Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
TL;DR Despite largely positive reviews, several Galaxy Z Fold 7 users report difficulty opening the device due to its ultra-thin sides and strong magnets.
Community members have tried cases, skins, grip tape, and techniques like optimal thumb placement as workarounds.
Some suggest hardware changes, like grippier textures or indentations, could improve usability without compromising the design too much.
Chinese foldables have dominated the last few years, mainly because Samsung was asleep at the wheel. But with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung has surprisingly turned the tide in its favor. Not only has the foldable received rave reviews, but users have lapped up on this actually good foldable. However, the first wave of users have encountered a peculiar problem: The Fold 7 is so thin that opening it is a problem.
Reddit user Joneep recently shared that opening the Fold 7 is really difficult. According to them, the sides of the phone are too thin, which doesn’t give them enough surface area to grip onto. The magnets holding the phone shut are too strong, so they need a bit of force to unfold the Fold 7. The user complains that they cannot open the phone while they are in the middle of errands, as they need to be careful not to drop the phone at the same time.
And it’s not just one user complaining about this; several others in the Reddit thread echo the concerns. A Reddit user mentioned that opening the phone is easier with a case on, but they want to use it without a case to appreciate its thin profile. ZeCoderX agrees that using a complete case makes unfolding the device much easier. Reddit user CriticalDuckky mentions that a lot of reviewers slipped with their first attempt at opening the phone.
Reddit user Djic mentions that Samsung should have added a grippier texture to the frame, while Alternative-Farmer98 wishes Samsung had added an indentation to make it easier to pop open the phone. However, these changes are a bit too late to make on the Fold 7.
Users have also gotten crafty when trying to open the Fold 7. For instance, one Reddit user used CatTongue grip tape on the sides. The phone pictured is a Fold 6, but the same product will also work wonders with the Fold 7.
Others in the thread mention that Dragon Grips also work well. You could use any other grip tape, too, like Reddit user SpaceDandye did on their Fold 7, though the execution could have been better.
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