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The Z Fold7 finally feels like Samsung has nailed the folding formula thanks to a much thinner design than ever and a flagship-worthy 200MP main camera. It would be nice to have more optical zoom though, and if the price could come down a bit.
The Good
- Ultra thin and light
- Folded display size is much more useable
- 200MP main camera is great
The Bad
- Limited camera zoom
- Wobbles a lot when placed on a surface
Need-To-Knows
- Super-thin build is a winner
- Front display is much more usable in this form
- 200MP main camera is a big upgrade
- No S-Pen support is an oversight
It’s been nearly two months since I first got my hands on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, and I can confirm that it is, at the time of writing, the best foldable phone on the market.
The Honor Magic V5 comes mightily close, but Samsung’s effort wins the day for me. Just. As a result, it has remained my secondary phone for much longer than most review units do. More tellingly, I’m picking it up far more often than my iPhone.
I’ve thought long and hard about what this means for the iPhone and why the Z Fold7 has such a hold over me, and I think I have the answers. Here’s my long-term review!
Shop the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 below!
How I reviewed the Z Fold7
My main phone is an iPhone 16e, because I have a Mac. And because I quite like the Apple Watch Ultra 2. But I don’t love the phone very much, which is why my secondary device is always far more interesting – and usually gets more time in my hand.
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For the last week, the Z Fold7 has been my secondary phone. Samsung provided it to me as part of their review unit seeding program in Brooklyn, and since then, it has housed my secondary SIM card.
I’ve used the Z Fold7 consistently for communication, work, and leisure activities like watching my favourite YouTube channels. It has also been my smartphone camera of choice for everything from capturing moments with my family to grabbing photos I need for content production.
Basically, I’ve really been putting it to work.
At A Glance
| Category | Specification |
|---|---|
| Software | OneUI 8 |
| OS Support | 7 generations of OS upgrades, 7 years of security updates |
| Dimensions (Folded) | 8.9mm thick (26% thinner than Fold6) |
| Dimensions (Unfolded) | 4.2mm thick (nearly as thin as USB-C) |
| Weight | 215g (24g lighter than Fold6, 61g lighter than original Fold) |
| Build | Aluminium Body |
| Armor FlexHinge with multi-rail water droplet design | |
| 50% thicker Ultra-Thin Glass, new adhesive materials | |
| Cover Glass | Gorilla Glass Ceramic2 (Front), Victus2 (Back) |
| Display (Main) | 8-inch Dynamic AMOLED (11% larger than Fold6) |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Elite |
| Performance Gains | 41% faster NPU, 38% faster CPU, 26% faster GPU |
| Battery | 4,400mAh, 24 hours video playback (longer than Fold6) |
| Camera (Rear) | 200MP Main (2x Optical, from S25 Ultra, slimmer module) |
| 10MP Telephoto (3x Optical Zoom) | |
| 12MP Ultra-Wide | |
| Camera (Front) | 10MP Selfie (vs 4MP in Fold6, wider 100° FOV vs 85°) |
| Camera Features | Ultra AI Experience, Gemini Live optimised for large screen |
| Photo Assist Enhanced (AI editing, generative erasing) | |
| Audio | Slightly improved vs Flip6 (larger audio chamber) |
| Audio Eraser (remove background noise) | |
| AI Features | Ultra AI Experience, Gemini Live optimized for large screen |
| RAM & Storage | 12GB RAM standard, 16GB RAM on 1TB variant |
| Colours | Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow, Jet Black; Mint (online exclusive) |
Z Fold6 vs Z Fold7: what’s changed?
The biggest change between the Z Fold6 and Z Fold7 is the design. More specifically, it’s the thickness. Or lack of it, on the latest device.
Open the Z Fold7, and Samsung’s new foldable is just 4.2mm thick, which is 1.4mm thinner than the Z Fold6 and nearly as thin as a USB-C port. I don’t think it can safely go any thinner.
Close the Z Fold7, and it’s 8.9mm thick. Or ‘thin’. It’s ‘thin’, isn’t it? Who cares. Once again, I’m not sure we’d need – or want – it any thinner. The fact that it weighs just 215g and, therefore, is lighter than the S25 Ultra, means the Z Fold7 spends most of its time feeling like a completely unobtrusive regular phone in your pocket.
The Z Fold6 (and all that came before it) didn’t.
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What’s perhaps more interesting is that the Z Fold7 is 48% thinner and 61g lighter than the original Z Fold. It might have taken Samsung a few generations to get there, but no one can deny that this is a huge evolution – and even more so when you get one in your hands.
There are lots more changes. The internal display is 11% larger at eight inches, it’s running the Snapdragon 8 Elite (tuned for Galaxy), and 16GB is the maximum RAM spec (up from 12GB).
Last generation: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 review
The camera system has also received a significant fettle. The main camera is now the same 200MP unit from the S25 Ultra, and the internal selfie camera is no longer a 4MP underscreen lens – it’s a full-fat 10MP one, complete with a camera cut-out. The rest of the camera system has received a few minor upgrades to allow for more light capture.
There’s one other change of note – if you’ll excuse the pun: the Z Fold7 doesn’t support the S-Pen. I’ve never used the S-Pen on my Folds before, so I won’t miss it, but I’m sure the S-Pen Massiv won’t be backwards in coming forward with their opinion on the matter.
Oh, if you’re wondering, the battery remains unchanged at 4,400mAh. I’ll get to that later.
Samsung’s effort
The Z Fold series stayed the same for quite some time. And by that, I mean it remained the chunkiest foldable on the market with the narrowest front screen while the competition was getting thinner, lighter, and even more regular phone-like.
Then, in 2025, Samsung made a massive, sweeping change to its foldable. The differences between the Fold6 and Fold7 are huge. If you’ll excuse the awkward pun.
The Z Fold7 is lighter and thinner than the device it replaces, but it also features a wider front display and an even bigger internal display. The camera has also been significantly improved (with one caveat, which I’ll get to later).
The result is a device which many of us were calling for last year. And the year before. Samsung waited and waited before making those changes, in part, I think, to ensure the existing Z Fold fans (of which there are a significant number) weren’t caught off guard by any big design changes. Although clearly, they reached a point where they said “sod it – let’s just do it anyway”.
Such huge changes to smartphone design rarely happen these days. Most devices receive iterative updates each year because the manufacturer has no choice but to fiddle a bit with a rectangular slab of metal and glass. The Z Fold series was ripe for something bigger, and boy, did Samsung not hold back.
Possibly the perfect form factor
I’m going to come out and say it: I think the Samsung Z Fold7 has the perfect form factor, not just for a foldable, but for any kind of phone.
Let me explain, before you click away or head to the comments section in a fit of rage.
Phones need to be one-handed. There are multiple times throughout the day where I wager you’ll need to type something into your phone with one hand. It’s nigh-on impossible to do that with most of the huge phones that flood the market these days.
I can confirm that you can type one-handed on the Z Fold7’s front display. And I don’t have big hands.
Phones need to slot into pockets and bags without fuss and make even less of a fuss once they’re in there. The Z Fold7 is at least as thin as many regular phones, and, in some cases, thinner. It therefore does not trouble your trousers or take up an annoying amount of space in your bag.
In my opinion, that’s the smartphone form factor nailed, but the Z Fold7 obviously has another trick up its sleeve.
Two displays rather than one
While it would be a colossal waste of money to do so, one could technically use the Z Fold7 quite happily as a front display-only device. But that would be missing out on its party trick – and indeed the reason most people buy this device.
Yep, the perfect phone form factor may have been mastered by Samsung, but they’ve done it with a device which is capable of getting even thinner and offering an even larger, hidden display.
Open up the Z Fold7 and you’re treated to a huge 8-inch internal display, which features the best smartphone multitasking on the market and, in my opinion, the best mobile OS out there.
What’s more, the internal display is big enough to replace the tablet requirements for a lot of people.
Once again, in my opinion.
AI that works
I’m not a heavy AI user at all, but I know that if I ever need to remove something from a photo or ask a series of questions that would take too long to complete with a Google search, the combination of Galaxy AI and Google Gemini is currently unbeatable.
The march that Samsung has stolen from Apple on AI is practically insurmountable. I have no faith in my iPhone 16e being able to satisfy my meagre AI requirements. I’m not throwing shade at Apple here, either – it’s just a fact that Apple Intelligence is miles away from being useful.
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Galaxy AI creeps into a lot of the One UI and Samsung ecosystem experience, too. For instance, it’s encouraging me to wear the Galaxy Ring more and keep tabs on my sleep and recovery. And, while it isn’t a Samsung product, I’m finding myself relying more on the unbelievable brilliance of Gemini each day.
The camera
One of the biggest frustrations for me with the Z Fold series has been the camera system. As a full-time creator, the smartphones I carry need to be capable of capturing great photos at ultra-wide and telephoto focal lengths – along with the regular zoom. The Z Fold has never excelled at that stuff, which meant you were paying top whack for a smartphone which had a subpar camera.
I can’t have been alone, because Samsung has made a big point about the changes made to the camera system in the Z Fold7.
The main change relates to the main camera itself, which is now a 200MP unit, lifted from the S25 Ultra. That’s a huge upgrade over the previous 50MP unit, and it shows. It’s a much better snapper at that focal length, and the ultrawide is a really good performer, too.
Zoom-wise, up to 3x, we’re good. Beyond that, however, it’s still not quite on a par with the S25 Ultra. I’d have loved for Samsung to have simply lifted the entire S25 Ultra camera package and placed it on the back of the Z Fold7, but they haven’t. This means that for anything beyond 3x, we’re reliant on great conditions and AI trickery to obtain the best images. They’re not bad, don’t get me wrong – but they’re not S25 Ultra quality.
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For the Z Fold8, we really do need that full-fat flagship camera system, please, Samsung!
It’s not perfect…
Before I get accused of this being an ‘ad’, I should confirm that the Z Fold7 is not a perfect device. Nothing is, and some problems with the Z Fold7 need addressing in the next iteration of Samsung’s foldable.
The first is that, as good as that new camera system is, the difference can only really be felt on the main lens. That one has been borrowed from the S25 Ultra, which is a very good thing indeed – I just wish Samsung had gone the whole hog and copy/pasted the entire S25 Ultra camera system onto the back of the Z Fold7. Head beyond 3x zoom, and you need perfect conditions to get a great snap.
S-Pen support has also, famously, been removed from the Z Fold7. This doesn’t impact me at all, but I appreciate that it has angered some, and it’s tricky to excuse.
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The Z Fold7 wobbles horribly on flat surfaces, too. This is due to the camera bump placement, and it’s one of the areas in which the Honor Magic V5 emerges triumphant. It can be fixed by applying a case, but I’m not a foldable case kinda guy.
The Z Fold7 is also still one of the most expensive foldable phones on the market. This is another area where the Magic V5 wins – just – and it’s another reason why buying a device like the Z Fold7 is such a big decision for people. Unless you can get an epic trade-in deal with Samsung, of course, which you might.
Conclusion: is the Fold7 the foldable I’ve been waiting for?
Yes, it is.
The Z Fold7 is an incredible device. It’s the best foldable phone I’ve ever used and the first which could tempt me to switch to it full-time. I did that with the Z Fold6 for three months, and it feels like the frustrations that led me back to the iPhone simply don’t exist anymore.
However, it is still an expensive phone, and the removal of S-Pen support will bother some. But even when combined with the issues I’ve noted above, I don’t think there’s enough to call the Z Fold7 anything other than a triumphant release for Samsung.
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Foldables are still a niche part of the market, but that’s partly why I love them; they’re interesting among a sea of very good-but-bland smartphones.
I want to make it abundantly clear that I haven’t fallen out of love with the iPhone. It still plays a key role in my life – it’s just a reduced role, and one which desperately needs reviving. The question is: how? What can Apple do this year – or in 2026 – that can reignite the flame between the iPhone and I?
I appreciate I haven’t spoken about performance or AI in this review, but that’s because both are virtually a moot point in Samsung land. The Z Fold7 is a superbly performant phone thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and it features the best multitasking in foldable land. When it comes to AI, the combination of Galaxy AI and Gemini is, in my opinion, unmatched.
I’m glad the Z Fold7 exists. Are you? Get involved in the comments!
3 Comments
You commented about the battery at the beginning of the article, and stated you’d get to that later. You did not. So you didn’t cover the battery performance at all on this article. Disappointed as I’ll have to go to a other review to find out this information. Bit of an oversight that on an otherwise good review.
I was here only to get to know about the phone’s battery. Went through all the article only to find out that there’s no info about battery performance, surprisingly.
I purchased z7 fold . Within a month watèr logging issue appeared because of sceeen cleaning with spray liquid. Recommend dont believe samsung as they are faulty obscanders after sales….finally ball is in your court not to respond samsung high claim with worst design and support