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 light-weight design, a powerful hinge and a wider coverscreen.
• It’s extremely costly at $2,000 for the beginning configuration.
• However you may dig the improved {hardware}, particularly when you’re aware of foldable telephones from the worldwide market.

extra shopping for decisions

jul / 2025

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s greatest design overhaul for the reason that Z Fold 2 in 2020, and it is again with a bang. During the last three years, the Korean tech large 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 completely happy to report that Samsung has made some rattling near-perfect {hardware}. You get an easy-to-hold kind issue, just about no crease, a canopy display screen that is near a daily cellphone in itself, a stable hinge, and the identical fundamental digicam because the Galaxy S25 Extremely. 

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

An (virtually) excellent bodily kind

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures simply 4.2mm skinny when unfolded and eight.9mm folded. For context, that is a number of 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 in the marketplace 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 light-weight design makes it probably the most comfy to carry Galaxy Z Fold cellphone but — when you maintain it in the precise hand. For those who’re left-handed, the hinge corners may dig into your palm, which was additionally a difficulty on the predecessor. That stated, 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 encompasses a stronger Gorilla Glass Victus Ceramic 2 on the duvet display screen, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the again, and a Titanium plate layer as an alternative of a carbon fiber sheet below the display screen 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 screen, too. It is not fixated on the slender kind issue, enabling the 6.5-inch AMOLED display screen with a 21:9 facet ratio so apps work together higher and play alongside nicely with the entire slab phone-like really feel. It is brilliant sufficient to see open air and has the identical 120Hz dynamic refresh price and HDR10+ assist because the internal show. Texting, scrolling by way of social media, and searching the net on a Samsung cowl display screen feels refreshing.  

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

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

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

When you settle for that the digicam is not going wherever, you may respect the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s eight-inch LTPO AMOLED 2X panel with assist for HDR10+ and a 120Hz dynamic refresh price. I like its vivid colours and high-contrast look. However like earlier than, the internal show attracts extra smudges than the duvet display screen. 

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

Coming to the perfect a part of the folding display screen, there’s just about no crease. Samsung’s new butterfly hinge mechanism has efficiently negated it. In reality, Galaxy Z Fold 7 has the least quantity of crease on any book-style folding cellphone 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 way of the center of the display screen. 

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

The hinge, too, feels extra premium than different foldables. For those who’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, however it will get higher as you employ it. After every week of use, my unit not unfolds flat until as much as roughly 135 levels. I had an analogous 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 screen with UDC and deep crease or Fold 7’s punch-hole-clad display screen with lesser crease, I would decide the latter. 

I can not pinpoint why the Galaxy Z Fold 7 feels extra premium than different foldables in the marketplace however it’s in all probability a mix of a number of components: thinner and lighter design, least crease and flat sides that are not unergonomic (in the precise hand) to carry. It’s barely more durable to unfold, however you may get used to it inside the first 48 hours.

Samsung eliminated one other function 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 cellphone 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 digicam improve

Samsung’s new Fold runs Android 16-based One UI 8, with Samsung’s Galaxy AI having probably the most full suite of synthetic intelligence options. The cellphone 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 cellphone’s AI options helpful. For instance, the AI Choose function enables you to click on something in your display screen to take actions. From transcribing interview recordings to eradicating undesirable objects in my photographs, there are many helpful AI instruments that really work. 

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

Coming from a OnePlus cellphone not too long ago, I feel Samsung may benefit from displaying comparable pop-ups for on-call options like transcribe and translate. As of now, you must swipe down and faucet on the Reside Translate tile from fast panel to make use of the function, which is not as simple to make use of. 

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

This digicam system produces vibrant-looking photographs in most eventualities. I like to recommend capturing most photographs in 200MP mode, so you may crop them later and but retain the main points, because the 3x tele lens is not the perfect. 

I want Samsung let customers change between lenses within the 200MP mode. As of now, you get choices for 1x, 4x, and 5x (you may zoom at any stage from 1x to 5x) however to vary to ultrawide, you must change to 12MP mode after which faucet 0.6x. It is a slight inconvenience that I’ve confronted recurrently up 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 provides you probably the most polished photobomber-removal software. 

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

One other cool function for videographers: Audio Eraser can now mechanically detect what to tune out and has a delegated button in your gallery. It made my voice a little bit robotic, however it did nicely to suppress background noise. 

Let’s discuss battery life

Sadly, Samsung did not improve the battery capability on its new foldable. In reality, 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. 

After I first noticed this quantity on paper, I used to be fearful that a tremendous {hardware} could be compromised by a questionable resolution, particularly when competing gadgets 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 machine for reasonable cellphone customers (with about 5-6 hours of each day display screen time). I am not impressed by the charging pace, although.

I often common about 9 hours on my cellphone each day and need to cost my Z Fold 7 each night round 6 PM for my night social media scrolling. For those who’re a heavy cellphone consumer, anticipate to plug in your Z Fold 7 after the work day, or earlier in case your utilization entails plenty 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 cellphone. I would love for it to have a much bigger battery and a greater zoom digicam — the Vivo X Fold 5 has each — however Samsung’s foldable has U.S availability, longer software program assist, and a greater consumer interface. Briefly, that is probably the most polished folding cellphone expertise, for my part. 

Nevertheless, it would not come low-cost. After a $100 worth bump, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s costliest Fold but, beginning at $2,000. For those who can spend that quantity on a smartphone, you may’t go flawed with this cellphone. It is a generational leap over its predecessor, and if yow will discover a superb change provide, I like to recommend upgrading from final yr’s Z Fold 6, too. For those who’re a enterprise skilled or want a cellphone for productiveness, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 must be in your radar.