Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review: The foldable we deserve, but not the one we can afford
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Good walkthrough of the phone from front to back (heh).
I'm likely to still punt on this though, as I'm still very happy with my Fold 6. I do want to add that having used Folds as my daily driver since the Fold 2 (and 3, 5, and 6), most of the compromises of the early days were gone by the Fold 6. The continuing frustrations for me have been charging (though having not had faster-charging phones at least I haven't had to step down in this regard) and camera quality.
Personally, I really have not understood for quite some time the insistence that shaving a few millimeters off of a phone's bulk is revolutionary, or that the slightly-slimmer aspect ratio of the past cover screens made them utterly unusable. I have to wonder if some of this comes from a reviewer's perspective, where you're necessarily having to flit between different designs and will naturally be comparing each device's best against every other's.
Me, I've been very happy with my foldables for a long time now. I'm glad they exist, and beyond the obvious "power user" profile they're great as a replacement for both a phone and tablet (particularly since unifying the devices simplifies things like file and settings sync-- you don't have to!).
The rising prices remain hard to swallow though, even with favorable trade-in deals.
I'm likely to still punt on this though, as I'm still very happy with my Fold 6. I do want to add that having used Folds as my daily driver since the Fold 2 (and 3, 5, and 6), most of the compromises of the early days were gone by the Fold 6. The continuing frustrations for me have been charging (though having not had faster-charging phones at least I haven't had to step down in this regard) and camera quality.
Personally, I really have not understood for quite some time the insistence that shaving a few millimeters off of a phone's bulk is revolutionary, or that the slightly-slimmer aspect ratio of the past cover screens made them utterly unusable. I have to wonder if some of this comes from a reviewer's perspective, where you're necessarily having to flit between different designs and will naturally be comparing each device's best against every other's.
Me, I've been very happy with my foldables for a long time now. I'm glad they exist, and beyond the obvious "power user" profile they're great as a replacement for both a phone and tablet (particularly since unifying the devices simplifies things like file and settings sync-- you don't have to!).
The rising prices remain hard to swallow though, even with favorable trade-in deals.
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My S20U broke a couple of weeks ago, and I seriously considered getting one of these as a replacement. Part of what put me off was the squarish aspect ratio of the inner screen. It would be fine for maps, but not for most other content.
Aside from that, I was concerned about the battery life and general longevity. I'm not someone who upgrades every 2 or 3 years. I was disappointed the S20U only lasted 5 and I hope my new S25U lasts for 7-10. I generally charge it to 85% and it still has 50% left when I go to bed. It could probably last a weekend if I went away and forgot my charger. "A slightly bigger battery would be nice, but not at the expense of the thin profile" is not me.
It looks cool, though.
Aside from that, I was concerned about the battery life and general longevity. I'm not someone who upgrades every 2 or 3 years. I was disappointed the S20U only lasted 5 and I hope my new S25U lasts for 7-10. I generally charge it to 85% and it still has 50% left when I go to bed. It could probably last a weekend if I went away and forgot my charger. "A slightly bigger battery would be nice, but not at the expense of the thin profile" is not me.
It looks cool, though.
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In my 10 years of experience with Samsung phones I say this really leads to a blown-out, washed-out looking overexposure on Automatic mode with colors that don't look nearly as good as real life, nor that match what I can get fiddling amateurishly with Pro mode by changing the aperture and choosing a lower ISO setting. Which means if I want to take a really decent-looking picture, I have to drop to Pro mode. It still leaves a lot of color saturation on the table compared to what I see with my naked eyes, but at least it's less faded.
Anyway, what's the 3rd party case situation for a foldable like this? The camera bump seems to make it more necessary to protect the lenses and keep the bezels from snagging on a pocket when being taken out.
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What’s unfortunate is that with foldable screen tech you could make a truly drop resistant phone but they don’t do that they make it extremely fragile with exterior screens.
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I've had Samsung phones for years because all told they're pretty decent -- a bit boring, a bit uninspired, the AI is total junk, but they're ok. I can't imagine though dropping 2 grand on one though. They're all a bit desperate to find the next form factor after the Monoblock of the iPhone which is nearly 20 years old, but foldable screens aren't it.
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Edubfromktown
Ars Praetorian
I'm unwilling to pay that sort of freight for one.
Even with S25 Ultra trade-in still >$1k which is insanity compared to what I happily use now and paid <$500 out of pocket when pre-ordered with trade-in and discounts.
For larger display needs, I have a sub-$200 (used purchase from liquidator) HP C1030 Elite i7 13.5" 16/128 GB Chromebook (update supported through mid-2030!).
If I break or mangle the CB, it is far less painful to grab another one again on the cheap compared to the agony of a $1400+ retail phablet replacement cost!
Even with S25 Ultra trade-in still >$1k which is insanity compared to what I happily use now and paid <$500 out of pocket when pre-ordered with trade-in and discounts.
For larger display needs, I have a sub-$200 (used purchase from liquidator) HP C1030 Elite i7 13.5" 16/128 GB Chromebook (update supported through mid-2030!).
If I break or mangle the CB, it is far less painful to grab another one again on the cheap compared to the agony of a $1400+ retail phablet replacement cost!
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I genuinely can't control my sense of vicarious embarrassment for whoever decided to ship the "now brief" rather than just not.
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Yet another member of the "what the hell is the point" brigade over here...
I"m so sick and tired of the 'race to the thinnest' instead of 'give e a phone that doesn't instantly require a case purchase to protect it', and 'less and less battery life because its too f***ing thin"
and to reduce the cranky old man on lawn vibe: This was a very well written review.
I"m so sick and tired of the 'race to the thinnest' instead of 'give e a phone that doesn't instantly require a case purchase to protect it', and 'less and less battery life because its too f***ing thin"
and to reduce the cranky old man on lawn vibe: This was a very well written review.
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I can’t get over the screen surface being “softer than your fingernails”. I’m not generally a reckless user of my devices, but I would accidentally scratch that thing on the first day. I don’t know how that isn’t an automatic disqualifier for more people.
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I pre-ordered a S25U and got it 4 days before launch (please don't pre-order hardware, I got a ridiculous discount on it from my employer, that was the only reason) - so far it has been great regardless what I do with it. One advise I HIGHLY recommend following - if you're like me and you very much enjoy high quality video - record your stuff in 4k60 BUT make sure HEVC (H.265) is selected, with HDR enabled and MOST IMPORTANTLY - enable High Bitrate Videos in the advanced settings - I swear I have never seen a phone video this crystal clear in my life before.
As for battery life - getting 2 days consistently every time, though I'm not that heavy of a user unless I'm traveling on vacation (was still getting well over a day with heavy camera usage). Battery health reports 64 cycles with 100% capacity, with a limit of 80% charge since the moment I got it until now, while using Samsung's official 50W charger (and fast-charge enabled).
I will say this though, coming from a S21 FE, in anything other than the camera, I didn't really see any huge improvements other than apps being generally faster to install.
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Especially now with linking phone and tablet. The integration beween my wife's Pixel phone and tablet is pretty good, and I've always been of the view that an 8 inch tablet screen is really too small to be of serious use.
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Agreed, well written review. Absolutely nothing about this phone is compelling for me.
In particular I don't understand the obsession with thinness, only to ignore it by adding a camera bump (and an asymmetrical one at that, no stability on a table).
In particular I don't understand the obsession with thinness, only to ignore it by adding a camera bump (and an asymmetrical one at that, no stability on a table).
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I am, well used to be, pretty tech focused guy. And this is the first time i've been excited about a new phone since the addition of the fish eye lenses to iphones. Not sure I'm ready to drop that much $, cause i'm also getting cheap in my old(er) age, but exciting none the less.
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I hate to be "that guy", but after years of using a samsung phone, now I'm on the Pixel, I'm so happy to have lost the ONE UI bloat. It will be the main reason why I don't ever go back. This review was the first time in years where I was like.. maybe it is worth it to go back?
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Because it's not an actual concern for anyone that uses them.
Yes. The plastic covering is soft enough to be marked - but it just isn't reality in regular daily use. And I say that as someone that has had 8 different foldables (and my Fold 7 will coincidentally be arriving later today). With all of those devices, I've not yet had a screen failure or other permanent damage (though given the cost of the devices, I have purchased insurance for every one of them).
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Cool, does it solve the problem that most folding phone can barely survive a year before the screen breaks? I've had a Flip for around 7 months now, and the rubber gasket around the screen that protects it from dust is beginning to break, and I saw that it's a pretty common issue, just deal with it or pay $400 to Samsung to replace the whole screen.
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If you haven't held a Fold 7 in hand yet, I recommend it. It is a significant change both weight and thickness. I've had the Fold 2-5 in the past - but also the OnePlus Open and both Pixel Folds. As soon as the OnePlus and Pixels came out, I realized I could no longer use that skinny, awkward front display on the Fold (the 5, at the time). I had ordered the Fold 6 when it came out, but despite the claims of it being "wider" it was really no more usable than the previous ones - and I returned it.
The first gen Pixel Fold had the absolute best aspect ratio, IMO - but I realize many people just don't want a device to open into landscape mode and prefer the taller/narrower style. And that's fine.
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Three windows? At the same time? It’s amazing what the sheer efficiency of modern smartphone platforms can achieve with only a mere 6,000x in processor speed and 10,000x in memory capacity.
Now get off my lawn. Because it’s on fire.
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I’m still hesitant to buy any phone which is foldable. It has a crease in the center until I know it’s going to survive for four or five years without that crease having problems or or something.
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If they'd kept the stylus support, I would have considered it for a work phone. I've been using my android for work since shifting to a BYOD company, and it is wildly better than my iOS solution. Notes on documents and drawings, better calendar organization...
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Since I use a case anyway, the decrease in thickness may well be obviated by the need for a case to sink the camera bump.
I actually prefer the thinner aspect ratio of the Folds (the extra width has been nice on the Fold 6, but) as standard aspect ratios these days don't feel very good in the hand when I'm using the device one-handed. That's a personal thing, of course, but it does matter to me.
That being said, design trends will inevitably force me back to standard sizes.
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It will be an instant class action lawsuit for Apple if they introduce a iPhone with a scratchable screen.
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Thin dear lord why not make it either asymmetric with the back as thick as the cameras at least. I need to charge my current phone 3 times a day and have since I purchased it..some of us use our phones
dear lord why not make it either asymmetric with the back as thick as the cameras at least. I need to charge my current phone 3 times a day and have since I purchased it..some of us use our phones
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I've used Z Flip series phones with (often long & sharp) acrylic nail extensions almost every single day since the original model came out five years ago. In that time I've damaged a screen with my fingernails exactly once, when I was actively trying to break it as it was being replaced anyway.
I genuinely dont think its an issue worth worrying about. They're not bulletproof, but they're more than good enough, especially the recent models
Edit: reply to correct person
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I'm two months in with my Razr and still no scratches on the internal screen. It's a concern maybe, and an understandable one, but so far so good.
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Right. It isn’t an actual concern for anyone that uses them… because those who think they’re likely to scratch such a device don’t buy one.
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Exactly. I am notoriously hard on phones. I'm not even entirely sure how, or why, but I always end up with scratches everywhere and I always crack screen protectors regardless of my case choice. I've even broken a USB-C port. The idea of buying a significantly less resilient device that costs more than twice what I usually pay is so absurd it isn't even laughable - it's simply never been a consideration. Even if I got one for free, why would I carry a daily necessity that's less likely to be usable when I need it?
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Guy at work has a foldable I guess Samsung (no clue the year) and I guess he likes it.
I'm not a phone guy so I've never really asked how it is. Seems fine the few times I've seen it open. Not for me but whatever.
I'm not a phone guy so I've never really asked how it is. Seems fine the few times I've seen it open. Not for me but whatever.
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I went from the Fold2 to the Fold7, though it took some serious discounts to get it down to the price of a normal high-end phone. (A bit under 900 euros after selling the Watch Ultra that was part of a bundled purchase, and a whole bunch of pre-order/loyalty coupons.)
My goodness is it thin and light. It's actually incredible. It's very nearly half as thick as my Fold2 and about a third lighter.
I'd gotten completely used to the Fold2's weight and shape, so it suddenly feels like I'm waving around a toy.
Pictures for reference:
I suppose I also have the advantage of never having had the under-display camera nor S-Pen support, so it's really all upgrades for me. (Though I would have preferred the under-display camera, for sure. There's 4 other cameras I could be pointing at my face if I wanted higher quality stills.)
My goodness is it thin and light. It's actually incredible. It's very nearly half as thick as my Fold2 and about a third lighter.
I'd gotten completely used to the Fold2's weight and shape, so it suddenly feels like I'm waving around a toy.
Pictures for reference:
I suppose I also have the advantage of never having had the under-display camera nor S-Pen support, so it's really all upgrades for me. (Though I would have preferred the under-display camera, for sure. There's 4 other cameras I could be pointing at my face if I wanted higher quality stills.)
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To be fair, foldables regressed a lot in thinness to where it actually mattered that they reclaim some ground.
Fully agree though regarding any and every other phone. My wife and I would happily trade a few millimeters of thickness on her iPhone 16 Pro or my Galaxy S25 for more battery life and no camera bumps.
This is a very impressive phone, and Samsung devices are actually may favorite at this point (having used Apple, Pixel, and a LG phones back when those were a thing), but I'd need a heck of a good trade-in offer to ever consider one of these.
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Fold 3,4 and (currently) 6 user here: In most scenarios where the phone is likely to be scratched it will be closed, so there is no issue. And when it's open you always use it with 2 hands so again, it's very unlikely that you will drop it so it can scratch. The only thing you need to pay attention to is to avoid having foreign contaminants on the screen before folding it (e.g. you are on the beach and sand can land on the screen while using it).
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Being someone that primarily rides motorcycles and bicycles, I've pretty much given up on the idea of getting a foldable phone (no phone cases that work for mounting securely to handle bars). Being someone that has no interest in anything AI related, I've also been pretty disappointed in most new devices announced in the last couple years. Doesn't matter if it's phones, laptops/desktops, website updates, or even cars. I just have absolutely no use for AI assistants or chatbots. I can just as quickly google my question and find an answer to it that doesn't have a 50/50 chance of being hallucinated.
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Well, credit where its due. When these first came out they were crazy expensive and had obvious engineering drawbacks. Seems like the 2nd problem is mostly solved.
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There's no doubt that the Fold 7 is a marvel of engineering, but it's still not solving one of the top problems of foldables. What good does the huge foldable screen do if a 16:9 video is nearly the same size with giant letterboxes as it is on the external display? No, video isn't the only use of a larger display, but it's ubiquitous. Everyone watches video, but not everyone is running 3 apps at a time (which I would argue is still better on a widescreen).
The tri-fold phones are on the right track, but a company being "brave" and making a short, wide external display and a widescreen internal display would go a long way.
The tri-fold phones are on the right track, but a company being "brave" and making a short, wide external display and a widescreen internal display would go a long way.
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The screen will survive, the screen protector won't. It will separate in the center after 15-18 months of heavy use.
But... On every non-Fold phone I've owned I end up replacing the screen protector yearly just to get a fresh, clean feel, so the Z Fold is no different.
Even out of warranty Samsung lets you replace the protector for $20 at an authorized local vendor -- that's way cheaper than buying a screen protector for, say, an S25 at Best Buy.
Never had any screen or hinge problems on the three Folds I've owned, other than that.
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There are really good durability tests floating around on Youtube as well. Looks like Samsung engineering really nailed this one.
The phone thickness is really something to behold. It looks and feels like a normal slab phone which is an impressive feat. Coming from a Pixel Fold which was heavy and bulky this is a great change.
Battery life seems pretty good so far, and making the phone that thick would add a ton of weight. You don't hold it by the camera bump, so it's really not a big deal.
The phone thickness is really something to behold. It looks and feels like a normal slab phone which is an impressive feat. Coming from a Pixel Fold which was heavy and bulky this is a great change.
Thin
Battery life seems pretty good so far, and making the phone that thick would add a ton of weight. You don't hold it by the camera bump, so it's really not a big deal.
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