The diet gave results: the main updates of the Samsung Galaxy Fold7 compared to its predecessor

The Samsung Galaxy Fold foldable smartphone has long been a trendsetter in its category and, at the time of its release, was one of the biggest news stories in the history of mobile technology in general. It also remained in the top sales among "folds" for a long time, which is also worth mentioning. However, competitors did not sit still, and the past couple of iterations — Fold5 and Fold6 — still slowed down. (Of course, it should be added that external factors also contributed to this, but this is a topic for a separate conversation.)

The next upgrade of the model — Galaxy Fold7 — became, firstly, a much more significant update than before. Fortunately, a successful one. Secondly, at the same time, it managed to leave a couple of gaps, and one of them is in a place where it was not there before. Actually, we will now talk about this in more detail.

"Ergonomic diet"

Previously, folding smartphones in the "booklet" format were forgiven for various inconveniences. However, with the development of Chinese competition, the new Samsung Galaxy Fold7 simply had no choice - the body was forced to "lose weight". And this worked to its advantage. Thus, the dimensions of the Fold6 were transformed from 153.5×68.1×12.1 mm to 158.4×72.8×8.9 mm for the Fold7 in the folded state. That is, even despite some increases in height and width, the smartphone has become very noticeably thinner. And so much thinner that it can easily be compared with the current monoblock flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra, whose dimensions are 162.8×77.6×8.2 mm.

Even more interesting were the dimensions of the unfolded state, where the Fold6 stopped at 153.5×132.6×5.6 mm, and the Fold7 — 158.4×143.2×4.2 mm. That is, the thickness is not much larger than the USB-C port itself, which is currently indispensable. And at the same time, the weight has decreased from 239 to 215 grams. And although these are not the indicators with which today one can surprise the mentioned competition, such progress is still significant for the Galaxy Fold model.

And if everything is clear with the thickness, then the increase in height and width still has something to explain. The new model offers even larger screens. Thus, on the outside, the user will no longer receive a 6.3-inch display, but a 6.5, which has become wider. To this, the number of pixels has been added accordingly: it was 2376×968, and now it is 2520×1080. Actually, the external display has been steadily increasing in size since the very beginning of the line, and now it is almost catching up with traditional monoblocks, becoming more and more convenient in everyday use.

So by combining a body that is now almost as thick as a monoblock with a screen like a monoblock, we get almost the same familiar device for all routine tasks. And this is one of the most important upgrades of the new model.

But the main display has not been without updates either. It has slightly changed the internal structure with a titanium base, and also increased in size. And while the Fold6 offers a 7.6-inch main screen, the Fold7 will provide 8 inches. Of course, also with a slightly higher number of points: 2160×1856 versus 2184×1968. Such a change may not be as noticeable as with the external display, but still not superfluous, because it is the large main display that gives the Fold all its meaning.

The devil is in the details

Despite the fact that with the reduction in the dimensions of the smartphone, the company also had to work on updating the Armor FlexHinge hinge (although the same "drop" shape), it still did not completely get rid of the visual break line when unfolded. It can be noticed at an angle. But the good news is that overall it still does not interfere with work so much as to be a problem.

Another noticeable change was the camera in a small cutout of the main screen. If in the Fold6 it was "hidden" by an additional grid of pixels on top of it, then the Fold7 refused to "mask" it. On the one hand, it became worse aesthetically, because the black "spot" on the large display returned. On the other hand, now this camera has a resolution 2.5 times higher (10 MP), and also with a wider angle of view. Moreover, now nothing prevents it from capturing images better, which will be a nice bonus for those users who often communicate in video chats (after all, a banal selfie could be taken in other ways, but participating in a meeting is just more convenient from the side of the large display).

Next. First, I mentioned a gap that didn't exist before. So, the Galaxy Fold, as the manufacturer's most expensive smartphone, should offer almost everything it has to offer. However, this year the Galaxy Fold7 was left without one flagship "chip" - a stylus. Thus, the S Pen is offered (among the brand's smartphones) only in the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

For obvious reasons for such a decision (subjective, of course): either the design features of the new model, or the weak general demand of owners of these smartphones (or even a combination of these factors). Perhaps something else served this moment. However, for a certain part of Fold fans, this will still be a disadvantage.

Improved inheritance

While top-end monoblock smartphones are experimenting with materials, the Galaxy Fold7 remains true to tradition. Therefore, the case also combines aluminum and glass. However, quite traditionally, the manufacturer emphasized that this is not ordinary, but armored aluminum, and the glass of the front screen has been upgraded to Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2. But you shouldn't count on the fact that there will be no point in cases either.

And here is another interesting point of the update. Branded cases will now cover only the back of the smartphone. That is, the part that previously "laid" on the external display has disappeared. Actually, this once again emphasizes the thickness of the new case. The front side is offered to be protected with additional glass.

Camera additions

It's not just the internal selfie camera that has been changed. There are also some changes in the main unit. So, the telephoto has minimally updated the equivalent focal length from 66 to 67 mm, and the ultra-wide-angle camera has a capture angle from 123° to 120°. However, the resolution in both cases has remained unchanged: 10 and 12 MP, respectively.

However, the main character will now be a 200-megapixel wide-angle sensor with ƒ/1.7, 24 mm, 1/1.3", 0.6µm, optical stabilization, etc. The list of camera characteristics practically repeats the sensor from the Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, during the presentation it was mentioned that this is its modified version. Apparently, there are purely physical additions to this body.

But the camera module still remains very large. And visually it feels even larger, because against the background of a thin body it seriously protrudes above the panel. Although the improved capabilities here are still in all senses more important than the small ergonomic inconveniences. On the other hand, updating the design of the camera block could somehow reduce such (especially when it comes to "balancing" on a flat surface), but this will obviously remain a question for subsequent iterations.

Still Snapdragon

Rumors periodically spread around the network that there may be some changes in the state of the processors of Samsung's flagship models. In fact, the Galaxy Flip7 confirms that there is no smoke without fire. However, this "flame" does not currently apply to the Galaxy Fold7, which received a newer 3-nanometer Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite with Adreno 830. However, it was not without its design features.

While in the Galaxy S25 series, these processors help cool the evaporation chambers, the Galaxy Fold7 did not receive one. And yes, the case is indeed significantly thinner, which immediately suggests potential difficulties with cooling the top chip. But do not forget that folding smartphones also have their own characteristics, and Samsung engineers are not the first day in the business. But the tests will still show how well this moment is thought out.

With the new processor, the Galaxy Fold7 has improved Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. Storage options still range from 256 GB to 1 TB UFS 4.0, but the top-end variant now has 16 GB of RAM instead of 12 GB. A trifle, but nice (for comparison, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has 1 TB storage options with both 12 and 16 GB of RAM, and previous Folds did not offer 16 GB in principle).

Battery without experiments

The thinner body of the Galaxy Fold7 did not affect the battery capacity. So the potential owner can count on the same 4,400 mAh. And here, on the one hand, it's good that it hasn't decreased, but on the other hand, competitors with similar dimensions can offer more.

For example, the recently introduced Honor Magic V5 is equipped with a silicon-carbon battery with a capacity of 5,820 mAh, while its version for the Chinese market has a total of 6,100 mAh. And no, I am in no way criticizing Samsung for a more standard approach. However, it is unlikely that the new model will be able to demonstrate significant improvements in autonomy with the old battery.

At the same time, all the device charging options remained at the level of their predecessors: 25 W for the wired option (the power supply, of course, is sold separately, and in a standard half hour with it, the smartphone will be charged 50%), 15 W for induction stations, and there is also reverse charging with a power of 4.5 W.

Samsung Galaxy Fold6 and Galaxy Fold7 specifications

Preliminary results and prices

If we ignore the recently intensified competition, the Galaxy Fold7 has really become much more interesting than its predecessors. Now it is not such a huge smartphone for which you still need to find a suitable pocket, but a completely familiar flagship. But unlike such, here the user has an additional large display for multitasking, more convenient viewing and editing of photos, communication, and other media and entertainment tasks.

Along with this, we have the platform's top capabilities, Android 16 with OneUI 8.0 from the start, a set of new AI additions, and Google will also provide Gemini AI Pro for free for six months (although I don't know if such generosity extends to buyers in Ukraine).

However, if we still take into account the competitors, then such a Galaxy Fold should have appeared at least a year earlier. Now it turned out that it has caught up with the ergonomics of the aforementioned Honor Magic V5 and the OPPO Find N5 presented at the beginning of the year. On the other hand, leadership does not always mean quality, and Samsung has a lot of its own developments and software solutions. And the increasingly close cooperation with Google is also making itself felt here.

But the painful moment of the presentation was the cost of the new product. Galaxy Fold7 has become more expensive compared to its predecessor. Official pre-order prices in Ukraine start at 84,999 hryvnias (for comparison, in the USA - $1,999). Quite a lot of money for a smartphone. However, those who want to have flagship offers from top manufacturers should not get used to this.

While we wait for the Galaxy Fold7 test device for a detailed review, share your impressions of the new product in the comments.