When I reviewed the Galaxy Z Fold 6 last year, I walked away somewhat underwhelmed. It wasn’t a bad phone, but it felt like yet another incremental upgrade.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 changes that. It feels like a proper smartphone — one that just happens to unfold. Samsung’s seventh-generation foldable is now lighter, slimmer, and easily its most impressive effort yet.
The ₹1,74,999 price tag is its biggest hurdle, but if you can stomach it, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 delivers an experience unlike anything else.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 - Design & Build
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s slimmest and lightest foldable phone to date. When folded, it measures 8.9mm and unfolds to just 4.2mm thick. At 215g, it feels lighter in the hand than any Fold before it, and the difference is immediately noticeable.
For context, it’s now lighter than Chinese rivals like the Vivo X Fold5 and Honor Magic V5. It even undercuts the Galaxy S25 Ultra in weight and feels slimmer than many traditional flagships when closed. That’s impressive for a device that still unfolds into a massive tablet.
The hinge has been reworked too — it’s rounded off and glides more smoothly than before. There is, however, a touch of stiffness when unfolding. It feels deliberate, likely to improve long-term durability, but it’s still something you notice.
The slimmer frame also makes it harder to slip my finger between the gap to open the phone. This became even more obvious when I tried the Vivo X Fold5, which is slightly thicker but noticeably easier to unfold.
Additionally, the phone has sharper corners this year, and the camera bump sticks out more than before. As a result, it wobbles excessively on flat surfaces.
Another side effect of the slimmer desgin is the removal of S Pen support. For power users, the loss of this signature productivity tool might sting, though for many others, it’s a feature they likely wouldn’t have used anyway.
It’s debatable whether the trade-off is justified, but there’s no denying that the Fold 7 is one of Samsung’s most beautifully engineered devices yet. When closed, it resembles a sleek glass slab with ultra-thin bezels framing its expansive cover display . S
Samsung has also refined the frame, using its stronger Advanced Armor Aluminum to make it more durable than before. For protection, the back uses Gorilla Glass Victus 2, while the front gets a tougher Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 — a noticeable upgrade over last year.
The Fold 7 also holds on to its IP48 rating, which means it can keep out dust particles larger than 1mm and handle being submerged in water up to 1.5 meters deep for 30 minutes.
The rear glass has a smooth matte finish that does a decent job of keeping fingerprints at bay. This year, it comes in three shades: Blue Shadow, Jet Black, and Silver Shadow. The Blue unit I tested strikes a perfect balance between subtle and striking.
On the right side, you’ll find a compact volume rocker and a power button that doubles as a fast, accurate fingerprint scanner. It also serves as a quick shortcut to trigger Gemini if you enable it.
Along the top edge, you get a speaker grille, several microphones, and a SIM tray that supports up to two nano SIM cards. The bottom edge packs in a second speaker, more microphones, and a USB-C port for charging and data transfer.
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Cover & Inner Displays
Two displays are the bare minimum you get with a foldable, but for years it felt like Samsung figured out the inner screen while treating the outer one as an afterthought.
The Z Fold 6 and earlier models didn’t have the best track record here. The cover display was far too narrow, and typing on it felt cramped and awkward. That’s no longer the case.
The Fold 7’s larger 6.5-inch outer screen, combined with a new 21:9 aspect ratio, gives it a noticeably wider footprint and makes typing far more comfortable. It’s still a Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a 2,520 x 1,080 resolution, LTPO tech for a 1–120Hz refresh rate, and peak brightness that now tops out at 2,600 nits.
For the first time, the outer screen doesn’t feel like a compromise. I could comfortably use it for quick replies or scrolling without needing to open the device.
But with the knowledge that there’s now a massive 8-inch display (up from 7.6 inches) just one unfold away, I often found myself opening the Fold 7 to watch videos, check my emails, and review documents. That’s the magic of a foldable done right.
On the specs front, the inner display remains as impressive as ever. It’s a Dynamic AMOLED 2X LTPO panel with a resolution of 2,184 x 1,968, peak brightness of 2,600 nits, and an adaptive refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz. However, there are two important changes worth noting.
First, Samsung has replaced the under-display selfie camera from the Z Fold 6 with a punch-hole cutout near the top of the right panel. This does break up the uninterrupted look of the screen, but like most punch-hole cameras, it quickly fades into the background during everyday use.
Second, the crease is nearly non-existent. You can still spot it when the display is off, but while using the phone, it’s far less noticeable, and you can barely feel it when scrolling, which is a significant achievement.
Together, the outer and inner displays deliver a seamless experience. Both are sharp, vibrant, and bright enough to handle anything you’re doing, whether indoors or in direct sunlight.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Cameras
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 packs a triple rear camera setup with key upgrades. The main wide camera jumps from 50MP to 200MP, borrowed from the S25 Ultra, bringing a noticeable boost in image quality. The 12MP ultrawide now supports autofocus for detailed macro shots, while the 10MP 3x telephoto remains essentially the same.
In day light, the main camera takes excellent photos with good dynaic range. The phone still tends to oversharpen things, but colors are vibrant. Images are captured at 12MP by default but for those who want to maximize resolution, you can select the phone's full 200MP mode . At night, the Fold 7's shots remained surprisingly sharp with accurate white balance.
The 3x telephoto lens delivers noticeably sharper and clearer shots than before, though image quality starts to drop once you push past that optical range.
Portrait shots come out well too, with accurate edge detection and a pleasingly soft background blur, especially when using the 3x telephoto lens. The ultrawide lens is the weakest of the three. It’s decent for landscapes but suffers from visible edge distortion.
As for the front cameras, both the inner and outer displays use 10MP sensors that deliver detailed, good-looking selfies. The 10MP punch-hole camera on the inner screen replaces last year’s 4MP under-display sensor and takes noticeably sharper looking shots.
Video quality on the Z Fold 7 is the best I’ve seen on any foldable so far. Footage is crisp, vivid, and detailed, and watching it back on those large, high-res displays feels especially satisfying.
Samsung’s new ProVisual Engine also steps things up with always-on 10-bit HDR+ for richer colors, improved contrast, and better subject focus. The phone can shoot in 8K at 30fps, but I preferred sticking to the smoother and more practical 4K at 60fps.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Performance & Battery
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 delivers flagship-level performance without breaking a sweat. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip, paired with 12GB or 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage for blazing-fast read and write speeds.
In day-to-day use, the Fold 7 feels as fast and fluid as any Snapdragon 8 Elite device. It handled heavy multitasking with ease, keeping dozens of Chrome tabs open and multiple apps running without a hitch.
The device stayed cool under normal use, only warming slightly during demanding sessions of Genshin Impact — and even then, performance remained consistent with no signs of throttling.
Of course, all that power means battery life becomes even more important. Unfortunately, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 still relies on the same 4,400mAh cell as the Fold 6.
In a three-hour streaming test over Wi-Fi, running the main screen at full brightness, the Fold 7 dropped from 100 percent to 82 percent. That’s a slight improvement over last year’s Fold 6, which hit 78 percent in the same test, likely thanks to the improved efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Still, battery life here is decent, not exceptional.
Charging speeds don’t do much to impress either. The Fold 7 supports up to 25W wired charging and 15W wireless, which feels underwhelming for a 2025 flagship.
It gets to 50 percent in about 30 minutes with a wired charger, though you won’t find one included in the box. As with other Galaxy devices this year, it’s Qi2 ready but lacks the built-in magnets for attaching accessories like wireless chargers or battery packs.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Software & AI
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 debuts with Samsung’s latest One UI 8 on top of Android 16. It’s also backed by a promise of seven years of OS and security updates, which is one of the best software support commitments you’ll find on any phone right now.
One UI 8 brings a wave of refinements and new features to Samsung’s core apps. The Calendar app now splits Events and Reminders into separate tabs for smoother navigation.
My Files gets a redesigned Categories section with refreshed icons, while Reminders sports a cleaner layout and updated visuals. Even the Gallery app adds a Private Album for sensitive photos along with a subtle icon refresh.
The Fold 7 also brings back all the signature multitasking features that make Samsung’s foldables stand out. Flex Mode lets you prop the phone up and use it like a mini laptop for hands-free tasks. DeX mode transforms it into a desktop-style interface when connected to a larger screen.
The Edge Panel offers quick access to your favorite apps and app pairs, while a persistent dock ensures your most-used tools are always within reach. You can run up to three apps side by side, with a fourth floating on top as an overlay for even more productivity.
AI is front and center on Samsung’s latest phones, and the Fold 7 is no exception. Gemini Live gets a serious upgrade this year with real-time visual search. Using AI Mode, you can point your camera or share your screen and let Gemini analyse what’s in front of you. It can offer outfit feedback, break down what you’re seeing, or even help you interact with on-screen content.
Circle to Search has been improved too. You can now use it mid-game to get quick tips or learn more about characters and enemies without leaving the action.
One of the handiest new additions is Side-by-Side comparison in generative editing mode. As the name implies, it lets you view a photo next to its original while making changes, so you can compare edits in real time with zero hassle.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Review: Verdict
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 isn’t just Samsung’s best foldable yet. It’s the first one that feels like it’s finally living up to the promise of this form factor. It’s slimmer, lighter, and more polished in ways that matter.
The wider cover screen makes it feel completely natural to use when closed, while the expansive inner display has become my favorite way to watch movies and juggle multiple apps. Best of all, Samsung didn’t sacrifice camera quality to get here.
That said, it remains a wildly expensive phone, and the lack of S Pen support could disappoint longtime Fold users. Battery life and charging speeds also leave room for improvement. Still, even with those caveats, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 feels like a huge leap forward for Samsung — a foldable that finally lives up to its big ambitions.
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