Let’s be sincere: Most present smartphone designs are fairly boring. All of them feel and look 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 cellphone that appears, feels, and operates very in a different way from the everyday glass slab. Lengthy-time trade observers know that possibility already exists within the type of foldable telephones, now accessible from a number of distributors, and supposedly coming from Apple someday subsequent 12 months.
Provided 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 usually requested in regards to the foldable cellphone 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 sequence 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. The truth is, the updates Samsung launched on this seventh era are as vital because the collective modifications 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 all the space of the folded cellphone. To its credit score, Motorola beat Samsung to the punch on such a design with its newest Razr telephones, however the change to Samsung’s newest Z Flip gives a noticeable enchancment versus earlier Samsung designs. The Galaxy Z Flip7 now absolutely leverages the 4.1″ display screen space accessible for the show and gives a full HD 1048 x 948 decision.
The Z Flip7 additionally consists of direct help for Google’s Gemini Stay, enabling voice-powered knowledge requests, gadget operations, and extra – even whereas the cellphone is closed. You too can make multimodal AI requests by sharing the 50 MP wide-angle or 12 MP ultrawide digital camera or display screen picture with Gemini Stay.
In one other first for the Flip sequence, Samsung has added Dex expertise, permitting the cellphone to attach on to a bigger monitor for a PC-like expertise. The Flip7 additionally contains a 4,300 mAh battery, the biggest ever included within the Flip line.
For the full-size Galaxy Z Fold7, the design modifications are much more dramatic. The gadget 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 12 months’s Z Fold6. When unfolded, it’s simply 4.2 mm thick. At 215 grams, the cellphone is 24 grams lighter than its predecessor, making it simpler to carry and use.
The brand new Z Fold7 additionally contains 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 cellphone 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 inner show.
Talking of which, the inner 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 greater in apply. One key profit is the power to maintain a Gemini AI window open on one aspect 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 consists of Samsung’s newest images options, incorporating a 200 MP fundamental lens, 10-bit HDR processing, and superior computational images software program first launched with the Galaxy S25 earlier this 12 months. Just like the Flip7, the Fold7 integrates Google’s Gemini Stay 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 exterior the USA and Korea, however that’s now not the case. Alternatively, 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 value it.
Plus, the value vary is excessive sufficient that an incrementable change doubtless will not make an enormous distinction – in case you may afford final 12 months’s mannequin, it’s also possible to afford this 12 months’s.
Whereas the Z Flip7 value remained the identical as final 12 months’s mannequin, it is nonetheless a bit excessive for youthful, usually extra cost-sensitive consumers. Samsung is providing a lower-cost Flip7 FE at $899 to deal with a few of these issues. The FE mannequin has the identical primary design as final 12 months’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 actually worth the significance of bodily design and dimensions in these gadgets. That’s the reason I’m happy to see Samsung prioritize these parts on this era of foldables. The consumer expertise is genuinely transformational, and getting the dimensions, weight, and screen-to-body ratio good makes a big distinction.
The truth is, on this early period of AI, I’d argue that these bodily enhancements are extra essential to total usability than many software program modifications. Collectively, they signify a brand new era of foldables – particularly the Z Fold7 – that would reignite client curiosity within the class.
Regardless of potential pricing issues, as soon as folks get to see and maintain these telephones, the gadgets will doubtless encourage extra folks to take the leap to foldables. Talking from expertise, it is a determination that most individuals won’t ever look again from, and one they will be completely happy they made.
Bob O’Donnell is the founder and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Analysis, LLC a expertise consulting agency that gives strategic consulting and market analysis companies to the expertise trade {and professional} monetary group. You’ll be able to observe him on X @bobodtech
