Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 hands-on: Can the slimmer, stylus-free foldable win?

Samsung unveils the new Galaxy Fold 7, sacrificing the S Pen and shedding quite a bit of

A display of Galaxy Z Fold 7, left, and Flip 7 unfolded in central Seoul on July 10. [LEE JAE-LIM]

Samsung’s latest foldables — the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 — are sleeker, lighter and smarter. But that trimmed-down design comes with a trade-off: The dropping of the signature S Pen, previously a useful tool for hands-on functions such as note-taking and sketching.

Still, the Korean tech giant believes that portability will help it pull further ahead of rivals like Google and Huawei in the foldable race it helped launch.

The first impression of both the Fold 7 and Flip 7 is that they give off the feel of phones that have been ironed out — thinner, wider and more spread out than their predecessors. This will likely make up for the lack of pen, especially for those who are not avid stylus users. What may stop them, however, is the near-$2,000 price point. Samsung's foldables are getting pricier with every model — as are many lines worldwide — and for many, regardless of thinness, spending so much on a handset is unrealistic.

No S Pen: A necessary compromise? What immediately stands out from Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the lack of support for the S Pen, an external gadget that has been included on the past four Fold generations. Since 2021’s Fold 3, the pen has hovered near the phone — but it has never truly been part of the model, which did not include a built-in slot such like those of the Note and S Ultra lines.

Samsung is aware of the loss but regards it as one of the adjustments necessary to the phone’s weight loss.

“What most foldable users seem to want now is a thinner, lighter device that delivers strong performance in a compact form,” said Samsung Electronics’ Kim Jae-hyuk, head of mobile experience, during a press event in the company’s Taepyeongro building in central Seoul on Thursday.

The company may “consider” reintroducing the S Pen if the technology advances further to balance lightness with the function in the future, but for now, S Pen is off the market for Fold series following the company's struggle to make the stylus useful on the foldable line. The S Pen’s most prized Bluetooth function, which enabled it to act as a miniature remote control on other Samsung models, has never been available on the Fold series.

Definite portability Samsung’s smartphone theme for this year is portability, continuing from the S25 Edge model released in May. The new models are even lighter than an 8-ounce to-go cup of coffee: The Fold 7 weighs 215 grams (7.58 ounces), and the Flip 7 weighs 188 grams.

Folded, the Fold 7 is just 8.9 millimeters thick — significantly slimmer than the previous model’s 12.1 millimeters — and now resembles a bar even when closed. Both the cover and main displays have been widened, with the unfolded screen now stretching to 8 inches, an 11 percent increase over its predecessor. When fully open, the device is just 4.2 millimeters thick.

A display of Galaxy Z Fold 7 unfolded in central Seoul on July 10. [LEE JAE-LIM]

Surprisingly enough, the flattened phones did not feel flimsy, possibly due to their reinforced hinge design and sturdier, but still ultrathin glass. The wider screen would be great for YouTube watching and also seemed well-suited for reading e-books.

The Flip 7 comes in at 13.7 millimeters when folded, slimmer than the Flip 6’s 14.9 millimeters. Its most notable physical upgrade is the expanded 4.1-inch cover screen, now stretching nearly edge-to-edge — a jump from the previous model’s 3.4 inches. When unfolded, the device is just 6.5 millimeters thick.

The larger front screen may hold appeal to users who want quick access to messages, widgets and even full apps without the need to flip the phone open.

A wider display for AI The brief preview did not allow time to test battery or check out other software functions. But a noticeable distinction of the Flip 7 is that it runs on Samsung’s in-house Exynos 2500 processor, which had briefly taken a grace period from the prior mainstream galaxy generations due to performance concerns.

“One of the key considerations is whether it actually helps extend battery life through optimization and algorithms, and especially whether it can deliver satisfactory AI performance,” Kim said. “After conducting thorough internal testing, we saw significant improvements over the previous model in those concerned areas.”

A display of Galaxy Z Flip 7 unfolded in central Seoul on July 10. [LEE JAE-LIM]

Samsung employees demonstrated some of the upgraded features coming to Google's Gemini, which powers the Galaxy line. The wider display allows Gemini to better view the content of a user's interface and provide real-time context-aware assistance such as product suggestions, summaries and action recommendations.

Gemini can be launched directly from the Flip 7's cover screen; the phone also supports Samsung's DeX for the first time.

Both phones support voice commands, which employees demonstrated. On the Fold 7, an employee pulled up an online store and a fitness app showing running data, then asked Gemini to recommend the best running shoes. On the Flip 7, a voice command prompted Gemini to search for nearby restaurants and automatically add a reservation reminder using Samsung Reminder. In Flex Mode, the Flip 7 also supports real-time camera sharing with Gemini, allowing Google's model to provide visually informed assistance.

Preorders for the new models begin on July 15, with global availability starting July 26. Each device comes with three color options: The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is offered in Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow and Jet Black, and the Z Flip 7 replaces Silver Shadow with Coral Red. Both models also feature Mint as an online-exclusive color. Pricing starts at 2.38 million won ($1,736) for the Fold 7 and 1.49 million won for the Flip 7, both with 256GB of storage.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]