Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 assessment: gorgeous, flexible, and spendy

I’ve been utilizing the Galaxy Z Fold 7 for per week, and I’ve run out of the way 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 virtually as skinny as a daily cellphone, and it’s a development with actual advantages. In comparison with the earlier six generations of Samsung folding telephones, the Z Fold 7’s inside 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 scale and bulk of earlier foldables deterred you, then that is the cellphone you’ve been ready for. Supplied you may have, you recognize, a pair grand mendacity round.

Writing a assessment of the Fold 7 seems like writing a assessment of two units: the one you employ with the cellphone closed, and the one which’s accessible with the cellphone open. The previous obtained a serious improve this 12 months: it makes use of a traditional 21:9 side ratio. Earlier variations of the outer display have been longer and skinnier than your common cellphone, and I by no means fairly obtained used to typing on them. I typically overlook I’m utilizing a folding cellphone when the Z Fold 7 is closed.

It really works similar to a daily slab-style cellphone outdoors 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 vivid mild because the excellent display on the far cheaper Galaxy S25 Extremely. That’s a degree I stored revisiting as I used the Z Fold 7. As a complete package deal there’s virtually nothing prefer it, however loads of its particular person options fall in need of the perfect slab-style telephones.

Non-foldy telephones provide higher battery life, however the margin isn’t as extensive as I feared. How a lot you employ the inside display will dramatically have an effect on battery life; I obtained by a day of average use and occasional inside display use with round 50 p.c left. With extra time on the inside display and about an hour of hotspot use, the battery was right down to round 30 p.c 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 inside display, the slight shortcomings are out of thoughts. I stored forgetting that the inside display even existed, however I shortly obtained 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 recreation 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’ll be able to hold monitor of your driver’s arrival whilst you end a sudoku on the opposite half? I do. When you begin utilizing the inside 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. General, a slimmer, lighter, well-proportioned foldable actually is an entire new ballgame.

There’s some dangerous information. I’m not one to get labored up about the best way any digicam bump appears, however this one protrudes loads. The cellphone sits crooked on surfaces and wobbles whenever 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 bath? 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 seems 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 working 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 take a look at: 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 attempt to cool itself down. Excessive, sure, however good to know for those who dwell 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 absolutely waterproof 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 inside display repairs.

The Z Fold 7’s 200-megapixel digicam is customized from the S25 Extremely’s, and it’s an incredible digicam right here, simply as it’s within the Extremely. Low-light photographs are detailed, offered your topic isn’t transferring an excessive amount of, and Samsung’s desire 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 perfect within the recreation, because it has been for years. Segmentation is so good it’s uncanny — isolating a topic right down to the eyelashes on my son’s eyes.

In case you evaluate the Z Fold 7 to a top-tier slab cellphone just like the S25 Extremely spec by spec, the folding cellphone usually comes up brief. It’s much less sturdy, battery life isn’t fairly nearly 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. You probably have the deep pockets and a thoughts open to the advantages of the massive display, then I believe you’ll agree with me: it’s simply so good.

Pictures by Allison Johnson / The Verge