'What I really think of the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7'

Samsung has been making phones with folding screens for over six years, and their latest iteration – the seventh generation – is not only their best but one of the biggest leaps forward in design, engineering, and innovation in the smartphone space for many years.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 goes on sale on August 1 and measures up as the thinnest smartphone I've ever used – in its unfolded state, that is.

NOTE: Prices are accurate at time of publishing.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

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Folded and in your pocket, it's just like any other large-screen smartphone, measuring 8.9mm thick. It's barely thicker than Samsung's premium flagship S25 Ultra. So when you're using it day-to-day, and for the most part, you do that in the "folded shut" state, it really does just feel like any other smartphone.

This is thanks to not just the thin form but also the wider front screen. This screen is now more usable than ever, which ironically means you need to switch to the inner screen less than you might have.

That inner screen is the real star of the show, though. Open the smartphone like a book, and you get a large 8-inch screen – a mini tablet if you like.

In 2025, the Fold 7 doesn't feature support for Samsung's "stylus," the S-Pen, so you can't jot notes on the screen, and at the same time, they've removed the innovative under-screen selfie camera and brought back the hole-punch cut-out camera. That's no big deal at all. I doubt Samsung will lose a single customer over either of these decisions.

When opened up for the larger screen, the real genius is revealed: this thing is less than 5mm thick. It doesn't feel real. It's lightweight and really easy to hold in this open form, and that big screen makes multitasking a breeze.

Why use the Fold's big screen?

I found myself doing one of three things when opening up the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. Firstly, just taking whatever I was doing to a bigger screen. For some things, this is a true game-changer. Looking at maps, images, and even reading websites, it's just easier on the eyes.

It should be said that some things are still better on the regular front screen – social media, for example, you often see less on the inside screen than you do on the outside.

Solve that, though, with some split-screen options. On a Samsung phone, and even more so on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, you can open multiple apps side by side. This means you can have Instagram on one side of the screen, with your emails on the other side. You could even split it three ways with messages and email split across the middle of one side to have three apps open at one time.

That's where the third way of operating came in – I opened up streaming live sport on the inner screen, split it horizontally, and moved the live sport to a window at the top of the screen. Below that, I could have emails and messages open, allowing me to keep an eye on things and even reply to people, while not switching out of the large-screen viewing experience.

Thin for thin's sake?

Samsung is in its skinny era with the release earlier this year of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, which is the thinnest S device they've released, and one that I was sceptical of at first but drawn to love after just a few weeks using it.

Take everything they know and put it into this flagship foldable device, and it is really stunning. But with that said, it should be noted that the awesome triple-lens camera on the Z Fold 7 is a big bump on the back of the screen. Put your phone down flat on a desk, and you'll find it wobbles endlessly when you tap the screen to read that notification.

I think most people spending $2,899 on this device will invest in a case, and I'd recommend one that levels out that back side as much as possible. Sadly, that will take the thickness closer to a centimetre, but it might perhaps still feel quite normal given how we all love our protective covers on existing large-screen phones.

Proper cameras, not a compromise

I feel sorry for the folks at Samsung who managed to take the amazing camera system from the flagship S25 series phones and squeeze it into the Z Fold 7 – it's a legitimate flagship camera.

A 200MP main sensor means you're getting stunning photos, night and day. Frankly, the only thing missing for regular users would be the 100x hybrid zoom that Samsung achieves with their S series Ultra phones.

Did I miss that? Not at all. What people want is a great main camera, a little bit of zoom capability, and a top-notch ultra-wide.

On all three fronts, Samsung delivered.

Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 for you?

As much as I'm utterly impressed by the Fold 7, it's not for me. I prefer smaller phones, and I really didn't open up to the larger inner screen a lot. I'll take my love for the folding form factor to the Flip 7 (more on that soon), but that's not to say utterly impressed by the Fold 7 isn't a great phone.

For people who really do spend the bulk of their time on the mobile device, for people who love to multitask between apps, and for people who really knuckle down on streaming or video content, it's hard to go past this device.

Even without using the inner screen, you can use the main screen for video while using the folding form factor to prop up the screen on a table or on the plane!

If you've been a Fold user before now, you're about to meet the greatest Fold ever. If you've looked at Fold and thought it was perhaps a bit big or chunky for you, hello, meet your new phone.

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