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Let’s be trustworthy: Most present smartphone designs are fairly boring. All of them feel and appear the identical, no matter platform. The one actual distinction has been within the software program. However what if bodily design began to matter once more? Think about having a telephone that appears, feels, and operates very in another way from the standard glass slab. Lengthy-time trade observers know that choice already exists within the type of foldable telephones, now accessible from a number of distributors, and supposedly coming from Apple someday subsequent yr.
On condition that foldables are removed from new and have been round for years, it’s shocking how many individuals nonetheless appear unaware of them. Whether or not I’m working in an airport lounge or out buying, I’m typically requested concerning the foldable telephone I carry.
Samsung clearly believes that bodily design nonetheless issues and is aiming to capitalize on that curiosity with the debut of the most recent editions of its Z Fold and Z Flip collection on the latest Galaxy Unpacked occasion in Brooklyn, New York.
Each Android 16-based telephones characteristic notable enhancements of their bodily design, making them extra interesting to these contemplating a swap from standard smartphones or simply now discovering the foldable class. Actually, the updates Samsung launched on this seventh technology are as vital because the collective adjustments made throughout the primary six generations.
The brand new Galaxy Z Flip7 is sure to show a couple of extra heads because of a again cowl display screen that now fills the complete space of the folded telephone. To its credit score, Motorola beat Samsung to the punch on any such design with its newest Razr telephones, however the change to Samsung’s newest Z Flip provides a noticeable enchancment versus earlier Samsung designs. The Galaxy Z Flip7 now totally leverages the 4.1″ display screen space accessible for the show and provides a full HD 1048 x 948 decision.
The Z Flip7 additionally contains direct help for Google’s Gemini Live, enabling voice-powered knowledge requests, system operations, and extra – even whereas the telephone is closed. You can too make multimodal AI requests by sharing the 50 MP wide-angle or 12 MP ultrawide digicam or display screen picture with Gemini Reside.
In one other first for the Flip collection, Samsung has added Dex expertise, permitting the telephone to attach on to a bigger monitor for a PC-like expertise. The Flip7 additionally incorporates a 4,300 mAh battery, the most important ever included within the Flip line.
For the full-size Galaxy Z Fold7, the design adjustments are much more dramatic. The system now measures solely 8.9 mm thick when folded – simply 0.7 mm thicker than the Galaxy S25 Extremely, 0.65 mm thicker than the iPhone 15 Professional Max, and three.2 mm thinner than final yr’s Z Fold6. When unfolded, it’s simply 4.2 mm thick. At 215 grams, the telephone is 24 grams lighter than its predecessor, making it simpler to carry and use.
The brand new Z Fold7 additionally incorporates a wider, extra sq. side ratio with a entrance display screen that’s 5 mm wider than the earlier mannequin. Whereas it’s barely taller, the added width makes the telephone really feel extra like a conventional smartphone when closed, versus the narrower, taller designs of earlier generations. This additionally improves the expertise when utilizing the interior show.
Talking of which, the interior display screen now measures 8.0 inches diagonally – 0.4 inches bigger than the Z Fold6, equating to 11 % extra display screen space. It feels even larger in follow. One key profit is the flexibility to maintain a Gemini AI window open on one facet of the display screen whereas working one other app on the opposite. That may not sound revolutionary, however in day by day use, these sorts of large-screen AI experiences are genuinely transformational. They make AI-powered options simpler to make use of and extra naturally built-in into on a regular basis workflows.
Past the design updates, the Z Fold7 contains Samsung’s newest images options, incorporating a 200 MP essential lens, 10-bit HDR processing, and superior computational images software program first launched with the Galaxy S25 earlier this yr. Just like the Flip7, the Fold7 integrates Google’s Gemini Reside together with Samsung’s One UI 8 for AI-enhanced interactions.
In a welcome change, all world fashions of the Z Fold7 are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Galaxy Version chip, guaranteeing top-tier efficiency. Beforehand, Samsung used its personal Exynos chips in some markets outdoors the USA and Korea, however that’s now not the case. Then again, the Z Flip7 now makes use of the Exynos 2500 chip in all markets, together with the USA.
Pricing on the Z Flip7 stays at $1,099 and Z Fold7 has gone as much as $1,999. Sadly, the specter of South Korean tariffs may imply even greater costs within the close to time period. Whereas the tariffs are clearly out of Samsung’s management, it is clear the corporate felt that the additional price essential to create the higher, extra usable design for Z Fold7 was price it.
Plus, the worth vary is excessive sufficient that an incrementable change possible will not make an enormous distinction – in the event you may afford final yr’s mannequin, it’s also possible to afford this yr’s.
Whereas the Z Flip7 value remained the identical as final yr’s mannequin, it is nonetheless a bit excessive for youthful, usually extra cost-sensitive patrons. Samsung is providing a lower-cost Flip7 FE at $899 to handle a few of these considerations. The FE mannequin has the identical fundamental design as final yr’s Flip6, with a smaller Flex Window.
As somebody who has used foldables as a day by day driver for over six years, I’ve come to really worth the significance of bodily design and dimensions in these gadgets. That’s the reason I’m happy to see Samsung prioritize these components on this technology of foldables. The consumer expertise is genuinely transformational, and getting the dimensions, weight, and screen-to-body ratio excellent makes a major distinction.
Actually, on this early period of AI, I might argue that these bodily enhancements are extra necessary to general usability than many software program adjustments. Collectively, they signify a brand new technology of foldables – particularly the Z Fold7 – that might reignite client curiosity within the class.
Regardless of potential pricing considerations, as soon as folks get to see and maintain these telephones, the gadgets will possible encourage extra folks to take the leap to foldables. Talking from expertise, it is a choice that most individuals won’t ever look again from, and one they will be glad they made.
Bob O’Donnell is the founder and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research, LLC a expertise consulting agency that gives strategic consulting and market analysis companies to the expertise trade {and professional} monetary neighborhood. You’ll be able to comply with him on X @bobodtech
