New Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Upgrade Now Makes Sense

Forbes

4 hours ago

Samsung has effectively announced the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7 already—three times, in fact—in three separate teasers that gave us several glimpses into what the new phone will be like. The clearest takeaway from those snippets is that the Galaxy S25 Edge will play a role in the Fold 7's design.
This story was updated on June 19th with new Galaxy Z Fold 7 design details.
This long, slow build-up suggests the company plans a much bigger upgrade than the small iterative updates we've seen for the last two generations. A contact at Samsung confirmed this to me, explicitly saying that the cover display is bigger and something closer to the size of a standard smartphone.
This is good news and precisely what Fold users, myself included, have been calling for since rivals OnePlus and Google launched their wider-screened foldable phones. As exciting as that design shift will be, it was expected. I thought Samsung would make this change immediately after the Fold 6 launched last summer.
What I didn't expect was the release of a new ultra-slim Edge phone and how that would impact the Fold 7. To me, the Galaxy S25 Edge doesn't make sense. Judging by the rumored early sales data, I'm not alone. Either Samsung is leading the pack in a new slim phone trend (it says it isn't copying Apple's iPhone 17 Air), or the device is a prototype for future phones. I'd put my money on the latter.
You see, Samsung had to redesign several components to fit high-end Galaxy S25 hardware into the Edge. Entirely new processes and components were born out of the Edge's R&D. The company isn't going to ignore those discoveries in favor of older technology. The company said so last week.
'The newest Galaxy Z series is our thinnest, lightest and most advanced foldable yet – meticulously crafted and built to last.'
From watching Jerry Rig Evertything's S25 Edge video, it looks like the 200MP camera and motherboard lost the most weight (in comparison to the S25 Ultra). I suspect the Fold will do the same, with the new motherboard technique being the biggest space saver.
This has long been the barrier to foldable phones. They're cumbersome and large. Even the modern devices, with all of their polish, are still two—admittedly slim—phones stacked together. The Fold 7 looks noticeably slimmer in the teasers and it might bridge that gap between power smartphone users (read: tech nerd) and a regular device that regular people consider buying.
The trade-off for the S25 Edge shedding all of that weight is battery life. Lithium-ion technology hasn't advanced like other crucial components in smartphones. Bigger is actually better. And I wonder how Samsung will offset this in the newer slimmer Fold, which needs a battery that can power two screens. Software optimization and energy-saving efficiencies can only do so much. Perhaps the wider frame provides space for another battery. We will have to see.
Samsung is also clearly planning to re-use the Edge's tech in future Galaxy phones. I wouldn't be surprised if the Galaxy S26 Plus is replaced by a Galaxy S26 Edge. It offers something different that the base Galaxy S and Ultra models don't. A combination of both a cheaper price and some Ultra features, such as the 200MP camera, alongside the svelte chassis. That is a better offer than the 'middle one' category the Plus currently inhabits. It makes sense, but the question of battery life will continue to loom large with these ultra-thin phones.
Update June 19th: We have a release date for Galaxy Z Fold 7. The leak comes from notorious tipster Evan Blass, who has a solid and accurate track record. Blass claims that Samsung's next Galaxy Unpacked event will take place on July 9th at 10am ET, which suggests that the event will take place in New York.
Blass hasn't dropped any more information about what we can expect to see at the event. But as I explain in this story, Samsung has already heavily teased the Fold 7, which will almost certainly be accompanied by the Flip 7. Not to mention the launch of the Galaxy Watch 8.
We do, however, have some renders for the Fold 7 via Android Headlines and OnLeaks, which clearly show a significantly larger cover display and much slimmer profile. When put side-by-side with the Fold 6, the difference is stark, with the Fold 7 clearly decidedly thinner than its predecessor. We will have to wait for official dimensions, but it will be interesting to see exactly how much weight Samsung has shaved off the new foldable and what that means for battery life.