The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s finest foldable but, but it surely’ll value you $2,000

At its latest Galaxy Unpacked event in New York Metropolis, Samsung lastly unveiled its newest foldable devices. The Galaxy Z Fold 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7, and the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE have been all introduced, marking a brand new chapter in Samsung’s foldable lineup.

I had the chance to attend Samsung’s summer time Unpacked occasion and see all of its new gadgets up shut. This story will primarily deal with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, however in case you’re within the Z Flip 7 or Z Flip 7 FE, you may also try my preliminary impressions of them. That mentioned, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the Samsung foldable I have been most enthusiastic about, and the wait was positively price it.

Whereas the Fold 7 shares some similarities with the Fold 6, this 12 months it looks like Samsung has principally reinvented the machine. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold telephones have change into thinner and extra highly effective annually, and the Fold 7 represents probably the most vital change but, that includes a brand new, ultra-slim design that does not compromise on efficiency or battery. Listed below are all the main points it’s essential know concerning the Galaxy Z Fold 7, together with my preliminary ideas, together with the positives and negatives I noticed throughout my time with the telephone at Unpacked.

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The Fold 7 is probably the most snug foldable I’ve ever held

It is Samsung’s thinnest foldable ever at 4.2mm unfolded

Essentially the most vital change with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 this 12 months is its improved, sleeker design, which makes it lighter and thinner than its predecessors. When unfolded, it is just 4.2mm thick, and when folded, it measures 8.9mm thick. It felt like a feather in my hand, solely weighing 216 grams (0.47 lbs). Compared, final 12 months’s Fold 6 is bulkier, measuring 5.6mm when unfolded and 12.1mm when folded, weighing 239 grams.

Once I first held the Galaxy Z Fold 7, I instantly seen how far more snug it was to hold, due to its thinner profile. I additionally discovered that utilizing the Cowl Display on the Fold 7 is simpler, because it feels such as you’re utilizing an everyday telephone relatively than a foldable. For reference, the Galaxy S25 Extremely is 8.25mm thick and weighs 218g, leading to a distinction of solely 0.65mm and 2g in comparison with the Fold 7.

With all that being mentioned, is it the thinnest foldable on the planet? No, that title goes to the not too long ago unveiled Honor Magic V5, which measures a barely smaller 8.8mm when folded. Nevertheless, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will really be accessible within the US, in order that’s a win for Samsung for my part.

Moreover, what additionally shocked me concerning the Z Fold 7 is that the battery dimension stays unchanged from the Fold 6, with a 4,400mAh cell. Given its slim design, I’d have thought Samsung would have needed to compromise right here, because it did with the S25 Edge’s 3,900mAh battery, but it surely did not.

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The Fold 7 has bigger shows and an upgraded digital camera

It has related specs to the S25 collection

Wanting on the specs for the Galaxy Z Fold 7, there are a number of similarities with the Galaxy S25 collection. Notably, the telephone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, the identical chipset used throughout your entire S25 lineup, and Samsung gives three storage choices: 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. The telephone is available in three colours: jet black, blue shadow, and silver shadow. Samsung’s web site can even supply an unique fourth coloration known as mint. Throughout my time at Unpacked, I used to be mesmerized by the Fold 7’s blue shadow colorway, and it is my favourite of the bunch.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite within the Fold 7 is predicted to supply a notable efficiency increase over the Fold 6’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, enhancing multitasking and gaming experiences. I have not been capable of take a look at any third-party apps on the Fold 7 but, however from what I’ve seen thus far, One UI 8 and its first-party apps run very easily. Talking of One UI 8, it comes pre-installed on all of Samsung’s new foldable gadgets, which implies you may get Android 16 proper out of the field. You’ll be able to try the total specs for the Fold 7 under.

The Fold 7 additionally options noticeably bigger screens this 12 months. Its outer display screen (Cowl Show) is a 6.5-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X with a decision of 2520 x 1080 pixels, up from the Fold 6’s 6.3-inch exterior show. In my hands-on expertise with the telephone, it jogged my memory a number of utilizing my Galaxy S25+, which has a 6.7-inch show.

Subsequent, the spotlight of the book-style foldable expertise is the interior show, and I could not cease admiring the Fold 7’s. Not solely is it bigger, however the crease line is even much less seen than final 12 months, which is nice to see and makes utilizing the machine far more spectacular. Specs-wise, the interior show measures 8 inches and encompasses a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display screen with a decision of 2184 x 1968 pixels, and an adaptive refresh price of 1-120Hz.

Turning to the again of the Fold 7, we see an identical however improved digital camera array in comparison with the Fold 6. It features a 12-megapixel f/2.2 Extremely Huge lens, a 200-megapixel f/1.8 Huge lens, and a 10-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. The key improve right here is the 200-megapixel broad lens, a major soar from the Fold 6’s 50-megapixel broad lens.

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The value is the elephant within the room

The Fold 7 is a powerful foldable, but it surely leaves an enormous dent in your pockets

Whereas there’s lots to love concerning the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s design and {hardware}, it additionally has some drawbacks price mentioning. First, the worth. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 begins at a steep $2,000 for the 256GB mannequin, making it Samsung’s most costly foldable machine up to now. Final 12 months, the Fold 6 was priced at $1,900. That was already a excessive worth, and now the Fold 7 is much more. Whereas it is a cool piece of know-how, the worth alone will deter many individuals.

Second, the Z Fold 7 now not helps Samsung’s S Pen. So, in case you personal an S Pen and hope to make use of it with the Z Fold 7, you will not be capable to. Samsung explains it is a results of making the telephone slimmer, which meant eradicating the telephone’s “digitizer layer.” Third, the telephone has an IP48 water and dirt resistance score, not an IP68 score, so it stays extra weak to wreck from mud, filth, and sand than Samsung’s S25 collection.

In the event you personal a Fold 6, the adjustments to the Fold 7 won’t make it price upgrading. Nevertheless, if in case you have a Fold 5 or Fold 4, that is a distinct story, and the Fold 7’s upgrades supply appreciable worth that might considerably enhance your expertise in case you take pleasure in utilizing a foldable telephone day by day. I will have extra to say concerning the Fold 7 within the coming weeks, so keep tuned to Pocket-lint.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is now accessible for pre-order on Samsung’s web site and can begin transport July 25. For extra Samsung Unpacked protection, try my preliminary impressions of the Flip 7 and Flip 7 FE, together with the brand new Galaxy Watch 8 series.

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