I’ve been a tech reviewer for more than a decade, and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the most surprising smartphone I’ve seen in that time. The seventh iteration of Samsung’s foldable phones is that rare device that makes me stop in my tracks and wonder if I was wrong to write off an entire product category. For a while, folding smartphones seemed like they weren’t really that innovative. Yes, bending displays hidden inside other displays are cool and make me feel like I’m in a science fiction movie, but previous foldables seemed too cumbersome. Samsung just changed that with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which is so amazingly thin that I couldn’t believe my eyes when I got it in my hands on it and the other Samsung Unpacked devices earlier this year.

The Z Fold 7 basically hides in plain sight, looking like a normal phone at first glance. Once you see the little seam that runs down its side and exert a little effort to open it up, you get a small tablet. But with its massive price tag, the Z Fold 7 is definitely the kind of phone that warrants reading up on every inch of its design and specs before you invest. So, let’s dive right into this review where I can give you a tour of Samsung’s magically slender foldable.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Samsung The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 delivered long battery life in our testing, and its interior 8-inch AMOLED display enables a lot of video and multitasking. $2,000 at Samsung

What I liked about it

Its wild, thinner design is also lighter than ever

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I’ve seen a lot of tech companies tout the smaller sizes of their latest hardware, so I didn’t give much thought about Samsung calling the Galaxy Z Fold 7 the “thinnest and lightest” version of the foldable yet at its launch event. “Of course,” I thought, that’s the direction tech has been going since as long as I can remember. But holding the Z Fold 7 in my hand, and keeping it in my pocket throughout the last week, made me think Samsung’s underselling the Z Fold 7’s surprisingly diminishing dimensions. Unfolded, the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s so thin that you might be shocked to see it can hold any ports in it at all, much less the USB-C connector required to charge it.

While the Z Fold 6 looks like two regular phones stacked on top of each other, the Z Fold 7 is maybe a hair slimmer than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which is much slimmer than the Z Fold 6. It makes me think of what an Oreo cookie would look like without any cream in the middle. The Z Fold 7 is also slimmer than the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which looks more like the Z Fold 6 in terms of thickness.

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The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is stupefyingly thin, to the point where I’m always a little delighted by its shrinking size. Admittedly, that praise comes with some caveats, including a bulbous camera bump that feels more pronounced because of the phone’s overall thinness. Also, I wish the Z Fold 7 was a tad easier to open, because it’s gotten so slim it’s almost hard to peel its sides apart. A small divot, like you get in many laptop lids, would go a long way.

When it comes to ergonomics, I’ve been a bit harsh on Samsung lately, holding the Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ to the fire for being too darn long to use comfortably. Fortunately, I never found the Z Fold 7 too awkward in any configuration. This might be due to how the device is lighter than ever, with its 215-gram weight being 10% less than that of the Z Fold 6 and 3 grams lighter than the S25 Ultra. Samsung also increased the width of the foldable by 0.2 inches, to make it easier to type on when folded. While I think the Z Fold 7 would be easier to type on were it a bit wider when folded, that’s a tricky move to make, because you don’t want it to get too ungainly when opened up.

I can’t talk about design without mentioning colors, as I tested the Blue Shadow design, which goes from bold blue to very dark blue depending on how the light hits it. There’s also a Jetblack model and a Silver Shadow design, but none of those is my favorite. That would be the Mint green model that’s sold exclusively at Samsung’s website.

An 8-inch screen in your pocket is a lovely thing to have

While the Z Fold 7’s slender design is its big, newsworthy feature, its interior 8-inch AMOLED screen is the true reason to consider spending two grand on this device. My favorite reason to have a phone that can transform into a tiny tablet is for video, so I can watch YouTube while I do something else in multitasking mode without resorting to picture-in-picture (PIP). Also, you might want to use split-screen mode when you watch video; otherwise, there will be noticeable big black bars above and below your show or movie.

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Mobile gamers should also think about the Galaxy Z Fold 7, as I’ve found titles like Persona 5: The Phantom X and Genshin Impact much more enjoyable because they fill the screen well and this larger panel makes their small in-game captions and menu fonts easier to read. I also found the bigger screen useful at the gym when I split my screen between reading an article about dating in the Brave browser and plotting out my day’s work in Todoist.

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Rewatching a behind-the-scenes clip from “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” I noted that the yellows of the plane that Tom Cruise was hanging on to popped just as they should, and that his brown leather jacket also rendered accurately. I also saw a fair bit of detail with light bouncing off his hair as it flapped in the air, thanks to the display’s smooth 120Hz refresh rate and sharp 1968 x 2184 resolution. Music sounds surprisingly good on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 too; the vocals and synths on the new Kesha album sounded correct, just like the drums and bass did on the Clipse record “Let God Sort Em Out.” It’s not the boldest speaker, but it’s still capable and impressive.

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In broad daylight, the Z Fold 7’s screen can seem a bit more glossy or prone to fingerprint smudging and glare than I’d like, but it’s not the biggest problem. Those new to the foldable phone world may balk at the big crease that runs down the middle, but everyone who loves these phones say they’ve gotten used to it, like the notches on MacBooks and iPhones. I’m more frustrated with where Samsung put the interior selfie camera, because now it’s a punch-hole camera instead of one that hides under the screen, and it can get in the way of watching video.

My last note about this screen is a warning for the brave who might think the Z Fold 7 could be their next laptop, which isn’t too far-fetched considering its $2,000 price tag. To do that, you’ll need to make sure you have a proper monitor, USB-C hub, Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to use Samsung’s DeX mode. Without that monitor, though, I found it lacking, because the Z Fold 7’s 8-inch screen just isn’t big enough for me to get a whole lot of work done. I am too used to being able to see two out of three of my main apps (Outlook, Slack and a word processor) at the same time, without any of them scrunched down to fit a smaller screen. If you’re used to doing one thing at a time and want a truly portable device that uses cellular connections instead of needing Wi-Fi, I could see making it work.

Phenomenal battery life and solid performance

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Whenever I test a folding phone, I am extra curious how long their interior screens will last on CNN Underscored’s battery life test in which we loop a 4K video at 50% brightness. Imagine my surprise when the Z Fold 7’s unfolded 8-inch screen turned in a time of 21 hours and 23 minutes, which is a lot for such a thin phone, and enough to practically guarantee a spot among the best smartphones.

That’s enough playback time to put the Z Fold 7 over every single iPhone 16 model by at least 43 minutes. It also outlasted the Z Fold 6 and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, though those were running on a similar but previous version of the battery test. The Z Fold 7 didn’t beat the Samsung Galaxy S25+ or the Galaxy S25 Ultra, as both of those nearly hit 29 hours. Once you need to recharge, don’t worry; the Z Fold 7 gained 52% of its charge after half an hour of being plugged into a 100W USB-C adapter at my desk.

The Z Fold 7 isn’t just a long-lasting phone, it’s also pretty snappy, thanks to similar internals and the same Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor you’ll find on the Galaxy S25 lineup. That chip’s been fast enough for all the stock, preloaded software to work as smoothly as it should, including the generative AI tool that removed a bunch of people from a photo I took on the High Line in Manhattan. Admittedly, the resulting photo looked really creepy, but I figured I might as well test these features even if I don’t see their value.

On the Geekbench 6 benchmark, the Z Fold 7 actually traded wins with the iPhone 16 series. It beat all Apple’s current phones on the multi-core test that measures performance on the more-demanding apps, while it lost on the single-core test that sees how fast it handles everyday apps like email and web browsing. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 lost to the S25 Ultra on both of those tests, but at least it beat the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold on each round.

As for storage, the unit I’m testing has 256GB of space, but anyone who buys early from Samsung will get a free upgrade to 512GB, which normally costs $120 extra (a total of $2,120). There’s also a 1TB model, which costs $2,270 now but will go up to $2,420 later.

A good-enough camera array

Shot on Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Cityscape photos Prev Next

Taking the Galaxy Z Fold 7 out on the town with me, I’ve come to the conclusion that this phone’s camera set is pretty good. It’s not what I’d call “$2,000 good,” but it’s going to get the job done. Taking landscape shots around town, it didn’t take much effort to get a great photo looking down 9th Avenue with the Z Fold 7’s 200-megapixel main wide-angle lens. The shot features a relatively accurate blue sky and offers good detail from the reflections in the adjacent buildings. Colors of slate buildings and the skies above looked similar in the photos I shot on the S25 Ultra, while the blues looked a little less saturated on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is what we expect when comparing Apple and Samsung cameras. Washington Square Park’s gushing fountain also looked similar from afar in images captured on both the Z Fold 7 and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Shot on Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored The Giant Pigeon Prev Next

The Z Fold 7’s photo of pedestrians walking and lounging near a giant pigeon statue on the Highline looked similar to those shot on the S25 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, with the trees on the left appearing just a tad darker on the Z Fold 7, which also made the statue look a bit lighter.

Shot on Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Zoom comparison Prev Next

You might be annoyed with how the Z Fold 7 maxes out at a 3x optical zoom, which is a notch below the 5x zooms in the S25 Ultra, Pixel 9 Pro Fold and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Surprisingly, the Z Fold 7’s 5x digital zoom’s photos looked OK when compared to those taken with the 5x optical zoom from those competitors when I was shooting signage from far away on Broadway. This may lead to more digital artifacts in action photography, though, so I still prefer phones with higher optical zoom.

Shot on Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Portrait mode Prev Next

Portrait mode using the Z Fold 7’s 10-megapixel selfie cam was a mixed bag, with points awarded for a pretty good capture of my skin tone and shirt, as well as the stubble on my face and the browns and neon yellows of my hat. However, it also blurred out the hinges of my clear glasses and the corners of my hat, failing to get crisp lines. The S25 Ultra didn’t have those problems, and neither did the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Shot on Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Close-ups Prev Next

The Z Fold 7 held its own when I took close-up shots of a bushel of Columbine flowers, with clarity on par with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, it captured a slightly more-yellow shade of green than I’d have preferred, as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and iPhone 16 Pro Max recorded a more-accurate and bolder green.

Shot on Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Pizza Prev Next

Unfortunately, that win didn’t translate to all close-ups, as its images of a slice of pepperoni pizza didn’t always amp up my appetite. The automatically enabled focus enhancer mode gave the cheese a weird look that makes it look like it’s practically congealing (tap that little flower icon to disable it). Once I turned that off, I got shots similar to those I captured on the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Shot on Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Shot on Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored Night mode Prev Next

Nighttime photography in Greenwich Village also proved to be a good demonstration for the Z Fold 7. I preferred how accurately its automatically enabled Night mode captured the dark sky and a nearby tree, especially as the iPhone 16 Pro Max brightened those parts of the shot too much, leading to a purplish sky. Turning off Night mode, though, the iPhone clawed back into the fight with a redder traffic light, which got blown out in the Z Fold 7’s shot.

What I didn’t like about it

Android still needs some work on this bigger screen

The Z Fold 7 makes fine use of Android, as anyone familiar with the operating system won’t spend too much time getting used to this display. Splitting your screen may require watching a tutorial online, but once you go beyond the basics, you may start to see things that need more tender love and care.

Instagram is the one third-party app that needs to look great on every phone, and the Z Fold 7 just fails to adapt properly. For example, Reels videos in my main feed get cropped to a square to fill the screen, which doesn’t look right. Instead of feeling like I have this big screen device, I’m seeing pixelated video that’s zoomed in too much and missing the captions on the top and bottom of the screen. Other times, there’s an awkward inexplicable black bar at the top of the screen. The app seems to be constantly adjusting to this 8-inch screen, something I didn’t expect to see in the seventh iteration of Samsung’s foldable, even though Android tablets have always had their issues with third-party apps.

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But the issues go beyond Instagram, like when I open the Z Fold 7 to the L-shaped position to try to use it as a phone with a kickstand. This seemed like a great idea on paper, but you can’t use the exterior display when the Z Fold 7 is open, and the interior screen won’t rotate when the device is locked. I also have to wait for the inside screen to rotate 90 degrees every time I unlock it.

Lastly, there’s the dock problem, as you better think twice while you load up that row of icons on the bottom of your screen. While I was happy to see that the dock in the Z Fold 7’s interior screen can hold up to 8 apps, I was frustrated when I only saw five of those apps when I was using the Z Fold 7’s front screen. I would have thought swiping between home screens would let you basically scroll through your docked apps, but foldable phone veterans likely won’t be caught off guard. The phone’s thinner screen only shows you the first five apps counting from the left side of the interior screen, and basically hides the apps you put on the right. This was especially annoying for me, as I always put my most important apps in the bottom right corner so they’re within closer reach of my thumb.

This camera bump is too much

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Things got more awkward when I accepted that I wasn’t going to use the Z Fold 7 as its own stand and just tried to use it flat on tables. The three-camera array on the back of this foldable creates an annoying instability whenever I tap the screen when the phone is lying down, as the phone begins to rock back and forth and sound like I’m communicating in Morse code to someone. This wobbly phone problem happens no matter if the Z Fold 7 is closed or open.

I’m no engineer, but I think this means that the Z Fold 7’s improbable thinness is less of a win than I thought it was. Additionally, when I put the folded Z Fold 7 and Z Fold 6 next to each other on my office desk, I quickly noted that the camera bump makes the newer, thinner model stick so far up it doesn’t really look that much better.

The fact that the Z Fold 7 rocks back and forth on surfaces doesn’t make it unusable, but you deserve better if you’re spending $2,000.

Too expensive for such an inferior face unlock

At this price, I believe the Z Fold 7 should be a slice of perfection — or at least very close to it. That, unfortunately, is not the case when it comes to something incredibly basic that the iPhone handles just fine.

One thing that keeps me from feeling at home on Android phones is that their facial recognition is often inferior to the iPhone’s Face ID. Not only does it feel slower but it’s less reliable and requires more-focused eye contact. It also doesn’t work if you’re wearing a face mask, and that still feels like a whole team was asleep from 2020 to 2021. This isn’t really a new or huge problem for seasoned Android veterans, but I feel a need to bring it up since the Z Fold 7 costs $2,000.

Fortunately, the Z Fold 7 does include fingerprint scanning on its power button, though that sliver of the phone is so thin and small I sometimes have a hard time finding it.

Bottom line

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So, as you might have guessed, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is not my next smartphone. I truly appreciate what Samsung’s done with what I can only assume are magical shrinking machines back at its labs, but you’re still giving up too much (including money, first and foremost) to enter this wild, foldable ride. As someone who really cares about his camera kit, there’s slightly more compromise here than I’d like, especially at that price, and I just want the Z Fold 7 to do more in that 90-degree folded mode.

If you’re willing to work through any Android app awkwardness, and you don’t worry about capturing the perfect shots with your phone, you might love the Galaxy Z Fold 7. I would just think twice about buying a phone case to reduce that camera bump wobble, because increasing the Z Fold 7’s size would make it just like any other phone.

FAQs

How much will the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 cost? The Z Fold 7 starts at $2,000 for the 256GB configuration, but Samsung’s official website started off sales with a 512GB model with the same price. That model will cost $2,120 after the initial sale is over, and the 1TB model started at $2,270 and will go up in price to $2,420 later. Does the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 have AI features? Yes, the Z Fold 7 has the standard suite of generative AI tools we see these days, such as Google Gemini and the suggestive erase feature to remove people you don’t want in images. Does the Samsung Galaxy Fold 7 come with an S Pen? The Z Fold 7 does not include an S Pen, nor does it support the Samsung stylus.

Why trust CNN Underscored

CNN Underscored comprises a team of writers and editors who have many years of experience testing, researching and recommending products, and they ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted. Electronics writer Henry T. Casey has been testing gadgets for in-depth product reviews for more than a decade, and he’s been focusing on the latest and greatest phones during the nearly two years he’s been at CNN Underscored.