional Fold as a result of its extra correct white stability and infrequently sharper focus, although Samsung’s telephone is not far behind.

Doubtlessly the largest shortcoming on the Fold 7 is that its 3x optical zoom cannot fairly match the 5x telephoto cam on the Pixel 9 Professional Fold. However for followers of group pictures, Samsung added a brand new selfie digicam with a wider 100-degree area of view.

Battery life and charging: Strong longevity, however nonetheless solely Qi 2 prepared

Whereas the Z Fold 7’s 4,400mAh battery is similar measurement as its predecessor, you’ll get barely elevated longevity as a result of improved energy effectivity from its processor. In our native video rundown take a look at, the Z Fold 7 lasted 20 hours and 50 minutes when utilizing its essential 8-inch show and 26 hours and 22 minutes with its exterior display. Relying on which show you utilize, that is between 45 minutes and an hour longer than what we acquired from the earlier mannequin, which is good to see contemplating battery life was already fairly strong.

Sadly, Samsung hasn’t modified a lot relating to recharging. The Z Fold 7 helps wired charging at as much as 25 watts — which is somewhat common for a contemporary flagship — alongside 15 watt wi-fi charging. And like the remainder of the 2025 premium Galaxy line, this telephone is merely Qi 2 prepared, which implies there is not any built-in attachment system for magnetic equipment like charging pucks, card holders and battery packs. So if you wish to use peripherals like these, you may have to get a case with full assist for Qi 2.

Wrap-up

I’ve all the time mentioned that Samsung is at its finest when it focuses on {hardware} design, and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 could also be probably the greatest examples of that. With its newest flagship foldable, Samsung has eliminated one of many remaining obstacles stopping individuals from making an attempt out the brand new breed of telephones: extreme measurement and weight.

By widening its cowl show, the Z Fold 7 appears to be like and acts similar to an everyday smartphone, which is nice for checking messages, trying up instructions or snapping a photograph. Once you need to get actually immersed in a present, film or sport, you possibly can open up that stunning versatile show, which is now even bigger on your viewing pleasure. The telephone’s higher-res essential digicam additionally brings upgraded picture high quality whereas its Snapdragon 8 Elite chip provides it a efficiency edge over rivals just like the Pixel 9 Professional Fold.

I do not love how Samsung is backtracking on options by eradicating S Pen assist and reverting to an old-school digicam cutout as a substitute of an under-display sensor for its essential show. However a minimum of within the case of the latter, that change comes with a lot improved picture high quality, which is a giant improve for video calls.

With the Galaxy Z Fold 7, you actually do get the perfect of each worlds. Its new design is simply as glossy as comparable conventional flagships whereas hiding a bigger show that makes the necessity for small tablets out of date. Sadly, with a beginning worth of $2,000, Samsung hasn’t addressed the final roadblock stopping individuals from making an attempt out a tool which may fully change the best way they use their telephone.