DT Next Tech | Samsung brings back the OG foldable with the sleeker Galaxy Z Fold 7
After robust growth, reports from multiple sources including Counterpoint suggest that global foldable smartphone sales are stagnating and could even hit negative growth in 2025.;
first-gen Samsung Galaxy Fold
CHENNAI: It’s fair to say that Samsung pioneered the foldable smartphone with launch of the first-gen Samsung Galaxy Fold back in 2019.
After robust growth, reports from multiple sources including Counterpoint suggest that global foldable smartphone sales are stagnating and could even hit negative growth in 2025. Samsung’s all-new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has debuted in this backdrop and aims to reignite consumer interest in a segment that was once touted as the great big hope of premium smartphones. Does it hit the right notes?
While Chinese brands like Vivo might have arrived late at the foldable party in India, they have taken the lead with superior camera and battery performance in the book-type foldable smartphone that dominates the premium end of the market. It’s why the Fold 7 marks a comeback of sorts for Samsung.
This one’s incredibly thin and weighs a whopping 24 gm lighter than its predecessor, Samsung has managed to reduce the thickness under 9 mm (in the folded position) that is another significant design upgrade. There’s one compromise though - battery life.
The Fold 7’s 4400 mAh battery is not quite in the same league as the new Vivo X Fold5 (with its 6000 mAh battery) and the charging speeds are also much slower than Vivo.
One of the highlights of the Z Fold 7 is it’s immersive main display. The 8-inch Dynamic LTPO ANILED 2X display (1968 x 2184 pixels) peaks at 2600 nits an features a 120Hz refresh rate.
Samsung’s displays have long been its strength and this one’s no exception. We also dig Samsung’s user interface (One UI 8) that adds to the device’s multi-tasking creds.
The Fold 7 also nails it’s hardware spec sheet with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and storage options that go all the way to 1TB/16GB.
Samsung has also upgraded the rear camera set up that includes a 200 MP primary lens. It makes the Galaxy Z Fold 7 one of the finest foldable smartphones if you’re willing to pay the premium.
(Rs 1,74,999 onwards)
(Ashwin Rajagopalan is a lifestyle writer and consumer technology expert. Catch the latest digital and tech updates in this weekly column.)