I spent a week in New York City with the Samsung Z Fold 7 – and it spoiled me big time

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a superb improve over its predecessor, due to its slim and lightweight design, a robust hinge and a wider coverscreen.
• It is very costly at $2,000 for the beginning configuration.
• However you will dig the improved {hardware}, particularly when you’re conversant in foldable telephones from the worldwide market.

extra shopping for decisions

jul / 2025

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s greatest design overhaul because the Z Fold 2 in 2020, and it is again with a bang. During the last three years, the Korean tech big made slight refinements to every era, leading to a stale design. However the brand new Galaxy Z Fold 7 lastly catches as much as its Chinese language rivals, even beating them in a number of methods.

CNET survey: 64% of people say ‘no thanks’ to foldable smartphones

I have been utilizing the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 for the previous week and am comfortable to report that Samsung has made some rattling near-perfect {hardware}. You get an easy-to-hold type issue, nearly no crease, a canopy display that is near an everyday telephone in itself, a strong hinge, and the identical most important digital camera because the Galaxy S25 Extremely. 

These upgrades include a value, although. The Fold 7 will set you again at two grand, however if in case you have that cash, that is the telephone I like to recommend most. 

An (nearly) good bodily type

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures simply 4.2mm skinny when unfolded and eight.9mm folded. For context, that is just a few millimeters greater than the 8.25mm iPhone 16 Pro Max and eight.5mm Pixel 9 Pro. Samsung’s personal Galaxy S25 Extremely measures 8.2mm, whereas the foldable Oppo Find N5 is 8.93mm thick. 

All in all, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is simply 0.1mm thicker than the thinnest book-style foldable, the Honor Magic V5. Paired with a physique that is lighter than all of them at 215 grams, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 the lightest book-style foldable available on the market proper now. 

Additionally: Oppo’s new foldable phone is one of the thinnest I’ve seen – and I hope OnePlus and Samsung follow suit

This skinny and lightweight design makes it essentially the most comfy to carry Galaxy Z Fold telephone but — when you maintain it in the proper hand. If you happen to’re left-handed, the hinge corners would possibly dig into your palm, which was additionally a difficulty on the predecessor. That mentioned, I am a right-hander, and I discover it extra comfy to make use of than the Galaxy S25 Extremely and iPhone 16 Professional Max. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 can be extra sturdy than earlier than. It incorporates a stronger Gorilla Glass Victus Ceramic 2 on the duvet display, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the again, and a Titanium plate layer as a substitute of a carbon fiber sheet below the display for added show sturdiness. Plus, you get mud and water resistance with an IP48 ranking. 

Additionally: I took a walk with Meta’s new Oakley smart glasses – they beat my Ray-Bans in every way

Samsung improved the duvet display, too. It is not fixated on the slim type issue, enabling the 6.5-inch AMOLED display with a 21:9 side ratio so apps work together higher and play alongside properly with the entire slab phone-like really feel. It is shiny sufficient to see outdoor and has the identical 120Hz dynamic refresh fee and HDR10+ assist because the interior show. Texting, scrolling by means of social media, and looking the net on a Samsung cowl display feels refreshing.  

Full-screen trade-offs, however the crease is gone

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a wider folding display than its predecessor. I’ve beloved my expertise on this sharp and vivid panel, nevertheless it is not as immersive as earlier than. 

Samsung caught to an under-display digital camera (UDC) for years, which made the studying, looking and gaming expertise higher than another foldable. Utility-wise, its high quality was worse than the brand new punch-hole 10MP digital camera — and I might choose the brand new setup for video calls any day — however I miss the under-display digital camera, too. I hope it returns sooner or later with higher high quality.

When you settle for that the digital camera is not going anyplace, you possibly can admire the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s eight-inch LTPO AMOLED 2X panel with assist for HDR10+ and a 120Hz dynamic refresh fee. I really like its vivid colours and high-contrast look. However like earlier than, the interior show attracts extra smudges than the duvet display. 

Additionally: I used Huawei’s $3,600 tri-foldable, and it made every phone I’ve ever tested feel outdated

Coming to the most effective a part of the folding display, there’s nearly no crease. Samsung’s new butterfly hinge mechanism has efficiently negated it. The truth is, Galaxy Z Fold 7 has the least quantity of crease on any book-style folding telephone that I’ve used. The Oppo Discover N5 comes shut, however the Vivo X Fold 5 and Honor Magic V3 each have barely deeper creases working by means of the center of the display. 

Not that it issues when interacting with the large show, however much less crease means a cushty viewing expertise in additional lighting circumstances and angles. 

The hinge, too, feels extra premium than different foldables. If you happen to’re coming from one of many earlier Z Folds, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will not prop up at 150 levels proper out of the field, nevertheless it will get higher as you employ it. After per week of use, my unit not unfolds flat until as much as roughly 135 levels. I had the same expertise with the Honor Magic V3, which additionally has a butterfly hinge.

If I had to decide on between a subjectively extra immersive Fold 6 display with UDC and deep crease or Fold 7’s punch-hole-clad display with lesser crease, I might choose the latter. 

I am unable to pinpoint why the Galaxy Z Fold 7 feels extra premium than different foldables available on the market however it’s in all probability a mixture of a number of elements: thinner and lighter design, least crease and flat sides that are not unergonomic (in the proper hand) to carry. It’s barely more durable to unfold, however you will get used to it throughout the first 48 hours.

Samsung eliminated one other characteristic on the Galaxy Z Fold 7: the S Pen, and I do not miss it. I by no means used it on my Fold 5 or Fold 6 and if it helps the telephone make it thinner, I do not thoughts lacking out on a stylus that needs to be saved in an exterior case. 

Helpful AI and at last: a digital camera improve

Samsung’s new Fold runs Android 16-based One UI 8, with Samsung’s Galaxy AI having essentially the most full suite of synthetic intelligence options. The telephone runs easily, due to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, paired with both 12GB or 16GB of RAM. 

I truly discovered a number of the telephone’s AI options helpful. For instance, the AI Choose characteristic helps you to click on something in your display to take actions. From transcribing interview recordings to eradicating undesirable objects in my images, there are many helpful AI instruments that truly work. 

Additionally: The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra was nearly unusable for me – until I downloaded this one app

Coming from a OnePlus telephone lately, I believe Samsung may benefit from displaying related pop-ups for on-call options like transcribe and translate. As of now, you could swipe down and faucet on the Dwell Translate tile from fast panel to make use of the characteristic, which is not as straightforward to make use of. 

Samsung additionally lastly gave its foldable the identical major digital camera as its flagship S-series telephone. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 sports activities a 200MP most important digital camera, borrowed straight from the Galaxy S25 Extremely. It’s accompanied by a modest 3x 10MP telephoto digital camera and a 12MP ultrawide-angle lens. 

This digital camera system produces vibrant-looking pictures in most eventualities. I like to recommend capturing most images in 200MP mode, so you possibly can crop them later and but retain the small print, because the 3x tele lens is not the most effective. 

I want Samsung let customers change between lenses within the 200MP mode. As of now, you get choices for 1x, 4x, and 5x (you possibly can zoom at any stage from 1x to 5x) however to alter to ultrawide, you could change to 12MP mode after which faucet 0.6x. It is a slight inconvenience that I’ve confronted commonly prior to now week. 

Samsung has additionally improved the shutter pace, so transferring topics are captured higher than earlier than. The dynamic vary stays nice, whereas the Portrait mode nonetheless struggles with edge detection. Galaxy AI comes into play once more and offers you essentially the most polished photobomber-removal device. 

Additionally: How earthquake alerts work on Android – and how to make sure they’re enabled on your phone

One other cool characteristic for videographers: Audio Eraser can now routinely detect what to tune out and has a delegated button in your gallery. It made my voice somewhat robotic, nevertheless it did properly to suppress background noise. 

Let’s discuss battery life

Sadly, Samsung did not improve the battery capability on its new foldable. The truth is, it hasn’t elevated the battery measurement in 5 generations; the Galaxy Z Fold 7 has the identical battery because the Galaxy Z Fold 3. This implies you get a 4,400mAh cell with assist for a modest 25W wired charging and 15W wi-fi charging. 

Once I first noticed this quantity on paper, I used to be nervous that a tremendous {hardware} could be compromised by a questionable choice, particularly when competing units have 5,500mAh+ silicon-carbon batteries. 

Additionally: I replaced my Galaxy S25 Plus with the S25 Edge (and Samsung may do the same)

Because it seems, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a full one-day gadget for average telephone customers (with about 5-6 hours of each day display time). I am not impressed by the charging pace, although.

I often common about 9 hours on my telephone each day and must cost my Z Fold 7 each night round 6 PM for my night social media scrolling. If you happen to’re a heavy telephone person, anticipate to plug in your Z Fold 7 after the work day, or earlier in case your utilization includes a whole lot of navigation on 5G. 

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

Samsung improved the weakest hyperlinks of its book-style foldable with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and the result’s a near-perfect telephone. I might love for it to have a much bigger battery and a greater zoom digital camera — the Vivo X Fold 5 has each — however Samsung’s foldable has U.S availability, longer software program assist, and a greater person interface. In brief, that is essentially the most polished folding telephone expertise, for my part. 

Nonetheless, it would not come low cost. After a $100 value bump, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s costliest Fold but, beginning at $2,000. If you happen to can spend that quantity on a smartphone, you possibly can’t go incorrect with this telephone. It is a generational leap over its predecessor, and if yow will discover alternate supply, I like to recommend upgrading from final 12 months’s Z Fold 6, too. If you happen to’re a enterprise skilled or want a telephone for productiveness, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 ought to be in your radar.