Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 – Samsung Finally Nails It—But at a Cost!

Introduction

After a few years of playing it safe, Samsung is back in full force with the Galaxy Z Fold7. This time, the foldable flagship finally delivers the upgrades fans have been waiting for—sleeker design, lighter build, and major camera improvements. The Z Fold7 not only looks and feels more premium, but also catches up with the competition in portability and photography.

Samsung has also managed to expand both the outer and inner screens, giving users more viewing space than before. However, there’s one big trade-off—the company ditched S Pen support entirely, including the built-in holster. Still, this move helped make the phone thinner and more refined.

Design

At first glance, the Galaxy Z Fold7 looks familiar, but it’s noticeably slimmer and lighter than its predecessor. Samsung clearly focused on making the device more compact and easier to handle—without compromising durability.

The biggest design change lies in the new Armor FlexHinge. It’s not only smaller but also sturdier, featuring a clever multi-rail “water droplet” structure that spreads out stress more evenly across the foldable display. This tweak helps reduce long-term wear and slightly softens the crease.

While the crease still exists visually, it feels smoother to the touch—and honestly, it’s time to stop worrying about it.

Display

The Galaxy Z Fold7 packs a massive 8.0-inch LTPO OLED display on the inside, up from 7.6 inches last year. It sports a resolution of 1968 x 2184 pixels, a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and HDR10+ support. As usual, there’s no Dolby Vision, but HDR content looks stunning on both YouTube and Netflix.

Brightness levels are impressive—707 nits manually and a whopping 1,408 nits in auto mode. Although that’s slightly lower than last year’s Z Fold6, the difference is barely noticeable in real-world use. The screen remains bright and clear even under harsh sunlight.

Battery Life

Despite being thinner, Samsung has managed to keep the same 4,400mAh battery. Thanks to the new Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, the Fold7 runs more efficiently, and it shows.

In tests, the phone scored an 11-hour and 44-minute Active Use Score. While that’s just average compared to rivals, it’s still an improvement over the Fold6. Gaming and call times are better, though web browsing takes a small hit due to the larger display.

Charging Speed

Charging remains the Fold’s weakest link. The 25W wired and 15W wireless charging speeds feel outdated for a premium device in 2025. With a compatible USB-PD PPS charger, the Fold7 charges 50% in 30 minutes and fully in about 90 minutes.

Samsung does include several battery protection options, such as limiting charging to 80–90% or disabling fast charging entirely—helpful for preserving battery health over time.

Software

The Z Fold7 is the first phone to launch with Android 16 and One UI 8.0 out of the box. It’s a rare move for Samsung to debut unreleased Android software, but fans aren’t complaining. The interface looks nearly identical to One UI 7, which already brought a major design refresh.

The best part? Samsung promises a whopping seven years of OS upgrades and security updates—a serious commitment to longevity that few brands can match.

Performance

Under the hood, the Fold7 runs the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy—a boosted version of Qualcomm’s flagship chip. It features two Prime Oryon cores clocked at 4.47GHz, six Performance cores, and a powerful Adreno 830 GPU with a new sliced architecture for improved graphics processing.

While performance is blazing fast, thermal throttling is still an issue during prolonged gaming or heavy workloads. The phone heats up quickly and reduces performance to stay cool.

Camera

This is where the Z Fold7 truly shines. Samsung finally upgraded the main camera to the same 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor used in the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The result? Sharper details, richer colors, and improved low-light performance.

The ultrawide camera now comes with autofocus, letting you take crisp close-up macro shots—something previous Fold models couldn’t do. However, the telephoto lens remains unchanged and underwhelming compared to the rest of the setup.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 is a massive step forward for Samsung’s foldable lineup. It’s thinner, lighter, and more refined than ever. The bigger screens, improved main camera, and premium design make it a joy to use.

Sure, it’s not perfect—the slow charging, average battery life, missing S Pen, and mediocre telephoto lens hold it back slightly. But overall, the Z Fold7 feels like the foldable Samsung should have launched years ago.

With Android 16, seven years of updates, and flagship-level performance, the Galaxy Z Fold7 proves that Samsung is ready to reclaim its dominance in the foldable market.