I spent one month using the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 as my main carry, to see how it holds up under real-world conditions around New York City. I used it to take calls and photographs, but I also dove deep into the software to review new Circle To Search features in the latest Samsung UI 8. Read on for my thoughts and verdict in my full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review.
The past few generations of the Samsung Z Fold series have felt stagnant, like Samsung was resting on its laurels based on being one of the few foldables on the market. But the market has changed. OnePlus released the OnePlus Open, and Google showcased its knockout, the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, last year. Samsung needed to step up and showcase what makes its booklet-style foldables unique—and so the brand went all-in with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. Promising the thinnest—and lightest—design to date, it’s so different from its predecessor, it makes the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 look clunky. And as a self-professed phone nerd, I had to put it to the test.
Best for:
- Productivity—the display doubles as a mini tablet
- Photography, thanks to a new and impressive 200MP wide rear camera
Skip if:
- You don’t want to spend $2,000-plus on a phone
- You have any kind of ergonomics concerns with a thin device
- You expect walkthrough assistance when gaming—Circle To Search isn’t quite there yet
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Design
Slim And Innovative
The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a new build that’s vastly different from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6. It gets a true slim-down, reducing its width from 12.1mm folded and 5.6mm unfolded to 8.9mm thick folded and 4.2mm unfolded. That’s major: It makes it slimmer than its sibling and my current carry, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. It’s also lighter than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Fold 7 weighs 7.6 ounces, while the S25 Ultra weighs 7.7 ounces.
To reduce the weight, Samsung removed my personal favorite feature from the Fold series—the S Pen. The new model looks as sleek as it does because it’s missing one of the most vital components that made the Fold series unique among booklet-style foldables. It’s a glaring omission that I’m not sure I can fully forgive Samsung for. Had Samsung kept this feature, I would have labelled it my pick as the best foldable phone of this year. Unfortunately, it joins the rest of the crowd to be a touch-screen experience only.
When asked about it, the brand shared with me, “While the S Pen remains a valuable part of the Galaxy lineup, our priority with this latest iteration of these products was delivering the lightest and thinnest Galaxy Z series experience yet, as the most important user experience for this generation was to maximize portability.” Using any kind of S Pen to write on it will damage it, as it doesn’t offer a digitizer layer—the layer that supports physical writing.
Thinness Causes Some Ergonomics Problems
During the month I used it as my main carry, another issue cropped up. Specifically, I experienced hand pain and tenosynovitis symptoms in my right ring finger. It’s normal for me to have some hand pain due to hypermobility, but I couldn’t figure out why that specific digit was painful until I noticed how I gripped my Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Because the Fold 7 is such a thin device, I used my ring finger as a stabilizer to hold the Fold 7 when folded in my hand. When I use other devices, my palm acts as a “rest” to hold and balance, while I use three fingers to support the phone so the weight is spread out. It’s not just Samsung, either. As an example, I also use the Google Pixel 9 Pro: It’s about the same width, but because the device isn’t as long, it can rest on my palm, too. I only have that issue with the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Ultimately, I learned its thinness is both a curse and boon. It’s lighter, but it comes at the cost of ergonomics. If you suffer from any kind of hand pain, a case may help address this issue. However, if you prefer your phone without one, first of all, I commend you for taking that risk. But at $2,000, I can’t stomach the thought of my phone being naked and thus at risk for damage or accidental destruction.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Performance
The Usual Galaxy AI Experience
In previous years, Samsung focused on software upgrades with minor hardware tweaks. This year, the new Fold 7 gets turned on its head, with major hardware upgrades, but not so many software upgrades. Yes, the device ships with Samsung’s latest One UI 8 experience, which is, per usual, a lovely, snappy experience. The new phone runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy. After benchmarking, it lands squarely in between the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. The slightly lower numbers tell me that the extra software and display requirements take up more processing power. It’s a good trade-off, because ultimately I want a smooth responsive experience with an all-day battery life.
There is a minor caveat, though, that applies to mobile gamers specifically. Again, this is a thin device, and I found that it got pretty toasty. It makes sense: With such a slim profile, there’s going to be a thin vapor chamber—a component that wicks away heat. During testing, I didn’t experience it actually overheating, but you can expect heat to emanate from the back of the phone.
Circle To Search Gameplay Feeds Some Incorrect Information
One of the features I was most excited about was Circle To Search in Gameplay. In previous years, Circle To Search has felt unlimited because I could search almost anything I circled on the display. (There are a few exceptions—namely, people, which I assume are privacy concerns.) I tested it on Stardew Valley and Terraria to see how it held up—and I was left disappointed. For one, Google’s AI overview claimed a rock was a sprinkler and was, “a crucial tool for automating your farm’s irrigation.” In Terraria, the mobile experience claimed that an arrow targeting my enemy, a pink slime, was a banana—but it correctly identified the pink slime and shared what it was.
Visual matches, located below the AI overview, were a bust, too, offering a random smattering of completely unrelated content. It’s a shame because this was one feature I looked forward to the most. After all, if Samsung could nail Circle To Search on its mobile gaming platforms, I could see them bringing it to their TV line’s Click To Search feature. I expect Samsung to improve this feature as it continues to build on it, but for now, skip it.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Cameras
Finally, An Upgrade
While design was one of the largest changes this year, Samsung also enhanced the camera set. The wide lens goes from a 50MP lens to a 200MP lens, still with a 2x optical quality zoom. All I can say is: Finally. I’ve wanted Samsung to enhance the cameras since the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5—and some could argue that the demand for better cameras goes back as far as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.
The cameras performed well during testing. Photos came out crisp with colors looking accurate and just the right degree of saturation. In previous models, Nightography has fallen short, but this one seemed to do the job well when I snapped shots in a dimly lit theater.
Another great feature is the 10MP selfie cam, which increases the field of view to 100 degrees. I used it when I recently saw a play with my husband. Colors still looked washed out thanks to the glaring light behind us, but the new 100-degree field of view the camera offers is a nice touch.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Verdict
Innovation Meets Productivity
There’s no question in my mind that Samsung cemented this as one of the best booklet-style foldables available right now. Especially compared with its previous generation models, Samsung finally delivered on the innovation that I’ve been hoping for in a foldable phone. This device is sleek, it has a good chipset that benchmarks well and it has the all-day battery life that I need.
Still, there are some caveats: Circle To Search isn’t quite there yet with mobile gameplay, but if you’re using this device as a productivity tool over a gaming device, this doesn’t matter. If you want to game, it’s still a great device with a big, beautiful display.
There’s also the question of cost. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 costs an eye-watering $2,000. That’s not chump change, especially considering the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s starting price is $700 cheaper and still includes the S Pen. Still, from a productivity standpoint, this device stands to be a useful tool for maximizing workflows. Those who crave innovation and new technologies in their phone should go for this, but also business people who want to use their foldable as an on-the-go mini tablet may appreciate this device.
How I Tested The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
I used the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 as my main phone for over a month. I took calls, snapped photographs of various subjects, sent messages and more. Diving into the software, I tested the new AI features like Circle To Search for gameplay, as an example. Specifically, I played two games, Terraria and Stardew Valley, to see how the device and this new software performed.
A lot of my time with this phone was spent extensively testing the new hardware upgrades, specifically the camera, taking pictures across the device’s myriad lenses to see how well each performed. I carefully reviewed each photo for clarity, depth and image quality, noting how the algorithms adjusted my footage.
I also tested the new 200MP lens against the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Google Pixel 9 Pro to see how its lenses and post-processing algorithms held up against its predecessor. I also cross-checked the Nightography photography the device offers against the aforementioned devices to see how the camera set held up in real world settings.
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- The Forbes Vetted team has published hundreds of tech and electronics guides that leverage our hands-on testing and research.
- Consumer tech and electronics editor Rebecca Isaacs has been involved in tech journalism for more than six years. She has done deep dives into the Apple ecosystem with the iPhone 16 Pro and also reviewed plenty of Android devices, including the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Google Pixel 8. Most recently, she tested and reviewed the best Android phones and the best Samsung phones. She regularly attends Samsung Unpacked and other tech events, including CES. For this story, she tested the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 over the course of a month and used it as her main carry.
- As she tests phones, Isaacs focuses on aspects of interest to everyone, from folks who prefer a simple call-and-text device to heavy mobile gamers who want a powerful and seamless experience. As a result, her testing is relevant to how general users, gamers and content creators may interact with these phones.