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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: One-minute overview
My thoughts reels. How is that this flagship Android 16 cellphone unfolding into an 8-inch pill? It’s just like the parting of the Crimson Sea however with a smartphone. What seems to be one is cleaved in two, cut up neatly down the center to disclose an expansive, touch- and multi-task-friendly show.
I’m flabbergasted.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 doesn’t simply transfer the scale and weight needle; it sends it off the dial into uncharted foldable territory (not less than for Samsung). Beginning at 8.9mm thick when folded (simply 7mm thicker than the 8.2mm Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely), the Z Fold 7 unfolds to disclose an impossibly svelte 4.2mm skinny chassis. Crazier nonetheless, the Z Fold 7 weighs simply 215 grams. Sure, you learn that proper: that’s three grams lower than the 218-gram Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely.
On this and in different methods, Samsung has nudged its dear premier foldable into ‘Extremely’ territory. It’s not an Extremely, thoughts you, in that Samsung hasn’t conferred that label on the cellphone, however there are options that make it undeniably ultra-level.
Let’s go away apart the scale and weight for a second, and deal with the opposite marquee improve: a brand new digital camera. I’ve been griping for a while a couple of flagship-price cellphone that also has sub-flagship degree cameras. Not anymore. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 lastly has the 200MP sensor beforehand solely discovered on the S25 Extremely (and now on the brand new Galaxy S25 Edge).
200MP means you possibly can shoot footage at most megapixel high quality, and crop in to disclose element that’s unprecedented on the Z Fold degree. Granted, you will doubtless nonetheless shoot at 12MP, however that pixel-binned picture now has extra brightness and shade data per dot for higher-quality photographs,
In the event you’re questioning, although, why the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is just not formally an Extremely, I’ve a number of causes for you: First, there’s no 5x optical zoom. The digital camera system tops out at 3x. This can be resulting from limitations imposed by the thinness of that body – I guess you possibly can’t match a periscope lens in there.
Second, reaching that feat of thinning meant Samsung needed to jettison the digitizing layer and lose the S Pen assist. Whereas Samsung pitches this as a big-screen, light-weight system that you simply don’t want to make use of a stylus with, I’ll miss with the ability to draw on that foldable show.
One space the place this cellphone is really ‘extremely’, although, is within the pricing. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 begins at $1999.99 / £1,799 (we’re awaiting Australia pricing). That’s $100 greater than the Z Fold 6 within the US. The extra transportable design and excessive pricing create some pressure between individuals who assume the foldable they will carry with out compromises has lastly arrived and those that need a comparatively inexpensive foldable expertise.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 overview: worth and specs
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 begins at $1,999.99 / £1,799, which is $100 greater than the earlier mannequin within the US (we’re awaiting Australia pricing). The bottom mannequin comes with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. The Z Fold 7 is on preorder now, and ships from July 25. It is obtainable in Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow, and Jetblack, plus a Samsung online-exclusive Mint.
These costs make the Galaxy Z Fold 7 one of the vital costly foldables you should buy – it now prices $100 greater than a equally configured Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, for example.
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 |
Google Pixel 9 Professional Fold |
OnePlus Open |
Oppo Discover N2 Flip specs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dimensions (folded): |
72.8 x 158.4 x 8.9mm |
155.2 x 77.1 x 10.5mm |
153.4 x 73.3 x 11.7mm |
85.5 x 75.2 x 16.02mm |
|
Dimensions (unfolded): |
143.2 x 158.4 x 4.2mm |
155.2 x 150.2 x 5.1mm |
153.4 x 143.1 x 5.8mm |
166.2 x 75.2 x 7.45mm |
|
Weight: |
215g |
257g |
239g (black); 245g (inexperienced) |
191g |
|
Predominant show: |
8-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED (2184 x 1968), 120Hz adaptive refresh fee (1~120Hz) |
8-inch Tremendous Actua show 2076 x 2152 / 1080 x 2424 pixels |
7.82 inches (2440 x 2268) |
6.8-inch 21:9 (2520 x 1080) 120Hz LTPO E6 AMOLED, protected by UTG |
|
Cowl show:: |
6.5-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Show(2520 x 1080, 21:9), 120Hz adaptive refresh fee (1~120Hz) |
6.3-inch Actua show |
6.31 inches (2484 x 1116) |
3.26-inch 17:9 (720 x 382) 60Hz AMOLED, protected by Gorilla Glass 5 |
|
Chipset: |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Cellular Platform for Galaxy |
Google Tensor G4 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus |
|
RAM: |
12GB / 16GB (1TB solely) |
16GB |
16GB LPDDR5X |
8GB (LPDDR5) |
|
Storage: |
256GB / 512GB / 1TB |
256GB / 512GB |
512GB UFS 4.0 |
256GB (UFS 3.1) |
|
OS: |
Android 16 / OneUI 8 |
Android 14 |
Android 14 with Oxygen OS 13.2 |
Android 13 w/ ColorOS 13 |
|
Main digital camera: |
200MP f1.7 |
48MP most important |
48MP (vast) |
50MP, f/1.8, 23mm, 86° FoV (Sony IMX890) |
|
Ultrawide digital camera: |
12MP f2.2 |
10.5MP ultrawide |
48MP (ultrawide 114°) |
8MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 112° FoV (Sony IMX355) |
|
Telephoto |
3x 10MP f2.4 |
10.8MP 5X zoom |
64MP (3x telephoto) |
|
|
Cowl Digicam: |
10MP f2.2 |
10MP |
20MP; 32MP |
32MP, f/2.4, 21mm, 90° FoV (Sony IMX709) |
|
Internal Digicam |
10MP f2.2 |
8MP f/2.0 |
Row 13 – Cell 3 | |
|
Battery: |
4,400mAh |
4,650mAh |
4,805mAh |
4,300mAh |
|
Charging: |
30 minutes with 25W adapter (wired) |
30W (wired) |
67W SUPERVOOC (proprietary) |
44W (wired) |
|
Colours: |
Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow and Jetblack [Samsung.com Exclusive] Mint |
Porcelain, Obsidian |
Emerald Nightfall (inexperienced); Voyager Black |
Astral Black, Moonlit Purple |
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 overview: design
- It is extremely skinny
- Lighter than the single-screen Galaxy S25 Extremely
- Wonderful building
In the event you ever get the prospect, maintain the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 subsequent to the Z Fold 6 – the distinction is astonishing, and the one wrinkle within the impact is the brand new cellphone’s sizable digital camera bump. It’s extra outstanding than the bump on the Z Fold 6, and means the cellphone gained’t lay even near flat on that facet.
This cellphone feels good and light-weight within the hand, particularly unfolded and, whereas not Extremely-level titanium, the supplies are good and well-used right here. The physique and body are Armor Aluminum. On the outside again is Corning Gorilla Class Victus 2, and on the show facet there’s Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2.
Picture 1 of 7
Samsung has upgraded the FlexHinge, so it’s much less conspicuous than ever. Once you fold and unfold the cellphone, it presents simply the precise degree of firmness. Even the within of the hinge is cleaner. The place final 12 months’s hinge inside coverings had a bit of nub on it, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7’s are a pair of unblemished curves, like clean little fenders over a wheel..
Samsung claims the versatile display crease is much less noticeable, but it surely was exhausting to inform if this was the case throughout my transient hands-on time, so I will withhold judgment for now. IP48 safety means the cellphone can deal with a dunk and a few mud, however I’d nonetheless maintain it away from sand.
Folded, the cellphone is now simply 8.9mm thick, which is just marginally thicker than the S25 Extremely and considerably thinner than the folded Z Fold 6 (12.1mm). Unfolded, it’s a outstanding 4.2mm. To place that in perspective, it seems that the USB-C cost/knowledge port simply barely suits within the house. At simply 215 grams, it looks like a conventional cellphone when closed, and if you unfold it that weight is distributed throughout an 8-inch physique, making the system really feel featherlight.
These latter dimensions additionally simply beat the Z Fold 6, which is 5.6mm unfolded and weighs 239 grams, and the Google Pixel 9 Professional Fold, which is 5.1mm thick unfolded and weighs 257 grams.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: show
- Bigger most important and canopy shows
- Seen punch gap for the digital camera on most important show
- Cowl show has a extra pure side ratio
Greater than ever, the outside show of the Z Fold 7 makes it seem like a conventional smartphone. It’s now a 6.5-inch show (up from 6.3 inches), serving to to make the side ratio a extra conventional 21:9. In my hands-on time, the display was brilliant and responsive.
At eight inches, the inside AMOLED display, aka the primary display, now matches the scale of the iPad mini. It’s a stunning and expansive house for content material consumption, pictures, productiveness, and gaming.
You would possibly discover a brand new selfie digital camera cutout. That existed on the Z Fold 6, however when not in use it was lined by a cluster of pixels that could possibly be made clear when it was time to take a pic. Now, to accommodate a wider area of view (100-degree versus 85-degree) and allow better picture readability, there aren’t any pixels protecting the lens.
Some would possibly thoughts the small black gap breaking the immersion of their full-screen gaming expertise, and distracting when utilizing some apps, however I believe I favor having a wider angle, and what are noticeably clearer photographs from the inside digital camera.
The bezels across the show don’t seem thinner than these on the Z Fold 6, and the display high quality seems related. Samsung has made nearly each show part thinner to assist the brand new design, apart from the Extremely Skinny Glass, which is now thicker. All of this may occasionally assist make the crease much less noticeable, although I might nonetheless, in sure mild and at sure angles, see it, and I might really feel it; it’s not pronounced, although.
If there may be any disappointment within the new Z Fold 7 it may be discovered right here within the show, which not helps the S Pen. This, it appears, was a physics drawback. Samsung merely couldn’t match within the digitizing layer, which suggests it’s again to drawing together with your fingertip, or with a delicate and specially-designed ‘dumb’ stylus.
Picture 1 of 3
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: cameras
- Lastly, a Z Fold cellphone will get the 200MP sensor
- The principle show digital camera will get a giant improve, too
- It is a strong digital camera array total
Once you pay $2,000 for a smartphone, you count on it to incorporate the final word digital camera system, and that has by no means been the case with Samsung’s Fold line – however the Galaxy Z Fold 7 comes near delivering the total bundle
Right here’s the digital camera system:
- 200MP vast
- 12MP ultra-wide
- 10MP 3x telephoto
- 10MP cover-screen digital camera
- 10MP main-screen digital camera
There are a few vital upgrades inside that lineup. One is the sharper, wider main-screen digital camera, which was 4MP and is now 10MP, and the opposite – and arguably extra vital – is the 200MP vast lens. This is kind of the identical sensor because the one within the Galaxy S25 Extremely and S25 Edge, and it is one of many S25 Extremely’s defining options, bringing a degree of element to photographs that you simply gained’t get from, say a 50MP sensor.
Granted, you’ll often be taking pictures in 12MP binned format, however the picture data from all these additional pixels is mixed to offer you great element in each picture shot with the primary lens.
Picture 1 of 4
I’m disillusioned that we nonetheless didn’t get a 5x optical zoom, however I’m wondering if Samsung might have match the required know-how inside a 4.2mm-thick body.
Whereas I didn’t have loads of time with the Z Fold 7, I did shoot with all of the lenses, and the picture high quality appeared good – it’s fairly wild to shoot with the 200MP choice turned on, and see how far you possibly can crop in on a typical picture. The 10MP main-screen digital camera can be an enormous enchancment over the 4MP digital camera on the Z Fold 6.
Picture 1 of 2
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Software program and AI
- The cellphone will ship with Android 16
- There’s deeper Google Gemini integration
- Gemini Stay fills the primary display
There are some things of word right here. First, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 will ship with Android 16. That’s massive information, as a result of I can’t bear in mind a Galaxy cellphone of any stripe that didn’t ship with the present 12 months’s Android, with Samsung ready till Google upgraded its Pixel telephones to the newest platform earlier than flowing it into the brand new Galaxy handsets.
Second, Samsung is just not holding again in relation to integrating the newest Google Gemini AI goodness deep into the cellphone.
First, Gemini Stay has a tablet-sized interface for the primary display. It’s not an enormous deal, however it’s good to see that the system is hardware-aware. Extra importantly, although, you should utilize Gemini Stay on one half of the Fold 7 display and have it react to what’s on the opposite facet – the advantages of multitasking. The opposite replace is in Google’s Circle to Search, which now works in video games. Samsung claims it should work with any on-device recreation.
As Samsung demonstrated in a video, you possibly can launch Circle to Search throughout gameplay, use your finger to circle one thing on display, and it’ll carry again context-specific search outcomes that you would be able to immediately apply with out leaving the sport.
You would possibly, for example, circle an in-game character and ask, “What is the character’s identify? What are his powers, and the way do I beat him?” and get the solutions with out leaving the sport.
The video made it look straightforward; we’ll see the way it works in the true world once I absolutely overview this cellphone.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Efficiency and Battery
- Bespoke Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite processor
- Respectable RAM for the bottom unit (although lower than some opponents)
- Battery measurement unchanged, however battery life will get a lift
As anticipated, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is working Qualcomm’s Gen 8 Elite for Samsung processor. The final bit signifies the chip’s bespoke nature: it’s like all different Gen 8 Elite’s, however doubtless overclocked for Samsung.
The zippy and AI-friendly chip is backed by 12GB of RAM (16GB, when you get the 1TB mannequin), and a base storage capability of 256GB.
That combo ought to present loads of energy, although a multitasking-friendly display just like the Z Fold 7’s 8-inch most important show will doubtless encourage extra heavy-duty utilization and extra gaming, so it’ll be attention-grabbing to see how the handset holds up below duress.
Even in my comparatively restricted hands-on time, although, I might really feel some heat on the again. I’m guessing that with such a skinny chassis, Samsung might haven’t any choice however to permit among the warmth to dissipate immediately by means of the cellphone’s physique.
Regardless of the large slim-down, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 in some way nonetheless has a 4,400mAh battery inside, however now it’s rated for twenty-four hours of video playback. We acquired a bit of over 10 hours of mixed-use battery life with the Z Fold 6. I’ll be thrilled if this extra environment friendly system extends the lifetime of the same-sized battery.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Early worth verdict
I saved this one for final as a result of it’s such a intestine punch. It is a outstanding system, and maybe the Fold that may make foldables basically mainstream – however which will even be an elusive dream.
For the second time in two years, the Z Fold collection has gone up in worth by $100 within the US. This newest hike has the Z Fold 7 flirting with two grand, which is some huge cash for a smartphone – even a stunning foldable like this.
There will probably be trade-in and different offers to melt the blow, and there will probably be individuals who will break up the price over many installments, and think about it definitely worth the worth of folding admission. However I believe others will look to the brand new Galaxy Z Flip 7 or, higher but, the $799.99 Z Flip 7 FE.
The Z Fold 7 is obtainable in three colours: Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow and Jetblack. Mint is a Samsung online-exclusive shade, and it is beautiful.
It is a disgrace Samsung couldn’t maintain the road on pricing. I do know the design is premium-plus, and that refashioned 200MP sensor most likely doesn’t come low cost, however for a lot of, Samsung simply pushed what is probably going its finest foldable ever out of attain.
