Summary
At the Galaxy Unpacked July 2025, Samsung launched three new foldables. Out of the three, it is the Fold 7 that is generating the most buzz, as it is Samsung’s thinnest, most powerful, and most visually appealing foldable to date. But the $2,000 question is: how does the Fold 7 compare to the Fold 6? Let’s find out.
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Price & Availability
The Fold 7 is now available for pre-order, starting today, with general availability beginning August 09, 2025. The foldable costs $2,000 for the 256GB variant, a $100 hike over the Fold 6.
The Fold 6 currently costs $1,899.99 for the 256GB variant and $2,019.99 for the 512GB variant viaSamsung’sofficial website.
Fold 7 Is Samsung’s Thinnest Foldable to Date
At first glance, the Fold 7 may resemble theFold 6, as both phones share a similar form factor; however, several key differences set Samsung’s 2025 foldable apart. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s thinnest and lightest book-style foldable to date.
While the length and width of the foldable have increased (to accommodate the bigger screen),Samsung has managed to reduce its thickness. The Fold 7, when unfolded, is just 4.2mm thick (1.4mm or 25% thinner than the Fold 6, excluding the main screen’s frame), and expands to 8.9mm when folded (3.2mm or 26% slimmer).
The device has also shed some weight. It weighs just 215 grams (thanks to a thinner and lighter hinge), which is 24 grams less than its predecessor, and three grams less than theGalaxy S25 Ultra. With its reduced thickness and weight, the Fold 7 should beeasier to maneuverwhile slipping the phone into your pocket or using the cover screen with one hand.
For the cover screen, Samsung has switched to Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 (also featured on theGalaxy S25 Edge), while the back panel still utilizesGorilla Glass Victus 2. Holding them together is an Armor aluminum frame (10% stronger than the Fold 6’s frame).
Although I was expecting Samsung to improve upon the Fold 6’sIP48 dust and water resistance rating, that isn’t the case. The Fold 7 also comes with an IP48 rating, implying that it can withstand damage from dust particles greater than 1mm in diameter and is immersible up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.
Samsung’s latest foldable comes in a gorgeous Blue Shadow finish, which glimmers and shines like the Galaxy S25’s Navy colorway. Other options include Silver Shadow, Jet Black, and Mint.
Fold 7 Features Bigger Cover and Inner Screens
Even though the Fold 7 uses the same display technology as the Fold 6 — twoDynamic LTPO AMOLED 2x screensthat support avariable refresh rate(1-120Hz) — the screens are slightly bigger on the newer version.
So, the Fold 7 features a 6.5-inch cover screen, up from the 6.3-inch panel on the Fold 6. The inner foldable display has also increased in size from 7.6 inches to 8.0 inches, providing more screen real estate formultitasking in split-screen viewor watching web series or TV shows on the go.
Typically, an increase in display size decreases the effective resolution, but the Fold 7’s cover screen is sharper than that of the Fold 6 (422 ppi vs. 410 ppi). However, the foldable display is slightly less sharp (374 ppi vs. 368 ppi). Thebezelsaround the screen are noticeably thinner, giving the phone a more modern and refined look.
Although the displays have grown in size, they retain their 2,600 nitspeak brightness and support forHDR10+. Unfortunately, the Fold 7 has dropped support for the S-Pen.
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs. Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Under its stealthy exterior, the Fold 7 is powered bythe Snapdragon 8 Elite (for Galaxy) chipset, which is both more powerful and efficient than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on the Fold 6.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm) features two 4.47 GHz prime cores, the Adreno 830 GPU withhardware-accelerated raytracing, and Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU for on-device AI processing. It is paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage.
We’ve already seen thiscombination on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which scores around 2.5 million points on the AnTuTu 10 and 3,100/9,900 points in the GeekBench 6 CPU test. There’s a chance thatSamsung might have throttled downthe 8 Elite on the foldable (to maintain optimal operational temperature). Still, even then, the phone should feel noticeably faster than the Fold 6.
This doesn’t mean that theSnapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4nm)is outdated or performs poorly. It features a 3.39 GHz prime core and the Adreno 750 GPU paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB ofUFS 4.0 storage. For reference, the Fold 6 scores approximately 1.6 million points in the AnTuTu 10 benchmark and 1,560/5,840 points in the Geekbench 6 CPU test.
Moreover, the Fold 7 provides a significant boost in terms of processing power and graphical prowess, something that power users (like me) will appreciate.
One UI 8 Offers Several Refinements
With the Fold 7, Samsung has also releasedOne UI 8(based onAndroid 16). It improves several system apps, such as My Files, Quick Share, Samsung Internet, Samsung DeX, and Samsung Health.
The latest user interface also introduces accessibility-related enhancements, including pinch-to-zoom functionality for the Assistant menu, easy pairing of Bluetooth hearing aids, and keyboard control of mouse actions. It also includes a new AI Results View section that showcases the results from theGalaxy AI featuresin a split or floating view.
Although the official press release doesn’t mention it, I’m sure that the Fold 7 (like its predecessor) will getseven years of operating systemand security updates.
Fold 7 Gets Major Camera Upgrades
For the S25 Edge’s ultra-thin chassis, Samsung’s engineers shrunk down the S25 Ultra’s primary200MP ISOCELL HP2 primary sensor. Now, the same sensor has made its way to the Fold 7 with an f/1.7 aperture (a significant upgrade from the 50MP sensor on the Fold 6).
The Fold 7’s primary camera, along with the ProVisual Engine, should capture sharper pictures, even in the default 12MP mode (which utilizespixel binning technology). The sensor should also capture better pictures at 2x, before the 10MP (f/2.4) sensor with a 3xoptical zoomlens takes over.
Like the telephoto sensor, the 12MP (f/2.2, 123°) ultrawide sensor, and the 10MP (f/2.2) cover screen selfie shooter remain unchanged from those on the Fold 6. However, the Fold 7 gets a new 10MP (f/2.2)punch-holecamera with a 100° field of view. I guessSamsung gave up on improving the under-displayafter all.
Like the Fold 6, the Fold 7 can also record8K videosin 30 fps and 4K HDR videos in up to 60 fps. Other than that, you getGenerative Edit, Instant Slow-Mo, Photo Assist,Audio Easer, and Side-By-Side Editing.
Samsung Could Have Increased the Fold 7’s Battery Capacity
Most recently, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer unveiled the X Fold 5, a thin, foldable device featuring a 6,000mAh battery. Then there’s theOppo N5and theOnePlus One, which sport a 5,600mAh and a 4,805mAh battery, respectively. Even thePixel 9 Pro Fold(available in the United States) has a 4,650 mAh battery capacity.
However, somehow thecompany has decided to ignore the competitionand equip its latest foldable with a 4,400 mAh battery, the same as that on the Fold 6. Yes, the phone should last longer, thanks to a more efficient Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. However, it appears that Samsung prioritized a thinner chassis over a larger battery.
Just like last year, the Fold 7’s battery supports 25W, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.
Fold 7 Offers Improved Connectivity'
Thanks to the Snapdragon X80 5G, the Fold 7 provides faster downlink speeds onsub-6GHz and mmWave 5G networks. Additionally, the foldable supportsWi-Fi 7instead of Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.4 (vs. Bluetooth v5.3), as well as GPS, GLONASS, NFC, and a USB Type-C 3.2 port.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite alsosupports satellite connectivity, but Samsung hasn’t confirmed it yet.
Which Foldable Is Right for You?
Given that the Fold 7 has a thinner and lighter chassis, features larger screens, a significantly more powerful chipset, higher-resolution primary and selfie cameras, and provides better connectivity, I’ll say that it qualifies as an actual upgrade over the Fold 6.
If you already own a Fold 6 and use it as your primary smartphone, the Fold 7 could be a substantial upgrade, as it offers several quality-of-life improvements. In this case, exchanging your Fold 6 for the Fold 7 should save you a good amount of money.
However, suppose your Fold 6 serves you just fine and you aren’t bothered by the thinner chassis or faster CPU and GPU performance. In that case, I recommend staying put and upgrading when the next-generation foldables are released in 2026.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
Samsung’s thinnest and lightest Fold yet feels like a regular phone when closed and a powerful multitasking machine when open. With a brighter 8-inch display and on-device Galaxy AI, it’s ready for work, play, and everything in between.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a foldable smartphone that combines the functionality of a tablet with the convenience of a phone. It features a large, flexible internal screen that automatically picks up where you left off on the cover display.
