Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Hands-on: Slimmer, wider, better 

Samsung is on a roll. With the launch of the Galaxy S25 Edge, the upcoming Project Moohan that I got to try out at Google I/O, and now the Galaxy Z Fold 7, some of the company’s latest devices have been impressive. I’m far from a Samsung fanboy, but that might change after spending time with these devices.

I’ve been reviewing the Samsung Z Fold series for the past several years, and hardware-wise, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the most impressive one I’ve ever seen. I think Samsung is finally listening to its user base because the Z Fold 7 is not only thin, but the Cover Screen is finally wide enough to be used all the time. 

This has been an issue I’ve had with the Fold series. Last year, the Z Fold 6 was a little better than in the past, but the Z Fold 7 takes it a few steps further by having a Cover Screen nearly as wide as a typical bar phone. Samsung still has some way to go, but with the wider screen and skinny body, the Z Fold 7 might be my number one foldable.

Despite my enjoyment of the Z Fold 7, it’s hard to advise someone to purchase a phone that costs $2,499.99 in the North, and I’ll have to put the handset through its paces to see whether it’s worth it.

Slim thicc

In my Galaxy Z Fold 6 review, I wrote that the phone was “marginally wider but shorter than the Z Fold 5 (1mm wider and 1.5mm shorter), which makes the front screen easier to type on and use. However, the change wasn’t enough, and I still often use the inner screen when texting my friends.”

I can’t be 100 per cent certain until I’ve had more time with the device, but I feel like the Fold 7’s Cover Screen is finally wide enough to use full time. This experience is what I want from a folding phone. I mentioned this during my Pixel 9 Pro Fold review, but I loved that the handset has the same aspect ratio as a bar phone on the front. The Z Fold 7 has a 21:9 aspect ratio, which is a little tall, but it’s similar to the Sony Xperia 1, the Motorola One and more.

During my hands-on period, I spent a lot of time just trying to type on that front screen, and I found it to be a pleasing experience and didn’t feel the need to open up to the larger screen. However, I’ll need to spend much more time with the devices to say whether this experience holds up.

Before opening the phone, I should mention that this is the thinnest foldable in Canada. When folded, it measures 8.9mm, which is about 3mm thinner than the Z Fold 6, nearly 3mm thinner than the OnePlus Open, and 1.5mm thinner than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It’s also about 0.7mm thicker than the S25 Ultra or the iPhone 16 Pro Max. This means when you hold the S25 Ultra, it feels like a bar phone, and with these improvements, the Z Fold 7 feels a lot better in your hand.

Unfolded, the device opens to an 8-inch display with a 2184 x 1968-pixel resolution. I love that this screen is bigger than its predecessor; it makes the experience of watching content, playing games, and multitasking better than before. Of course, I’ll have to put it through its paces, but I can’t imagine having any issues with this larger screen, especially since I love the similar 8-inch display on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. You can still see the crease when folding the handset, but it’s barely noticeable and a lot better than in the past.

Moving away from the handset’s design, it sports a Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. I’ve reached out to Samsung to learn what the ‘For Galaxy’ means in the 8 Elite, and will update this article when I have the answer. Additionally, it has a 4,400mAh battery, IP48 water resistance and a triple camera setup with a 200-megapixel primary camera with a f/1.7 aperture alongside a 10-megapixel with 3x telephoto and a 12-megapixel ultrawide; it also has two selfie cameras, both 10-megapixel sensors and f/2.2 aperture lenses.

It’s also worth noting that the S Pen doesn’t work with the Z Fold 7. Samsung said it found that only a small number of people used the S Pen with its foldables.

I’ll need to spend more time testing all these new elements, but Samsung promises that with the latest chipset, the 4,400mAh battery can survive longer than its predecessor, even though it’s the same power cell. When I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 last year, I found that the battery lasts about a day, and anything longer was pushing it. I expect the battery to last longer than a day, but I’ll have to share my experience after I’ve completed the review process. I’m still a bit bothered by the slow charging speeds. The Z Fold 7 only offers 25W wired charging, similar to its predecessor, which is inferior to the OnePlus Open, which provides 67W wired charging, or the S25 Ultra, which offers 45W wired charging.

I didn’t try the camera during my hands-on experience, but the 200-megapixel shooter on the Z Fold 7 is the same as the S25 Edge. I said this about the S25 Edge camera in my handset review:

“The camera experience is pretty good, though. I’ve used it for work product photography, taking pictures at the Ripley’s Aquarium, and snapping pictures throughout my day, like pictures of my ramen or cool graffiti. These images look good, offer great colour science and can capture great detail. However, something seems a little off with nighttime photography – the pictures I have taken are a little too bright and unrealistic and don’t even look like night anymore.”

I expect a similar experience when I review the Z Fold 7.

Samsung has been using a lot of ‘Ultra’ marketing with the Z Fold 7; however, I think a phone with the ‘Ultra’ experience should offer more RAM. The S25 Ultra sports 16GB of RAM, and the Z Fold 7 should match its ultra counterpart. Despite this, the 12GB of RAM should be sufficient, even for multitasking, similar to the Z Fold 6, but I’ll need to put the handset through some gaming and use its multitasking features to confirm.

Actual Now Brief 

Samsung says it has improved Now Brief, a Galaxy AI feature on the company’s most recent flagship that was pretty useless in my past testing. Now Brief is supposed to take a couple of days to understand your patterns, but after that, it should provide a summary of your day. You’ll get to see the weather, some news that might interest you, and any events you have for the day; however, it has rarely worked during my experience. Samsung says that on the new Z series devices, Now Brief should pull in more information from other apps, depending on your permissions. Now Brief should also be able to grab information from your email to suggest activities based on upcoming events.

Gemini has also been improved for the foldable screen and can now pull in even more information when the Z Fold 7 is unfolded, and you’re multitasking on multiple windows. I’m looking forward to playing around with this feature in my review. I like Gemini, and sharing even more information with the AI is optimal.

Best-ever

Samsung has impressed me with the Z Fold 7, and while the price went up in the U.S., it’s a bit more affordable in Canada at $2,499. It’s still hard to recommend a smartphone that costs so much, but if there’s any phone worth this price tag, this might be it. Also, in Canada, the device is $50 cheaper than its predecessor, which is definitely a plus.

There’s a lot I need to try out, such as the battery, the cameras, the processor, and more. However, with a thinner frame and wider body, I’m looking forward to reviewing the Z Fold 7.