The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the best foldable phone out there, and it’s an impressive device, with smart features that I loved using.
There is a lot to love about the foldable phone, even if it’s still tough talking about the price tag. Sticker shock is by far one of the biggest problems I have with the Z Fold 7.
Samsung makes great phones, and I’m impressed with the phone quality, the cameras, and so much more. However, the starting price for the phone is $2,499.99 Canadian with 256 GB of storage, $2,679.99 for 512 GB, and $3,039.99 for the 1 TB model, available from Samsung.com.
So considering the price, is the Z Fold 7 worth buying? I would actually say yes, but there’s a lot to cover. Read on for my full review, and scroll to the bottom for sample photos, and my video review.
Design and build quality
A lot of what makes the Z Fold 7 impressive is the design and build quality, including the size and weight.
The phone is just 9mm thick when it’s folded and 4.2mm when it’s open, if you ignore the camera bump. That makes it one of the thinnest foldables around, and it weighs just 215 grams. The cameras do stick out a little further though, so the phone is around 13.5mm thick when folded, from my measurements, at the camera bump, and 10mm open, at the bump.
And I have no complaints about the thickness with the camera bump, because the cameras are excellent. More on that further below. A case is just a must to help protect the camera bump though.
The screens have a 3mm bezel, that feels a little wider than some phones, and that’s most noticeable on the outside display, but I didn’t have a problem with it. I also love the flat screen, that is nicely squared off on the edges, with slightly rounded corners on the outside edges. That makes the phone feel nicely rounded off on the four corners when it’s open.
And the hinge is a work of art. It’s almost impossibly small and yet it seems very strong and durable. When opened, the full display does have a small crease down the middle, but it’s a big improvement from previous Samsung phones, and it’s better than almost anything that I’ve seen from competitors.
Screens and displays
The cover display is 6.5 inches, while the inside is 8 inches, both offering Dynamic AMOLED 2x screens. They’re both bright and vibrant, and the quality I expect of Samsung, boasting up to 2,600 nits of peak brightness.
What I loved is that the front display is excellent in its own right. It’s a little narrower than some phones, but it’s incredibly useful on its own. I went hours without opening the phone, and you wouldn’t even need to use it for most things.
Browsing YouTube videos, and using email, and social media, the phone’s cover display works perfectly. It’s big enough that you can do anything, but of course the real power is when you unfold it.
When it’s open, the Z Fold 7 is basically a small tablet, and it’s wonderful for just about everything. The overall screen dimensions, at 8 inches diagonally, give you space for everything in any of your favourite apps. Using email, there’s space for a preview pane, or when you want to multi-task, there’s room for two apps at once, side-by-side.
Apps and games look great on the display, and it’s bright enough, even outside on sunny days. It looks and feels like a premium phone, and that’s a big deal considering how light and thin the Z Fold 7 is, too.
And maybe, most importantly, the screens are tough. The cover display features Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, while the main display is made with Ultra-Thin Glass. A case is, of course, highly recommended for any phone, but it’s good to know that it’s well designed.
Features, speed, and battery life
Here’s the next big shocker to me about the Z Fold 7: it’s fast. Thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, the phone is lightning quick. Samsung mentions a lot of performance boosting stats, thanks to the new processor, but the proof to me is just in running the basics.
Opening an app and then minimizing, and jumping to another app works flawlessly fast. I had a few apps open at once and swiped through them with no issues, lag, or problems, and considering the fact that the phone is slim and light, that’s impressive. Samsung has kept the phone swift, even though it’s thinner than the predecessor.
And on top of that, the phone has a 4,400 mAh battery that Samsung says will last for up to 24 hours watching videos. I found that the phone last for an entire day with regular usage, taking photos and videos, checking email, and social media. That will vary by user, and especially depending on screen brightness and front versus inside display usage, but it easily competes with my other phones.
Charging time is a little under 90 minutes with a Samsung charger, to get 100% from 0%, and you can get a decent charge in about 30 minutes.
Cameras, photography, and videos
The cameras and the quality of the images is the real test of any phone for me. I’m a photographer, and I love my camera, but I use phones a lot to capture everything I do, and I expect a lot.
The cameras on the Z Fold 7, and the features available, really impressed me though. I have been impressed only once before with the cameras on a foldable, and Samsung topped my expectations.
For quite a few years now, Samsung has wowed me with the cameras on their phones, and while I always want more, this phone is a big upgrade over the previous model.
For starters, you get a 200 MP camera, with a solid 3x zoom, and up to 30x digital zoom for photos. Video also offers the same 3x zoom, with up to 12x digital zoom. Both Expert RAW and Pro modes offer a lot for photographers, while Pro Video and Portrait Video can help you capture very impressive results.
While I’m rarely a fan of digital zoom quality, the phone delivers good results in most situations up to 10x zoom, and I really like the quality from the 3x zoom.
If you’re really into phone photography, the Samsung Galaxy S25 is a much better option from Samsung, but if you want the screen and good photos, the Z Fold 7 delivers.
More than anything though, there’s a great extra feature that I loved: vlogging and selfies using the rear cameras. This is a pretty big deal when you think about the quality of the rear cameras.
I tested all the cameras on the phone, and the front facing camera is good, on both the cover and unfolded, but the rear cameras are very impressive. You will need to hold the phone carefully, but with it unfolded and the rear cameras facing you, the cover can act as a preview so you can see yourself as you record or take photos. And that gives you access to all of the camera modes.
There really aren’t many phones that can offer the same kinds of features, with cameras that are this good.
Final thoughts
After two weeks with the phone, I still love using it. It’s very easy to use, responsive, fun, and fresh, and most importantly, fast. The photos and videos I’ve captured have been very good for a foldable, and I loved using it to vlog.
For a creator like me, shooting and working from my phone a lot of the day, the Z Fold 7 feels like a device I would buy for myself. I think the device is a notch overpriced, but I can still see it being popular for those who don’t mind spending extra to have a phone like none other.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is available in Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow, Jetblack, and Mint. While it’s $59 extra, I would recommend buying the travel adapter plug with the phone if you don’t already have a Samsung brick charger.
Sample images captured with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
