After years of playing catch-up, Samsung has finally done it. The Galaxy Z Fold7 is thinner, lighter, and more powerful — and for the first time, it feels like a foldable that doesn’t need excuses. It doesn’t just look good on paper. It’s genuinely good in your hands.
And that’s a big deal.
Because for a while, Samsung’s Fold series was starting to feel like it was falling behind. Thinner competitors from China were out-designing it. Cameras were better elsewhere. Batteries lasted longer. The Fold6 was solid, but safe. The Fold7? It finally feels like a response.
At 8.9mm when folded and 4.2mm unfolded, the Fold7 is the thinnest and lightest Z Fold ever. It weighs just 215g — less than the Galaxy S25 Ultra — but it’s not the numbers that matter. It’s the feeling. Hold it, flip it open, and suddenly the phrase “this changes everything” starts to feel less like marketing and more like reality. The 6.5-inch outer display is finally wide enough to use comfortably, and the 8-inch main screen inside is bigger, brighter and sharper, maxing out at 2,600 nits. Even outdoors, it holds up.
Samsung also reworked the hinge and frame to make the Fold7 tougher, despite its smaller footprint. The Armor FlexHinge is slimmer and more durable. Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 protects the front. The frame uses a new aluminium alloy that’s 10 percent harder than before. It’s one of the rare devices that feels both expensive and engineered.
Then there’s the software — and this is where Samsung is playing to win. One UI 8 brings Galaxy AI front and centre, with tools that feel purpose-built for the Fold’s big display. Circle to Search. Real-time language translation. Drawing Assist. Pro-level photo editing that actually works. Multitasking is smoother, drag-and-drop between apps is smarter, and new features like Audio Eraser and Suggest Erases turn the Fold into a pocket-sized productivity studio.
The performance is also what you’d expect at this level. The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset brings big gains across CPU, GPU and NPU, and you can spec the device up to 1TB of storage and 16GB of RAM. Whether you’re gaming, editing, or juggling multiple windows, the Fold7 doesn’t break a sweat.
But what really signals that Samsung is listening is the camera upgrade. The Fold7 gets a 200MP main sensor for the first time, bringing it in line with the Galaxy Ultra line. The results are impressive — better detail, better night shots, and more dynamic range, helped by Samsung’s new ProVisual Engine. Combined with improved HDR video and smarter Night Video, this is the best camera system ever in a foldable from Samsung.
So what’s missing? The battery, for one. It’s still 4,400mAh — the same size as last year — which feels like a missed opportunity. With larger, brighter displays and more AI-driven processing, power users may still find themselves reaching for a charger by late afternoon.
Then there’s the S Pen. It’s gone. Samsung says it had to drop support to make the Fold7 thinner. That might be true, but it stings. The Fold series used to promise a do-everything experience — a tablet, a phone, and a digital notebook all in one. Now it’s lost a key part of that equation.
Even so, the Galaxy Z Fold7 is a massive step forward. It’s not just Samsung’s best foldable to date — it’s a serious contender for one of the best flagship phones of 2025. It nails the fundamentals, finally feels competitive again, and shows that Samsung isn’t just iterating anymore. It’s pushing.
The Galaxy Z Fold7 is available for pre-order now from R42,999 in South Africa, with general availability starting 25 July. It comes in Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow and Jet-black, and includes six months of Google AI Pro with 2TB of cloud storage. Samsung Care+ is also available for accidental damage protection.
This is the Galaxy Z Fold we’ve been waiting for.