The first foldable phones hit the market six years ago, and they were rife with compromises and shortcomings. Many of those problems have persisted, but little by little, foldables have gotten better. With the release of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung has made the biggest leap yet. This device solves some of the most glaring problems with Samsung's foldables, featuring a new, slimmer design and a big camera upgrade.
Samsung's seventh-generation foldable has finally crossed that hazy boundary between novelty and practicality, putting a tablet-sized screen in your pocket without as many compromises. There are still some drawbacks, of course, but for the first time, this feels like a foldable phone you'd want to carry around.
Whether or not you can justify the $1,999 price tag is another matter entirely.
Most improved foldable
Earlier foldable phones were pocket-busting bricks, but companies like Google, Huawei, and OnePlus have made headway streamlining the form factor—the Pixel 9 Pro Fold briefly held the title of thinnest foldable when it launched last year. Samsung, however, stuck with the same basic silhouette for versions one through six, shaving off a millimeter here and there with each new generation. Now, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 has successfully leapfrogged the competition with an almost unbelievably thin profile.
Specs at a glance: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 - $1,999 SoC Snapdragon 8 Elite Memory 12GB, 16GB Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB Display Cover: 6.5-inch 1080 x 2520 120 Hz OLED
Internal: 8-inch 1968 x 2184 120 Hz flexible OLED Cameras 200MP primary, f/1.7, OIS; 10 MP telephoto, f/2.4, OIS; 12 MP ultrawide, f/2.2; 10 MP selfie cameras (internal and external), f/2.2 Software Android 16, 7 years of OS updates Battery 4,400 mAh, 25 W wired charging, 15 W wireless charging Connectivity Wi-Fi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4, sub-6 GHz and mmWave 5G, USB-C 3.2 Measurements Folded: 158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9 mm
Unfolded: 158.4 x 143.2 x 4.2 mm
215 g
Clocking in at just 215 g and 8.9 mm thick when folded, the Z Fold 7 looks and feels like a regular smartphone when closed. It's lighter than Samsung's flagship flat phone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and is only a fraction of a millimeter thicker. The profile is now limited by the height of the standard USB-C port. You can use the Z Fold 7 in its closed state without feeling hindered by an overly narrow display or hand-stretching thickness.
Credit: Ryan Whitwam The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 looks like any other smartphone at a glance. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 looks like any other smartphone at a glance. Credit: Ryan Whitwam
It seems unreal at times, like this piece of hardware should be a tech demo or a dummy phone concept rather than Samsung's newest mass-produced device. The only eyebrow-raising element of the folded profile is the camera module, which sticks out like a sore thumb.