Samsung Z Fold/Flip 7 Impressions: Major Upgrades!

Quick Overview

Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 introduce significant hardware upgrades, with the Z Fold 7 becoming notably thinner, lighter, and integrating a flagship 200MP main camera, while the Z Flip 7 features a larger, more usable cover display and increased battery capacity. However, the Z Fold 7 loses S-Pen support and sees a price increase, and the Z Flip 7 switches to an Exynos chip, which may be a downgrade in performance.

Summary

Key Points: Galaxy Z Fold 7 is significantly thinner (8.9mm closed) and lighter (215g), making it more portable and comfortable to use. The Z Fold 7 now features the S25 Ultra's 200MP main camera, bringing flagship-level photography to the foldable line. Both the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 run on the latest Android 16 with One UI 8, optimizing large-screen multitasking and AI features. The Z Flip 7's internal display is larger at 6.9 inches, and its cover display is a more functional 4.1-inch edge-to-edge 120Hz panel. The Z Fold 7's S-Pen support has been removed, and its base price increased to $1,999+. The Z Flip 7 has switched from a Snapdragon to an Exynos 2500 chip, which could impact performance compared to its predecessor. The Z Fold 7 retains a 4400mAh battery, while the Z Flip 7 sees a modest increase to 4300mAh.

Context: Samsung's foldable phone lineup, consisting of the Z Fold and Z Flip series, has historically followed a 'tick-tock' upgrade cycle, with minor updates in some years and more significant changes in others. The previous generation (Fold 6 and Flip 6) saw minimal hardware changes, primarily focusing on new chipsets. This year's release of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 marks a departure from that trend, introducing several meaningful hardware and software enhancements aimed at improving user experience and competitiveness in the foldable market.

Detailed Analysis

Samsung's latest foldable lineup, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, brings substantial hardware improvements, moving beyond the minor chipset updates of the previous generation. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is significantly thinner and lighter, measuring only 8.9mm when closed and weighing 215g, making it more comparable to a standard slab phone when folded. It unfolds into a large 8-inch tablet display, running One UI 8 on Android 16, which enhances big-screen multitasking and multi-window capabilities. A major camera upgrade includes the S25 Ultra's 200MP main camera, though the ultra-wide and telephoto lenses remain smaller than flagship counterparts. Performance is robust with the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip and up to 16GB of RAM, supporting fast Galaxy AI tools like advanced image editing. However, the Z Fold 7 drops S-Pen support, increases its base price to $1,999+, and retains the same 4400mAh battery as its predecessor, which is a missed opportunity for silicon carbon battery technology. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 also sees improvements, with its internal display growing to 6.9 inches and its battery increasing to 4300mAh. Its cover display is now a larger, 4.1-inch edge-to-edge 120Hz panel, significantly enhancing usability for notifications, widgets, and main camera selfies. A notable change for the Z Flip 7 is the switch from a Snapdragon chip to the Exynos 2500, which could be a performance downgrade and potentially a preview for future S-series phones. Samsung also announced the Watch 8 with new health monitoring features.