Some say that the folding phone is a solution in search of a problem, a party trick destined for the tech-history dustbin alongside the minidisc player and the virtual boy. For years, they’ve been chunky, compromised, and eye-wateringly expensive, the technological equivalent of a kit car with a Ferrari badge glued to the bonnet. They promised the world, but delivered a device that was too heavy for your pocket and too fragile for your peace of mind. But tonight, on the test track, we have something different. Something… special. This is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7. And it might just be the moment the folding phone stops being a novelty and becomes a genuine, bona-fide supercar.
The question has always been the same: when do you ditch the familiar, reliable slab-style phone for one that bends in the middle? The answer, until now, has been “not yet.” But Samsung, now in its seventh generation of this witchcraft, might have finally cracked the code.
The Chassis – Slimmer, Lighter, Tougher
Let’s get the big news out of the way first. The Z Fold7 has been on a serious diet. It’s been to the engineers’ gym, shed the baby fat, and emerged leaner and meaner than ever before. To put it simply, this phone is lighter and smaller in your pocket than the monolithic Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (my previous phone), the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, and even the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. And none of those can magically unfurl to reveal a tablet-sized screen inside. It’s like discovering a Bugatti Chiron that’s somehow lighter than a Porsche Boxster.
Samsung has achieved this by taking the already fantastic Z Fold 6 and, in the simplest terms, pressing it flatter. It now weighs just 7.58 ounces, a significant drop from its predecessor’s 8.43 ounces. This isn’t just a number on a spec sheet; it’s the difference between a phone you tolerate and a phone you enjoy carrying. The main factor holding people back from folders (other than the price, which I’ll get to) has always been their brick-like heft. Samsung has solved this issue with style.
The chassis itself is an “Advanced Armor Aluminum” frame, trimmed down to almost nothing, with a redesigned “FlexHinge” that’s rounded and more comfortable in the hand. The front is protected by new Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, while the back gets Victus 2. It feels dense, solid, and impeccably engineered. It carries an IP48 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning it can survive a 30-minute dunk in five feet of water. When asked why the dust protection wasn’t improved, Samsung said it focused all its engineering might on slimming down the hinge. That’s like a race team focusing on aerodynamics over cup holders – a decision we can respect.
The finish is a gorgeous matte glass that resists fingerprints, and the vertical camera module now features chrome rings instead of the Fold 6’s black ones, a subtle but classy touch. You can have it in my model’s Blue Shadow, Jetblack, or Silver Shadow, with a special Mint green available directly from Samsung. It is, without a doubt, a stunning piece of industrial design. However, despite all the above, it is worth saying that to me, the case is very slippery (even when not wet) and hard to unfold without investing in a case.
The Cockpit – Two Portals to Power
A great car needs a great cockpit, and the Fold 7 delivers two. The outer “cover” screen is your daily driver mode. It’s grown from 6.3 to a more substantial 6.5 inches, and crucially, Samsung has changed the aspect ratio to 21:9. This makes it feel less like a TV remote and more like a normal phone, making typing a much more pleasant experience. It’s a Dynamic AMOLED 2x panel with a buttery smooth 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and it’s an absolute joy to use.
But the main event, of course, is when you open it up. The inner screen is now a vast 8.0-inch canvas, up from 7.6 inches on the Fold 6. This is where the magic happens. It’s your mobile command centre, your personal cinema, your multitasking monster. The bezels have been minimized to the point of near non-existence, and the display itself is bright, sharp, and vibrant.
And what of the crease? The perennial elephant in the folding room? It’s still there if you go looking for it with the screen off, but Samsung has worked wonders. A new titanium lattice behind the display and a redesigned hinge allow the flexible glass to form a gentler teardrop shape when closed, flattening the crease significantly. When the display is on, it completely disappears. It’s a non-issue.
There is one change that might divide opinion. The inner selfie camera is no longer a clever but lower-quality under-display unit. It’s now a simple, visible punch-hole cutout. It means the screen is no longer a perfectly uninterrupted slab, but the trade-off is a much better camera, and honestly, you stop noticing the hole after about five minutes.
The Engine Room – Snapdragon’s Finest
Under the bonnet lies the heart of the beast: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy. This is the top-of-the-line V12, the pinnacle of mobile processing power available today. Paired with 12GB of RAM and ultra-fast UFS 4.0 storage, the phone is ludicrously quick. Apps launch instantly, multitasking is seamless, and AI functions perform flawlessly. Geekbench 6 scores show a massive leap over the Fold 6, scoring 3,024 on the single-core and 9,468 on the multi-core tests, leaving rivals like the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold in its dust.
To test its mettle, we took it for a hot lap with Asphalt Legends. The result? Utterly flawless. The game ran as smoothly as I’ve ever seen on any device, with zero frame drops or stutters, even on the sprawling 8-inch display. The GFXBench test confirms this, hitting an incredible 88 frames per second, a huge jump over the Fold 6’s 63fps. Like any high-performance engine, it gets noticeably warm under load, particularly below the camera module, but never uncomfortably so. This phone simply conquers every task with ease.
Range Anxiety and A Tragic Loss
Now, for the compromises. To make a car this light and fast, something has to give. For the Z Fold 7, it’s the fuel tank and a beloved feature. The battery remains the same 4,400mAh cell as last year, a choice made to manage heat and achieve that razor-thin design. In a video streaming test, it lasted a respectable 13 hours and 10 minutes, a good improvement on the Fold 6, but still just “average” and trailing slab phones like the S25 Ultra. Charging is also just okay at 25W, taking about 90 minutes for a full top-up from empty.
But the biggest cost of this new, svelte design is a gut punch for power users: the Z Fold7 has lost S Pen support. Samsung says that to fit the stronger glass and the new titanium hinge support, there simply wasn’t room for the S Pen’s active digitizer layer. For those who saw the Fold as the ultimate digital notebook, this is a genuine tragedy. It’s like ordering a Porsche GT3 and finding out they’ve removed the option for a manual gearbox. A crying shame.
The Optics – A Big Step Forward
For the first time, buying Samsung’s most expensive phone doesn’t mean settling for a compromised camera. The Z Fold 7 takes a huge leap forward. The main sensor is the same stonking 200MP unit found in the flagship S25 Ultra, and it produces fantastic shots. Images are sharp, detailed, and vibrant (if a tad oversaturated in classic Samsung style). The 12MP ultra-wide and 10MP 3x telephoto cameras have also been improved, with the ultra-wide gaining a dedicated macro mode for impressive closeups.
The selfie cameras, both the 10MP one on the cover screen and the new 10MP punch-hole camera inside, are also much improved, delivering clearer, brighter photos with more realistic colour. A new “ProVisual Engine” works with the Snapdragon chip to deliver better processing across the board, which also benefits video. You can shoot clean, colourful 8K footage, and the experience is the best I’ve ever seen from a folding phone. It may not quite dethrone the S25 Ultra as the absolute king of camera phones, but it’s no longer a weakness. It’s a genuine strength.
Accessorise to the fullest
While on the matter of strength, aside from the Galaxy Fold 7 being a smart, stylish and ultimately capable device, let’s not forget that it’s screen is not just great for streaming, it’s great for work too! A quick on-line tech search will have a usable keyboard arriving at your door, turning your phone into a mini laptop. Add some wireless lapel mics and a gimbal (or selfie stick) and watch old Spielberg – endless opportunities. Then of course, you can add a Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra for ultimate connectivity.
Tarmac Takeaway
So, here we are. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is thinner and lighter than its biggest slab-style rivals. It’s powered by the fastest engine on the market. It has excellent displays, smarter AI, and a camera system that finally feels worthy of the price tag.
Is it perfect? No. The price is, to use the technical term, “outlandishly expensive,” starting at a stratospheric c$3,000 in NZ. The battery life is only average, and the loss of the S Pen will sting a dedicated few. But for years we’ve been waiting for the foldable concept car to become a production reality you’d actually want to own. This is that car. It’s a refined, appealing, and immensely powerful device that feels less like a compromise and more like a genuine evolution. It is, bar none, the best folding phone you can buy. It is ambitious, it is brilliant, and it is, finally, ready for the main stage.
