Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Review – Slimmer, Lighter and More Powerful than Ever, But is it Worth RM7,799?

Samsung has pulled an all-nighter on the competition with their flagship Galaxy Z Fold7 foldable. Slimmer, lighter with wider screens and a better main camera, it’s a far cry from the last three generations of Fold-series phones but does it matter where it counts? We managed to get our hands on a sample for field testing ahead of launch – here’s our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 review here we share if it’s worth the money!

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 – Build and Design

The moment you pop it out of its flat packing box, you’ll immediately realise you’re holding onto something special. After taking in the extensive number of brickbats on account of the modest improvements over their last few generations of foldables, Samsung has gone all-in with a radical number of upgrades that address almost every concern, albeit with a few trade-offs to ensure that it is as thin as possible.

Compared to its predecessor the Galaxy Z Fold6, our Galaxy Z Fold7 review sample is lighter by 24g, weighing in at just 215g. This makes it even lighter than the Galaxy S25 Ultra which weighs in at 218g. 

When measured from the sides, the phone is just 4.2mm thin when unfolded and 8.9mm when folded down. The older Galaxy Z Fold6 is 12.1mm thin when folded down, almost elephantine in comparison and 26% thicker than the Fold7.

Samsung hasn’t neglected durability either and they’ve implemented improved materials across the board to make the Galaxy Z Fold7 tougher and more durable than ever. The most critical aspect of the design – the hinge mechanism – is dubbed the Armor FlexHinge that uses a new water droplet design and a slimmer, more robust multirail structure to disperse stress and protect display integrity. 

The main 8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X folding display has also used a titanium lattice underlay for greater structural integrity, features new adhesives and made the Ultra Thin Glass protecting it 50% thicker too. In effect, you get a wider, larger and more durable main folding display. 

The front 6.5-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X cover display also gets an upgrade with toughened Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2– the same stuff used on the main display of the Galaxy S25 Edge to protect it from nicks and scratches. The chassis itself also gets an upgrade with the use of a tougher Advanced Armor Aluminium for the frame while retaining the same IP48 rating for dust and water resistance as the older Fold6. The backplate also gets a protective slab of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for good measure. There is, however, one trade-off as they’ve removed the digitiser that allows for S Pen interactivity for the Fold7’s main and front display.

Improvements to size and weight aside, our Galaxy Z Fold7 review sample in Blue Shadow looks absolutely stunning. The backplate of the phone has Samsung’s unmistakable design language with a vertically arrayed camera housing in the upper left corner with the phone finished in a semi-gloss finish that feels luxurious to the touch. Unfortunately, it has a tendency to collect fingerprints and smudges though this isn’t a deal breaker. 

While the design does look visually impressive, it is also somewhat asymmetrical such that it tends to wobble if you place it camera-side down on a table though it’s something you can easily solve once you apply a casing on the phone. There’s a reason for this of course as Samsung have crammed in a 200MP main camera into the phone, along with a 12MP ultra wide and 10MP telephoto which we’ll get into detail later.

The top portion features a SIM card tray while the bottom features a single USB-C port for 25W wired charging. You also get stereo spekers with grilles on both ends. The 25W charging speed seems quaint seeing as the competition have advanced to double and even triple this level of charging speed but it is a calculated move on Samsung’s part that prioritises thermal management and battery safety.

The right side of our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 review sample comes with a power button that doubles as a fingerprint reader and a volume rocker. 

Up front, you get a wider and larger 6.5-inch LTPO Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with FHD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 2,600 nits peak brightness with a small punch hole up top for a 10MP selfie camera. Compared to the older Fold6, the new Fold7 has a front display that’s larger by 0.2-inches and a 21:9 aspect ratio, finally lending the series a suitably large enough display for serious work. 

Flipping the Galaxy Z Fold7 opened reveals a larger and wider 8-inch LTPO Dynamic AMOLED 2X display that’s 0.4 inches larger than the prior model, features QXGA+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and which also has up to 2,600 nits peak brightness. One major change though this time is that Samsung has abandoned their experiments with under-display cameras and have instead opted for a conventional punch hole that hosts a sharper, more 10MP camera for video calls.

@hitechcentury We get a first look at the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 fresh from Galaxy Unpacked 2025! #galaxyunpacked #galaxyzfold7 #samsungmy #samsungmalaysia #tech #fyp #hitechcentury #unboxing #firstlook ♬ Original Sound – Unknown

Aesthetically speaking, our Galaxy Z Fold7 review sample both looks and feels exceptionally premium in keeping with its rather lofty price tag. When held, the phone has an even heft while feeling wonderfully light yet sturdy with its flat sides and edges as well as slightly curved corners lending it a wonderful tactility while making it comfortable to wield one-handed. Unfortunately, there are no accessories to go with the phone and the box only comes with the charging cable, a SIM eject pin and a warranty guide.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Review – Performance and Benchmarks

In terms of hardware, Samsung’s flagship foldable is equipped with enough pixel crunching punch to go toe to toe with any other flagship in the market. Our Galaxy Z Fold7 review sample comes with the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset which is a custom-model specific only to Samsung’s flagship phones like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and that is clocked faster than the general-issue Snapdragon 8 Elite chipsets used in other competing flagship phones. 

This is paired with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM augmented by up to 12GB of additional virtual RAM Plus random access memory assigned off the onboard 256GB UFS 4.0 storage with a 512GB variant available. Those with deep pockets can opt for the more premium 16GB LPDDR5X RAM with 1TB UFS 4.0 storage variant. Connectivity is excellent and the phone features the latest WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and NFC.

Running under the hood of our Galaxy Z Fold7 review unit is the latest Android 16 with their OneUI 8 overlay and a commitment to offering a full 7 years of OS and security updates, keeping it safe and secure all the way to Android 23 and all the way to 2032. OneUI 8 adds a few subtle refinements with an improved Quick Share tab that splits files into Receive and Send to make it easier to see what file goes where, a revamped Calendar app with new Event and Reminder tabs and, of course, full access to Samsung’s Galaxy AI and all its myriad features.

You also get popular features like their Now Brief and Audio Eraser as well as their Generative Edit to manipulate images with AI and of course their useful Text Assist mode that lets you rephrase messages and text. 

Features and hardware side, here’s how our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 review unit stacks up on paper:

 

Price	RM7,799 (12GB RAM/256GB), RM8,399 (12GB RAM/512GB), RM9,899 (16GB/1TB)
Display	8-inch LTPO Dynamic AMOLED 2X QXGA+ (2,184 x 1,986 pixels), 120Hz refresh rate [primary] / 6.5-inch LTPO Dynamic AMOLED 2X, FHD+, 2,520x 1,080 pixels, 120hz refresh rate [cover display]
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy
OS	Android 16 w/ OneUI 16
Memory	12GB LPDDR5X RAM w/ 256GB UFS 4.0[512GB and 16GB RAM/1TB available]
Cameras	200MP f/1.7 w/ OIS + 12MP f/2.2 ultra wide angle + 10MP f/2.4 telephoto w/ 3x optical zoom + 30x Space Zoom [rear] / 10MP f/2.2 [front camera]  10MP f/2.2 [main display camera]
Battery	4,400mAh w/ 25W wired charging, 15W wireless and reverse wireless charging
Size/Weight	158.4 x 143.2 x 4.2mm [unfolded] / 148.4 x 72.8 x 8.9mm [folded]

When subjected to synthetic benchmarks with the maximum of 8GB RM Plus, our Galaxy Z Fold7 review unit scored the following synthetic benchmarks:

3D Mark Steel Nomad Light	1,863
3D Mark Steel Nomad Light Unlimited	1,746
3D Mark Solar Bay	11,441
3D Mark Solar Bay Unlimited	11,032
3D Mark Wild Life Extreme	5,055
3D Mark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited	5,687
Geekbench 6 Single Core	2,227
Geekbench 6 Multi Core	8,495
Geekbench 6 OpenCL	16,785
Geekbench 6 Vulkan	24,053
Geekbench 6 AI (CPU)	4,473 (Quanticised)
Geekbench 6 AI (GPU)	3,849 (Quanticised)
PCMark Work 3.0	13,376
PCMark Battery Life	34 hours 13 mins

In terms of benchmarks, our Galaxy Z Fold7 review sample scores quite similarly to other Samsung phones with the same chipset such as the Galaxy S25 Ultra in single, multicore and graphics performance while comfortably outpacing the older Fold6 in almost every benchmark. 

Every task expected of a foldable was handled with deft aplomb including gaming too with the larger 6.5-inch front display finally making mobile gaming a viable prospect.

When it comes to paperwork and multitasking, the Fold7 shows its chops and makes working on spreadsheets in Excel easy on account of the large display and video editing on CapCut a comfortable prospect on account of the hardware on offer and large displays. What makes it a feat of engineering is that Samsung has managed to do all this and shoehorn it into a chassis that’s lighter and slimmer than their flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Both the front and main Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays offer vivid colour rendition and crisp detail as well as pin-sharp text, which makes them a treat for gaming and Netflix binging. Clarity is otherwise excellent and text as well as images remain clear even under direct sunlight. The robust hinge also enables the phone to stay half open for Flex mode at almost any angle which comes in handy for hands-free movie watching duties on the go.

As with Samsung’s other flagship phones, the Fold7 features their own Galaxy AI that offers a potent toolkit of AI-powered features. The Audio Eraser too is here and intelligently deletes unwanted noise be it the wind or bystanders from your videos.

The whole array of generative edit tools that let you delete background objects, reframe and fill in a photo and more are all here. You also get Samsung’s potent Writing and Chat assist that helps you write messages and text in the appropriate tone is also present and works like a charm. Circle to Search as well as Gemini assistant are also present and lend the phone help you get menial tasks done faster like phrasing messages in the appropriate fashion, jotting down reminders and finding items you want online.

Arguably its Achilles heel, our Galaxy Z Fold7 review sample still retains the same modestly sized 4,400mAh battery as its predecessor and also retains similar charging performance with 25W wired charging, 15W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. Samsung has claimed that it has improved battery life through a combination of software optimisation on top of the power efficient Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset, with these features working in tandem to maximise endurance even with the modest battery 4,400mAh battery size.

On paper, Samsung is quoting up to 24 hours of 720p video playback on a full charge. In PCMark’s Work 3.0 Battery life test, it managed a whopping 34 hours and 13 minutes of battery life on about 40% screen brightness which is appropriate for indoors use with just the use of the cover screen alone. This vastly outpaces the Galaxy Z Fold6 and even the Galaxy S25 Ultra despite the unchange 4,400mAh battery.

The exceptional battery life score from PCMark’s Work 3.0 benchmark is likely due to a combination of Samsung’s highly efficient 1Hz LTPO display throttling during static workloads, along with conservative brightness management during testing. These optimisations allow the Fold7 to sip power during less demanding tasks – which goes some way to explaining the unexpectedly long endurance in the benchmark despite the modest 4,400mAh battery.

In more practical work scenarios, the Fold7 still holds up to a full day’s worth of use. With liberal use of data and WiFi, a combination of social media, video streaming, a few minutes worth of voice calls and emails and paperwork on both the main and cover display on auto screen brightness, our Galaxy Z Fold7 review unit was comfortably able to last a full working day from 8AM till early evening. Unfortunately, charging hasn’t been improved at all and you’ll need close to an hour and 40 minutes for a full charge from a completely dry battery.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Review – Cameras

After several generations with minimal camera updates, the Galaxy Z Fold7 finally dials things to eleven with the main triple rear camera array featuring a large 200MP primary camera with an f/1.7 aperture and optical image stabilisation.

The second camera is a 12MP f/2.2 ultra wide angle camera that now features autofocus and a dedicated macro mode. Rounding things off is a 10MP f/2.4 telephoto camera that has 3X optical zoom as well as OIS. On paper, this setup enables the phone to capture pixel-binned 12MP photos with 3x lossless zoom with up to 30x Space Zoom for stills and up to 8K@30fps video with up to 12x digital zoom.

The front and main display videos both have 10MP sensors with fixed focus and the ability to capture up to 4K@30fps video for video calls and the like though the cover display selfie camera has an 85-degree field of view while the inner one has a wider 100-degree field of view.

Beyond the hardware, the Galaxy Z Fold7 also integrates Samsung’s own ProVisual Engine image signal processor (ISP) that leverages the power of the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset. This enables the cameras in order to offer better noise reduction, better nighttime footage and 10-bit HDR video capture.

When put to the test, our Galaxy Z Fold7’s larger 200MP camera did not disappoint, offering up stills that retain crisp detail and lifelike colour rendition along with excellent dynamic range in up to 2X zoom in both brightlly lit and low light scenarios.

@hitechcentury We test the rear cameras of the new ultra slim Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 in downtown Bukit Bintang! #galaxyunpacked #galaxyAI #galaxyzfold7 #samsungmalaysia #hitechcentury #pavilionkl #bukitbintang #techtok #fyp #malaysia @samsungmalaysia ♬ Pachelbel’s Canon in D starting from the famous melody(911769) – SoLaTiDo

When field tested in a challenging scenario with frequently moving subjects onstage, the camera did not disappoint, capturing Korean star Lee Soo-Hyuk’s visage and a host of fast-moving models onstage. 

The ultrawide camera and telephoto camera retain consistent colour rendition to the main camera and good amounts of detail in daylight conditions. Shots at up to 6X zoom and beyond on the telephoto camera in brightly lit scenarios and outdoors remain good enough for social media use. While low light stills at this zoom distance are still serviceable, you’ll get best results if you stick below 6x zoom.

To be fair, some competing models offer better telephoto zoom all the way out to 100x digital zoom though the Galaxy Z Fold7’s users aren’t typically content creators. For those who prioritise cameras over other concerns, there is still the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Selfies from both the main and rear camera are also handled well, with good skin tones and detail even in backlit conditions.

When it comes to videos, our Galaxy Z Fold7 does not disappoint and video captured at 4K@60fps from the main 200MP camera and telephoto were brimming with detail and rich colour rendition in both brightly lit and dim light conditions. Short of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold7 and its rear triple camera is a very capable design for most users.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7?

If you’re upgrading from an older foldable like the Galaxy Z Fold5 or older, this is a veritable no-brainer of an upgrade. On its own merits, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 is a beautifully engineered flagship and is easily one of the slimmest, lightest foldables money can buy. It boasts excellent main and cover displays, an upgraded 200MP rear camera, and top-tier performance across the board. But all this refinement comes at a steep premium. Even so, its guaranteed 7 years of OS and security updates offer greater value especially in regards to granting it a longer service life.

To achieve its impressively slim and light profile, Samsung had to make a few trade-offs. There’s no stylus support, the battery remains modest in size, and charging speeds lag behind some competitors. Still, if you can live with those compromises, the Fold7 stands as Samsung’s most refined and capable foldable yet and one of the best foldable phones that money can buy in 2025. 

 

 

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 review sample courtesy of Samsung Malaysia. To purchase please visit https://www.samsung.com/my/smartphones/galaxy-z-fold7/buy/