The Galaxy Z Fold 7 reminded me why foldables are the future I want

Some thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 after a few weeks of use:

• Design: This phone is thin — I mean thin. I have a love-hate relationship for this trend for obvious reasons. Thinner phones feel great, but it often comes at the expense of battery life and the huge camera bulge. I ruined the thin experience, however, when I bought an inexpensive Spigen case mainly to add magnets so I can take advantage of all the MagSafe accessories I own. Even with the case, the Fold 7 doesn't have the same bulk that I remember with previous Folds from Google and Samsung alike.
  
  
• Battery life: Speaking of battery life, I don’t have any complaints. I’ve routinely been able to get through a full day of use with plenty of juice left in the tank, even after installing the OneUI 8.5 beta. That’s a lot different than what I remember with testing older Z Fold models where battery life could be an issue late in the day.

• Foldables FTW: It’d been over a year since I used a foldable, and boy have I missed it. The front screen on the Fold 7 is familiar enough to feel like a standard smart phone experience for quickly browsing social media or replying to a text, but where the experience really shines (naturally) is with the 8-inch internal display. I’d wager I spend 80 to 90 percent of my time using the Z Fold 7’s internal display to do everything from triage my email inbox, browsing the web in Chrome, or reading in the Kindle app.
  
  Surprisingly, I haven’t taken full advantage of all the multitasking features the Z Fold 7 offers. I’ve occasionally used two apps side-by-side to do things like research hotels for an upcoming trip in Chrome on the left while exchanging messages and links with my wife in BlueBubbles on the right. Or just last night I had my Dough Calculator open while making a small batch of dough, while streaming various clips of The Burnt Peanut playing Arc Raiders. It’s exactly how I’d use my iPad Mini in that scenario, but after I was done, I folded it up and put it in my pocket. Foldables have truly won me over. Again.
  

• Camera: When you look at the Z Fold 7’s spec sheet, it’s fair to expect bonkers performance from the camera setup. A 200-megapixel main sensor just sounds bonkers, right? And for the most part, it is — until you start to zoom. More specifically, once you go past 3x the quality takes a dive. I still prefer the camera experience and performance of Google’s Pixel devices over Samsung, but it’s good to see Samsung improving the core camera experience on the Z Fold 7 to the point where I no longer felt like it was an afterthought or that I needed to bring another phone with me to get better pictures.
  
  
• Lack of S-Pen support is meh: I know there’s a small subset of users who are very passionate about having S Pen support on their Samsung devices, and I respect every single one of them. So I get the outrage in the comments of several reviews I read from the S Pen warriors about the lack of support on the Z Fold 7, and chastising reviewers for not being more outraged. But, if we’re all being honest, the S-Pen support on the Z Fold line has always felt half-baked.
  
  Each phone has lacked a dedicated slot to hold the pen, nor does the box even include one. Even if you decided to buy a pen, you’d have to figure out a way to carry it — which typically meant buying a case that had a special spot for it.
  
  The lack of Bluetooth in the Z Fold specific S Pen meant you’d miss out on some of the more useful (to me, at least) features that the S Pen brought to Samsung’s S-series phones. Then again, if you just want a stylus to draw or write, Bluetooth features didn’t really matter.
  

• AI features: Apple, Google and Samsung all have a long list of AI features in their respective mobile operating systems. I have an identical list of AI features across those same mobile operating systems that I simply don’t use. I installed the OneUI 8.5 beta, which according to Samsung’s info page is supposed to be full of AI features and improvements. I haven’t used a single one yet. My use of AI features on any phone consists of using the Gemini app. Everything else just feels like what used to be standard mobile OS features labeled as AI for the sake of labeling it AI.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7 has reminded me why I love foldable phones. The versatility of what's effectively two devices in your pocket, and now with an impressively thin design, means there are fewer compromises (i.e. extra bulk in exchange for an extra screen).

Of course, the elephant in the room when it comes to foldables is the anticipation that Apple will release a book-style iPhone foldable later this year, and I can't wait to see Apple's take on what a foldable iPhone should and shouldn't do.

The biggest problem all foldables still face is the cost. Full price for the Z Fold 7 is $2,000. Even when you break that down into monthly payments over a multiyear plan with your carrier, it's expensive.