Holding the Galaxy Z Fold 7, I have to remind myself this is not just any ordinary phone. The wildly thin design and wider cover screen makes this generation of Samsung's foldable feel incredibly normal, at least when it's closed. When it's unfolded, it's a whole different story.
I got to check out the Z Fold 7 at Samsung's Unpacked event in New York last week, along with the Z Flip 7 and Z Flip 7 FE. I've used many foldable phones, but the feel of the Z Fold 7 struck me as being the future of this category.
Watch this: Ultra Thin: First Look at the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 02:45
At 8.9mm thick when folded and weighing 215 grams, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 doesn't feel much different than a standard slate phone. The 6.5-inch cover display makes it something I can see myself willingly using to scroll through social media, text and watch videos.
But when opened, Samsung's book-style foldable is anything but ordinary. At just 4.2mm thick, it boasts a wildly slim profile that steals the spotlight from even the 5.8mm-thick Galaxy S25 Edge. The 8-inch inner display is 11% larger than the one on last year's Z Fold 6, which should help with multitasking. And a Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 cover and Victus 2 back make it feel nice and sturdy.
The Z Fold 7 feels exactly like what foldable phones have strived to be all along: thin, lightweight and spacious -- and also as "normal" as possible, at least where it matters. It also features an impressive 200-megapixel main camera, just like the not-so-thin S25 Ultra.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 weighs 215 grams, and has a more spacious display. Joseph Maldonado/CNET/PCMag
In an exclusive interview, Drew Blackard, Samsung's senior vice president of mobile product management, told CNET that by slimming down the Fold and leveling up the cameras, the book-style phone "is now a mainstream form factor." After holding the phone, I can understand what he means. The Z Fold 7 does away with the thicker build and scaled-back cameras that previously characterized foldables, and introduces something that feels equal parts sleek and familiar.
Samsung is by no means the first company to launch a thin foldable; Oppo's Find N5, Huawei's Mate X6 and Honor's Magic V3 also boast impressively slim designs, to name a few. But with the release of both the Galaxy S25 Edge and now the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung is doubling down on the skinny phone craze.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 boasts the same 200-megapixel wide camera as the S25 Ultra. Joseph Maldonado/CNET/PCMag
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