Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review: stunning, bendy, and spendy

I’ve been utilizing the Galaxy Z Fold 7 for per week, and I’ve run out of how to say “It’s so good.” It’s not important, or life-changing; it’s good.

It’s an understatement, although. Samsung joins the likes of Honor and Oppo in making a folding cellphone that’s nearly as skinny as a daily cellphone, and it’s a pattern with actual advantages. In comparison with the earlier six generations of Samsung folding telephones, the Z Fold 7’s interior display seems like a bonus — one which doesn’t require the sacrifice of carrying a much bigger, bulkier gadget to get. It’s skinny. It’s luxurious. Additionally: it’s two thousand {dollars}.

It’s so good. It’s two thousand {dollars}. Someplace in between these two statements, you’ll know whether or not the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is for you. If the dimensions and bulk of earlier foldables deterred you, then that is the cellphone you’ve been ready for. Offered you’ve got, you understand, a pair grand mendacity round.

Writing a evaluate of the Fold 7 seems like writing a evaluate of two gadgets: the one you utilize with the cellphone closed, and the one which’s accessible with the cellphone open. The previous bought a significant improve this yr: it makes use of a standard 21:9 side ratio. Earlier variations of the outer display had been longer and skinnier than your common cellphone, and I by no means fairly bought used to typing on them. I generally overlook I’m utilizing a folding cellphone when the Z Fold 7 is closed.

It really works identical to a daily slab-style cellphone exterior of some excessive use instances. And for a folding cellphone? That’s mission completed.

Right here’s the Z Fold 7’s dilemma: that outer display is a 6.5-inch 1080p show that’s not as sharp or as nice to make use of in shiny mild because the excellent display on the far cheaper Galaxy S25 Extremely. That’s some extent I stored revisiting as I used the Z Fold 7. As a complete package deal there’s nearly nothing prefer it, however loads of its particular person options fall wanting the most effective slab-style telephones.

Non-foldy telephones provide higher battery life, however the margin isn’t as large as I feared. How a lot you utilize the interior display will dramatically have an effect on battery life; I bought via a day of average use and occasional interior display use with round 50 % left. With extra time on the interior display and about an hour of hotspot use, the battery was all the way down to round 30 % by bedtime. No one’s shopping for a folding cellphone for its energy effectivity, and I believe these outcomes are fairly good.

As quickly as I open the interior display, the slight shortcomings are out of thoughts. I stored forgetting that the interior display even existed, however I rapidly bought into the behavior of opening it. Have you learnt how good it’s to make use of Chrome in your cellphone with normal-ass tabs on the high of the display? Have you learnt how a lot much less fiddly a sport like Diablo Immortal is on an enormous display? Have you learnt how helpful it’s to maintain the Uber app open on one aspect of the show so you may maintain observe of your driver’s arrival when you end a sudoku on the opposite half? I do. When you begin utilizing the interior display, you retain discovering new methods to make use of it.

Not one of the above is new or unique to the Fold 7, however I can’t emphasize this sufficient: this all feels such as you’re getting away with one thing, as a result of the expertise of utilizing this cellphone whereas it’s closed feels regular. No extra chunky brick within the aspect pocket of my yoga pants. One nitpick: I don’t love how stiff it feels once I’m opening the cellphone. The grip from a case would assist right here. Total, a slimmer, lighter, well-proportioned foldable actually is a complete new ballgame.

There’s some unhealthy information. I’m not one to get labored up about the way in which any digicam bump appears, however this one protrudes lots. The cellphone sits crooked on surfaces and wobbles if you faucet the display, which inspires you to place it on a desk screen-side-down. Fewer distractions from notifications? Good! The display is slippery and the cellphone slides off the sting of the tub? Unhealthy! There wasn’t any water within the tub when that occurred, however nonetheless.

The wobble is annoying; I’ve to prop it up on a few drink coasters if I’m utilizing it on the eating room desk. Samsung’s silicone grip case appears to mitigate it, however stand instances don’t repair it. A case seems like a requirement right here (and I say that as a case hater!), however they’re skinny sufficient they don’t erase all the advantages of a slim foldable.

The Fold 7 makes use of a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset tuned for Samsung, together with 12GB of RAM within the 256GB mannequin I examined. It retains up simply high quality, and I had no issues operating Diablo Immortal on the highest show settings. The cellphone didn’t even get very heat. The Z Fold 7 did get mighty toasty in a little bit of a torture check: utilizing it as a hotspot on a espresso store patio on a high-80s afternoon. I put it within the direct solar, which you shouldn’t do, and certain sufficient, it began closing apps after about 10 minutes to try to cool itself down. Excessive, sure, however good to know for those who stay in a spot with excessive temperatures.

One other environmental consideration: mud resistance. The Z Fold 7 nonetheless doesn’t have a proper mud resistance ranking; its IP48 means it’s totally water resistant however solely proof against very small particles, not specks of mud. Take further care and think about including Samsung’s prolonged guarantee plan to cowl expensive interior display repairs.

The Z Fold 7’s 200-megapixel digicam is customized from the S25 Extremely’s, and it’s an excellent digicam right here, simply as it’s within the Extremely. Low-light images are detailed, offered your topic isn’t shifting an excessive amount of, and Samsung’s choice for vibrant reds and blues is on full show. There’s additionally a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto and a 12-megapixel ultrawide — each stable performers for those who don’t ask an excessive amount of from them. Digital zoom previous 5x from the telephoto lens appears fairly watercolor-y. However Samsung’s portrait mode with the 3x digicam stays the most effective within the sport, because it has been for years. Segmentation is so good it’s uncanny — isolating a topic all the way down to the eyelashes on my son’s eyes.

For those who examine the Z Fold 7 to a top-tier slab cellphone just like the S25 Extremely spec by spec, the folding cellphone typically comes up brief. It’s much less sturdy, battery life isn’t fairly pretty much as good, and the digicam system isn’t as versatile. However that misses the purpose of the Z Fold 7. This cellphone is a luxurious and an engineering marvel. When you’ve got the deep pockets and a thoughts open to the advantages of the large display, then I believe you’ll agree with me: it’s simply so good.

Pictures by Allison Johnson / The Verge