The 3 biggest announcements from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event

Business Insider

09-07-2025

While the tech world waits to see if Apple will ever debut a foldable iPhone, Samsung is full steam ahead on making its lineup of folding smartphones thinner.
The South Korea-based tech giant continued its push into the foldable phone race on Wednesday, debuting slimmer and more AI-packed iterations of its Flip and Fold devices.
During Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked July 2025 keynote, the company showed off a new wide-screen Galaxy Z Fold7, a smaller-scale Galaxy Z Flip7, and the Galaxy Watch8.
They come with some new AI features, courtesy of Google, like increased personalization through Gemini Live. But with an emphasis on thinner devices, one feature was noticeably absent: the S Pen stylus.
Here's a quick rundown.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7
Samsung's newest large-screen foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold7, is only 8.9 mm thick when folded, and 4.2 mm thick when unfolded. The device is "half the thickness of a regular phone so, when it is folded, it suddenly feels like a regular phone you're use to," said YouTuber Parker Burton during the presentation.
As the foldables market heats up, several hardware companies are hoping for thinner and more easily stored phones. Samsung's partner Google debuted its Pixel Pro 9 Fold in 2024, which is 1.6 mm thicker when folded.
The thinner Fold7 puts Samsung on par with its Chinese competitors. The Honor Magic V5 remains the thinnest at 8.8 mm folded, and the Oppo Find N5 is 8.93 mm folded. Huawei's trifold device is thinnest when unfolded at 3.6 mm, but the folded stack grows to 12.8 mm.
The new Fold7 also has its widest screen yet, and includes expanded AI offerings like Drawing Assist, Writing Assist, and Circle to Search for gaming. All devices come preloaded with Google Gemini.
While introducing the expanded Circle to Search, Samsung's VP of product and marketing, Annika Bizon, said that "others are noticing." Since Samsung debuted the function in January 2024, Apple announced a similar AI feature through Visual Intelligence.
"Imitation is the best form of flattery," Bizon said.
Noticeably missing from any initial images of the Fold7 was the S Pen, Samsung's stylus tool. The S Pen was sold alongside previous iterations of the Fold with specialty cases, but was not referenced during the course of the July 2025 keynote.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7
Samsung also debuted the smaller Galaxy Z Flip7. The 6.9-inch foldable is basically half the Fold7, and also comes with Google Gemini already integrated.
The new device is also the thinnest iteration at 13.7 mm folded, beating out its rival, the Motorola Razr+, which clocks in at 15.9 mm. The device also has a significantly longer battery life than previous models, according to the company, capable of delivering 31 hours of video play per charge. That's eight more hours than the previous Flips.
New AI features include additional personalization technology from Gemini Live, which can recommend outfits from photos of a closet or meals from photos of a refrigerator.
Samsung also upped the quality of the Flip's camera, including the integration of a ProVisual Engine, which adjusts color and contrast.
Samsung Galaxy Watch8
Samsung's new Galaxy Watch8 and Galaxy Watch8 Classic include significant new health features. The watches can now track vascular load and antioxidant levels. A new sleep coach and run coach optimizes the watch's tracking abilities to set personal goals.
The watches also include Samsung's cushion design, which was previously only available on the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
Samsung's new devices are now available for pre-order. They officially launch on July 25.