Galaxy Z Fold 7 hands-on review: Samsung's thin and crispy foldable phone
Samsung launched the Fold 7 today in Brooklyn, we realized that this tech has a lot in common with a Brooklyn-style š. Follow us on this one.
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Pros
š Ultra-thin design makes this foldable feel like a normal phone
šŖ¶ At 215g, itās lighter than the S25 Ultra
š 8-inch large tablet-like screen (up from 7.6-inch) when unfolded
š¤³ 6.5-inch Cover Screen (up from 6.3-inch) is easier to use when folded
šø 200MP camera from Samsungās flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra
šØ Great colors like Mint and Blue Shadow
š¤ Debuts Geminiās Share Screen with AI
āļø Fast Qualcomm chip; up to 1TB of storage with 16GB RAM
ā Cons
š° $100 more than Z Fold 6 before boosted trade-in deals
šļø No S Pen support in order to go so thin
š Pixel 9 Pro Fold is its biggest US rival
š„ The Shortcut hot take
The new Galaxy Z Fold 7 is like a Brooklyn-style pizza. Follow me on this one. Right now, Samsung is hosting its big foldable phone launch event in Brooklyn, known for its thin and crispy pizza thatās cut into large slices. As I palmed the unfolded, ultra-thin Z Fold 7 ahead of our full review, it immediately struck me: this is just like that extra-wide slice down the street.
Wafer-thin (no flop) dimensions make the Z Fold 7 look and feel superior to last yearās Z Fold 6. But, like a Brooklyn slice, is itā¦ flavorful? This year, Samsung is talking up its new toppings: a 200MP camera borrowed from the thicker Galaxy S25 Ultra, a much better and wider 10MP selfie camera, the top Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, up to 1TB of storage, Android 16, and Gemini Liveās ability to share your screen with AI. This is a meat loverās piece of tech, with one hallmark ingredient missing: support for the S Pen stylus has been axed; Samsung removed the digitizer to make the Z Fold 7 so thin.
First taste? Itās fantastic. Itāll make you go š¤. The Shortcut, the #1 consumer tech Substack, is backed by subscribers like you, so we wonāt hype tech we think youāll regret buying. We have influence, but weāre not āinfluencers.ā Case in point, we thought the Galaxy S25 Edge was just OK and meh in many ways. It was thin, but without meaning. The Fold 7 is different. Itās thin in a functional way: allowing you to handle this phone more easily when itās folded. And when itās unfolded, it feels like youāve unlocked a way to carry an iPad mini in your pocket. No to-go bag required.
Like a Brooklyn-style pizza compared to those $1 slices in New York, youāre going to pay a bit more for the Z Fold 7. Itās a premium device at $1,999, which is $100 more than last yearās Z Fold 6. Thatās why we recommend leaning on early trade-in offers during the pre-order phase (which expire before the phoneās July 25 release date).
Max, Kevin, and I are reviewing all the features this week to test the Z Fold 7 to see where the camera and battery life rank compared to Samsungās chief rival in the US, the still-impressive 11-month-old Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Between now and July 25, prepare forĀ daily tech updates as a subscriberĀ and join ourĀ Substack Chat to share your thoughts.
š° Samsung pre-order deals upfront
Extra $50 off Galaxy Z Fold 7 + up to $1,150 trade-in value + double the storage
Extra $50 off Galaxy Z Flip 7 + up to $720 trade-in value + double the storage
Buy a phone, get 10% off a watch, 30% off Buds3 Pro, or 15% off Buds 3
š Everything you need to know
š Astonishingly thin unfolded. At just 4.2mm, the Z Fold 7 is nearly as thin as its USB-C port, down from the 5.6mm [chunky!] Z Fold 6. Not even the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (5.1mm) can compete, and the thinnest foldable in the world out of China (at 4.1mm) isnāt US-bound.
š¤ Size matters on a fold. I usually donāt care about the thinness of normal phones, but it matters when it folds in half ā it doubles in size. But even when folded, the Fold 7 is 8.9mm (down from 12.1mm), and so very close to the thickness of the 8.2mm S25 Ultra.
šŖ¶ Just 215g. Itās a smidge lighter than the S25 Ultra and weighs less than an 8-oz cup of coffee, according to Samsung. Fold 7 is masquerading as a normal phone, and Iām for it.
š 8-inch screen. This screen is perfect. The dream of having an iPad mini on the NYC subway that I can fold in half and stick in my pocket when I exit to the street is finally here. I mean, barring Appleās rumored iPhone Fold in 2026, this is the next best thing.
š 6.5-inch Cover Display. Up from 6.3 inches, this new size may end up being my favorite perk. Using and typing on the outside folded screen becomes easier with every fraction of an inch Samsung gives us annually. I think weāre finally at the ideal size.
šØ New colors. There are four new colors, and the most fetching is Blue Shadow, featuring a darker metallic blue and a matte finish. The next best color is Mint, exclusive to Samsungās Store, and boasts color-matched rails on the sides. Nice touch.
Mint (Samsung Store exclusive)
Blue Shadow
Jetblack
Silver Shadow
šŖØ A much stronger foldable. Samsungās new ArmorFlex hinge has changed the way this phone folds, with a thinner and slimmer multi-rail structure. The Cover Display has also been upgraded to Corningās Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 (used in the S25 Edge). The only thing thatās thicker among the specs is the ultra-thin glass for extra protection.
š Crease out. More space within the new Z Fold 7 hinge allows for a gentler curvature, which is why you may see less of a crease this year. Itās still very much here, but less noticeable than previous Folds.
šļø No S Pen support. The Fold never came with a stylus (it was always an extra accessory) and only worked on the inside of the screen with a specialized S Pen. My dream of it working on the Cover Display and having an integrated stylus is dashed, as Samsung eliminated the digitizer layer of the display to make the screen slim. A trade-off.
šø 200MP squeezed into a Fold. Our main complaint has been that foldables have worse cameras, yet cost more. Well, the Z Fold 7 fixes that. It features the same camera as the S25 Ultra, which is impressive, as Samsungās engineers had to make it 18% slimmer to fit into the slim foldable body. The ultrawide camera also now supports auto-focus.
š¤³ Better Selfie camera. For me, the inside camera (opened in tablet mode) has been a dud on previous Folds in an effort to semi-hide the camera punch hole. The āUnder Display Cameraā was a neat idea, but it also gave us 4MP photos. I can attest that the 10MP camera is much better in quality, and the punch hole in the 8-inch screen isnāt a big deal.
š¤ New AI tricks. Samsung made a big splash with multi-modal Gemini functions in the S25 series, and although Googleās AI powers have been introduced to other Android devices since then, the Fold 7 introduces additional features. I got to test Share Screen with Gemini Live to ask Googleās AI about what I was seeing on my screen. This is helpful for confused parents stuck in confusing menus, or when you and I have information overload. I opened the Health app and asked Gemini: āMy Galaxy Ring gave me a bunch of new stats. What do you see thatās important?ā and it summarized the screen flawlessly.
āļø Snapdragon 8 Elite. Qualcommās top-notch chipset is coming to the Z Fold 7, while the Z Flip 7 and Z Flip 7 FE settle for Samsungās Exynos processors. That means weāll have peak gaming performance among Androids on a foldable, just like we did on the non-foldable S25 Ultra six months ago. This is one obvious perk over the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
š 4,400mAh battery with a boost. It has the same capacity as the Fold 6, but Samsung promises longer video playback time compared to the Z Fold 6. How? Itās likely due to either the screen changes or the Snapdraon 8 Eliteās efficiency (or both). Tests to come.
š§² Still no MagSafe, but thereās a case for that. The S25 Ultra didnāt have MagSafe built in either. Samsung says this phone is still Qi2-ready, and you can get a magnetic case.
More Galaxy Z Fold 7 review updates for subscribers
This is just our first two hours with the Z Fold 7, and if youāre reading this, weāre probably already unboxing all of the new Samsung devices following Unpacked. That means weāll have a week of content updates planned.
Youāve come to the right place for unbiased, banner-ad-free tech reviews. Now, get into our Substack Chat or reply if you have questions.
Been an IPhone user since the IPhone 4s and havenāt tried a different phone since. This is the first time Iām actually contemplating switching from Apple to Samsung. My only worries are the big obvious one, the Apple ecosystem and apple supposedly working on their own Fold phone for maybe 2026. I would also miss FaceTime, and having the green messages (I know they somewhat fixed the green messages and apple messages when sent to each-other). Does anyone have any recommendations on photo transfer, music transfer (I use Apple Music) message transfer? Or any recommendations on whether itās worth switching other than āgo to a store and feel it yourselfā which is what Iāve seen a lot of on TikTok. Iām leaning 70% towards the Fold with some of those cons listed as why I wouldnāt. I donāt really care about the pen support but the smaller battery (even though Samsung claims better optimized) sounds like a bummer too. TIA