GoKawiilBrady Snyder / Android Authority
Smartphone innovation is dead, they said. It’s partly true — year-over-year changes are minimal in 2026, and it takes a few smartphone generations stacking up to form compelling value propositions. It’s easy to miss just how far we’ve come in a couple of short years between phone generations, especially with relatively new categories like foldables. I bought the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 on the release date in 2022, and after using the Galaxy Z Fold 7 intermittently for more than six months, it’s hard to believe these two phones are related.
If you’ve ever owned or used a Galaxy Z Fold 4, you know just how poorly that decision aged. That model was the last Galaxy Z Fold generation to feel like a prototype. The experience got a little better with the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which folded completely shut for the first time. Then, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 added formal dust resistance with an IP48 rating. Finally, the current Galaxy Z Fold 7 tacked on a 200MP camera and a wider cover screen while making the chassis thinner and lighter.
Throw it all together, and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a much bigger upgrade over the Galaxy Z Fold 4 after just three generations than you might expect. If you’re a Galaxy Z Fold 4 owner like me and haven’t upgraded yet, there’s not much else to wait for.
Is now a good time to invest in a large foldable? 21 votes Yes, they are mature and refined 33 % No, they aren't durable enough yet 19 % Yes, they finally got the cover screen right 0 % No, they're still too expensive 33 % Yes, they're thin and light enough 5 % Something else (comments) 10 %
Foldable phones finally feel like a regular slab phone
Brady Snyder / Android Authority
I open the inner display of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 much more than I do while using the Galaxy Z Fold 7. That might sound counterintuitive, because the large folding display is the expensive part. However, it’s a testament to how much Samsung has refined the outer screen and overall form factor of the Galaxy Z Fold 7. In the photo above, you’ll see that the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s outer screen (middle) feels closer to that of the Galaxy S26 Ultra (left) than the Galaxy Z Fold 4 (right).
Samsung put a 6.2-inch cover display on the Galaxy Z Fold 4, but it wasn’t very impressive. The screen could hit 120Hz and offered a FHD+ resolution, although the 23.1:9 aspect ratio left much to be desired. It was still tall and narrow, making typing on the external screen uncomfortable and error-prone. The phone’s 15.8mm thickness only made matters worse. Between the narrow aspect ratio and thick chassis, you could forget one-handed typing with the Galaxy Z Fold 4 shut.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 addresses each and every one of these concerns, starting with the form factor. It measures only 8.9mm when folded, which is almost half as thick as the Galaxy Z Fold 4. More importantly, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 didn’t fold flat. The hinge mechanism formed a wedge shape when shut, leaving a gap between the two halves of the phone.
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