Why I'm Excited For Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7 And Watch 8 Classic
Last week on July 9, Samsung officially unveiled its upcoming suite of new mobile devices: The Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the Watch 8.
I'm a longtime fan of Samsung's constantly evolving Android products, and I've been using the flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Galaxy Watch Ultra over the past several months, staying largely impressed with performance, design (kind of) and reliability. The large display on the S25 Ultra is great for gaming, and the UI is nice and quick, thanks to the phone's Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.
Admittedly, I still want more battery life from both these devices, and even after running countless Samsung Health-tracked 10Ks, the lack of a physical rotating bezel on the Watch Ultra still doesn't feel modern—it feels lacking. Plus, the YouTube Music app is somewhat glitchy and it's very hit-or-miss when it comes to playing specific tracks. Often I can't access every other song while on LTE. Strange.
Beyond the phone and the watch, I have also been enjoying testing the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which Samsung sent over a while back for review. They sound fantastic, though I will say they don't fit in my ears too well, especially when exercising. They tend to slip out and require constant readjusting; annoying to say the least. I've recently ordered some replacement Comply memory foam eartips, so we'll see if that makes a difference when it comes to a more snug fit.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Credit: Samsung
Still, I've got my sights set on July 25, because that's the day all the new successor devices hit the market. I'm always on the lookout for better mobile screens for on-the-go gaming, and the Z Fold 7 sports an impressive 8-inch internal display. In comparison to the S25's 6.9 inch singular screen, the Fold 7's phablet offering seems downright gargantuan. Granted, the S25 isn't a foldable device, but even the previous Z Fold 6's 7.6-inch inner screen was notably smaller. When you're mobile gaming, even incremental increases like this can make a huge difference.
The outer display on the Fold 7 is bigger too, coming in at 6.6 inches, almost rivaling the S25. In terms of raw performance, I'm sure the experience will be rather similar to that of the aforementioned S25, because the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor is exactly the same here. Still, a larger display is sure to provide a slightly better gaming experience, especially for Android-native titles that can potentially utilize the full display real estate. As far as I know, streaming on Game Pass still limits the viewing area with cumbersome letterboxing, as a 21:9 aspect ratio isn't exactly standard when it comes to console gaming.
Then there's the Watch 8 Classic ($500), which brings back the physical rotating bezel that was regrettably missing from last year's watch models. Until I extensively used the Watch Ultra, I didn't realize how much I value this particular feature, so it's good to see it returning for the Classic iteration of the Watch 8--I guess we're back to watch numbers again.
You can purchase a vanilla version ($350) or an Ultra version ($650) of the 8 that don't ship with a physical bezel, but there's something so satisfying (and way more user-friendly) about twisting an actual integrated knob, as opposed to dumbly guessing at a digital adjustment.
Galaxy Watch 8 lineup. Credit: Samsung
I'm also intrigued by how incredibly thin Samsung was able to engineer the Z Fold 7: 8.9mm when folded and 4.2mm when opened up. Unfortunately, this means a compromise in battery size: 4,400 mAh, the same as last year's Z Fold 6. Quick aside: Is it actually a compromise if the phone is way thinner, though? Maybe it's a feat. Glass half full, man.
That said, the S25 Ultra features a bigger 5,000 mAh battery, although you could make the case that Samsung, as it's making them thinner, is continuing to make all these phones more efficient, they don't need larger batteries. So we'll have to see how the Z Fold 7's battery life, even with a stagnant size, fares in hands-on reviews.
I do really like my S25 Ultra, but a thinner foldable with a beefier display has me more than interested. And a new smartwatch that brings back the physical rotating bezel? Music to my ears, as long as the YouTube app gets fixed. The real drawback from my vantage point is the starting price for the Z Fold 7: $2,000. If you want 1TB of storage, it shoots up to around $2,400.
I only need one kidney to function, right?
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