Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Review: Thinner, Brighter, and Brimming with AI 📱✨

The future of smartphones is here, and it folds. Samsung has once again pushed the boundaries of mobile innovation with the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 at its highly anticipated Galaxy Unpacked 2025 event in Brooklyn. Available worldwide starting today, July 25, 2025, the Z Fold 7 isn't just an iterative update; it's a significant leap forward in foldable design, performance, and artificial intelligence, cementing Samsung's leadership in this cutting-edge segment.

After spending some quality time with this marvel of engineering, here's our comprehensive review of whether the Galaxy Z Fold 7 truly redefines the foldable standard.

Design & Display: A Masterclass in Refinement and Durability 📏🌈

Samsung's relentless pursuit of the "thin and light" foldable dream culminates beautifully with the Z Fold 7. At just 8.9mm thick when folded and an astonishingly slim 4.2mm when unfolded, it's remarkably thinner than its predecessor, the Z Fold 6 (12.1mm folded). This reduction in thickness, coupled with a weight of only 215 grams (even lighter than the Galaxy S25 Ultra), makes the Z Fold 7 feel less like a bulky gadget and more like a refined, everyday smartphone – an incredible feat for a device that transforms into a tablet.

The redesigned Armor Flex Hinge plays a crucial role here. It's not only thinner and lighter but also boasts a new multi-rail structure that significantly reduces the visible crease on the main display and enhances overall durability. Samsung claims a 10% increase in strength for the Advanced Armor Aluminum frame and hinge housing, alongside a 50% thicker Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) for enhanced scratch resistance on the main screen. The cover screen is protected by Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, and the rear by Gorilla Glass Victus 2, assuring robust protection. The phone maintains an IP48 rating, offering good water resistance and minimal dust protection.

The displays themselves are a visual feast:

Main Display (Unfolded): An expansive 8.0-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a resolution of 1968 x 2184 pixels. It maintains a silky smooth 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, HDR10+ support, and now boasts an incredible peak brightness of 2,600 nits with Vision Booster technology, making it perfectly legible even in direct sunlight.
Cover Display (Folded): The 6.5-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X cover screen finally adopts a more conventional 21:9 aspect ratio with a 2520 x 1080 resolution. This wider form factor addresses a long-standing criticism, making the phone far more usable as a traditional smartphone when closed, without feeling like you're typing on a remote control.

The visual experience on both screens is nothing short of superb, with rich contrast, vibrant colors, and deep blacks that make content truly pop. While mobile games still largely prefer the outer display for their aspect ratios, the larger unfolded canvas offers an unparalleled immersive experience for media consumption and productivity.

Performance: Snapdragon 8 Elite - A New Benchmark for Foldables ⚡🚀

Under the hood, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is powered globally by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy. This isn't just an incremental upgrade; it's the latest generation of Qualcomm's flagship mobile chipset, featuring the new custom Qualcomm Oryon CPU cores (previously seen in Qualcomm's PC processors) clocked at a staggering 4.47GHz. Built on a more efficient 3nm process technology, this octa-core chip delivers a significant boost in raw power and thermal efficiency compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the Z Fold 6.

Paired with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM (the latter exclusive to the 1TB storage variant), the Z Fold 7 offers a buttery smooth performance across all tasks. From demanding gaming titles like Honkai Star Rail at high frame rates to seamless multitasking with multiple apps open in Multi Window, the phone handles everything without a stutter. The larger form factor of the foldable also aids in heat dissipation, ensuring sustained performance even during extended gaming sessions.

Samsung DeX continues to be a standout feature, transforming the Fold 7 into a full desktop experience when connected to an external monitor, making it a true productivity powerhouse on the go.

Camera System: 200 Megapixels of Foldable Glory 📸🌟

One of the most significant upgrades comes in the camera department. Samsung has brought the best of its pro-grade camera experience to the Z Fold 7, featuring a sensor similar to the one found in the Galaxy S25 Ultra:

200MP Wide-angle Camera (main): A massive jump from the Z Fold 6's 50MP, this new sensor (f/1.7 with OIS and Quad Pixel AF) delivers dramatically sharper shots with 4x more detail and up to 44% brighter images in low light.
12MP Ultra-Wide Camera: (f/2.2, 120˚ FOV)
10MP Telephoto Camera: (f/2.4, OIS, 3x optical zoom)
10MP Cover Camera: (f/2.2)
10MP Selfie Camera (Main Display): (f/2.2, 100˚ FOV). This replaces the under-display camera of previous models, opting for a more traditional punch-hole for a much sharper selfie experience.

The improved hardware is complemented by Samsung's new AI-powered ProVisual Engine, which processes images faster, enhances digital zoom quality (up to 30x), and offers superior video stabilization. Features like Night Video with intelligent motion detection further reduce noise in low-light recordings. The larger inner screen is also optimized for photo editing with AI-powered tools like Photo Assist, which can intelligently adjust angles or fill in backgrounds. Overall photography is excellent, capable of capturing rich, vibrant, and highly detailed shots in various conditions.

Galaxy AI & Software: Contextual Intelligence at Your Fingertips 🤖🧠

Running Android 16 with One UI 8 out of the box, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 showcases Samsung's latest advancements in multimodal Galaxy AI. This "intelligence that can understand language, audio, and video all at once" truly transforms how you interact with your device.

Key AI features include:

Gemini Live with Camera Sharing: A groundbreaking feature allowing you to let Gemini Live see through your camera for real-time contextual help. Point your camera at something, ask a question, and get immediate, intelligent responses.
AI Results View: Seamlessly integrates AI-generated responses into Split View or Floating View for easy multitasking.
Browse Assist, Writing Assist, Drawing Assist: Tools that leverage AI to enhance your daily tasks across various applications like Samsung Notes and Calendar.
Circle to Search (Enhanced): Already powerful, this feature gets even smarter with AI Mode, allowing deeper follow-up questions and even working within games.
Photo Assist: Beyond basic edits, it can now intelligently remove multiple figures from photos.

Samsung is also offering six months of Google AI Pro for free with the Z Fold 7, further enhancing the device's AI capabilities. The integration of AI feels thoughtful and context-aware, designed to boost productivity and provide real-time support without feeling intrusive.

Battery Life & Charging: Steady, Not Revolutionary 🔋🔌

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 retains the same 4400mAh battery capacity as its predecessor. While some might have hoped for an upgrade, Samsung promises up to 24 hours of video playback, a slight improvement over the Z Fold 6's 23 hours. In real-world usage, the efficient Snapdragon 8 Elite chip helps maintain decent endurance, getting most users through a full day of moderate use.

Charging speeds remain at a modest 25W wired charging, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless. While functional, it's certainly slower than many competitors and even some mid-range Galaxy phones, remaining an area where Samsung could still significantly innovate.

Pricing & Availability 💸📅

Affiliate link : https://amzn.to/3IPBjp3

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is available starting July 25, 2025, with pricing in India beginning at ₹1,74,999 onwards for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant. The 12GB + 512GB model is priced at ₹1,86,999, while the top-tier 16GB + 1TB configuration will be available for ₹2,16,999. While certainly a premium device, Samsung continues to offer pre-order benefits like storage upgrades and no-cost EMI options to make the purchase more accessible.

The Verdict: A Foldable for the AI Age ✨🏆

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is, without a doubt, Samsung's most polished and compelling foldable to date. It addresses key pain points of previous generations with its impressively thin and light design, a more usable cover screen, and a significantly upgraded camera system. The raw power of the Snapdragon 8 Elite ensures top-tier performance, but it's the deep and intuitive integration of Galaxy AI that truly sets the Z Fold 7 apart, offering a glimpse into the future of context-aware mobile computing.

Who is it for? If you're an early adopter who craves cutting-edge technology, values the versatility of a phone that transforms into a tablet, demands top-tier performance, and is excited by the practical applications of on-device AI, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the definitive foldable experience in 2025.

While the price remains premium and charging speeds could be faster, the Z Fold 7 delivers a remarkably refined, powerful, and intelligent package. It's not just a phone; it's a statement about where mobile technology is headed, and Samsung is confidently leading the charge.