The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 reminds us that they can’t teach us everything about foldables, but they can teach us this one thing: how to fold it in.
The year 2025 is somewhat special for Samsung, it seems. It reclaimed the top spot for world’s slimmest flagship phone. It continued its stellar streak with a camera-centric powerhouse. And after losing the foldable battle for a few years, it finally returns to form with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. It’s the boldest phone Samsung has made in years, one with as much aesthetic charm as practical perks.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 puts foldable phones — quite literally — in the same weight and waistline class as an average smartphone. And yet, it offers the functional convenience of an 8-inch tablet hiding in plain sight. The asking price of two thousand dollars is still steep, but this time around, Samsung has gone above and beyond to justify the premium you pay for it.
It’s slimmer, lighter, and more importantly, sturdier than ever. Moreover, it brings a seriously upgraded imaging hardware and a refined software to go with the foldable renaissance at Samsung. I pushed it as my daily driver, replacing the heavy-hitter that is the Google Pixel 9 Pro, and now I don’t want to part ways with it. If you’re in two minds regarding the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s worth, here’s a detailed rundown of its strengths and pitfalls.Design and build
If I were to name the aesthetics of this phone, I’d say it’s sharp and suave. The whole package is sharp, blocky, and astoundingly clean. It’s also shockingly thin by smartphone standards, foldable or otherwise. In the unfolded state, the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s waistline is just 4.2 millimeters, and in its folded form, it’s barely thicker (8.9 vs 8.2 millimeters) than the iPhone 16 Pro. Interestingly, it’s also lighter than the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
In a nutshell, if you’ve been waiting for foldable phones to look and feel „normal“, your wait ends here. To Samsung’s credit, the construction is solid. The build is entirely glass and armored aluminum, with subtly rounded edges and corners. I was initially worried that the sharp lines would dig into the palms, but thankfully, that’s not the case.
I have the blue color option for review, which looks stunning. It’s the best color I’ve seen on a Samsung phone, since the lovely Green Emerald and Blue Topaz on the Galaxy S6 series back in 2015. Thankfully, the subtle frosted finish isn’t a fingerprint magnet and does a decent job at resisting smudges. Over, this is as good as foldable phone engineering can get.
There are a few minor, but unavoidable, pitfalls, too. The side-mounted fingerprint is pretty fast and accurate, but it’s too thin. Moreover, due to the large camera island at the back, the phone wobbles on a flat surface. A lot, if I might say.Display
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 offers a 6.5-inch display on the front with a tall 21:9 aspect ratio, and an 8-inch inner foldable panel. Both screens are AMOLED type, and offer a 120Hz dynamically adjusting refresh rate. I love the narrow display approach, as it makes the phone a lot easier to hold. As far as quality goes, both of them are stunning. You’re promised rich colors, wide viewing angles, and plenty of sharpness for watching hi-res videos.
Samsung has also improved the crease situation. Most of the time, you won’t even notice it. Only when held at an oblique angle and lower brightness levels can you see the outline of the vertical ridge. More importantly, it’s a lot more durable than its predecessor. Samsung says the flexible OLED panel on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 can survive 500,000 fold cycles, up from the 200,000 fold test rating for the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Even if you open and close the panel a hundred times each day, it should technically survive ten years‘ worth of usage. Underneath all that upgrade is multi-layered strengthened glass fused with plastic material, resulting in a 50% thicker Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) layer.
Samsung says the stress recovery of the foldable screen is four times higher, and it is also more effective at shock distribution. The biggest concern with foldable panels is the screen’s longevity, and with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung delivered a double-whammy in terms of quality as well as resilience.Performance
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 comes equipped with what Samsung markets as Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy silicon.
