Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 wishlist: All the features I want to see

When it comes to the very best foldable phones, Samsung’s name tends to be one of the first that comes to mind. That said, we’re seeing increased competition in the foldable space with devices like the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold and the triple fold Huawei Mate XT — even if the latter will never see an official release in the United States. In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Fold 6 is a fairly iterative update over its predecessor, even if it does make some notable improvements to AI features, durability, and more.

As much as the Fold 6 gets right, its competitors are starting to get bolder and it’s time for Samsung to strike back if it wants to remain the leader in the foldable space.  The Fold 6 might only be a few months old, but there are a few things I’d like to see improved with the next Fold. Let’s take a look at my wishlist, as well as the few rumors and whispers we’ve heard about the Galaxy Z Fold 7 so far.

With the Galaxy Fold 6 increasing its price by $100 you think we’d at least get a reasonable camera update, but no such luck. It’s not that the camera is all that bad — it’s just quite a bit worse than what you’d get from the Galaxy S24 series. That includes the base model, which is substantially cheaper than this phone. I get it: Camera sensors are expensive, and sticking to less impressive camera hardware helps keep the pricing from going off the rails even further. That said, if you’re already paying $1,900 for a high-end foldable experience, what’s another couple hundred bucks to actually get a camera that’s the very best of the best?

I’ve always felt weak cameras were an odd sacrifice to make for the Galaxy Z Fold. Unlike the Flip, this product is aimed at productivity-focused power users who also want a device that turns heads. That’s arguably the same kind of user the Ultra is aimed at, and yet those who really want the best are currently left compromising. Either they get that impressive foldable display, or they get the fast charging, camera, and other perks you’d expect from an Ultra.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold 7 needs to bridge this gap and at the very least offer the same or nearly identical sensors as the Galaxy S25’s base model. Yes, these sensors would take up more room and would be more expensive, but it would finally cement the Galaxy Fold as a flagship-level device instead of a weird Frankenstein’s beast that’s a strange combo of the bleeding edge and the mid-range. The Galaxy S25 is also due at least five months ahead of the Fold 7, so the flagship series would still have plenty of time to shine as Samsung’s “best camera experience.”

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 manages to make its crease practically invisible compared to earlier models, though that’s really just thanks to an extra screen layer and some hinge changes. The crease is still technically there, but it’s no longer something your eyes will be drawn to. Why didn’t the Galaxy Fold 6 get the same treatment? There were likely many factors involved in why the Fold 6’s hinge and display didn’t see the same level of evolution as its little brother, but it’s certainly possible to build a larger phone without such a massive crease. The OnePlus Open is proof of that, as it manages to give us a crease that’s only barely noticeable, as seen (or maybe not) in the image above.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold 6 made some pretty useful changes to the front display and design, and it even features a much stronger, more durable hinge than ever before. These were necessary baby steps but I want the Fold 7 to take a leap. It’s time for Samsung to bring us a device that’s virtually creaseless, while also continuing its current trajectory of building foldables that are lighter and thinner than previously produced.

It’s time to embrace a slimmer design

Getting rid of the crease is just one step, and the next is creating a thinner, lighter product that feels more like a traditional phone when folded. The good news is Samsung is definitely moving in that direction, as evidenced by the Galaxy Z Fold SE recently launched in South Korea.

This new model has the same general processing power and features as the standard Z Fold 6 but makes a few design changes. First, the cover display is now 6.5 inches while the folding display is 8 inches — this represents about a 0.2-inch size upgrade on the cover screen and a 0.4-inch size upgrade for the folding screen. It’s also thinner at 10.6mm, versus 12.1mm for the Z Fold 6.

While 10.6mm is still chunkier than some of the thinnest foldables coming out of China, it’s fairly thin compared to other foldables available in the US. Still, I believe the Fold 7 should take things even further. The current foldable thickness champ is the Honor Magic V3 at an impressive 9.5mm when folded, which is not that much thicker than many traditional phones (for example, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is 8.6mm). While Samsung has expressed concerns with going too thin due to potential durability issues, I sincerely hope the Galaxy Z Fold 7 comes in closer to 10mm.

Samsung might be on the bleeding edge for a lot of technologies but charging speeds aren’t one of them. It’s 2024 and we have phones that can recharge at speeds of up to 125W, like the Edge 50 Pro and OnePlus 10T, and yet the best Samsung offers is 45W — and that’s only on select devices like the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Galaxy Fold 6 currently sticks to just 25W as its maximum. This simply isn’t acceptable for a phone that costs nearly $2K.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold 7 absolutely needs to at least match the Ultra with 45W charging, or raise it even higher if the Galaxy S25 Ultra manages to support even faster speeds. That might sound pretty weak compared to many of the devices above, but that’s because brands like Samsung and Google both tend to prioritize battery longevity over charging speeds — and that’s not a bad thing. We don’t necessarily need 125W charging, but at least give us the best Samsung offers!

When unfolded, the Galaxy Fold 6 has a sizable 7.6-inch display that is perfectly matched for media consumption and mobile gaming. It’s also great for editing photos on the fly and many more productivity tasks. These type of activities tend to add greatly to battery drain and yet the Fold 6 only has a 4,400mAh battery. That’s not small by normal standards, but you’ll no doubt find yourself running to a charger sooner than you would with a conventional phone.

At the very least, the Galaxy Fold 7 needs to match the Ultra and offer a 5,000mAh battery. I realize that space is a major premium on a device like this, but Samsung has already started to find ways to decrease its thickness with the Fold 6 and further innovations in design could potentially allow the company to find enough extra internal room to allow for a bigger battery while still maintaining the same general thickness of its predecessor.

It’s pretty clear Samsung is solidly invested in the Galaxy Z Fold series, as evidenced by the fact there have been six major iterations of the Fold series and one Special Edition model since 2019.

While new form factors like rollable smartphones may eventually see Samsung’s attention shift a little, we have no doubt that foldable phones will continue to be an important priority for the South Korean giant. Even if a rollable Samsung phone does arrive in 2025, as some rumors suggest, it seems very unlikely that it would replace the Fold series — at least not anytime soon.

It’s still too early for there to be much in the way of rumors, but there has been one claim suggesting that Samsung’s head of mobile TM Roh wants the Fold 7 to be even thinner — not exactly a major revelation.

There were also a few whispers early into the rumor cycle suggesting a Z Fold Ultra could eventually surface as well. More recently a new report claims Samsung is working on two variants of the Galaxy Z Fold 7. While it’s possible this second model could be the long-rumored Fold Ultra, it could also be something else entirely.

Samsung has already given the South Korean market a Fold SE that’s thinner and lighter, so perhaps this second rumored model is just a global version of that vision? It’s also possible it cold be something totally new like Samsung’s rumored tri-screen device.

As for when we might see the Galaxy Z Fold 7, let’s start by looking at recent Galaxy Fold release date trends:

• Samsung Galaxy Fold 6 — July 24, 2024
• Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 — August 11, 2023
• Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 — August 25, 2022

While the Galaxy Fold 6 came a month early this year, the Galaxy Fold series has typically launched in August. It’s unclear whether we should expect the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to stick to the same July window as its predecessor, but at the very least it seems likely the Fold 7 will launch sometime in the summer of 2025.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is only just over three months old so there’s really no reason to wait if you’re happy with what you see there. It’s still a powerful phone with plenty going for it and there are no clear signs just yet on whether or not the Fold 7 will be a major departure or more of the same. It also has seven years of OS and software updates ahead of it, so you don’t have to worry about it losing support anytime soon.

Not sold on the Galaxy Fold series? The two best alternatives are the OpenPlus Open ($1699.99 at Amazon) or the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold ($1799 at Amazon). Not only are these two competing devices the most widely available, but these phones both offer a similar experience to the Fold but with some key differences in execution.