Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: A Leap Forward in Foldable Technology

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review: The foldable we deserve, but not the one we can afford

The first foldable phones hit the market six years ago, and they were rife with compromises and shortcomings. Many of those problems have persisted, but little by little, foldables have gotten better. With the release of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung has made the biggest leap yet. This device solves some of the most glaring problems with Samsung's foldables, featuring a new, slimmer design and a big camera upgrade. Samsung's seventh-generation foldable has finally crossed that hazy boundary between novelty and practicality, putting a tablet-sized screen in your pocket without as many compromises. There are still some drawbacks, of course, but for the first time, this feels like a foldable phone you'd want to carry around. Whether or not you can justify the $1,999 price tag is another matter entirely. Most improved foldable Earlier foldable phones were pocket-busting bricks, but companies like Google, Huawei, and OnePlus have made headway streamlining the form factor -- the Pixel 9 Pro Fold briefly held the title of thinnest foldable when it launched last year. Samsung, however, stuck with the same basic silhouette for versions one through six, shaving off a millimeter here and there with each new generation. Now, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 has successfully leapfrogged the competition with an almost unbelievably thin profile. Specs at a glance: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 - $1,999 SoC Snapdragon 8 Elite Memory 12GB, 16GB Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB Display Cover: 6.5-inch 1080 x 2520 120 Hz OLED Internal: 8-inch 1968 x 2184 120 Hz flexible OLED Cameras 200MP primary, f/1.7, OIS; 10 MP telephoto, f/2.4, OIS; 12 MP ultrawide, f/2.2; 10 MP selfie cameras (internal and external), f/2.2 Software Android 16, 7 years of OS updates Battery 4,400 mAh, 25 W wired charging, 15 W wireless charging Connectivity Wi-Fi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4, sub-6 GHz and mmWave 5G, USB-C 3.2 Measurements Folded: 158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9 mm Unfolded: 158.4 x 143.2 x 4.2 mm 215 g Clocking in at just 215 g and 8.9 mm thick when folded, the Z Fold 7 looks and feels like a regular smartphone when closed. It's lighter than Samsung's flagship flat phone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and is only a fraction of a millimeter thicker. The profile is now limited by the height of the standard USB-C port. You can use the Z Fold 7 in its closed state without feeling hindered by an overly narrow display or hand-stretching thickness. It seems unreal at times, like this piece of hardware should be a tech demo or a dummy phone concept rather than Samsung's newest mass-produced device. The only eyebrow-raising element of the folded profile is the camera module, which sticks out like a sore thumb. To enable the thinner design, Samsung engineered a new hinge with a waterdrop fold. The gentler bend in the screen reduces the appearance of the middle crease and allows the two halves to close tightly with no gap. The opening and closing action retains the same precise feel as previous Samsung foldables. The frame is made from Samsung's custom Armor Aluminum alloy, which promises greater durability than most other phones. It's not titanium like the S25 Ultra or iPhone Pro models, but that saves a bit of weight. There is one caveat to the design -- the Z Fold 7 doesn't open totally flat. It's not as noticeable as Google's first-gen Pixel Fold, but the phone stops a few degrees shy of perfection. It's about on par with the OnePlus Open in that respect. You might notice this when first handling the Z Fold 7, but it's easy to ignore, and it doesn't affect the appearance of the internal flexible OLED. The 6.5-inch cover display is no longer something you'd only use in a pinch when it's impractical to open the phone. It has a standard 21:9 aspect ratio and tiny symmetrical bezels. Even reaching across from the hinge side is no problem (Google's foldable still has extra chunk around the hinge). The OLED panel has the customary 120 Hz refresh rate and high brightness we've come to expect from Samsung. It doesn't have the anti-reflective coating of the S25 Ultra, but it's bright enough that you can use it outdoors without issue. Naturally, the main event is inside: an 8-inch 120 Hz OLED panel at 1968 x 2184, which is slightly wider than last year's phone. It's essentially twice the size of the cover display, just like in Google's last foldable. As mentioned above, the crease is almost imperceptible now. The screen feels solid under your fingers, but it still has a plastic cover that is vulnerable to damage -- it's even softer than fingernails. It's very bright, but the plastic layer is more reflective than glass, which can make using it in harsh sunlight a bit of a pain. Unfortunately, Samsung's pursuit of thinness led it to drop support for the S Pen stylus. That was always a tough sell, as there was no place to store a stylus in the phone, and even Samsung's bulky Z Fold cases struggled to accommodate the S Pen in a convenient way. Still, it's sad to lose this unique feature. The Z Fold 7 (right) cover display is finally free of compromise. Z Fold 6 on the left. Ryan Whitwam The Z Fold 7 (right) cover display is finally free of compromise. Z Fold 6 on the left. Ryan Whitwam The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is barely thicker than the USB-C port. Ryan Whitwam The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is barely thicker than the USB-C port. Ryan Whitwam The Z Fold 7 (right) is much thinner than the Z Fold 6 (left). Ryan Whitwam The Z Fold 7 (right) is much thinner than the Z Fold 6 (left). Ryan Whitwam The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is barely thicker than the USB-C port. Ryan Whitwam The Z Fold 7 (right) is much thinner than the Z Fold 6 (left). Ryan Whitwam The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is almost as thin as the non-folding Galaxy S25 Ultra. Ryan Whitwam The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is almost as thin as the non-folding Galaxy S25 Ultra. Ryan Whitwam The Galaxy Z Fold 7 (right) is much more compact than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (left). The Galaxy Z Fold 7 (right) is much more compact than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (left). The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is almost as thin as the non-folding Galaxy S25 Ultra. Ryan Whitwam The Galaxy Z Fold 7 (right) is much more compact than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (left). Unlike some of the competition, Samsung has not added a dedicated AI button to this phone -- although there's plenty of AI here. You get the typical volume rocker on the right, with a power button below it. The power button also has a built-in fingerprint scanner, which is fast and accurate enough that we can't complain. The buttons feel sturdy and give good feedback when pressed. Android 16 under a pile of One UI and AI The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and its smaller flippy sibling are the first phones to launch with Google's latest version of Android, a milestone enabled by the realignment of the Android release schedule that began this year. The device also gets Samsung's customary seven years of update support, a tie with Google for the best in the industry. However, updates arrive slower than they do on Google phones. If you're already familiar with One UI, you'll feel right at home on the Z Fold 7. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but there are a few enhancements. Android 16 doesn't include a ton of new features out of the box, and some of the upcoming changes won't affect One UI. For example, Google's vibrant Material 3 Expressive theme won't displace the standard One UI design language when it rolls out later this summer, and Samsung already has its own app windowing implementation separate from Google's planned release. The Z Fold 7 has a full version of Android's new progress notifications at launch, something Google doesn't even fully support in the initial release. Few apps have support, so the only way you'll see those more prominent notifications is when playing media. These notifications also tie into the Now Bar, which is at the core of Samsung's Galaxy AI. The Now Bar debuted on the S25 series earlier this year and uses on-device AI to process your data and present contextual information that is supposed to help you throughout the day. Samsung has expanded the apps and services that support the Now Bar and its constantly updating Now Brief, but we haven't noticed much difference. Nine times out of ten, the Now Bar doesn't provide any useful notifications, and the Brief is quite repetitive. It often includes just weather, calendar appointments, and a couple of clickbait-y news stories and YouTube videos -- this is the case even with all the possible data sources enabled. On a few occasions, the Now Bar correctly cited an appointment and suggested a route, but its timing was off by about 30 minutes. Google Now did this better a decade ago. Samsung has also added an AI-fueled audio version of the Now Brief, but we found this pretty tedious and unnecessary when there's so little information in the report to begin with. So the Now Bar is still a Now Bummer, but Galaxy AI also includes a cornucopia of other common AI features. It can rewrite text for you, summarize notes or webpages, do live translation, make generative edits to photos, remove background noise from videos, and more. These features work as well as they do on any other modern smartphone. Whether or not you get any benefit from them depends on how you use the phone. However, we appreciate that Samsung included a toggle under the Galaxy AI settings to process data only on your device, eliminating the privacy concerns of using AI in the cloud. This reduces the number of operational AI features, but that may be a desirable feature all on its own. Samsung tends to overload its phones with apps and features. Those are here, too, making the Z Fold 7 a bit frustrating at times. Some of the latest One UI interface tweaks, like separating the quick settings and notifications, fall flat. Luckily, One UI is also quite customizable. For example, you can have your cover screen and foldable home screens mirrored like Pixels, or you can have a distinct layout for each mode. With some tweaking and removing pre-loaded apps, you can get the experience you want. Samsung's multitasking system also offers a lot of freedom. It's quick to open apps in split-screen mode, move them around, and change the layout. You can run up to three apps side-by-side, and you can easily save and access those app groups later. Samsung also offers a robust floating window option, which goes beyond what Google has planned for Android generally -- it has chosen to limit floating windows to tablets and projected desktop mode. Samsung's powerful windowing system really helps unlock the productivity potential of a foldable. The fastest foldable Samsung makes its own mobile processors, but when speed matters, the company doesn't mess around with Exynos. The Z Fold 7 has the same Snapdragon 8 Elite chip as the Galaxy S25 series, paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in the model most people will buy. In our testing, this is among the most powerful smartphones on the market today, but it doesn't quite reach the lofty heights of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, presumably due to its thermal design. In Geekbench, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 lands between the Motorola Razr Ultra and the Galaxy S25 Ultra, both of which have Snapdragon 8 Elite chips. It far outpaces Google's latest Pixel phones as well. The single-core CPU speed doesn't quite match what you get from Apple's latest custom iPhone processor, but the multicore numbers are consistently higher. If mobile gaming is your bag, the Z Fold 7 will be a delight. Like other devices running on this platform, it puts up big scores. However, Samsung's new foldable runs slightly behind some other 8 Elite phones. These are just benchmark numbers, though. In practice, the Z Fold 7 will handle any mobile game you throw at it. Samsung's thermal throttling is often a concern, with some of its past phones with high-end Snapdragon chips shedding more than half their initial speed upon heating up. The Z Fold 7 doesn't throttle quite that aggressively, but it's not great, either. In our testing, an extended gaming session can see the phone slow down by about 40 percent. That said, even after heating up, the Z Fold 7 remains about 10 percent faster in games than the unthrottled Pixel 9 Pro. Qualcomm's GPUs are just that speedy. The CPU performance is affected by a much smaller margin under thermal stress, dropping only about 10-15 percent. That's important because you're more likely to utilize the Snapdragon 8 Elite's power with Samsung's robust multitasking system. Even when running three apps in frames with additional floating apps, we've noticed nary a stutter. And while 12GB of RAM is a bit shy of the 16GB you get in some gaming-oriented phones, it's been enough to keep a day's worth of apps in memory. Even when you push it, the Qualcomm GPU delivers. Ryan Whitwam Even when you push it, the Qualcomm GPU delivers. Ryan Whitwam This is the fastest foldable for gaming. Ryan Whitwam This is the fastest foldable for gaming. Ryan Whitwam Even when you push it, the Qualcomm GPU delivers. Ryan Whitwam This is the fastest foldable for gaming. Ryan Whitwam You also get about a day's worth of usage from a charge. While foldables could generally use longer battery life, it's impressive that Samsung made this year's Z Fold so much thinner while maintaining the same 4,400 mAh battery capacity as last year's phone. However, it's possible to drain the device by early evening -- it depends on how much you use the larger inner screen versus the cover display. A bit of battery anxiety is normal, but most days, we haven't needed to plug it in before bedtime. A slightly bigger battery would be nice, but not at the expense of the thin profile. The lack of faster charging is a bit more annoying. If you do need to recharge the Galaxy Z Fold 7 early, it will fill at a pokey maximum of 25 W. That's not much faster than wireless charging, which can hit 15 W with a compatible charger. Samsung's phones don't typically have super-fast charging, with the S25 Ultra topping out at 45 W. However, Samsung hasn't increased charging speeds for its foldables since the Z Fold 2. It's long past time for an upgrade here. Long-awaited camera upgrade Camera hardware has been one of the lingering issues with foldables, which don't have as much internal space to fit larger image sensors compared to flat phones. In the past, this has meant taking a big step down in image quality if you want your phone to fold in half. While Samsung has not fully replicated the capabilities of its flagship flat phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 takes a big step in the right direction with its protruding camera module. The camera setup is led by a 200 MP primary sensor with optical stabilization identical to the main shooter on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. It's joined by a 12 MP ultrawide and 10 MP 3x telephoto, both a step down from the S25 Ultra. There is no equivalent to the 5x periscope telephoto lens on Samsung's flat flagship. While it might be nice to have better secondary sensors, the 200 MP will get the most use, and it does offer better results than last year's Z Fold. Many of the photos we've taken on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 are virtually indistinguishable from those taken with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which is mostly a good thing. The 200 MP primary sensor has a full-resolution mode, but you shouldn't use it. With the default pixel binning, the Z Fold 7 produces brighter and more evenly exposed 12 MP images. Medium outdoor light. Medium outdoor light. Bright outdoor light, fast motion. Bright outdoor light, fast motion. Bright indoor light, 3x telephoto. Bright indoor light, 3x telephoto. Bright outdoor light, fast motion. Bright indoor light, 3x telephoto. Medium indoor light. Macro. Night mode. Low indoor light. Macro. Bright outdoor light. Bright indoor light. Ultrawide, medium outdoor light. Medium indoor light. Medium indoor light. Bright outdoor light, fast motion. Bright indoor light. Bright outdoor light. Samsung cameras emphasize vibrant colors and a wide dynamic range, so they lean toward longer exposures. Shooting with a Pixel and Galaxy phone side-by-side, Google's cameras consistently use higher shutter speeds, making capturing motion easier. The Z Fold 7 is no slouch here, though. It will handle moving subjects in bright light better than any phone that isn't a Pixel. Night mode produces bright images, but it takes longer to expose compared to Google's offerings. Again, that means anything moving will end up looking blurry. Between 1x and 3x, the phone uses digital zoom on the main sensor. When you go beyond that, it moves to the 3x telephoto (provided there is enough light). At the base 3x zoom, these photos are nice enough, with the usual amped-up colors and solid detail we'd expect from Samsung. However, the 10 MP resolution isn't great if you push past 3x. Samsung's image processing can't sharpen photos to the same borderline magical degree as Google's, and the Z Fold 7 can sometimes over-sharpen images in a way we don't love. This is an area where the cheaper S25 Ultra still beats the new foldable, with higher-resolution backup cameras and multiple optical zoom levels. At 12 MP, the ultrawide sensor is good enough for landscapes and group shots. It lacks optical stabilization (typical for ultrawide lenses), but it keeps autofocus. That allows you to take macro shots, and this mode activates automatically as you approach a subject. The images look surprisingly good with Samsung's occasionally heavy-handed image processing, but don't try to crop them down further. Ultrawide. Ultrawide. Primary (no zoom). Primary (no zoom). Ultrawide. Primary (no zoom). 3x telephoto. 3x telephoto. 10x telephoto (digital zoom). 10x telephoto (digital zoom). 3x telephoto. 10x telephoto (digital zoom). The Z Fold 7 includes two in-display selfie cameras at 10 MP -- one at the top of the cover display and the other for the inner foldable screen. Samsung has dispensed with its quirky under-display camera, which had a smattering of low-fi pixels covering it when not in use. The inner selfie is now just a regular hole punch, which is fine. You should really only use the front-facing cameras for video calls. If you want to take a selfie, foldables offer the option of using the more capable rear-facing cameras with the cover screen as a viewfinder. A matter of coin For the first time, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 feels like a viable alternative to a flat phone, at least in terms of hardware. The new design is as thin and light as many flat phones, and the cover display is large enough to do anything you'd do on non-foldable devices. Plus, you have a tablet-sized display on the inside with serious multitasking chops. We lament the loss of S Pen support, but it was probably necessary to address the chunkiness of past foldables. The camera upgrade was also a necessary advancement. You can't ask people to pay a premium price for a foldable smartphone and offer a midrange camera setup. The 200 MP primary shooter is a solid upgrade over the cameras Samsung used in previous foldables, but the ultrawide and telephoto could still use some attention. The price is one thing that hasn't gotten better-in fact, it's moving in the wrong direction. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is even more expensive than last year's model at a cool $2,000. As slick and capable as this phone is, the exorbitant price ensures tablet-style foldables remain a niche category. If that's what it costs to make a foldable you'll want to carry, flat phones won't be usurped any time soon. If you don't mind spending two grand on a phone or can get a good deal with a trade-in or a carrier upgrade, you won't regret the purchase. This is the most power that can fit in your pocket. It's available directly from Samsung (in an exclusive Mint color), Amazon, Best Buy, and your preferred carrier. The good * Incredibly slim profile and low weight * Upgraded 200 MP camera * Excellent OLED screens * Powerful multitasking capabilities * Toggle for local-only AI * Launches on Android 16 with seven years of update support The bad * Ridiculously high price * Battery life and charging speed continue to be mediocre * One UI 8 has some redundant apps and clunky interface decisions

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

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung's biggest design overhaul since the Z Fold 2 in 2020, and it's back with a bang. Over the last three years, the Korean tech giant made slight refinements to each generation, resulting in a stale design. But the new Galaxy Z Fold 7 finally catches up to its Chinese rivals, even beating them in multiple ways. Also: 5 preinstalled apps you should delete from your Samsung phone immediately I've been using the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 for the past week and am happy to report that Samsung has made some damn near-perfect hardware. You get an easy-to-hold form factor, virtually no crease, a cover screen that's close to a regular phone in itself, a solid hinge, and the same main camera as the Galaxy S25 Ultra. These upgrades come with a cost, though. The Fold 7 will set you back at two grand, but if you have that money, this is the phone I recommend most. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures just 4.2mm thin when unfolded and 8.9mm folded. For context, that's a few millimeters more than the 8.25mm iPhone 16 Pro Max and 8.5mm Pixel 9 Pro. Samsung's own Galaxy S25 Ultra measures 8.2mm, while the foldable Oppo Find N5 is 8.93mm thick. All in all, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is just 0.1mm thicker than the thinnest book-style foldable, the Honor Magic V5. Paired with a body that's lighter than all of them at 215 grams, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 the lightest book-style foldable on the market right now. Also: Best Android antivirus apps 2025 This thin and light design makes it the most comfortable to hold Galaxy Z Fold phone yet -- if you hold it in the right hand. If you're left-handed, the hinge corners might dig into your palm, which was also an issue on the predecessor. That said, I'm a right-hander, and I find it more comfortable to use than the Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is also more durable than before. It features a stronger Gorilla Glass Victus Ceramic 2 on the cover screen, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back, and a Titanium plate layer instead of a carbon fiber sheet under the screen for added display durability. Plus, you get dust and water resistance with an IP48 rating. Also: T-Mobile will give you a free Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus when you trade in almost any phone - here's how Samsung improved the cover screen, too. It's no longer fixated on the narrow form factor, enabling the 6.5-inch AMOLED screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio so apps interact better and play along well with the whole slab phone-like feel. It's bright enough to see outdoors and has the same 120Hz dynamic refresh rate and HDR10+ support as the inner display. Texting, scrolling through social media, and browsing the web on a Samsung cover screen feels refreshing. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a wider folding screen than its predecessor. I've loved my experience on this sharp and vivid panel, but it isn't as immersive as before. Samsung stuck to an under-display camera (UDC) for years, which made the reading, browsing, and gaming experience better than any other foldable. Utility-wise, its quality was worse than the new punch-hole 10MP camera -- and I'd prefer the new setup for video calls any day -- but I miss the under-display camera, too. I hope it returns in the future with better quality. Once you accept that the camera isn't going anywhere, you can appreciate the Galaxy Z Fold 7's eight-inch LTPO AMOLED 2X panel, which supports HDR10+ and has a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate. I love its vivid colors and high-contrast look. But like before, the inner display attracts more smudges than the cover screen. Also: Why I'm patiently waiting for the Samsung Z Fold 8 next year (even though the foldable is already great) Coming to the best part of the folding screen, there's virtually no crease. Samsung's new butterfly hinge mechanism has successfully negated it. In fact, Galaxy Z Fold 7 has the least amount of crease on any book-style folding phone that I've used. The Oppo Find N5 comes close, but the Vivo X Fold 5 and Honor Magic V3 both have slightly deeper creases running through the middle of the screen. Not that it matters when interacting with the big display, but less crease means a comfortable viewing experience in more lighting conditions and angles. The hinge, too, feels more premium than other foldables. If you're coming from one of the previous Z Folds, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 won't prop up at 150 degrees right out of the box, but it gets better as you use it. After a week of use, my unit no longer unfolds flat till up to roughly 135 degrees. I had a similar experience with the Honor Magic V3, which also has a butterfly hinge. If I had to choose between a subjectively more immersive Fold 6 screen with UDC and deep crease or Fold 7's punch-hole-clad screen with lesser crease, I'd pick the latter. I can't pinpoint why the Galaxy Z Fold 7 feels more premium than other foldables on the market, but it is probably a combination of multiple factors: a thinner and lighter design, the least crease, and flat sides that aren't unergonomic (in the right hand) to hold. It is slightly harder to unfold, but you'll get used to it within the first 48 hours. Samsung removed another feature on the Galaxy Z Fold 7: the S Pen, and I don't miss it. I never used it on my Fold 5 or Fold 6, and if it helps the phone make it thinner, I don't mind missing out on a stylus that has to be stored in an external case. Samsung's new Fold runs Android 16-based One UI 8, with Samsung's Galaxy AI having the most complete suite of artificial intelligence features. The phone runs smoothly, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, paired with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM. I actually found some of the phone's AI features useful. For example, the AI Select feature lets you click anything on your screen to take actions. From transcribing interview recordings to removing unwanted objects in my photos, there are plenty of useful AI tools that actually work. Also: Why I still recommend this $200 Android phone in 2025 - even though it's a year old Coming from a OnePlus phone recently, I think Samsung could benefit from displaying similar pop-ups for on-call features like transcribe and translate. As of now, you need to swipe down and tap on the Live Translate tile from the quick panel to use the feature, which isn't as easy. Samsung also finally gave its foldable the same primary camera as its flagship S-series phone. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 sports a 200MP main camera, borrowed straight from the Galaxy S25 Ultra. It is accompanied by a modest 3x 10MP telephoto camera and a 12MP ultrawide-angle lens. This camera system produces vibrant-looking shots in most scenarios. I recommend shooting most photos in 200MP mode, so you can crop them later and yet retain the details, as the 3x tele lens isn't the best. I wish Samsung would let users switch between lenses in the 200MP mode. As of now, you get options for 1x, 4x, and 5x (you can zoom at any level from 1x to 5x), but to change to ultrawide, you need to switch to 12MP mode and then tap 0.6x. It's a slight inconvenience that I've regularly faced in the past week. Samsung has also improved the shutter speed, so moving subjects are captured better than before. The dynamic range remains great, while the Portrait mode still struggles with edge detection. Galaxy AI comes into play again and gives you the most polished photobomber-removal tool. Also: Verizon will give you a free Samsung Z Flip 7 phone right now - how the deal works Another cool feature for videographers: Audio Eraser can now automatically detect what to tune out and has a designated button in your gallery. It made my voice a little robotic, but it did well to suppress background noise. Unfortunately, Samsung didn't upgrade the battery capacity on its new foldable. In fact, it hasn't increased the battery size in five generations; the Galaxy Z Fold 7 has the same battery as the Galaxy Z Fold 3. This means you get a 4,400mAh cell with support for a modest 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging. When I first saw this number on paper, I was worried that amazing hardware would be compromised by a questionable decision, especially when competing devices have 5,500mAh+ silicon-carbon batteries. Also: I replaced my Galaxy S25 Plus with the S25 Edge (and Samsung may do the same) As it turns out, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a full one-day device for moderate phone users (with about 5-6 hours of daily screen time). I'm not impressed by the charging speed, though. I usually average about nine hours on my phone daily and have to charge my Z Fold 7 every evening around 6 PM for my evening social media scrolling. If you're a heavy phone user, expect to plug in your Z Fold 7 after the work day, or earlier if your usage involves a lot of navigation on 5G. Samsung improved the weakest links of its book-style foldable with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and the result is a near-perfect phone. I'd love for it to have a bigger battery and a better zoom camera -- the Vivo X Fold 5 has both -- but Samsung's foldable has U.S availability, longer software support, and a better user interface. In short, this is the most polished folding phone experience, in my opinion. However, it doesn't come cheap. After a $100 price bump, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung's most expensive Fold yet, starting at $2,000. If you can spend that amount on a smartphone, you can't go wrong with this phone. It's a generational leap over its predecessor, and if you can find a good exchange offer, I recommend upgrading from last year's Z Fold 6, too. If you're a business professional or need a phone for productivity, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 should be on your radar.

Cheaper Than the Previous Model, the New Galaxy Z Fold7 Is at a Record Low Pre-Order Price

Amazon has boosted Samsung’s launch deal, making the Z Fold7 very affordable until midnight. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 is available for pre-order, but this opportunity is over tonight at midnight. Starting tomorrow, the phone will be available for purchase by everyone at regular prices. But today, Amazon is still offering an unbeatable pre-order deal: the 512GB version is priced at the same price as the 256GB variant, and you also receive a $300 gift card on top of that. That puts the launch price of $2,119 to $1,999, and when adding the gift card, the out-of-pocket expense of this new foldable phone is $1,699. That is more than $400 less than the flagship foldable phone on the market today. There is an identical Amazon offer on the Galaxy Z Flip7 with a gift card worth $200 included. See at Amazon The Galaxy Z Fold7 is Samsung's high-end foldable phone with an incredible massive main display that folds neatly to fit in your pocket. The design provides tablet-like usability in open mode which is perfect for multitasking. The phone is run by Android and is unlocked, which allows you to use it with whatever carrier you prefer in the United States. The foldable structure also increases productivity by means of split-screen multitasking and an optimized user interface that adapts while the phone is open or closed. This allows you to be able to operate two programs at the same time or switch between the two seamlessly which is an amazing advantage for people who need efficient mobile computing. The Galaxy Z Fold7 uses the best of AI technologies including AI photo editing that makes it easy to take and enhance photos and is more intuitive. Aside from the screen and the AI features, the phone also boasts a battery that lasts longer and supports extended use throughout the day without continuous recharging. The upgrade gives users the assurance that they can use the phone extensively for heavy usage. If you’re looking to experience the most advanced foldable phone available without paying a full premium price, today’s Amazon pre-order is a rare (and your last) chance to do so. If you are looking for a vertical fold style, the Galaxy Z Flip7 can also be purchased on Amazon with a $200 gift card offer.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 are now officially available nationwide

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on: It's not perfect, but I still want it in my pocket Samsung's latest, and arguably the greatest foldables are now officially available in the US. That means if you've been eyeing one of the new foldables, but didn't commit during the pre-order period, you now have a wealth of extra information, like in-depth phone reviews, to base your purchase upon. As a trade-off of not buying sight unseen, you've essentially missed out on a free 512GB upgrade, but there are still decent trade-in promotions that you can take advantage of. Related Samsung's pricey Z Fold 7 is beating the Flip in sales for the first time in years People want it, even with the price tag Posts 2 As a quick refresher, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 are expected to hit record sales numbers, with analysts already estimating that the new foldables will break the pre-order record (for Korea) that was previously set by the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5. That can mostly be attributed to the two foldables' significantly improved designs. Z Fold 7: Starts at $2,000 Related I used the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and it's my dream big-screen foldable Thin is most definitely in Posts 5 The Z Fold 7, for reference, finally boasts a thin 8.9 mm look when folded, paired with 4.2 mm when unfolded. This is down from 12.1 mm and 5.6 mm, respectively, when compared to the Z Fold 6. The inner display also boasts a bigger 8-inch screen, with the crease at its center now a lot less obvious, paired with iterative upgrades like a newer chip, lighter weight, and a 200MP rear main shooter that's better than its predecessor's on paper. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 RAM 12GB Storage 256GB Battery 4,400mAh Operating System One UI 8 The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the thinnest and lightest in the series to date, integrating a powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor for enhanced AI capabilities and a 200MP pro-grade camera. Built for enhanced durability with an Armor FlexHinge and Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, the device features a wider 6.5-inch cover screen and unfolds into an expansive 8.0-inch main display for immersive viewing and productivity. Cellular connectivity 5G, LTE Wi-Fi connectivity Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.4 Weight 215g IP Rating IP48 $2000 at Samsung Expand Collapse Z Flip 7: Starts at $1,100 Related Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on: It's not perfect, but I still want it in my pocket Samsung understood the assignment Posts 2 The Z Flip 7, on the other hand, finally boasts a Moto Razr Plus-like edge-to-edge cover display, making the clamshell foldable a lot more functional. The cover display is now a 4.1-inch one, while the inner boasts a 6.9-inch screen (both up from 3.4-inches and 6.7-inches, respectively). In addition to the size bump, the cover screen is smoother with a 120Hz refresh rate, with a bigger 4,300mAh battery taking on the burden of all the extra bells and whistles. Iterative upgrades include a move to the 3nm Exynos 2500 chipset and support for Bluetooth 5.4. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 RAM 12GB Storage 5256GB/12GB Battery 4300mAh Operating System Android 16 with One UI 8 The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 is a compact, pocket-sized AI phone featuring the largest-ever 4.1-inch, edge-to-edge FlexWindow and the slimmest design in the series yet. It packs a flagship-level 50MP camera and the largest battery ever in a Galaxy Z Flip, delivering powerful performance and enhanced AI functionality directly from the cover screen. $1100 at Samsung Expand Collapse If you place your order via Samsung today, you can expect to receive your device roughly around the end of the month. Samsung is offering up to $1,000 in trade-in value for Z Fold 7 buyers, and up to $600 for the Z Flip 7. Elsewhere, the devices are also available to pick up at your local retailer and through all major carriers, including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.

Samsung shows us exactly how much better the Galaxy Z Fold 7's camera really is

I refuse to waste my money on a flagship phone, and you should too To put things simply, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a hit. After years of complaints about its incremental refinements, Samsung really went all out this time, delivering a significant design change, along with new hardware. While the slim design will be the thing that's talked about most, Samsung also improved the cameras on the phone as well, utilizing new hardware and also some AI. Related The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the first time I love a Samsung foldable Not just for enthusiasts anymore Posts 1 Exactly what people have been asking for Samsung shared insight on why the cameras on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 are so good, and the piece of hardware that stands out most is the new 200MP sensor used for the main camera. Of course, it's not all about hardware this time around, with Samsung also crediting its "ProVisual Engine boasting more than 160 AI-powered imaging technologies." Now, despite the camera being new for the Galaxy Z Fold 7, it's a piece of hardware that we've seen before, because it is the same camera found in the Galaxy S25 Ultra. In addition, Samsung also highlights the 12MP ultrawide camera found on the Z Fold 7 as well, sharing that this camera delivers better image quality thanks to its ability to autofocus. The front-facing camera's 100-degree angle makes it possible to get everyone in the shot now without a huge struggle, and the brand also makes use of its "Dual Camera Depth Calibration" technology, which allows cameras to seamlessly switch from one lens to another when needed in order to get the clearest images possible. As you can imagine, Samsung also focused its efforts in improving nighttime photos and videos as well, because that's where most cameras tend to struggle. With the Galaxy Z Fold 7, you get crisper images with less pixelation thanks to Samsung's AI tech, which is really putting in some work in order to achieve these new enhanced levels of photography and videography. This really is the best camera experience that you'll get from any Samsung foldable phone. While preorder promotions have now come and gone, you can still get a pretty good deal on the phone if you're looking to buy one. Amazon and other retailers are now offering up to a $200 gift card when you purchase the phone, which is quite a good deal. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 8.5 / 10 SoC Snapdragon 8 Elite RAM 12GB or 16GB Storage 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB Battery 4,400mAh The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the thinnest and lightest in the series to date, integrating a powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor for enhanced AI capabilities and a 200MP pro-grade camera. Built for enhanced durability with an Armor FlexHinge and Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, the device features a wider 6.5-inch cover screen and unfolds into an expansive 8.0-inch main display for immersive viewing and productivity. $2000 at Amazon $2000 at Best Buy Expand Collapse

Samsung finally gave us the foldables we wanted, and buyers are responding in record numbers

Samsung didn't hit the mark with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 in 2024. Sales were soft, and it was to be expected, since the company didn't give buyers too many reasons to get excited about last year's foldable crop. Innovation matters, especially when you're asking customers to part with big bucks. The Galaxy Z Fold phones don't come cheap, and if you're spending close to $2,000, you want excitement. We expected stronger sales this year, but it was a wait-and-see situation. Read our review The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the first time I love a Samsung foldable Not just for enthusiasts anymore Posts 1 Samsung recognizes this with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 in 2025, giving us more stylish devices with tangible improvements. It hasn't gone unnoticed with buyers, as the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is enjoying its highest pre-order sales figures for a Galaxy Z Fold ever -- over 50% more than the previous generation. Combined, the new foldables account for a 25% increase in year-over-year pre-orders. Carrier store pre-orders increased nearly 60%, something Samsung attributes to customers getting to touch and feel the changes. I don't doubt that played a role, but it's also easier for buyers to stomach the high cost of foldables through carrier finance contracts. Still, people have to decide to buy, and Samsung's done an excellent job making that more attractive this year. Samsung discovered what Motorola had already realized Samsung didn't just quote general percentages for pre-order sales. It also added something about color variants. Half of all Galaxy Z Fold 7 pre-orders were for the gorgeous Blue Shadow color, and Coralred accounted for 25% of Galaxy Z Flip 7 pre-orders. Color and style matter, especially for the Galaxy Z Flip 7. It's a more attainable phone for casual users, and people buy it for the design. That's why the Motorola Razr enjoyed success despite several disadvantages compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 6 -- it had a better cover screen display, and the phones were more attractive. Samsung leveled the playing field in 2025, and the sales figures are backing that up. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a more complicated case, but I see an increased appeal. First, it's a significant improvement over the previous generation, so users who were holding onto older Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Fold 5 devices would be keen to upgrade. It's thin and light to carry, and the increased cover display size makes typing and apps more enjoyable. Samsung's also done more to entice casual users to give the Galaxy Z Fold 7 a chance. Its $2,000 price tag still keeps it mostly to enthusiasts, but carrier finance deals soften the blow -- meaning people who are used to a $40 or $50 monthly phone payment might be willing to try. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has other advantages. It's the first time the software has started to take advantage of the expansive screen real estate. I never recommended book-style foldables for anyone but enthusiasts, as I could never justify the high price for the functionality we received. Still, Samsung is changing that with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Editing photos is easier with side-by-side comparisons of the changes. Samsung's 90:10 multitasking split is also an improvement, allowing me to quickly get information from one app or respond to a notification without pulling me away from my task. Content creators will love the way you can manipulate the display to take better selfies and vlog footage, and you'll enjoy editing TikTok videos on the 8-inch internal panel. All told, it's no surprise Samsung is enjoying improved Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip sales this year -- I'm just wondering what took so long. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 SoC Snapdragon 8 Elite RAM 12GB or 16GB Storage 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB Battery 4,400mAh Ports USB-C Operating System One UI 8 The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the thinnest and lightest in the series to date, integrating a powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor for enhanced AI capabilities and a 200MP pro-grade camera. Built for enhanced durability with an Armor FlexHinge and Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, the device features a wider 6.5-inch cover screen and unfolds into an expansive 8.0-inch main display for immersive viewing and productivity. $2000 at Samsung Expand Collapse Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 SoC Exynos 2500 RAM 12GB Storage 5256GB/12GB Battery 4300mAh Operating System Android 16 with One UI 8 Front camera 10MP The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 is a compact, pocket-sized AI phone featuring the largest-ever 4.1-inch, edge-to-edge FlexWindow and the slimmest design in the series yet. It packs a flagship-level 50MP camera and the largest battery ever in a Galaxy Z Flip, delivering powerful performance and enhanced AI functionality directly from the cover screen. $1100 at Samsung Expand Collapse

Best Galaxy Z Flip 7 deals -- get Samsung's new foldable for free

The first Galaxy Z Flip 7 deals are now live. The new phone costs $1,099, whereas the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE -- which is a slightly paired down version -- costs $899. If you're looking to save money, the best Galaxy Z Flip 7 deals come from Samsung. You can get $770 off the Galaxy Z Flip 7 at Samsung. Plus, you'll get a free storage upgrade to 512GB. Likewise, Samsung is taking up to $560 off the Galaxy Z Flip FE and offering a free storage upgrade to 256GB. In our Galaxy Z Flip 7 review, we called Samsung's new mobile flip phone perfection. We especially like its robust camera features, helpful multimodal AI functionality, and support for Samsung DeX, which lets you use your phone as a desktop. If you're eager to get Samsung's new foldables, there are many Galaxy Z Flip 7 deals you can get right now. Verizon, Samsung, and AT&T are just a few of the retailers offering early deals. (For more ways to save, check out our guide to the best Samsung promo codes).

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 sales surge by 50% -- 'strongest launch ever for a Z Fold device'

Consumers have been so impressed by the changes Samsung made to its new foldable phones that they responded in a big way -- as the Z Fold 7 produced a record-breaking milestone for the company. In a press release, Samsung says that it had "more Galaxy Z Fold7 pre-orders than any previous Z Fold device in US history." That's remarkable considering that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 saw its price increase to $1,999, up from the $1,899 of the prior Z Fold 6. Compared to its predecessor, the Z Fold 7 sales are up 50% since officially launching on July 25. All of this shows how there's significant interest in this best foldable phone contender. Despite being one of the most expensive phones on the market, Samsung has delivered a sleeker design that makes the Z Fold 7 one of the thinnest phones available. It's hard to fathom how thin and light it is unless you actually put it side-by-side with other flagship phones, including the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Additionally, it also helps that the Z Fold 7 gets the same 200MP main cameras as the S25 Ultra -- while adding new Galaxy AI features and multimodal capabilities with Gemini Live. Preorder sales for the Galaxy Z Flip 7 are also up, with both models seeing a 25% increase in preorders compared to their predecessors. This is the strongest launch Samsung has seen to date with its foldable phone releases, which is impressive given that we're seven generations in at this point. In our Galaxy Z Flip 7 review, we were particularly impressed by its larger outer screen and the introduction of Samsung DeX. The response is clearly a positive one for Samsung, as we're heading into the fall, where we'll see other phone releases -- like the Pixel 10 and iPhone 17. "Foldables have reached an inflection point as they are becoming a mainstream choice for users," said Drew Blackard, Senior Vice President of Mobile Product Management at Samsung Electronics America. "When people go hands-on with a Z series device, they're hooked -- and now it's all coming together with record-breaking numbers." Clearly, the redesign with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 has struck a chord with many consumers, especially given how the Galaxy S25 Edge ushered in this new thin design philosophy with reportedly sluggish sales. Going forward, though, it'll be interesting to see how the company evolves its phone design with future devices like the Galaxy S26. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.

Samsung Launches Galaxy Z Fold7, Galaxy Z Flip7 and Galaxy Watch8 Series Globally Starting Today

Multimodal AI-powered foldables debut alongside ultra-comfortable smartwatches that deliver instant health insights -- experience the latest devices at your nearby store Samsung Electronics today announced the global availability of its latest foldable smartphones, Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7, as well as its new Galaxy Watch8 series. Refined by years of breakthrough engineering and elevated with advanced intelligence, Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 represent the next leap in smartphone innovation. Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 are Samsung's thinnest, lightest and most advanced Z series devices yet. Powered by cutting-edge performance and seamlessly integrated Galaxy AI, they are intelligent, adaptive companions that anticipate and respond to user needs in real time. With expansive, flexible displays, pro-grade cameras and context-aware intelligence, Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 open up new realms of ultra experience with productivity, creativity and connection. Galaxy Z Fold7 brings Galaxy advancements together and broadens their scope, delivering an ultra-level experience in the thinnest, lightest and most advanced Z series yet. It offers immersive, high-octane performance on an expansive screen, empowering users to game, stream, connect and create all at once. Galaxy's true AI companion experience has also been optimized for the foldable format, enabling fluid interactions across more apps and the larger screen. And with camera and screen sharing with Gemini Live, users can talk naturally to Gemini about what they're viewing. They can simply share a picture of a local delicacy while they're exploring a new city and ask Gemini whether there is a nearby restaurant where they can try it. Plus, Galaxy Z Fold7's ultra-grade 200 MP high-resolution camera gives the freedom to shoot at flexible angles, putting professional-quality content creation at users' fingertips. For example, convenient editing features like Generative Edit now automatically detect passersby in the background of photos and proactively recommend what to remove, eliminating the need to make manual selections and edits. Apart from these features, Galaxy Z Fold7 brings familiarity and durability in a head-turning new design that unfolds into something extraordinary. As for Galaxy Z Flip7, it distills flagship power, intelligence and personality into a compact and iconic form. With its edge-to-edge FlexWindow, users can express themselves, access key features at a glance and stay connected -- all without opening the device. Built for dynamic lifestyles, Galaxy Z Flip7 transforms the way users capture and share content, from flawless selfies to cinematic video, all with the agility and creativity only Flip devices can offer. Now Bar delivers helpful information right on Galaxy Z Flip7's FlexWindow to help users stay in control of their day, such as what song is playing, workout progress and even rideshare ETAs at a glance. Gemini Live also allows users to share what they see through their camera and chat with Gemini in real time directly on FlexWindow. So, they can ask for travel tips while road tripping with their dog or outfit suggestions based on the day's weather. Users can also simply share the camera in Flex Mode and converse with Gemini hands-free. Galaxy Z Flip7's FlexCam makes it easier than ever to capture the perfect selfie. Real-time filters on the FlexWindow instantly enhance users FlexCam selfies, so that they can be ready to post or share without the need for any extra editing. And with fun new features like Portrait Studio for pets, users can instantly transform any snapped or downloaded pet photo into a work of art. They can choose from styles that resemble artistic paintings, 3D cartoons, fisheye lens photos or professional-quality portraits and create frame-worthy masterpieces with one quick tap. Years of breakthrough engineering have led foldables to become flexible canvases for the new AI experience. As a new class of smartphones designed to fit in with and elevate user lives, Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7 represent this achievement. Familiar yet transformative, they blend power, portability, style and substance, whether users seek a revolutionary, ultra-level experience or an AI powerhouse that fits in their pocket. As form factors evolve to look and think differently, this generation of foldables represents the next leap in smartphone innovation. Completing the Galaxy ecosystem, the Galaxy Watch8 series -- including Galaxy Watch8 and Galaxy Watch8 Classic -- brings the same spirit of re-engineering found in the new phones to the wrist. Galaxy Watch8 features advanced sensor technology and creates an intuitive AI-powered experience to help users fulfill a healthier, more connected life, while its ultra-thin cushion design and Dynamic Lug system flex naturally for all-day comfort and more precise sensor contact. Leveraging Samsung's BioActive Sensor for continuous health tracking, the watches deliver real-time insights and instant rewards or alerts across sleep, stress, nutrition and activity, turning healthy intentions into immediate, motivating feedback. Plus, for the first time in a smartwatch, Galaxy Watch8 has introduced the Antioxidant Index, enabling users to measure carotenoid levels in just five seconds and make informed lifestyle choices for healthy aging. After Unpacked, Samsung opened its Galaxy Experience Spaces in major cities including Dubai, London, New York, Paris and Seoul. Designed to offer consumers an early, hands-on experience of the newest Galaxy devices, these spaces featured interactive zones that highlighted the devices' design, performance and Galaxy AI features. Samsung also partnered with local communities including running, photography and skateboarding groups to host various sessions, teaching visitors how they can get the most out of their new devices. In addition, Samsung launched a new Experience Store locator feature on Samsung.com, making it easier for users to find nearby stores and try the newest devices in person. Galaxy Z Fold7, Galaxy Z Flip7, Galaxy Watch8 and Galaxy Watch8 Classic will be available for purchase at Samsung.com and in stores across 49 markets starting July 25, before being made available in over 110 markets worldwide. Galaxy Z Fold7 is offered in Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow, Jetblack and an online-exclusive Mint. Galaxy Z Flip7 comes in Jetblack, Blue Shadow, Coralred and an online-exclusive Mint. Galaxy Z Flip7 FE, which brings the foldable experience to a wider audience, is available in Black or White. So far, Blue Shadow has emerged as the most popular color globally for both Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7, accounting for nearly 40% of pre-orders for both devices. Galaxy Watch8 is available in two sizes -- 44 mm and 40 mm -- and comes in Graphite or Silver. Galaxy Watch8 Classic comes in 46 mm with Black or White options, while the new Galaxy Watch Ultra is offered in four titanium finishes, including the new Titanium Blue. For greater peace of mind, Samsung Care+ offers comprehensive coverage for accidental damage, repairs and replacements. Plus, for users who love having the latest technology, Samsung is introducing the New Galaxy Club. Users can get expanded access to Google AI Pro and 2 TB of cloud storage for 6 months at no cost with Galaxy Z Fold7, Galaxy Z Flip7 and Galaxy Z Flip7 FE.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 review: great-looking and fun, but iterative Android

Flagship flip folder fits even bigger screen pocketable clamshell, with a larger cover display, slightly slimmer design and faster chip Samsung's seventh-generation Flip phone trims the fat, gains a bigger cover screen on the outside and a larger folding display on the inside, but fundamentally doesn't reinvent the wheel. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 joins the book-style Z Fold 7 as Samsung's two flagship folding phones for 2025. Like its predecessors, the Flip's biggest selling point is that it takes one of the largest screens on a Samsung and folds it in half for a more pocket-friendly size. Costing from £1,049 (€1,199/$1,099/A$1,799) it is similar in price to the regular S25+ and super-thin S25 Edge, but with a slightly larger screen. The Flip 7 is slightly taller and wider than its predecessor accommodating the larger 6.9in inner display. It is also thinner than the Flip 6 by 1.2mm when folded, but you would be hard pressed to notice the difference, unlike the transformational change given to the Fold 7 this year. The new larger cover display on the outside fills the top half of the Flip 7 encircling the cameras and LED flash. It is able to fit more text from notifications and widgets on display, but it also looks far better than predecessors. Choose a good wallpaper and it looks stunning, particularly in the dark metallic blue colour. The Flip 7 has hardened glass on the outside, but the internal screen is still covered by a necessarily softer layer that picks up fingerprints, suffers from glare and can be easily marked. It requires more care than a regular slab phone. The Flip is water resistant but not dust resistant, so must be kept away from fine particles that might gum up its hinge. The Flip 7 has a Samsung Exynos 2500 chip, which is a high-end processor similar to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite used in the rest of Samsung's flagship phone line. It won't win any raw performance awards, but day to day it made the Flip 7 feel rapid with a solid gaming experience, even if the phone got quite warm during prolonged sessions. The battery life is falls slightly short of the Flip's predecessors lasting about 36 hours between charges while on a mix of 5G and wifi and actively using the screen for about six hours. That roughly matches the smallest S25 model and means the Flip 7 will see out a heavy-use day with most people needing to charge it nightly. Note that prolonged use on 5G had a greater drain on the battery than Qualcomm-equipped Samsung phones. The Flip 7 is one of the first Samsung phones, alongside the Z Fold 7, to run One UI 8 (Android 16) out of the box. It is one of the best versions of Android available offering deep customisation and solid performance. It looks and behaves very much like the software on the standard S25 line, including various AI tools across writing, image editing and generation, transcription and translation, and so on. It also has Google's AI services including Gemini and Circle to Search. The Now bar is great, showing currently ongoing activities such as sport scores, music playback, timers, alarms and other bits. The Flip 7 has some additional tools to make use of the folding form. The useful flex mode moves the content, site or app to the top half of the screen and puts controls on the bottom half when you fold the Flip into an L-shape. It also has multiple tools to use the outside screen. You can view notifications, answer texts, control music or system settings, access various widgets including a voice recorder and calculator, plus talk to Gemini without opening the phone. A handful of apps including Google Maps, messages, WhatsApp, Netflix and YouTube can be opened on the outside screen too. But to use other apps on the cover screen requires downloading Samsung's MultiStar plugin from the Galaxy Store, which is simple enough but should be a default feature. Samsung will provide Android and security updates until 31 July 2032. The camera is one of the weaker areas of the Flip 7. It has a 50-megapixel main and 12MP ultra wide camera on the cover screen and a 10MP selfie camera on the inside. The selfie camera is OK but not great, suffering in low light though perfectly fine for video calls. Instead you get much better results using the main camera for selfies with the cover screen as the viewfinder. The main camera does shoot great photos outdoors and in good light, with plenty of detail and solid colours, but can be a bit dark, grey and grainy indoors or in difficult lighting conditions. The ultra-wide camera is decent for landscapes but struggles in lower light settings. The camera has plenty of fun modes, including the ability to shoot photos and video partially folded like an old-school handycam or propped up for hands-free selfies. Overall the Flip 7 shoots decent photos but its cameras aren't quite on par with what you get on standard flagship phones. The battery has an expected lifespan of at least 2,000 full-charge cycles with at least 80% of its original capacity. The phone is generally repairable. Inside screen repairs cost about £294. Samsung offers a self-repair programme, as well as Care+ accidental damage insurance that reduces the cost of repairs to £119. The Flip 7 is made from recycled aluminium, cobalt, copper, glass, gold, lithium, plastic, rare-earth elements and steel, accounting for 18.2% of the weight. Samsung offers trade-in and recycling schemes for old devices, and breaks down the phone's environmental impact in its report (pdf). The Flip 7 is Samsung's most attractive flip phone yet, but the biggest upgrade is the larger cover display on the outside. The rest of the phone is pretty similar to its predecessors. The internal folding display is great, but soft and needs care. The fingerprint scanner in the power button is fantastic, but is placed a bit too high up the side of the phone. The cameras are decent but not up to the same standards of regular flagship phones, while the battery life is a bit on the short side. The software is great and comes with seven years of updates. But it all feels very iterative. The Flip 7 is the still the best way to fit a large screen in a small pocket, but it's crying out for the kind of transformational redesign given to its larger Fold 7 sibling this year.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, Z Flip7, Watch8: Now Available Globally!

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 represent the pinnacle of foldable smartphone technology, combining innovative engineering with intuitive AI capabilities. These devices are Samsung's thinnest and lightest foldables yet, offering users a seamless blend of power, portability, and style. With expansive displays, pro-grade cameras, and adaptive intelligence, these smartphones redefine productivity, creativity, and connectivity. The Galaxy Z Fold7 features a spacious, tablet-like screen when unfolded, allowing for immersive multitasking and entertainment experiences. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip7's compact, clamshell design fits easily in a pocket or purse, making it the perfect companion for those on the go. Whether you're multitasking on the Fold7's immersive screen or capturing flawless selfies with the Flip7's FlexCam, these devices are designed to elevate your everyday experiences. Both the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 are powered by Samsung's advanced Galaxy AI, which anticipates and responds to user needs in real time. The Fold7's Gemini Live feature allows users to share their screen or camera feed while receiving instant recommendations, such as nearby dining options or travel tips. This AI-driven functionality enhances collaboration and decision-making, whether you're working remotely or exploring a new city. Meanwhile, the Flip7's FlexWindow provides quick access to essential information like music controls, workout progress, and even rideshare ETAs -- all without opening the device. This convenient feature ensures that you stay connected and informed, even when your phone is closed. These AI-driven features make the Galaxy Z series not just smartphones, but intelligent companions that adapt to your lifestyle. The Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 showcase Samsung's commitment to creating devices that are both stylish and built to last. Both smartphones feature a redesigned hinge mechanism, which allows for smoother folding and unfolding while minimizing the appearance of a crease on the screen. The devices are constructed with Armor Aluminum, Samsung's strongest aluminum frame yet, and equipped with Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the cover screen and rear glass, providing enhanced scratch and drop resistance. The Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 also boast an IPX8 water resistance rating, ensuring that they can withstand accidental splashes or exposure to rain. With a range of stunning color options, including the online-exclusive Mint, these foldable smartphones combine durability and style in one attractive package. The Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 are now available globally, with prices starting at £1,799 for the Fold7 and £1,049 for the Flip7. For those seeking a more affordable option, the Flip7 FE starts at £849. Both devices are available in a range of stunning colors, including the online-exclusive Mint. The Galaxy Watch8 series, starting at £319, complements the Z series with advanced health tracking and a sleek design. All products can be purchased at Samsung.com and select retailers, with exclusive offers like free Samsung Care+ for three months and additional perks for early buyers. For those intrigued by Samsung's innovative ecosystem, the Galaxy Watch8 series offers a perfect complement to the Z series smartphones. With advanced health tracking, real-time insights, and a sleek design, these smartwatches are ideal for anyone looking to lead a healthier, more connected life. The BioActive Sensor monitors key health metrics like heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and stress, while the new Antioxidant Index feature provides a comprehensive assessment of your overall well-being. The Galaxy Watch8 series also introduces a Dynamic Lug system, which allows for easy strap changes to suit your style or activity. Additionally, Samsung's Galaxy Experience Spaces in major cities provide hands-on opportunities to explore these devices and their features. Visitors can interact with the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7, test out the Galaxy Watch8 series, and learn about Samsung's ecosystem of connected devices. These immersive spaces showcase how Samsung's products work together seamlessly to enhance productivity, creativity, and wellness in everyday life. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or a casual user, Samsung's latest offerings are sure to impress. With the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 leading the charge in foldable smartphone innovation, and the Galaxy Watch8 series providing advanced health tracking and stylish design, Samsung continues to push the boundaries of what's possible in mobile technology. As these devices become more accessible and affordable, it's clear that the future of smartphones is foldable, and Samsung is at the forefront of this exciting revolution. Source Samsung

Galaxy Z Fold7 Hits Record Popularity in India, Sold Out in Multiple Regions

"Samsung's seventh generation of foldable smartphones, notably the Galaxy Z Fold7, has demonstrated remarkable sales performance across our retail network. We are observing a surge in demand, with many of our flagship stores in key urban areas experiencing stock depletion. This indicates a strong customer reception of the foldable smartphones," said Sandeep Singh Jolly, Chief Operating Officer at Electronics Mart India Ltd(Bajaj Electronics). Uvaraj Natarajan, Founder and CEO, Poorvika Mobiles, said, "Galaxy Z Fold7 has been a great success with a fabulous response across regions. Stocks are getting liquidated as soon as they are getting delivered to our stores." Designed as a true multimodal agent, One UI 8 available in the Galaxy Z Fold7 helps seamlessly combine large-screen multitasking with intelligent tools that understand what users' type, say and even see. Thanks to Google's Gemini Live, users can share their screen in real time while speaking with the AI assistant -- enabling contextual requests based on what's visible. In addition, One UI 8 brings enhanced privacy to personalized AI experiences with the new Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection (KEEP). KEEP creates encrypted, app-specific storage environments within the device's secure storage area, ensuring each app can access only its own sensitive information and nothing more. The Armor FlexHinge on Galaxy Z Fold7 is thinner and lighter, thanks to an enhanced water droplet design and newly implemented multi-rail structure that reduces visible creasing. The cover display is made with Corning® Gorilla® Glass Ceramic 2, a new glass ceramic that has crystals intricately embedded within its glass matrix. Advanced Armor Aluminum in the frame and hinge housing increases strength and hardness by 10%. The main display is restructured to be thinner and lighter -- yet stronger. This was achieved by implementing the Titanium plate layer. Additionally, Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) was increased to be 50% thicker, making the display tougher. Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, Galaxy Fold7 delivers stupendous performance boosts of 41% in NPU, 38% in CPU, and 26% in GPU compared to the previous generation. This power fuels Galaxy Z Fold7's ability to process more AI experiences on-device without compromise. In addition, with the first 200MP wide-angle camera in the Galaxy Z series, it captures 4x more detail, producing images that are 44% brighter. In addition, Samsung's next-generation ProVisual Engine processes images faster.

Samsung Unveils New $2,000 Z Fold 7

The new Z Fold 7 is Samsung's most impressive phone yet, with an impressively thin chassis, but also its most expensive. On July 9th, Samsung held its latest Galaxy Unpacked event, showcasing its new smartwatches and new folding phone lineup. The Flip is a small but impressive upgrade that makes the Flip a more compelling phone than ever before, as you can read about in my preview piece. The Fold is a far more comprehensive and impressive update, but an even harder recommendation than before. This has little to do with the phone's hardware, which ranks among the most impressive on the market, and everything to do with the price, which starts at an outrageous $2,000. That's for 256GB storage, and Samsung hasn't said how much the 512GB or 1TB storage versions will cost, but expect close to $2,500 for the top-of-the-line version; or the same price as a MacBook Air and a 1TB iPhone 16 Pro Max. There's an old expression that "there's no such thing as a bad product, just a bad price," and no matter how good this phone looks, $2,000 is a terrible price. If you can get a great carrier deal and a good trade-in value, then it might still be worth considering. But even so, I would save a lot of money and go for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold or the OnePlus Open instead. But if $2,000 is pocket change to you and you just want to buy a great phone, then Samsung has made an impressive phone. Every Fold since the third generation has been an iterative upgrade, but the Z Fold 7 is dramatically thinner and lighter than previous generations, down to 8.9mm thin, from 12.1mm on the Z Fold 6. For reference, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 8.25 mm thick, and actually weighs more than the Fold 7; and where previous Folds used a slightly narrow cover screen, this is wider, so closer to a classic phone screen. That cover screen also has Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, a new form of ceramic-coated glass, and the inside folding screen is tougher too, courtesy of its new Armor FlexHinge and improved screen durability. It comes with the same flagship chips as you get in other flagship Galaxy phones -- as you would need for the price -- and it shares the same fine IP48 water and dust resistance of last year's model. There are changes to the cameras though. On the inside, the Fold now uses a standard punch-hole camera, rather than the under-screen camera of the previous generation, which was innovative but blurry and bad. My view is that the inside screen shouldn't have a selfie camera, and then this large folding screen could go uninterrupted, but this is at least usable. On the back of the phone, the camera display is broadly the same as before, except for the primary camera, which now can put out 200-megapixel photographs. That sounds impressive, but large megapixel counts don't say a lot about photo quality -- which is why they've left the outdated ultrawide and zoom cameras at 12-megapixel and 10-megapixels respectively -- so it will come down to testing. It's hard to complain about the phone's hardware, and the software is great too. It comes with seven years of software updates, the latest Samsung UI -- running on Android 16 -- and a ton of AI features, powered by Google's Gemini assistant. The only downgrade from previous versions of the Fold is that it no longer supports Samsung's S-Pen stylus. Samsung's defense is that, although some users loved it, it was rarely used by those customers, and never by most others; and by removing support, Samsung could make the Fold 7 thinner. I think that, if you're paying $2,000 for a phone, you should be getting all the features, even if you don't use them. Then again, I would never pay $2,000 for a phone, so I'm the wrong person to say.

Samsung Updates Galaxy Flip Lineup

Samsung's new Z Flip 7 phones make the modern flip-phone formula even more compelling, with tougher construction and better screens. Apple holds its iPhone event every September, as the perfect run-up period for the holiday, and because every other phone manufacturer has the same supply constraints and sales demands, they then announce most of their big models around it too. However, with manufacturers releasing so many different skews, across so many price points, several are now eschewing this window for their more budget or alternative products. And so, at the beginning of the month, Nothing released their new Phone (3); and at the end of the month, Samsung's new folding phones will go on sale. Though the new Fold is the phone that has grabbed the most attention -- because of its new impressive thinness and new outrageous price -- the Flip line has always been the better seller for Samsung. The Flip format doesn't provide the tablet-in-a-pocket experience of the Fold, but, instead, it gives the same features and size of a regular phone, for roughly the same price as a standard phone, but without taking up as much pocket space, which is particularly important for women buyers. There's also something immensely satisfying about hanging up on someone by closing a phone shut. The Z Flip 7 doesn't provide many significant changes over its predecessor, but every tweak makes it a more competent and compelling package than ever before. To start, much like it's Fold sibling, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the thinnest Flip ever, if only by a single millimetre, but has a slightly bigger folding screen -- up from 6.7'' to 6.9'' -- and comes with their improved "Armor FlexHinge," and new screen layers, meaning it should also be more durable than previous generations. I've seen more broken Flips than any other phone model, so hopefully this makes them a bit tougher; though it's uncertain whether these changes will affect the repair prices. The phones have the same IP48 water and dust resistance as the last generation Flip. Though the inside display is improved, it's the cover screen that sees the biggest update, now going edge-to-edge, wrapping around the main cameras, like the newest Motorola Razer. With a total dimension of 4.1'', it's a genuinely useful screen, with tiny bezels and a 120Hz refresh rate. You can use this outside screen as a full-blooded phone display, but they also benefit from the software management of their previous, smaller screens, with various app controls always available through a pill-shaped widget in the gap beside the cameras. They've also optimised Samsung UI for better cover screen customisation, allowing your wallpaper and clock to adjust to the cover and main screen sizes dynamically. The software is exactly what you'd expect on a new Samsung release -- their latest One UI 8, running on Android 16, and packed with Google-supplied, Gemini-powered AI features. It has seven years of software support, six months free of Google's AI subscription, and all of this now runs on Samsung's in-house Exynos 2500 chipset, instead of a Snapdragon unit. Exynos chips used to be underpowered and unreliable but those days are long gone, and the average customer won't be able to tell the difference between this and a Snapdragon-powered version. The charging speeds remain at 25W wired, as does the camera hardware -- with a 50-megapixel main camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide -- but it now comes with a slightly larger battery, going from 4,000mAh to 4,300mAh. Most importantly, the price remains unchanged, starting at $1,099. If you're interested in buying one though, I would advise waiting -- they often get heavily discounted -- or just shopping around for a good carrier deal. There's also a new Z Flip 7 FE, which is basically just the Flip 6, and starts at $899. I'm not giving this much attention, as neither is Samsung -- no American carrier is selling it -- and interested customers should buy a discounted Flip 6 instead. The Z Flip 7 and Z Flip 7 FE are available for pre-order and release on July 25th.