With the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung has once again demonstrated its ability to reinvent the foldable segment. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 was a great device, but it followed a design language that didn’t feel like an upgrade over its predecessor. Samsung, during closed-door briefings for the Fold 7, claimed that it almost made the new foldable from the ground up. And, the moment you hold the Fold 7 and 6 simultaneously in your hands, you can see for yourself the enormous difference. While of course, the sleek profile is the biggest highlight of the Fold 7, the upgrades don’t stop there.

Apart from being thinner and lighter than its predecessor, the Fold 7 features a cover screen upgrade that allows you to use it like a regular bar phone, providing more screen real estate. Even the inner display receives a bump in size, matching that of a small-screen tablet. Of course, the camera gets a massive upgrade over the Fold 6, which we will break down in our camera section. Samsung hasn’t just kept the surprises limited to hardware, but also on the software side.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is among a handful of devices that launch with One UI 8 based on Android 16 out of the box. Yes, the new Pixel launch is still a few days away at the time of writing this review, but we can experience the latest OS on a non-Pixel device. However, another bump Samsung has passed on the Fold 7 is in pricing, from the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s launch price of Rs. 164,999 (for the 12GB + 256GB variant). You will have to shell out Rs. 1,74,999 for the 12GB + 256GB variant of the Galaxy Z Fold 7. The top-of-the-line variant, featuring 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, is priced at Rs. 2,16,999. Yes, the Fold 7 is currently the only smartphone in India that exceeds the Rs. 2 lakh threshold. A feat I wasn’t ready to see this year!

Pricing aside, is the Galaxy Z Fold 7 the greatest and best foldable device Samsung has yet produced? Let me answer that in this review.

The Fold 7, much like other premium Samsung phones, doesn’t ship with a charger

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Design: Thin is in

• Dimensions – 158.4×143.2×4.2mm
• Weight – 215 grams
• IP Rating – IP48

Samsung has nailed the design this year. The company has just resolved the biggest pain point, which was related to the book-style foldables – thickness. At 4.2mm (unfolded), the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the slimmest foldable available in India. At 215 grams, the Fold 7 is lighter than some non-folding devices on sale in India. To put some context, the Fold 7 is lighter than the iPhone 16 Pro Max (227 grams) and even the Vivo X Fold 5 (217 grams), its closest rival. In fact, it is lighter than the Galaxy S25 Ultra (218 grams). Now you can imagine how incredibly lightweight Fold 7 is.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 weighs 215 grams

Jumping to the hinge, which is the backbone of a foldable device. This year, Samsung has revamped the hinge and introduced a new Armour FlexHinge, which the company claimed in its keynote presentation is compact and significantly more durable than the one seen on the Fold 6. Thanks to the new hinge design, the crease is mostly invisible during regular use unless you start being nitpicky. With the new hinge design, the device does, in its initial days, feel tighter and gets tough to open sometimes – especially when you have sweaty hands. Another thing that instantly caught my attention was the edges of the phone. It tends to dig into your palms with regular use, and a curved treatment would have been more suitable. A workaround for this is to use a case that resolves the issue.

Samsung says that the updated Armour aluminium in the frame and hinge housing increases strength and hardness by 10%

For protection, Samsung has used Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 on the cover display while the back panel gets Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The aluminium armour feels premium in hand, and, of course, offers enough confidence while in daily use. Compared to the Fold 6, the Fold 7 is now wider and taller in design – and trust me, both these elements impact everyday usage in a good way. You can now use the cover screen of the Fold 7 as a regular phone. The power button integrates a fingerprint scanner, making it convenient to use and easily accessible while using the Fold 7 with just one hand. The volume rocker buttons are also easy to reach when using with just one hand and are also tactile enough. The Fold 7, however, is a very slippery device, and at times, I had to be extra cautious when taking it out of my pocket or picking it up from the table.

The cover screen on the Fold 7 (on the right) visibly looks bigger than the one on the Fold 6 (on the left)

At the back, the Fold 7 takes inspiration from the Fold 6, but upon closer inspection, you realise that the camera housings are now protruding more than in its predecessor, to such an extent that the Fold 7 wobbles on a flat surface when placed with the display facing upwards. For water ingress protection, Samsung has added an IP48 rating. Unfortunately, the Fold 7 still doesn’t get a dust protection rating, which means you will have to take additional care of this costly device.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures 8.9 mm in thickness when folded and 4.2 mm when unfolded

In India, the Fold 7 is available in Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow, and Jet Black colours. I got the Blue Shadow for this review, and it is one of the most striking colours. Overall, the Fold 7 is an upgrade that feels leaps and bounds ahead of the Fold 6 in more ways than your eyes can see.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Display: Solid upgrade

• Display – Main: 8-inch foldable Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X with 1968×2184 pixels, 2600nits, 368PPI, 120Hz
• Cover: 6.5-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X with 1080×2520 pixels, 422PPI
• Additional features – Titanium plate layer for display support

The displays on the Fold 7 have received an upgrade, and that makes the foldable ideal for use as a bar phone. Starting with the cover display, the Fold 7 features a 6.5-inch screen, compared to the Fold 6’s 6.3-inch screen. The resolution has also been upgraded, now offering 1080×2520 pixels and a 422 PPI pixel density. It features an LTPO AMOLED screen and includes all the modern-day features, such as a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support.

The phone offers 2600 nits of peak brightness

Jumping to the inner display, Samsung has massively bumped the screen size from 7.6 inches to 8 inches on the Fold 7. This means you have a display as large as an 8-inch tablet. It is a foldable LTPO OLED panel featuring a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, 368 PPI, and a resolution of 1968×2184 pixels. You also get HDR streaming on Netflix, YouTube and other OTT platforms. Samsung has once again dropped Dolby Vision support, but it’s unlikely that you’ll notice the difference in day-to-day usage. It supports peak brightness of 2600nits.

The 8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x inner display offers rich contrast, true blacks and vibrant details

Both displays are bright enough to be used under direct sunlight and offer crisp images and sharp text. The Fold 7 is a fun device for all media consumption, whether for gaming, binge-watching, or reading. With two displays, the user has the freedom to choose the aspect ratio and screen size in which they want to consume media on the Fold 7—a choice that your regular device doesn’t offer.

Overall, the displays on the Fold 7 elevate the user experience, offering a better aspect ratio and screen size. The quality, without doubt, is among the best I have seen on a foldable lately.

Both displays stay dazzlingly visible even in direct sunlight

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Camera: Inspired by the best

• 200-megapixel primary sensor with f/1.7 aperture, PDAF, OIS
• 10-megapixel telephoto sensor with PDAF, f/2.4 and 3x optical zoom
• 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor with f/2.2 and dual pixel PDAF
• Cover selfie camera – 10-megapixel sensor
• Main – 10-megapixel sensor with f/2.2 aperture
• Video support – 8K at 30fps, 4K at 60fps, 1080p at 120fps

The camera department on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 gets the biggest update. First up, it gets the same primary sensor as the Galaxy S25 Ultra and S25 Edge – a 200-megapixel ISOCELL HP2 with PDAF, OIS, and f/1.7 aperture. The 12-megapixel Sony IMX564 ultrawide camera is the same as last year, but one crucial addition is autofocus support, which was missing on its predecessor. There’s also a dedicated 10-megapixel telephoto (3x) Samsung ISOCELL 3K1 sensor with PDAF and f/2.4 aperture. Both selfie cameras have also received a minor update, now featuring a 10-megapixel Sony IMX374 sensor on the cover and inner display. Samsung, however, chose to stick with fixed focus for some reason.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 features the first 200-megapixel primary camera in the Galaxy Z series

Jumping straight to real-world performance, the primary camera is the Fold 7’s biggest strength. As I mentioned in the performance section, the upgrades on the latest foldable make it a true flagship. The 200-megapixel sensor can take some stunning daylight photos with abundant details and accurate colours. The sharpness is on point, and the dynamic range is excellent. The skin tones and textures also come out well on the primary camera. The 2x shots from the primary camera are also decent, and we don’t see much detail loss. Even the portrait shots come out well with good subject isolation and a good amount of blur—some samples below for your reference.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 daylight samples (tap to see larger image)

Switching to the telephoto camera (3x), the Fold 7 proves to be a capable shooter, boasting a solid setup for zoom shots. In daylight, the telephoto manages to capture plenty of details.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 telephoto (3x) samples (tap to see larger image)

The zoom performance of the Fold 7 is also decent, although the digital zoom is primarily unusable, and you should not exceed 10x. Like in the images below, you can see the zoom performance of the Fold 7

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 telephoto (3x) sample (tap to see larger image)

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 10x sample (tap to see larger image)

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 20x zoom sample (tap to see larger image)

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 30x sample (tap to see larger image)

The ultrawide camera with autofocus support has been a great addition to the Fold 7, something I missed on the Fold 6. The dynamic range is good, and details are decent. The colour accuracy and sharpness are also good, and you can check some samples below. However, the ultrawide sensor isn’t as good as the primary camera, which shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 ultrawide camera samples (tap to see larger image)

For selfies, the Fold 7 offers dual cameras – one on the cover screen and another on the inner display. Both are capable, and you will not be disappointed. The skin tones are captured well, and there are enough details. The daylight selfies are top-notch, while low-light selfies lose some details, and some amount of grain is also visible in the selfies.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 indoor camera samples (tap to see larger image)

Moving on to the low-light performance of the Fold 7, I’m not as impressed as I am with the S25 Ultra, but it still excels in the foldable category. The details drop a bit in pitch-dark conditions, while colour accuracy is also slightly off. Some of the night samples I clicked came out as soft and had plenty of noise. However, the camera does justice when there’s a light source around and it kind of nails the frame with accurate colours, a good amount of details, better white balance, and controlled noise. The telephoto and ultrawide samples in low light are not as good as the primary camera, but are usable for your social media uploads.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 low-light camera samples (tap to see larger image)

This year, Samsung has also upped the ante when it comes to video quality. It can record up to 8K at 30 frames per second (fps) with the primary camera. It can also record slow-motion videos at 240fps in Full HD and 120fps in Full HD. For professional users, the company has added the Galaxy Log video feature, which allows you to download these videos to your system and perform colour grading. There’s also an AI Audio Eraser feature on the Fold 7 that will enable you to adjust volumes of different elements in the video. The video quality is excellent from the primary camera.

Overall, the Galaxy Fold 7 is a giant leap in terms of cameras for the Samsung line-up and puts it next to the best – Galaxy S25 Ultra.

The phone sports a 10-megapixel 100-degree camera on the main display that expands the frame

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Performance: Finally, a foldable that feels like a flagship

• Processor – Snapdragon 8 Elite
• RAM and storage – 12GB + 256GB, 12GB + 512GB, 16GB + 1 TB
• OS – Android 16 based One UI 8

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 features the top-tier processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, which has been seen in Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra this year. Every day tasks are handled smoothly, and there are no issues with multitasking. The app opens super quickly, and switching between apps is effortless. While Samsung isn’t pushing the Fold 7 as a gaming device, this foldable is a very capable one.

The Galaxy Z Fold7 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, which also powers the Galaxy S25 Ultra

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is available in three RAM and storage configurations: 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage, 12GB of RAM with 512GB of storage, and 16GB of RAM with 1TB of storage. Samsung should have offered a 16GB RAM option for all SKUs, considering the substantial price tag. Samsung uses LPDDR5x RAM and UFS 4.0 on the Fold 7. To provide a better perspective, I ran our suite of synthetic benchmark apps, and the results are below, compared to the Fold 6.

The foldable does get warm while gaming and when using the phone for extended periods, such as for navigation or when the camera app is in use. But it never reaches a point where it becomes too warm to handle.

The speakers on the Fold 7 aren’t very loud, but are good enough to fill a medium-sized room, and the clarity is there. Calls on the phone are decent, with no call drops due to network issues or the handset’s inability to latch on to networks. I tested the Fold 7 for 5G on Airtel and Jio networks, and it works without a sweat. One of the strengths of the Fold 7 is its ability to latch onto a mobile network in areas with limited connectivity, such as basements or inside elevators.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 runs One UI 8 on Android 16 out of the box

Thanks to the slim profile and an extended aspect ratio, the Fold 7’s cover screen can be used as a regular phone, and I had a great time typing long emails, texts, and even doing some light photo editing on apps like Canva. In the real world, the Fold 7 is light years ahead of the Fold 6, which was powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Jumping to the software side, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is among a handful of Samsung devices launching before the new Pixels with Android 16. That’s something we don’t often see, but that’s also Samsung for you. The One UI 8 is based on Android 16. Talking about the interface in general, the One UI 8 doesn’t bring ground-breaking changes, as One UI 7 last year already introduced massive upgrades.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 users will be among the first to get access to experience Android 16

Much like Android 16, which focuses on improving the under-the-hood aspects of the UI, One UI 8 also brings minor changes, including an improved split-screen multitasking feature (90:10 from the earlier 70:30 split). The Now Bar and Now Brief are part of One UI 8 and will be rolled out to all compatible devices. The Now brief will provide personalised briefings with suggested content and actions that update in real-time, depending on the time of day you check. It sits on the Home screen and is a nice touch. The Reminder app has also undergone an overhaul and will serve as a companion app for planning your next family holiday. It can also take your to-do lists and drop you reminders on time. The Quick Share has also received some upgrades, making it easy to share files with just one tap.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 brings AI features like Gemini Live, Photo Assist, Portrait Studio, Audio Eraser, and Circle to Search, among others

Of course, there is the usual AI suite of features, including Call Assist, Writing Assist, Interpreter, Note Assist, Transcript Assist, Browsing Assist, Photo Assist, Drawing Assist, Audio Eraser, Photo Ambient Wallpaper, and Health Assist.

The camera app also receives handy additions that enable you to swipe up or down to switch between rear and front cameras. The default browsing app has also received an update that displays all options for sharing and other features in the menu. Overall, One UI 8 is a nice update for Samsung users, and it comes in handy on the Fold 7.

Samsung claims that the main display has been redesigned to be thinner, lighter, yet stronger

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Battery: Same old, same old

• Battery – 4400mAh unit
• Charging support – 25W wired and 15W wireless
• Charging speed – 50% in 30 minutes

If there is one department that completely missed the upgrade cycle on the Fold 7, it has to be the battery. The phone packs the same 4,400mAh battery, which, on paper, appears to be on the lower side when compared to new-age flagships launched this year. The charging speed is again an Achilles’ heel for the Fold 7, capped at 25W.

There’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back of the Fold 7

In real-world usage, the Fold 7 lasts about a day with a full charge and offers a screen-on time of over 5 hours. I preferred a slightly better battery backup. The good thing is that Samsung now offers a range of granular controls for battery settings, allowing you to limit charging to 80% or slightly more.

When folded, the Galaxy Fold 7 can be used with just one hand with ease

For charging, the Fold 7 takes approximately 30 minutes to charge to 50%, while a full charge (0-100%) takes around 80-90 minutes. This is on the lower side, and I wish Samsung could have acknowledged this issue.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Verdict

This year, Samsung has made sure that its Fold 7 comes out as a solid package combining power and panache. It offers top-tier specs in a beautifully crafted, sleek body that can turn heads. It features a top-tier processor that guarantees uncompromising performance, and then there’s a massive camera upgrade that brings the best from the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The One UI 8, based on Android 16 with 7 years of software support, is the best you can get on any Android device at the moment. The lightweight and sleek design is the USP of the device, solving the foldable conundrum that has been there for years.

The Fold 7 starts at Rs. 174,999 and goes up to Rs. 216,999

Of course, there are a few pain points, such as the charging speed now feeling dated, and I wish Samsung had acknowledged it this year. The battery performance isn’t something that sets a benchmark, and with the missing S Pen support, the Fold loses its charm as a true multitasking device. Not skipping the price bump, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is an expensive device, much like its predecessor.

The upgraded Armour FlexHinge is thinner and lighter, thanks to a newly implemented multi-rail structure that reduces visible creasing

For alternatives, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a solid contender for the Fold 7, if anyone wants a non-folding device. The Vivo X Fold 5 is the closest rival in the book-style folding segment. In the coming days, we can expect the new Pixel Fold from Google to join the foldables league.