Galaxy Fold7 Ushers In a New Era for Foldable Phones

At its Unpacked 2025 event in Brooklyn, N.Y. last week, Samsung delivered more than a hardware refresh — it mounted nothing less than a full-scale campaign to redefine what foldable smartphones are, and, more importantly, what they could become.

Held at the heart of a city known for reinvention, the unveiling of the Galaxy Z Fold7 wasn’t just another product launch. It was a statement: The foldable is ready for prime time.

TM Roh, president and head of mobile eXperience (MX) business at Samsung, opened the event by grounding the company’s ambitions in its longstanding customer-driven mission. “Your evolving needs drive us to push beyond the limits and reimagine what technology can do — and most importantly, what you can do with that technology,” he said.

Samsung has long viewed the foldable as its frontier. With the Fold7, that vision may finally be vindicated.

Thinner, Sleeker, Smarter: Meet the Fold7

The most tangible leap in the Galaxy Z Fold7 is its design. The Fold7 is now as thin, or thinner, than a traditional candy bar smartphone when folded. This accomplishment is not a trivial advancement. Foldables have historically struggled with bulk, often doubling in thickness when closed. The Fold7 changes that paradigm, as when folded, it’s no larger than an Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max.

As Samsung emphasized during the event, “every gram and every millimeter matters.” To achieve this radical slimness, Samsung reengineered its signature Armor Flex hinge, reducing the size of each module and integrating a dual-rail system for added strength.

Samsung also redesigned the wing plates, creating a “droplet-shaped” curve that optimizes durability while allowing for a thinner fold. The display layers have been rebalanced: some have been made lighter, while others have been fortified with titanium and new adhesives.

Samsung’s reengineered Armor Flex hinge and droplet-style fold enable a slimmer profile without sacrificing durability. (Photo by Author)

The result is a device that, when folded, doesn’t feel like two phones stacked on top of each other. This observation is truly significant. As social media influencer Parker Burton put it, “If you think about it, when you have a folding phone, you’re literally folding it in half, which then doubles the thickness. So, what if we could make it half the thickness of a regular phone so that when it is folded, it suddenly feels like that regular phone that you’re used to?”

From a design standpoint, the Fold7 eliminates the key ergonomic barrier to the adoption of foldable devices. Put differently, it’s not just about fitting into a pocket — it’s about belonging in a user’s daily flow, without compromise.

Multimodal Usage: Experiences Candy Bars Can’t Touch

However, the Fold7 is more than just a slimmer device. It opens the door to experiences that simply aren’t possible on a single-slab phone. Samsung devoted significant attention to this point during the event, arguing that foldables are uniquely suited to the mobile AI era. There is much truth to this assertion.

The Fold7 is no slouch in the performance area: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy powers the Galaxy Z Fold7 with up to 38% faster CPU performance, 26% stronger GPU, and 41% improved AI compared to the prior chips which enables smooth multitasking, real-time AI features, high-end imaging, and long battery life in its ultra-thin form.

With One UI 8 and Android 16, the Fold7 becomes a canvas for what Samsung calls “ambient AI.” The software is deeply integrated with multimodal capabilities, meaning it can process and respond to combinations of text, images, voice, and screen context simultaneously. For instance, users can summarize an article while reading it, write responses with AI assistance, or drop AI-generated images directly into a document, all while keeping multiple apps open.

This type of workflow isn’t possible on a conventional smartphone. Even tablets, with their lack of telephony and more cumbersome size, can’t match the portability of a smartphone. This is where the Fold7 proves its unique value: compact when needed, expansive when not.

Hands-on demo of the Galaxy Z Fold7 at Samsung’s Unpacked 2025 event, showing its expanded display and app multitasking in action. (Photo by Author)

Google SVP Rick Osterloh, who appeared on stage, summed it up nicely: With Gemini, Galaxy users can create, play, share, and get information in ways that were impossible just a few short months ago, and these capabilities are more useful on Samsung’s foldable hardware.

To be most effective, Samsung’s AI features are also designed with intentional subtlety. One standout feature is Galaxy AI’s new assistant, which doesn’t wait for user prompts but anticipates context. For example, when viewing a calendar event, the assistant might suggest adding a related document or notify the user to download an interpreter package ahead of a trip. It turns the device into a proactive partner, not just a reactive tool.

Tablet Replacement: Is Fold7 the iPad Killer?

Another compelling proposition Samsung is making with the Fold7 is that it can effectively replace a small tablet. Given that many consumers carry both a smartphone and a tablet for content consumption and productivity, the Fold7 offers consolidation without compromise.

With an unfolded 7.6-inch display and a redesigned taskbar, it’s large enough to handle side-by-side app multitasking, video editing, and document work.

Samsung demonstrated how users can edit video timelines across multiple layers and compare photo edits side by side. These aren’t fringe use cases. They are the everyday demands of students, creators, and business professionals who want to be mobile without sacrificing screen space.

On my flight back home to Las Vegas, I noticed a significant percentage of the passengers watching (and squinting) at video content or playing games on their smartphones. It’s not difficult to imagine how many of these passengers would welcome using the Fold7 to watch content during a flight.

But let’s face it: it’s a big deal that Fold7 offers this in a pocketable form factor. That advantage becomes even more pronounced when cost is factored in. At $1,999, the Fold7 is only $100 more than the current-generation Fold6. That $100 gets you the exceptional camera capabilities of Samsung’s flagship S24 Ultra.

In an era where consumers are questioning the value of every new device, this could prove persuasive. As Parker Burton said during the presentation, “It really is like you have a normal bar phone when you want to, or a tablet when you want to, without any of those awkward form factor compromises.”

Flagship Camera Power Comes to Foldables

Past foldables always came with compromises, especially in camera quality. With the Fold7, that’s no longer the case. It boasts the same 200MP primary sensor as well as ultra-wide and telephoto cameras as the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Samsung emphasized that this was no small feat. It restructured the entire camera module to fit the Fold7’s slimmer frame without reducing capability. “For the first time ever, we’re bringing a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera to the Z series,” the team announced.

The Galaxy Z Fold7’s 200MP wide-angle camera and AI-powered ProVisual Engine deliver brighter, sharper, and more lifelike photos. (Image Credit: Samsung)

This capability means that for mobile creators, there is no longer a need to choose between camera power and form factor flexibility. The Fold7 gives you both. Combined with Galaxy AI features like Photo Assist, Audio Eraser, and Instant Slo-Mo (which tend to be better than what Apple offers on its Pro smartphones), the Fold7 becomes a powerful visual creation tool, on par with the best smartphones on the market.

Samsung Leads in Foldables Before Apple Arrives

Much of the strategic backdrop to this launch rests on a single, looming question: When will Apple enter the foldable market?

Samsung didn’t mention Apple by name, but the implications were clear. By launching its seventh-generation foldable, Samsung is betting that its head start will pay off once Apple legitimizes the category for the mainstream. That day may be fast approaching, although if the rumor mill is to be believed, Apple will not enter the foldable smartphone category until 2026.

When Apple does launch a foldable, it’s expected to bring polished software paradigms and use cases that could finally bring foldables into the mainstream. Apple has spent several years on the sidelines considering how to develop innovative usage models for a foldable smartphone, and that may ultimately prove to be an advantage for Apple.

However, Samsung should be given credit where credit is due, as it has already addressed the most complex aspects of a foldable design: hardware engineering, hinge reliability and durability, and ecosystem integration.

Rather than fear Apple’s entry, Samsung may stand to benefit. The company might not want to admit it, but Samsung may quietly welcome Apple’s entry into the foldable category as soon as possible, as “a rising tide lifts all boats.”

Just as Apple’s smartwatch helped validate the wearables category — where Samsung was an early mover — the arrival of a foldable iPhone could trigger a halo effect, pulling more developers, accessory makers, and consumers into the space.

If Apple teaches the mainstream why foldables matter, Samsung is already there to offer a mature, battle-tested product to anyone looking to jump in.

Flip7, Watch8, and Samsung’s Ecosystem Strategy

While the Fold7 took center stage, Samsung also launched the Galaxy Z Flip7, a more compact, playful device with a stronger hinge, a larger 4.1-inch FlexWindow, and tighter integration with Galaxy AI. It’s more about self-expression and ease of use than productivity, and it appeals to the lifestyle and fashion-forward segment.

Then there’s the Galaxy Watch8 series, which introduced new health metrics, such as vascular load and antioxidant levels, as well as deeper integration with Gemini.

A smartphone running Samsung Health displays the Antioxidant Index reading from a Galaxy Watch8, which tracks carotenoid levels to assess cellular health. (Image Credit: Samsung)

The watch’s real-time coaching, combined with Samsung Health and the newly acquired Xealth health platform, hints at a larger ambition: to anchor users in an ecosystem that extends from phone to wrist and beyond.

Foldables at an Inflection Point

The Galaxy Z Fold7 isn’t just an improved foldable smartphone compared to the Galaxy Z Fold6. It’s a literal reframing of what a great foldable could and should be.

For the first time, the foldable isn’t being asked to justify its existence with gimmicks or novelty. It stands on its own as a flagship phone, a tablet replacement, and a mobile AI workstation. It folds not to impress, but to adapt.

At $1,999, it remains a premium product. But the value is no longer theoretical. The use cases are real. The trade-offs are gone, and the market, finally, may be ready to adopt. Furthermore, the $1,999 price point is largely irrelevant, as carrier promotions and trade-ins will typically result in lower prices paid by the consumer.

If Apple does enter the foldable space soon, Samsung has every reason to welcome it. Because for once, it will be Apple that is playing catch-up, not the other way around.

After spending some brief but meaningful time with the Fold7 at the event, I found myself reevaluating my personal travel kit. For years, an iPad has been a non-negotiable part of my packing list, mainly for content viewing and productivity on the go.

Now, with the Fold7, I can finally leave the tablet behind. This device delivers a large enough screen, robust enough performance, and genuine multitasking support that makes carrying an iPad on trips redundant. The result? Nearly two pounds (when you factor in other accessories that I bring along) saved in my carry-on is no small thing when I travel.

My SmartTechCheck Moment podcast, featuring several Samsung and Qualcomm executives at the Galaxy Unpacked 2025 event, highlights many of the themes that should resonate with consumers about the new Fold7.



While the iPad still has its place at my home, especially for more extended creative tasks or casual browsing, the Fold7 has quickly proven it can handle the essentials and more when I’m on the move. For travelers looking to streamline, this foldable might be the best investment they can make.