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

I’ve been utilizing the Galaxy Z Fold 7 for every 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 an everyday 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 internal display looks like a bonus — one which doesn’t require the sacrifice of carrying an even bigger, bulkier machine 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’ve, , a pair grand mendacity round.

Writing a assessment of the Fold 7 looks like writing a assessment of two gadgets: the one you employ with the cellphone closed, and the one which’s out there 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 an everyday slab-style cellphone outdoors of some excessive use circumstances. And for a folding cellphone? That’s mission achieved.

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 gentle 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 bundle there’s virtually nothing prefer it, however loads of its particular person options fall wanting the very best slab-style telephones.

Non-foldy telephones supply higher battery life, however the margin isn’t as broad as I feared. How a lot you employ the internal display will dramatically have an effect on battery life; I bought by way of a day of reasonable use and occasional internal display use with round 50 p.c left. With extra time on the internal 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 feel these outcomes are fairly good.

As quickly as I open the internal display, the slight shortcomings are out of thoughts. I stored forgetting that the internal display even existed, however I rapidly bought into the behavior of opening it. Are you aware how good it’s to make use of Chrome in your cellphone with normal-ass tabs on the prime of the display? Are you aware how a lot much less fiddly a recreation like Diablo Immortal is on a giant display? Are you aware how helpful it’s to maintain the Uber app open on one aspect of the show so you may hold monitor of your driver’s arrival whilst you end a sudoku on the opposite half? I do. When you begin utilizing the internal 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 after I’m opening the cellphone. The grip from a case would assist right here. General, 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 best way any digital camera bump seems, however this one protrudes quite a bit. The cellphone sits crooked on surfaces and wobbles once 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 circumstances don’t repair it. A case looks 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 wonderful, 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 positive sufficient, it began closing apps after about 10 minutes to try to cool itself down. Excessive, sure, however good to know in the event you 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 score; its IP48 means it’s absolutely water resistant however solely proof against very small particles, not specks of mud. Take additional care and contemplate including Samsung’s prolonged guarantee plan to cowl expensive internal display repairs.

The Z Fold 7’s 200-megapixel digital camera is customized from the S25 Extremely’s, and it’s an important digital camera right here, simply as it’s within the Extremely. Low-light images are detailed, offered your topic isn’t transferring 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 in the event you don’t ask an excessive amount of from them. Digital zoom previous 5x from the telephoto lens seems fairly watercolor-y. However Samsung’s portrait mode with the 3x digital camera stays the very best 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.

Should you examine 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 pretty much as good, and the digital camera system isn’t as versatile. However that misses the purpose of the Z Fold 7. This cellphone is a luxurious and an engineering marvel. If in case you have the deep pockets and a thoughts open to the advantages of the large display, then I feel you’ll agree with me: it’s simply so good.

Pictures by Allison Johnson / The Verge