NEW YORK—Samsung has revealed its latest family of folding phones, which increases from two models to three. In addition to expected yearly updates to the Z Fold and Z Flip lines, Samsung introduced a less expensive Fan Edition of the Z Flip 7 to lower the cost of entry. All three phones come with Android 16, One UI 8, and the latest in Galaxy AI. With prices that range from $900 to well over $2,000, there are no cheap options here, but I got a chance to see the new hardware firsthand, and these are clearly Samsung’s most refined folding phones yet. Here’s everything you need to know.
Nailing the Hardware
Each year since its 2019 debut, Samsung has refined the design of its folding phones. The original Galaxy Fold was a chunky brick that filled your pocket and weighed you down. Now in its seventh generation, the Z Fold 7 is something to behold.
Galaxy Z Fold 7 (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The Z Fold 7 is 48% thinner than the original at 0.35 inches folded and 0.16 inches when opened. It’s also much lighter at 7.58 ounces. Samsung says it has a new Advanced Armor Aluminum frame to help reduce weight and add strength. The company redesigned the Armor FlexHinge to disperse stress, protect the display, move more smoothly, and last longer. It’s an incredibly thin device and is hardly larger than a standard slab phone. The reduced weight goes a long way toward making it more usable. Everything about the hardware feels top-notch, and it slips into your pocket far more comfortably than previous models.
Galaxy Z Fold 7 (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Samsung applied these same upgrades to the Z Flip 7, which is a touch thinner (0.26 inches) and lighter (6.63 ounces) than its predecessor, the Z Flip 6. Notably, the phone is slightly wider and shorter to change the aspect ratio of both the outer and inner screens. With a broader width, each is easier to type on. The Flip 7 FE is more like a warmed-over version of the Z Flip 6 and is thicker and heavier than the Flip 7, but it’s still a fine device.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The hinges of all three phones feel strong and fluid in their movement. We’ve come a long way from the creaking hinges of Samsung’s first-generation foldables.
The glass is stronger all around. The Z Fold 7 adopts Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 on the front and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the rear to ward off scratches and breakage. The inner screen has a new Grade 4 titanium layer for protection and new adhesives to prevent the multi-layer display from delaminating over time. The Flip 7 features Gorilla Glass Victus 2 front and back, but otherwise has the same upgrades.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Both the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 have the same IP48 rating as last year’s models, which means they are resistant to larger particles of dust and can handle immersion in about five feet of water for up to 30 minutes. Samsung didn’t say if the Flip 7 FE shares the same rating.
Galaxy Z Fold 7 (Credit: Eric Zeman)
There are fewer color options than in previous years. The Z Fold 7 comes in black, blue, or silver, the Flip comes in black, blue, or coral red, and the FE comes in black or white. If you order the Fold 7 or Flip 7 online, you’ll have access to an exclusive mint (green) option. In person, the blue, coral red, and mint are the winners as far as making an impression is concerned.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE (Credit: Eric Zeman)
New Display Sizes and Shapes
Once again, Samsung has tweaked the size and shape of its folding screens to make them easier to look at and use. It might be hard to believe, but the Z Fold 7 gets even bigger. The outer screen grows from 6.3 to 6.5 inches and is wider than before. It’s now the same size and shape display you’d find on any flagship phone (21:9 aspect ratio), rather than the tall and narrow one from older versions. The inner screen stretches from 7.6 inches on the Fold 6 to a massive 8.0 inches—the same size as many small tablets. Both have 120Hz adaptive refresh rates. These Dynamic AMOLED 2x displays are incredibly sharp and bright, and provide enough real estate to accomplish any task, watch any video, or run multiple apps side by side.
Galaxy Z Fold 7 inner display (Credit: Eric Zeman)
There’s one major drawback, though: The Fold loses compatibility with Samsung’s S Pen stylus. The Fold has supported the S Pen for most of its generations, even if the stylus isn’t embedded in the chassis. In order to develop a thinner phone, Samsung had to delete the layer that works with the stylus.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 inner display (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The Flip 7 has bigger screens, too. The outer display gets a huge upgrade, expanding from 3.6 inches to 4.1 inches. Narrow 0.05-inch bezels frame the display, which basically goes edge to edge, and seamlessly around the camera lenses. It includes what Samsung calls Vision Booster to make the outdoor experience better. The screen now reaches 2,600 nits of peak brightness and has a 120Hz refresh rate for brighter and smoother performance. I tested it under extra-bright lamps in an event space and found it a breeze to see, no matter how much light shone on it. The inner screen improves from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches. Critically, Samsung has widened both screens to improve typing messages on the keyboard. It now has a common 21:9 aspect ratio. It was easy to feel the extra room when pecking out a few sample sentences in person.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE outer display (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The Flip 7 FE has screens similar to those of the Flip 6. Though Samsung didn’t share specs, in person, the phone’s displays looked almost as impressive as the Flip 7’s. Its smaller 3.6-inch Flex Window comes across as more cramped than the large one of the Flip 7.
An Ultra Camera
The Fold 7 adopts the same 200MP main camera found on the S25 Ultra and S25 Edge, as well as the latest ProVisual Engine to process photos and videos. Though the rest of the camera suite appears to be the same as the Fold 6, the improved main sensor should go a long way toward making Fold 7 users happy.
Galaxy Z Fold 7 (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The 200MP main shooter can capture 200MP, 50MP, and 12MP images, with the 50MP option offering a macro mode for extremely sharp close-ups. This was great to test in person. The phone can take some really sharp macros. The rest of the package includes a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, a 12MP ultra-wide camera with autofocus, a 10MP cover screen camera, and a 10MP inner screen camera with a super-wide 100-degree field of view for those group selfies. The ProVisual engine reduces noise, supports 10-bit HDR+ by default, and helps clean up night video for sharper and brighter results.
Galaxy Z Fold 7 macro mode (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The Flip 7 has a 50MP main camera similar to that of the Z Flip 6, but it uses the same ProVisual Engine to process images and make them look their best. The phone can take 2x optical zoom shots by using the central portion of the sensor. It also has a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a 10MP selfie camera.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 camera module (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Samsung says it has improved the selfie-taking experience. There’s now an Auto Zoom function for hands-free shots. It can assess the scene and frame the short accordingly. Moreover, there’s a super-easy-to-use, one-handed Zoom Slider that lets you instantly set the right amount of zoom for your shots. The Flip 7 FE provides similar camera hardware but relies on a different processing engine.
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Galaxy Z Flip 7 camera app (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The Densest Circuit Board
Yearly upgrades don’t hinge on design, displays, and cameras alone. Samsung has boosted the specs of each device to ensure it can deliver the best possible experiences.
As expected, the Z Fold 7 uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen Elite for Galaxy processor, which also powers Samsung’s Galaxy S25 line. This chip is not only fast but also more efficient and better at AI calculations, and it does all that while drawing less power. The phone carries over the same storage options as last year, which include 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. The Z Flip 7 has “the latest 3nm chip for advanced performance,” which is the homegrown Exynos 2500 chip. The phone will come in 256GB and 512GB variants. Both phones come with 12GB of RAM across the board. Samsung didn’t say anything about the FE’s processor or RAM, but did say it will be available in 128GB and 256GB models.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Samsung says the circuit board of the Z Flip 7, in particular, is the most dense one it has ever designed for a phone. It spent extra time engineering a board to handle every possible feature in the phone’s small form factor. It also refined core components, like the camera module and battery, to squish everything inside.
Somewhat disappointingly, the batteries are the same year over year. The Z Fold 7 has a 4,400mAh battery, and the Z Flip 7 has a 4,300mAh battery. Both support the same 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging specs as last year, too. Samsung claims both phones can charge to 50% in about 30 minutes with 25W adapters. Samsung said the Z Fold 7 can play video for 26 hours straight and the Z Flip 7 can play video for 31 hours straight. (That’s with the video stored on the device at 720p.) We test battery life by streaming 1080p video over Wi-Fi with the screen at full brightness.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Samsung has played it conservative with the charging capabilities of its top phones, settling on 25W as “fast enough” for most people. Competing phones from OnePlus, Oppo, Honor, and others can charge at speeds up to 120W. Motorola’s latest foldable, the Razr Ultra, supports 68W wired charging and 30W wireless charging.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The phones come with the latest Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 7, as well as 5G. Samsung didn’t specify which versions of 5G. The Fold and Flip 7 likely support C-band, mmWave, and sub-6GHz, while the Flip 7 FE may be limited to C-band and sub-6GHz. The phones can handle one physical SIM card as well as an eSIM card.
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Gemini Live Takes Center Stage
Google’s Gemini Live now plays an even bigger role in Samsung’s Galaxy AI experience and is more deeply ingrained in the One UI 8 platform. These are the first phones to ship with Android 16 out of the box, and they pack Samsung’s One UI 8 to start. One UI 8 focuses on improving the multitasking experience, optimizing content and controls for the new screens and floating windows, and making it more seamless than ever to drag content from one app into another.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Perhaps the Z Flip 7 gains the most significant upgrade. The outer screen, which Samsung calls the Flex Window, carries over all the Galaxy AI and Gemini tools from the Galaxy S25 line. This includes the Now Bar and the Now Brief, which are AI-driven notifications that feed you details about your day and that of the world around you. Moreover, the Flex Window supports natural voice search, where you can get answers and take actions directly without opening the phone. Gemini can look into apps to make suggestions, as well as proactively turn on Find My Device when you leave home, or check the weather for your destination ahead of upcoming trips. Gemini Live on the Flex Window includes using the camera for answers about what’s in front of you, or providing you with a fit check against the latest styles.
Circle to Search takes a step forward. AI Mode in Circle to Search lets you access advanced reasoning and multimodal capabilities to explore things when on the go. You can also ask follow-up questions to learn more without opening up the phone. Moreover, Circle to Search now works within games. You can snap a screenshot and learn about new characters, gain tips, get unstuck, or find a winning strategy. The demo I saw allowed a Samsung rep to seek out the answers to a puzzle by sending a Circle to Search result to Google.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Gemini Live also works natively with more apps on the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, including Samsung Calendar, Notes, and Reminders.
Galaxy AI gains pro-level photo editing. For example, Photo Assist now suggests what background items to erase from your photos, and Generative Edit performs the erasures with a single tap. In the demo I saw, the tool automatically highlighted all the people in the background of a shot taken in a forest. It then seamlessly deleted them with a tap. Galaxy AI powers side-by-side editing on the Z Fold 7 so you can see the original and new version in real time. The Audio Eraser tool can now instantly remove unwanted sounds, like wind, crowd noise, and traffic, from videos. Further, Audio Eraser now works in the Samsung Notes voice recorder app and with recorded phone calls.
Galaxy Z Fold 7 (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Samsung continues to boost Knox, its enterprise security suite. All the new phones include KEEP (Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection), which locks everything down and prevents apps from accessing personal details without explicit permission. It can auto-detect threats and then automatically sign you out of your device to prevent personal information from being compromised. Samsung says this is all strengthened by quantum-resistant encryption.
As with its other recent flagships, Samsung is promising seven years of OS and security updates for its new foldables. Samsung also says it will not charge anyone for any Gemini AI feature that ships on the device. A year ago, the company suggested it may eventually charge people to use Gemini features after a set time, but it appears that Samsung is putting that plan on hold.
Pricing and Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 are available for preorder now and will hit store shelves on July 15. If you order directly from Samsung, you can score discounts on storage upgrades and accessories. Samsung is also offering $50 credits and generous trade-in deals.
The Z Fold 7 starts at $1,999.99 for the 256GB model, $100 more than last year’s phone. The Z Flip 7 starts at $1,099.99, the same as last year’s model. Considering the Z Flip 7 FE is supposed to be an affordable entry point into foldables, it starts at a surprisingly costly $899.99. Samsung didn’t immediately provide pricing for the higher-capacity models.
I plan to put all three phones to the test, so check back soon for my reviews. In the mean time, read about Samsung’s latest smartwatches.
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About Eric Zeman
Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics
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