Foldable Perfection That is Tempting Me to Go away My iPhone

Yr-over-year, the Z Fold 7 sheds some main weight, provides a flagship-level important 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 is likely to be the nicest shade of blue that I’ve seen on any telephone. (Sure, even prettier than the Pacific Blue iPhone 12 Pro and Ultramarine OnePlus 8 Pro.) 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 screen. Not even for better-made book-style foldables just like the Pixel 9 Pro 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 telephone really made me wish to go away Apple’s walled backyard was the Galaxy Note 7, which took breaths away with its modern, dual-curved show and had such a tightly packed design that defective batteries actually killed it. Leaving Apple’s walled backyard could be uncomfortable for my family and friends who select to dwell in Apple’s ecosystem, however features like RCS for improved messaging interoperability and AirDrop-replacement apps like LocalSend for sending recordsdata to and from Apple units make switching simpler than earlier than.

You actually have to carry the Z Fold 7 in your hand to imagine that it’s just about the identical thickness (8.9mm) and weight (215g) as a daily flagship bar-style telephone. Even having used the foldable for per week, I nonetheless marvel at it each time I unlock the 6.3-inch cowl display screen with my fingerprint or face and use it like a daily telephone, or unfold it to get the 8-inch display screen. Each shows are actually brilliant, actually sharp, and help 120Hz refresh charges. The folding display screen nonetheless has a visual crease—one which I anticipate 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 hardly ever observed it whereas studying, watching movies, or enjoying video games. The crease is an engineering compromise that I don’t assume foldables will ever resolve (though Apple will reportedly try). You simply be taught 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 exams on the Z Fold 7 to ensure that Samsung to supply me with a loaner unit to guage, so I’ll have to depart the sturdiness exams to attention-seeking YouTubers and TikTokers. However I did attempt frivolously 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 accident sitting on the Z Fold 7 gained’t imply immediately destroying your $2,000 foldable, however Samsung not less than beefed up the hinge and the “Armor aluminum” body, toughened the glass bottom, and doubled the thickness of the folding display screen. The IP ranking, sadly, is similar IP48; it could have been nice to see a bump up in water- and dust-resistance, however I suppose Samsung wants to save lots of upgrades for the Z Fold 8 and past.

As you’d anticipate, $2,000 will get you the easiest of what Samsung has to supply. Nicely, nearly every thing. I’ve acquired 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 advised you I might really feel a 38% CPU increase or a 26% improve in GPU efficiency for normal telephone duties like searching 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 similar 4,400mAh capability within the Z Fold 6, however I had no issues getting by means of a full day with energy to spare, even after I was pushing the foldable onerous with a lot of apps, images, and AI utilization by means of Gemini and Perplexity.

I used to be extra stunned that Samsung didn’t take away wi-fi charging or reverse wi-fi charging—both function is normally the primary to go when telephones are placed on the Atkins food regimen. Hell, there’s even a SIM card tray; Samsung might have simply switched to eSIM and used the additional area for one thing else like a bigger battery. The one function 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 bought individually, however I do know S Pen loyalists will, because it is sensible to desire a bigger display screen to put in writing 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 at all times been a number of steps behind those within the Galaxy S sequence. That’s not the case anymore—the Z Fold 7 has the identical 200-megapixel important digicam because the S25 Ultra. There’s additionally a 13-megapixel ultra-wide and 10-megapixel 3x telephoto lens. The cameras punched into the duvet and folding show are 10 megapixels every. Pictures 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 positive. The ultra-wide lens now has autofocus and might 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 screen has a barely wider 100-degree subject 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’ll 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 certainly one of, if not the, finest customizations of Android I’ve seen. It’s quick and clean and has additional 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 clock and widget customization, that look too much 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’ll be able to’t purchase a brand new telephone—foldable or not—with out being bombarded with how AI goes to vary how you employ it. Samsung’s common 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 screen, you’ll be able to evaluate unique and edited photographs facet by facet or use the Audio Eraser device to take away background noise akin to wind or 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 features), however they’re not precisely $2,000 promoting factors. Neither is multimodal Gemini Dwell, which helps you to sort, discuss, or “see” what’s on display screen or by means of the digicam after which reply. There’s little that having Gemini pre-loaded into the Z Fold 7 can do which you could’t do exactly by putting in the Gemini app on one other telephone. Certain, it’s good to load up Gemini on the Z Fold’s bigger display screen 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 remains to be only a chatbot in a window which you could 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 social media.

I can’t cease gushing over the Z Fold 7 each single time I decide it up. There are some minor observations that I’ve observed in my week of utilizing it, like the very fact it will possibly get sizzling in the summertime warmth quicker than I’ve skilled on another 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 telephone to wobble like loopy on a desk. However none of those small compromises hassle me after 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 while not having to squint (although the “Flex mode” the place you flip the Z Fold 7 into just a little laptop computer remains to be foolish). I’ve at all times believed in the advantages of a telephone that unfolds right into a pill. It’s simply the thickness and weight, and different issues like sturdiness and unavailability within the U.S., which have at all times 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 telephone (the 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 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 in the event you can abdomen the worth.

See Galaxy Z Fold 7 at Amazon

See Galaxy Z Fold 7 at Samsung.com