I replaced my Galaxy S25 Ultra with the Samsung Z Fold 7 – and didn’t regret it

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a wonderful improve over its predecessor, because of its slim and lightweight design, a powerful hinge and a wider coverscreen.
• It’s extremely costly at $2,000 for the beginning configuration.
• However you may dig the improved {hardware}, particularly when you’re conversant in foldable telephones from the worldwide market.

extra shopping for selections

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s greatest design overhaul for the reason that Z Fold 2 in 2020, and it is again with a bang. During the last three years, the Korean tech big made slight refinements to every era, leading to a stale design. However the brand new Galaxy Z Fold 7 lastly catches as much as its Chinese language rivals, even beating them in a number of methods.

CNET survey: 64% of individuals say ‘no thanks’ to foldable smartphones

I have been utilizing the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 for the previous week and am completely happy to report that Samsung has made some rattling near-perfect {hardware}. You get an easy-to-hold type issue, just about no crease, a canopy display screen that is near a daily cellphone in itself, a strong hinge, and the identical foremost digital camera because the Galaxy S25 Extremely. 

These upgrades include a value, although. The Fold 7 will set you again at two grand, however when you’ve got that cash, that is the cellphone I like to recommend most. 

How I examined the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

I spent 10 days with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, throughout which I had my SIM card in it for per week. I used the cellphone as I usually would, however with an emphasis on the brand new, most vital options. I additionally took extra images and movies than ordinary to see if there have been any notable variations. 

Additionally: I modified 7 Samsung cellphone settings to immediately enhance the battery life

Testing additionally concerned utilizing the brand new Galaxy AI options in day-to-day life, like working Stay Translate buddies who communicate a number of languages, eradicating undesirable objects in my images with Generative Edit, and exploring different sensible methods the new telephones can enhance our lives. Here is what works and what would not.  

An (virtually) good bodily type

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures simply 4.2mm skinny when unfolded and eight.9mm folded. For context, that is a number of millimeters greater than the 8.25mm iPhone 16 Professional Max and eight.5mm Pixel 9 Professional. Samsung’s personal Galaxy S25 Extremely measures 8.2mm, whereas the foldable Oppo Discover N5 is 8.93mm thick. 

All in all, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is simply 0.1mm thicker than the thinnest book-style foldable, the Honor Magic V5. Paired with a physique that is lighter than all of them at 215 grams, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 the lightest book-style foldable in the marketplace proper now. 

Additionally: Oppo’s new foldable cellphone is likely one of the thinnest I’ve seen – and I hope OnePlus and Samsung comply with swimsuit

This skinny and lightweight design makes it probably the most snug to carry Galaxy Z Fold cellphone but — when you maintain it in the best hand. In the event you’re left-handed, the hinge corners would possibly dig into your palm, which was additionally a difficulty on the predecessor. That mentioned, I am a right-hander, and I discover it extra snug to make use of than the Galaxy S25 Extremely and iPhone 16 Professional Max. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 can be extra sturdy than earlier than. It includes a stronger Gorilla Glass Victus Ceramic 2 on the duvet display screen, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the again and a Titanium plate layer as an alternative of a carbon fiber sheet below the display screen for added show sturdiness. Plus, you get mud and water resistance with an IP48 score. 

Additionally: I took a stroll with Meta’s new Oakley good glasses – they beat my Ray-Bans in each approach

Samsung improved the duvet display screen, too. It is not fixated on the slim type issue, enabling the 6.5-inch AMOLED display screen with a 21:9 side ratio so apps work together higher and play alongside nicely with the entire slab phone-like really feel. It is vibrant sufficient to see outdoor and has the identical 120Hz dynamic refresh price and HDR10+ assist because the internal show. With the ability to textual content, scroll by way of social media, and browse the net on a Samsung cowl display screen feels refreshing.  

Full-screen trade-offs, however the crease is gone

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a wider folding display screen as in comparison with its predecessor. I’ve cherished my expertise on this sharp and vivid panel, nevertheless it is not as immersive as earlier than. 

Samsung caught to an under-display digital camera (UDC) for years, which made the studying, searching and gaming expertise higher than another foldable. Utility-wise, its high quality was worse than the brand new punch-hole 10MP digital camera — and I would choose the brand new setup for video calls any day — however I miss the under-display digital camera, too. I hope it returns sooner or later with higher high quality.

Additionally: I used Huawei’s $3,600 tri-foldable, and it made each cellphone I’ve ever examined really feel outdated

When you settle for that the digital camera is not going anyplace, you may admire the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s eight-inch LTPO AMOLED 2X panel with assist for HDR10+ and a 120Hz dynamic refresh price. I really like its vivid colours and high-contrast look. However like earlier than, the internal show attracts extra smudges than the duvet display screen. 

Coming to the very best a part of the folding display screen, there’s just about no crease. Samsung’s new butterfly hinge mechanism has efficiently negated it. The truth is, Galaxy Z Fold 7 has the least quantity of crease on any book-style folding cellphone that I’ve used. The Oppo Discover N5 comes shut, however the Vivo X Fold 5 and Honor Magic V3 each have barely deeper creases working by way of the center of the display screen. 

Not that it issues when interacting with the massive show, however much less crease means a cushty viewing expertise in additional lighting situations and angles. 

The hinge, too, feels extra premium than different foldables. In the event you’re coming from one of many earlier Z Folds, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will not prop up at 150 levels proper out of the field, nevertheless it will get higher as you utilize it. After per week of use, my unit not unfolds flat until as much as roughly 135 levels. I had the same expertise with the Honor Magic V3, which additionally has a butterfly hinge.

If I had to decide on between a subjectively extra immersive Fold 6 display screen with UDC and deep crease or Fold 7’s punch-hole-clad display screen with lesser crease, I would decide the latter. 

I am unable to pinpoint why the Galaxy Z Fold 7 feels extra premium than different foldables in the marketplace however it’s in all probability a mixture of a number of elements: thinner and lighter design, least crease and flat sides that are not unergonomic (in the best hand) to carry. It’s barely tougher to unfold, however you may get used to it throughout the first 48 hours.

Samsung eliminated one other characteristic on the Galaxy Z Fold 7: the S Pen, and I do not miss it. I by no means used it on my Fold 5 or Fold 6 and if it helps the cellphone make it thinner, I do not thoughts lacking out on a stylus that must be saved in an exterior case. 

Helpful AI and eventually: a digital camera improve

Samsung’s new Fold runs Android 16-based One UI 8, with Samsung’s Galaxy AI having probably the most full suite of synthetic intelligence options. The cellphone runs easily, because of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, paired with both 12GB or 16GB of RAM. 

I really discovered among the cellphone’s AI options helpful. For instance, the AI Choose characteristic enables you to click on something in your display screen to take actions. From transcribing interview recordings to eradicating undesirable objects in my images, there are many helpful AI instruments that really work. 

Additionally: The Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely was practically unusable for me – till I downloaded this one app

Coming from a OnePlus cellphone lately, I believe Samsung may benefit from displaying related pop-ups for on-call options like transcribe and translate. As of now, you’ll want to swipe down and faucet on the Stay Translate tile from fast panel to make use of the characteristic, which is not as simple to make use of. 

Samsung additionally lastly gave its foldable the identical major digital camera as its flagship S-series cellphone. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 sports activities a 200MP foremost digital camera, borrowed straight from the Galaxy S25 Extremely. It’s accompanied by a modest 3x 10MP telephoto digital camera and a 12MP ultrawide-angle lens. 

This digital camera system produces vibrant-looking photographs in most situations. I like to recommend capturing most images in 200MP mode, so you may crop them later and but retain the small print, because the 3x tele lens is not the very best. 

I want Samsung let customers swap between lenses within the 200MP mode. As of now, you get choices for 1x, 4x, and 5x (you may zoom at any degree from 1x to 5x) however to vary to ultrawide, you’ll want to swap to 12MP mode after which faucet 0.6x. It is a slight inconvenience that I’ve confronted repeatedly previously week. 

Samsung has additionally improved the shutter pace, so shifting topics are captured higher than earlier than. The dynamic vary stays nice, whereas the Portrait mode nonetheless struggles with edge detection. Galaxy AI comes into play once more and provides you probably the most polished photobomber-removal instrument. 

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One other cool characteristic for videographers: Audio Eraser can now mechanically detect what to tune out and has a delegated button in your gallery. It made my voice somewhat robotic, nevertheless it did nicely to suppress background noise. 

Let’s speak battery life

Sadly, Samsung did not improve the battery capability on its new foldable. The truth is, it hasn’t elevated the battery measurement in 5 generations; the Galaxy Z Fold 7 has the identical battery because the Galaxy Z Fold 3. This implies you get a 4,400mAh cell with assist for a modest 25W wired charging and 15W wi-fi charging. 

Once I first noticed this quantity on paper, I used to be apprehensive that a tremendous {hardware} can be compromised by a questionable resolution, particularly when competing gadgets have 5,500mAh+ silicon-carbon batteries. 

Additionally: I changed my Galaxy S25 Plus with the S25 Edge (and Samsung might do the identical)

Because it seems, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a full one-day system for average cellphone customers (with about 5-6 hours of each day display screen time). I am not impressed by the charging pace, although.

I normally common about 9 hours on my cellphone each day and needed to cost my Z Fold 7 each night round 6 PM for my night social media scrolling. In the event you’re a heavy cellphone person, count on to plug in your Z Fold 7 after the work day, or earlier in case your utilization includes quite a lot of navigation on 5G. 

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

Samsung improved the weakest hyperlinks of its book-style foldable with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the result’s a near-perfect cellphone. I would love for it to have a much bigger battery and a greater zoom digital camera — the Vivo X Fold 5 has each — however Samsung’s foldable has U.S availability, longer software program assist, and a greater person interface. In brief, that is probably the most polished folding cellphone expertise, in my view. 

Nonetheless, it would not come low-cost. After a $100 worth bump, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s most costly Fold but, beginning at $2,000. In the event you can spend that quantity on a smartphone, you may’t go unsuitable with this cellphone. It is a generational leap over its predecessor, and if yow will discover an excellent trade supply, I like to recommend upgrading from final 12 months’s Z Fold 6, too. In the event you’re a enterprise skilled or want a cellphone for productiveness, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 needs to be in your radar.