Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
jul / 2025
For a limited time, you can buy 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.
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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.
An (almost) perfect physical form
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
Useful AI and finally: a camera upgrade
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.
Portrait photos shot on Galaxy Z Fold 7
Prakhar Khanna/ZDNET
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.
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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.
Let’s talk battery life
However, it doesn’t come cheap. After a $100 price bump, the Galaxy Z Fold 7
We awarded the Galaxy Z Fold 7 an Editors’ Choice because Samsung finally redesigned its foldable to compete with Chinese rivals and even bettered them in multiple ways. It is the lightest book-style foldable, which translates to a regular phone-like in-hand feel, and has an intuitive user interface. It is one of the best phones for productivity.
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Source: Information Technologies - zdnet.com
