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, due to its slim and lightweight design, a robust hinge and a wider coverscreen.
• It’s totally costly at $2,000 for the beginning configuration.
• However you will dig the improved {hardware}, particularly when you’re aware of foldable telephones from the worldwide market.

extra shopping for selections

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s largest design overhaul for the reason that Z Fold 2 in 2020, and it is again with a bang. Over the past 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 people 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 telephone in itself, a stable hinge, and the identical foremost digital camera because the Galaxy S25 Extremely. 

These upgrades include a price, although. The Fold 7 will set you again at two grand, however if in case you have that cash, that is the telephone 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 telephone as I usually would, however with an emphasis on the brand new, most vital options. I additionally took extra photographs and movies than traditional to see if there have been any notable variations. 

Additionally: I changed 7 Samsung phone settings to instantly improve the battery life

Testing additionally concerned utilizing the brand new Galaxy AI options in day-to-day life, like operating Reside Translate mates who communicate a number of languages, eradicating undesirable objects in my photographs with Generative Edit, and exploring different sensible methods the new phones can enhance our lives. This is what works and what does not.  

An (nearly) 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 Pro Max and eight.5mm Pixel 9 Pro. Samsung’s personal Galaxy S25 Extremely measures 8.2mm, whereas the foldable Oppo Find 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 phone is one of the thinnest I’ve seen – and I hope OnePlus and Samsung follow suit

This skinny and lightweight design makes it essentially the most snug to carry Galaxy Z Fold telephone but — when you maintain it in the appropriate hand. In case you’re left-handed, the hinge corners may dig into your palm, which was additionally a problem on the predecessor. That stated, 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 quilt display screen, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the again and a Titanium plate layer as a substitute of a carbon fiber sheet beneath the display screen for added show sturdiness. Plus, you get mud and water resistance with an IP48 ranking. 

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Samsung improved the quilt display screen, too. It is not fixated on the slim type issue, enabling the 6.5-inch AMOLED display screen with a 21:9 facet ratio so apps work together higher and play alongside properly with the entire slab phone-like really feel. It is brilliant sufficient to see outside and has the identical 120Hz dynamic refresh fee and HDR10+ assist because the internal show. With the ability to textual content, scroll by way of social media, and browse the online 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 liked my expertise on this sharp and vivid panel, but it surely is not as immersive as earlier than. 

Samsung caught to an under-display digital camera (UDC) for years, which made the studying, looking 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 might favor 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 every phone I’ve ever tested feel outdated

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

Coming to one of the best a part of the folding display screen, there’s just about no crease. Samsung’s new butterfly hinge mechanism has efficiently negated it. In truth, Galaxy Z Fold 7 has the least quantity of crease on any book-style folding telephone 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 operating by way of the center of the display screen. 

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

The hinge, too, feels extra premium than different foldables. In case 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, but it surely 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 an identical 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 might 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 appropriate hand) to carry. It’s barely more durable to unfold, however you will 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 telephone make it thinner, I do not thoughts lacking out on a stylus that must be saved in an exterior case. 

Helpful AI and at last: a digital camera improve

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

I truly discovered a few of the telephone’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 photographs, there are many helpful AI instruments that really work. 

Additionally: The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra was nearly unusable for me – until I downloaded this one app

Coming from a OnePlus telephone lately, I believe Samsung may gain advantage from displaying related pop-ups for on-call options like transcribe and translate. As of now, it’s good to swipe down and faucet on the Reside 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 telephone. 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 pictures in most eventualities. I like to recommend taking pictures most photographs in 200MP mode, so you possibly can crop them later and but retain the main points, because the 3x tele lens is not one of the best. 

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

Samsung has additionally improved the shutter velocity, 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 essentially the most polished photobomber-removal device. 

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One other cool characteristic for videographers: Audio Eraser can now mechanically detect what to tune out and has a chosen button in your gallery. It made my voice a bit of robotic, but it surely did properly to suppress background noise. 

Let’s discuss battery life

Sadly, Samsung did not improve the battery capability on its new foldable. In truth, it hasn’t elevated the battery dimension 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 determination, particularly when competing units have 5,500mAh+ silicon-carbon batteries. 

Additionally: I replaced my Galaxy S25 Plus with the S25 Edge (and Samsung may do the same)

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

I often common about 9 hours on my telephone each day and needed to cost my Z Fold 7 each night round 6 PM for my night social media scrolling. In case you’re a heavy telephone consumer, anticipate to plug in your Z Fold 7 after the work day, or earlier in case your utilization entails a whole 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 telephone. I might love for it to have an even 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 consumer interface. Briefly, that is essentially the most polished folding telephone expertise, in my view. 

Nonetheless, it does not come low cost. After a $100 worth bump, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s costliest Fold but, beginning at $2,000. In case you can spend that quantity on a smartphone, you possibly can’t go flawed with this telephone. It is a generational leap over its predecessor, and if yow will discover a very good change supply, I like to recommend upgrading from final yr’s Z Fold 6, too. In case you’re a enterprise skilled or want a telephone for productiveness, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 must be in your radar.