The foldable market as we know it today exists because of Samsung, but to say the company fumbled its lead is an understatement. The company’s foldables over the past few years have been stagnant, boring, and arguably insulting to customers amid rapidly improving competition in other parts of the world. But, finally, Samsung is giving in and acknowledging that it needed to catch up, and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 are a tremendous showing of what the company is capable of when it actually hits the gas.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a tremendous leap forward
Last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 was a moderate upgrade over what came before, but it ultimately didn’t really solve the complaints of the device that came before it. In many key ways, Samsung’s book-style foldables hadn’t changed meaningfully since 2021’s Galaxy Z Fold 3. The core form factor was basically the same for four generations. It got boring, to the point where my Galaxy Z Fold 6 review last year repeatedly said “until you look at the competition” regarding every part of the device.
That’s no longer the case this year.
While the jury is still out on cameras, battery life, and other real-life use aspects, the hardware alone is a massive improvement on Galaxy Z Fold 7. The whole package is now just 8.9mm when folded, down from 12.1mm on the Fold 6.
That puts Samsung in the #2 spot in terms of the world’s thinnest foldables, behind only the Honor Magic V5 in its one specific color that manages to be 8.8mm thick. That color footnote, though, means that, where it counts, Samsung now makes the thinnest foldable on the market. That’s especially true for the US market, as Samsung’s offering is now thinner than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and OnePlus Open, the only two competitors available in that region.
The thinner profile isn’t just an aesthetic benefit either. It makes for a device that feels nicer to use, and the cut-down weight being less than even the Galaxy S25 Ultra is just a cherry on top. I can’t say it with confidence just yet, but I do think Samsung might have the best foldable hardware of all time here. It certainly gives the Oppo Find N5, the current owner of that title, a serious run for its money.
This comes at the expense of S Pen support, which is simply gone, as well as the lack of a bigger battery. But with Snapdragon 8 Elite under the hood, I’m not very concerned about battery life being a disappointment. If anything, it’s probably better than what my Pixel 9 Pro Fold manages.
Despite being so thin, though, there are other improvements that actually matter.
The displays are now bigger, something you’ll feel immediately. The inner display is expansive and now feels caught up with Oppo and Google, because it is. Meanwhile, the outer display is roughly identical to a traditional smartphone, which just feels right. I’ve been a defender of the narrow design for a while, but it’s clear that this is what the market wants, and I do think it’s the better choice.
Samsung also managed to cram a 200MP camera in this thing, which I’m excited to check out following the minor improvements on the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera, especially as this is the exact same sensor.
To Samsung, I can just say this.
Kudos.
After a few years of stagnation and disappointment, you’ve proved your prowess, and I cannot wait to spend more time with this device.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 will be an undersung marvel
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the one Samsung wants to talk about, and the one that’s going to continue to get all of the eyeballs. But the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is an unexpected underdog here.
Flip phones are already a bit dubious to me in that I find the form factor unnecessarily restrictive, but Motorola’s Razr series continues to stretch the boundaries of those inherent restrictions. Samsung, though, only left me disappointed with the Galaxy Z Flip series time and time again.
The full-size cover display is the biggest upgrade on the Galaxy Z Flip 7, obviously, and it was an inevitable one. Samsung’s folder-shaped display was an improvement, yes, but it very much felt like it was somewhere in between Samsung being unable to admit that Motorola did it better and the company just not pushing itself for something better. But with that said, I’m thrilled in how this was implemented. Samsung’s display is expansive and quite literally pushes all the way to the edge, being even bigger than Motorola’s. On top of that, it’s also now 120Hz, fixing one of the dumbest blunders of the Flip 5 and Flip 6.
The bigger canvas is absolutely undercut by Samsung’s refusal to easily allow any app to be used on that display, but I’m just glad the hardware is there. After all, it’s not that hard to expand app support.
But that’s not the only upgrade, despite most people thinking that’s the case.
Samsung has tweaked the hardware in some meaningful ways.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 has a bigger, wider 6.9-inch display which feels more like a normal phone in regular usage. No longer is it overly tall and narrow. It’s truly just a normal phone that folds in half.
The hardware as a whole is also noticeable thinner, dropping down to 13.7mm when folded up. That’s still pretty thick for a phone, especially knowing Fold 7 is just 8.9mm, but this is the first time we’ve had a flip phone make a meaningful improvement in this area. It’s hard to get across in pictures, but the difference is immediately noticeable in person. To Samsung’s credit, too, this is one of those increasibly-rare occurrences of Galaxy pushing the envelope forward for an industry rather than waiting for everyone else to do it first. For the second time, kudos Samsung.
Of course, the other annoying asterisk is that Galaxy Z Flip 7 is $1,099 despite ditching Snapdragon for Exynos, but I digress…
Samsung has, for the first time in a while, actually impressed with its new foldables. These aren’t a rehash or a letdown. They’re a massive leap forward, and I’m beyond excited to spend more time with them. Stay tuned for our Galaxy Z Fold 7 review in the near future, and a Flip 7 review sometime down the road as well.
Pre-orders for the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7, and Galaxy Watch 8 are now open through Samsung.com with up to $1,100 in trade-in values, plus an additional $50 in Samsung credit when you order through 9to5Google’s links below, but that credit only applies if you check out within 30 minutes.
- Galaxy Z Fold 7 at Samsung.com
- Galaxy Z Flip 7 at Samsung.com
- Galaxy Watch 8 at Samsung.com
- Galaxy Watch 8 Classic at Samsung.com
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