Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Hands-On Review: Table of Contents
After months of rumors and anticipation, Korean tech giant Samsung has released its 2025 foldable lineup, consisting of three models: the Galaxy Z Fold7, the Galaxy Z Flip7, and the Galaxy Z Flip7 FE. In this hands-on, first impressions article, we’ll focus on the Galaxy Z Fold7, the showstopper at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked July event.
Whether it is the thin chassis, the sleek bezels around the screens, the immense power and graphical prowess that the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor offers, or the One UI 8 user interface, the Fold 7 is a worthwhile upgrade to the Fold 6, as it addresses most of the issues users had the with foldable.
Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Hands-on Review: Massive Upgrades
Design
The moment you hold the Galaxy Z Fold7 in your hands, you’ll realize that there’s something different about this foldable: it’s the exceptionally thin 4.2mm chassis (when unfolded) and the lightweight design.
For the first time in the history of Samsung’s foldables, a book-style Fold weighs less than its conventional smartphone. The Fold 7 weighs 215 grams, making it three grams lighter than the S25 Ultra (review).
I can’t stress this enough, but this, right here, is a marvelous feat of engineering from Samsung, which has been achieved by shaving off some weight from the hinge, the foldable screen, and the metallic frame.
Even when folded, the phone measures just 8.9mm, making it substantially thinner than the Fold 6 and other popular book-style foldables, like the OnePlus Open (review) or the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Thickness seemed to be a problem for Samsung foldables for quite a long time, but with the Fold 7, it has been resolved (and resolved well).
Throughout the frame and the hinge, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 features Advanced Armor Aluminum, which, per Samsung, is 10% harder and stronger than the one used in the Fold 6. With flat edges and a boxy aesthetic, the Fold 7 has a distinct look, which immediately resembles the rest of Samsung’s 2025 flagship lineup.
Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7 & Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE Launched in India
Display(s)
On the outside, the Fold 7 flaunts a 6.5-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen (2520 x 1080), which is noticeably bigger than the 6.3-inch cover screen on the Fold 6. In fact, the Fold 7’s cover screen is bigger than the one on the OnePlus Open and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
On the inside, the Fold 7 boasts an 8.0-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x screen (2184 x 1968), which is larger than the one we’ve seen on the Fold 6 (a 7.8-inch screen) and the OnePlus Open, and comparable to the foldable display on the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold. While the cover screen features Corning’s Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 protection, the back panel features Gorila Glass Victus 2.
While you already know about the screen size and the resolution, both the cover and the inner screen feature variable refresh rate (1-120Hz) and can shine as bright as 2,600 nits (ever so slightly less than how bright the OnePlus Open and the Pixel Fold, but still sufficiently bright to view under direct sunlight).
Now, you must be wondering about how visible the crease is on the Fold 7. It is still there, but is it less noticeable than the crease on the Fold 6. To put it another way, the crease is much less obstructing while watching movies, browsing the internet, or scrolling through social media platforms. In fact, you wouldn’t realize it’s there while using the phone in a 50:50 split-screen view.
Unfortunately, Samsung has dropped support for S-Pen on the Fold 7, as making the screen thinner didn’t leave any space for adding the digitizer that interacts with the stylus. So, no, there won’t be an accessory that lets you purchase an S-Pen with a dedicated case and use it with the Fold 7.
Hardware
Under the hood, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset, which is an overclocked version of the mobile platform. It delivers a performance boost of 41% in NPU, 38% in CPU, and 26% in GPU compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on the Fold 6.
The Fold 7 is available in the following variant:
- 12GB RAM + 256GB storage
- 12GB RAM + 512GB storage
- 16GB RAM + 1TB storage
Besides the powerful chipset, the handset features LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage, indicating that Samsung didn’t cut any corners with the memory and storage configuration.
With an exceptionally powerful CPU, GPU, NPU, and capable memory and storage, the Fold 7 can only handle run-of-the-mill tasks like everyday browsing, scrolling, and emailing with ease, but it can also handle demanding workflows like top-tier video games (set to highest graphics settings), recording 8K videos, or editing 4K videos through a video editing app.
And yes, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip makes it as powerful as mainstream smartphones, such as the Galaxy S25 Ultra or the OnePlus 13 (review). The foldable’s form factor could be a bottleneck for the chipset, but moreover, you can expect seamless, snappy, and sustained performance from the Fold 7.
Also Read: Samsung Unpacked: How To Watch Galaxy Z Fold7, Flip7 Launch Event Live
Software
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 comes with One UI 8 pre-installed, which is based on Android 16. This is also the first time the Korean smartphone maker has debuted a new version of its user interface with a foldable handset.
Interestingly, the Fold 7, along with the Flip 7 and the Flip 7 FE, are the first non-Google smartphones to ship with an Android 16-based user interface.
One UI 8 builds upon the expansive feature set of One UI 7, and optimizes it for the foldable’s gigantic screen. The Fold 7 gets Gemini Live, Google’s advanced AI voice assistant that can understand multimodal inputs and perform multi-step tasks. Then you have Circle to Search, an excellent visual lookup feature that can fetch more information about anything that’s on your screen.
There’s a new AI Results View feature that displays results from AI features in a separate Split View or a Floating View, so the user’s original content remains unobstructed. The Fold 7 also features the Now Bar (enriched with Android 16’s Live Updates) and Now Brief, which extract all the insightful information from the apps and display it as actionable suggestions on the lock screen and in the app, respectively.
Further, on the Fold7, you can point your camera at something and ask Gemini questions about it. One UI 8 also brings improvements to system apps, such as My Files, which can display app-specific filters. Additionally, it introduces a new Quick Share interface with dedicated sections for sending and receiving files, as well as other enhancements to the Samsung Health and Samsung Internet apps.
Cameras
- Primary: 200MP (f/1.7)
- Secondary: 10MP (f/2.4) 3x telephoto
- Tertiary: 12MP (f/2.2, 120°) ultrawide
- Inner Selfie: 10MP (f/2.2, 100° field of view)
- Cover Selfie: 10MP (f/2.2)
The Galaxy Z Fold7 features a 200MP primary camera, which is a massive upgrade from the Fold 6’s 50MP sensor. Not only does it have a higher resolution, it also has a lower aperture (f/1.7 vs. f/1.8) and a larger sensor (1/1.3-inch vs. 1/1.57-inch). With such a high resolution, the camera captures more details, both at 1x and 2x (in-sensor zoom).
While the secondary 10MP (f/2.4) sensor with a 3x optical zoom lens is similar to the Fold 6, the 12MP (f/2.2) ultrawide sensor, albiet with a slightly narrowed field of view, has gained autofocusing abilities for capturing macro shots. The 10MP (f/2.2) camera on the cover screen remains unchanged, but there’s one update that probably nobody was expecting.
Another noteworthy upgrade is the removal of the 4MP under-display camera and the addition of a 10MP (f/2.2) punch-hole selfie shooter on the inner screen, featuring a 100° field of view. So, the Fold 7 can now accommodate more people in selfies when it is unfolded.
Besides the hardware upgrades, you get the entire suite of Galaxy AI’s photo editing features, including Generative Edit, Portrait Studio, AI Drawing, Sktech to Image, Live Effects, Instant Slow-Mo, and Audio Erarser.
Also Read: Nothing Phone (3) Review: The Most Hyped and Divisive Android of 2025 — My Verdict
Battery and Charging
It’s slightly disappointing to see the same 4,400 mAh battery on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but combined with the Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm)’s efficiency, the handset is expected to deliver either a similar or a better battery life than the Fold 6.
Pricing
- Galaxy Z Fold 7 (256GB): Rs. 1,74,990 / $1,999.99
Galaxy Z Fold 7 (512GB): Rs. 1,89,990 / $2,119.99 - Galaxy Z Fold 7 (1TB): Rs. 2,09,990 / 2,419.99
My Thoughts
The Galaxy Z Fold7 is undoubtedly the most refined and powerful book-style consumer-grade foldable by Samsung. All the problems I had with the Fold 6, I see being resolved with the Fold 7 (except for the battery, but I’ll let it go as the phone excels in all other aspects).
The bigger screens, a true flagship processor, Samsung’s One UI 8 update, Gemini AI assistant (with multimodal capabilities), a 200MP primary camera, and a 10MP punch-hole camera on the primary screen, all these updates make the Fold 7 the rightful successor to the Fold 6.
I’m simply glad that the Fold 7 isn’t just another incremental upgrade.
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