Foldable Perfection That’s Tempting Me to Leave My iPhone

Yr-over-year, the Z Fold 7 sheds some main weight, provides a flagship-level major digicam, and will increase efficiency whereas sprinkling simply sufficient new Galaxy AI and Gemini options to not really feel like Samsung went overboard. The Z Fold 7 additionally ships in what may be the nicest shade of blue that I’ve seen on any cellphone. (Sure, even prettier than the Pacific Blue iPhone 12 Professional and Ultramarine OnePlus 8 Professional.) In six years of reviewing Samsung Z Folds, I’ve not as soon as felt compelled to depart my iPhone for one simply to get an additional tablet-sized display. Not even for better-made book-style foldables just like the Pixel 9 Professional Fold or OnePlus Open, each of which I gave excessive marks. However the Z Fold 7 captivated me from the second I laid my fingers on it. The final time an Android cellphone actually made me wish to go away Apple’s walled backyard was the Galaxy Observe 7, which took breaths away with its glossy, dual-curved show and had such a tightly packed design that defective batteries actually killed it. Leaving Apple’s walled backyard can be uncomfortable for my family and friends who select to stay in Apple’s ecosystem, however options like RCS for improved messaging interoperability and AirDrop-replacement apps like LocalSend for sending information to and from Apple gadgets make switching simpler than earlier than.

You actually have to carry the Z Fold 7 in your hand to consider that it’s just about the identical thickness (8.9mm) and weight (215g) as a daily flagship bar-style cellphone. Even having used the foldable for per week, I nonetheless marvel at it each time I unlock the 6.3-inch cowl display with my fingerprint or face and use it like a daily cellphone, or unfold it to get the 8-inch display. Each shows are actually shiny, actually sharp, and help 120Hz refresh charges. The folding display nonetheless has a visual crease—one which I count on to deepen with folds over time—and also you’ll nonetheless really feel the hinge beneath it each time your finger runs over it, however I not often seen it whereas studying, watching movies, or taking part in video games. The crease is an engineering compromise that I don’t suppose foldables will ever resolve (although Apple will reportedly strive). You simply study to disregard it over time, the identical approach you cease noticing a notch or a hole-punch digicam on non-folding telephones.

I agreed to not do any drop or bend assessments on the Z Fold 7 to ensure that Samsung to offer me with a loaner unit to guage, so I’ll have to depart the sturdiness assessments to attention-seeking YouTubers and TikTokers. However I did strive evenly flexing the system when it’s open, and at its thinnest, and I didn’t really feel it had a lot give with regular use. I’m not saying by chance sitting on the Z Fold 7 received’t imply immediately destroying your $2,000 foldable, however Samsung a minimum of beefed up the hinge and the “Armor aluminum” body, toughened the glass bottom, and doubled the thickness of the folding display. The IP score, sadly, is identical IP48; it could have been nice to see a bump up in water- and dust-resistance, however I assume Samsung wants to avoid wasting upgrades for the Z Fold 8 and past.

As you’d count on, $2,000 will get you the easiest of what Samsung has to supply. Properly, virtually all the things. I’ve received no complaints about the principle specs: Qualcomm’s newest and strongest Snapdragon 8 Elite with Galaxy chip, as much as 16GB of RAM, and as much as 512GB of storage. Unsurprisingly, the Snapdragon chipset is a beast on benchmarks, however I’d be mendacity if I instructed you I may really feel a 38% CPU enhance or a 26% enhance in GPU efficiency for normal cellphone duties like looking the net, scrolling on social media, or sending emails. The 41% quicker neural processing unit, or NPU, nonetheless, does appear to make on-device AI processing speedier. For instance, producing summaries and wallpapers, or utilizing AI writing and AI picture and audio modifying instruments, did appear speedier than I remembered final 12 months. The battery is identical 4,400mAh capability within the Z Fold 6, however I had no issues getting by way of a full day with energy to spare, even once I was pushing the foldable laborious with a number of apps, images, and AI utilization by way of Gemini and Perplexity.

I used to be extra shocked that Samsung didn’t take away wi-fi charging or reverse wi-fi charging—both characteristic is often the primary to go when telephones are placed on the Atkins food regimen. Hell, there’s even a SIM card tray; Samsung may have simply switched to eSIM and used the additional house for one thing else like a bigger battery. The one characteristic from earlier Z Folds that didn’t make it into the Z Fold 7 is the S Pen. I’m not mourning the lack of help for the stylus that was offered individually, however I do know S Pen loyalists will, because it is smart to need a bigger display to jot down notes or draw on. I wouldn’t maintain my breath for Samsung bringing it again or constructing it into the body because it says utilization was low, particularly now that the profile, when unfolded, is the thinnest (4.2mm) it’s ever been.

See Galaxy Z Fold 7 at Samsung.com

The cameras on Samsung’s Z Folds have all the time been just a few steps behind those within the Galaxy S sequence. That’s not the case anymore—the Z Fold 7 has the identical 200-megapixel major digicam because the S25 Extremely. There’s additionally a 13-megapixel ultra-wide and 10-megapixel 3x telephoto lens. The cameras punched into the quilt and folding show are 10 megapixels every. Photographs from the principle digicam look nice with sharp particulars, vibrant dynamic vary, and tons of decision to get optical-quality 2x and 3x pictures (crop-ins utilizing the 200-megapixel sensor). The remainder of the Z Fold 7’s cameras are tremendous. The ultra-wide lens now has autofocus and may take close-up macro photographs, and the 3x telephoto is nice sufficient (the 10x, 20x, and 30x digital zooms take fuzzy photographs with low-res particulars). The digicam on the within of the folding display has a barely wider 100-degree area of view that’s useful for becoming extra in a selfie or group shot.

Movies look higher than earlier than with improved high quality in low-light conditions and fewer noise. And you may file in 10-bit HDR, which simply means your movies will show extra colours and content material will seem brighter. I used to be delighted to see smoother video stabilization with much less jerky actions when panning the Z Fold 7 or strolling and recording.

Samsung’s One UI 8 is one in every of, if not the, greatest customizations of Android I’ve seen. It’s quick and easy and has further ranges of personalization that I want Pixel telephones had. About the one factor I don’t like is how a lot Samsung is beginning to borrow from iOS. Certain, Apple’s transferring on to Liquid Glass (or maybe extra like frosted glass if the most recent iOS 26 developer beta 3 is something to go by), however there are some areas of One UI 8, just like the Lock Display screen clock and widget customization, that look too just like iOS. Gander on the sliders and inform me they’re not the identical. It’s a small factor, however I suppose Samsung’s tweak of Android 16 is nowhere close to as blatant because the shameless copying you’ll discover from Xiaomi or Huawei telephones.

It’s 2025, and meaning you possibly can’t purchase a brand new cellphone—foldable or not—with out being bombarded with how AI goes to alter how you utilize it. Samsung’s traditional plate of Galaxy AI options, together with generative picture modifying, translations, and summaries, returns on the Z Fold 7, with some new ones that may solely be described as minor. With its bigger display, you possibly can examine authentic and edited photographs facet by facet or use the Audio Eraser instrument to take away background noise akin to wind or site visitors. All of them work as marketed and higher than the identical or comparable AI options on different telephones (particularly iPhone’s embarrassing suite of Apple Intelligence options), however they’re not precisely $2,000 promoting factors. Neither is multimodal Gemini Reside, which helps you to sort, speak, or “see” what’s on display or by way of the digicam after which reply. There’s little that having Gemini pre-loaded into the Z Fold 7 can do which you can’t just do by putting in the Gemini app on one other cellphone. Certain, it’s good to load up Gemini on the Z Fold’s bigger display in fullscreen, as a split-view app, or as a floating window and never have the keyboard take up the entire backside half, however I wouldn’t say it’s game-changing by any means. Gemini continues to be only a chatbot in a window which you can summon on command. If I’ve saved any time utilizing Gemini on the Z Fold 7, I haven’t felt it a lot. I’m nonetheless spending a silly period of time taking a look at social media.

I can not cease gushing over the Z Fold 7 each single time I choose it up. There are some minor observations that I’ve seen in my week of utilizing it, like the actual fact it will possibly get sizzling in the summertime warmth quicker than I’ve skilled on every other bar-style telephones. (It’s so skinny, there’s simply much less room for a vapor chamber or cooling.) The pill-shaped digicam bump, whereas not as large as on different foldables, causes the cellphone to wobble like loopy on a desk. However none of those small compromises hassle me once I can slip the Z Fold 7 in my pocket and my pants don’t sag. I additionally love that I can learn manga with out having to pinch to zoom on a regular basis to see the textual content or watch a film without having to squint (although the “Flex mode” the place you flip the Z Fold 7 into a bit of laptop computer continues to be foolish). I’ve all the time believed in the advantages of a cellphone that unfolds right into a pill. It’s simply the thickness and weight, and different considerations like sturdiness and unavailability within the U.S., which have all the time stopped me from placing my cash the place my mouth is. The Z Fold 7 is dearer than earlier than, and $2,000 is some huge cash for a cellphone (the associated fee for repairs isn’t low-cost both), however I’m obsessive about it, and thank god there are installment plans that break up the associated fee into month-to-month funds. I do know my iPad mini, with iPadOS 26’s Liquid Glass developer beta put in, is lacking me, however I simply don’t care. The Z Fold 7 is my new gadget love, and I assure, it’ll be yours too for those who can abdomen the value.

See Galaxy Z Fold 7 at Amazon

See Galaxy Z Fold 7 at Samsung.com