Samsung Unpacked 2025 Debuts The Company's Best Foldable Phones Yet
Samsung debuted all-new foldables at Samsung Unpacked 2025, including the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 ... More and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7. Illustration: Forbes / Photo: Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
In contrast to its Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025 winter event, the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Summer 2025 event heavily focused on hardware over its Galaxy AI frameworks—and the new hardware includes a budget-friendly foldable, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE. Best of all: You can pre-order right now, with shipping beginning July 25, 2025. Here's everything you need to know about Samsung Unpacked 2025.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: The latest in the booklet-style foldable phone features an all-new thin design and plenty of hardware upgrades, including a 200MP wide camera. Also improved is the partnership between Samsung and Google Gemini AI frameworks for an enhanced AI experience. What's noticeably absent this year? Samsung removed S Pen compatibility.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: The new Flex Window cover display increases to 4.1 inches. A new Samsung-branded Exynos processor also adds Samsung's DeX software to the Flip, a first time for the device.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE: A new addition to the Samsung Z family, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE offers many features familiar to Samsung fans, including the 50MP camera first introduced on the Flip 6 last year. It launches with two storage options, 128GB and 256GB.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic: A new cushion design syncs the Samsung Watch 8 lineup with that of its sibling, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. The watches drop with plenty of new health-tracking features, including Antioxidant Index, Bedtime Guide and more for more ways to monitor and guide your health.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: While Samsung didn't announce a new model, the brand debuted a new colorway with expanded storage. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes Lighter And Much Thinner
Samsung's booklet-style foldable phone received an impressive list of upgrades. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures 8.9mm thick folded and 4.2mm unfolded—and that makes it the slimmest Samsung foldable phone to date by a large margin. For context, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 measures 12.1mm folded and 5.6mm unfolded. The unfolded display increases by 11%, or by 0.4 inches, to an 8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display to play mobile games and watch your shows.
The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 comes in a lovely Shadow Blue colorway. Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
It's also significantly lighter at 215 grams. This is huge: This foldable reduced its weight by 24 grams and is now lighter than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra's 218 grams. The Armor Aluminum frame adds an improved Armor Flex Hinge that helps disperse stress on the hinge, too. A Processor Built To Help With Battery Life
Under the hood, it has the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite for Galaxy chip that's currently in the Samsung S25 series phones and its most recent addition, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. This aims to help with the battery life, which is the one feature that Samsung didn't upgrade: It remains at 4,400mAh, but the battery life increases to a 24-hour playback. Finally, It Gets Camera Upgrades
But in addition to the new design, it's the camera set that steals the thunder at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025 summer event. Last year's Samsung Z Fold 6 sported a 12MP ultrawide lens, a 50MP main lens and a 10MP 3x telephoto lens. This year, the new device enhances the 12MP ultrawide lens to a 12MP ultrawide auto-focus lens built for macro shots.
The device received plenty of new camera upgrades which include thoughtful enhancements to the macro ... More lens. Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
The device also enhances two of its lenses, a 200MP wide lens with 2x optical quality zoom and a 10MP telephoto wide 3x optical zoom lens, which are fairly substantial upgrades that promise to deliver high detail in your images. The 10MP selfie cam, while unchanged, increases its field of view to 100 degrees—17.6% wider than the Fold 6's field of view, so you can capture more friends in your selfies. In terms of the video, the device now automatically shows in 10-bit HDR for punchier, more vivid colors and enhanced shadowing. Some Galaxy AI Upgrades—With One Major Downside
While the focus was on the hardware of the Fold 7, there are some Galaxy AI upgrades, too. For example, you can create a preferred layout for AI Result Review when you're working on the device. Additionally, Circle To Search now comes to mobile gaming; use it while you're in the middle of your game to get access to walkthroughs, hints and more.
One glaring omission this year? Samsung removed the S Pen compatibility. Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
Still, there's one glaring omission from this year's device. The Samsung Fold series gained renown for its S Pen compatibility but, this year, the brand removed all S Pen compatibility. Don't expect to use any kind of S Pen on this device.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at $2,000 and comes in three colors: Jet Black, Shadow Blue and Silver Shadow. The Samsung store will also have an online-exclusive color, Mint. You can choose from three storage options, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. Shipping begins July 25. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7
Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 may look very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, but there are some elegant upgrades that distinguish it from its predecessor. First, the cover display, also called the 'Flex Window,' increases its size from 3.4 inches to 4.1 inches, and the bezel significantly shrinks to 1.2mm. The Flex Window also receives more enhancements: In particular, it now offers a 120Hz refresh rate and a 2,600-nit brightness, up from 1,600 nits, and a 60Hz refresh rate on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6.
The new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 increases the cover display to 4.1 inches, up from 3.4 inches. Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
Most of the upgrades come to the Flex Window: Now Bar and Now Brief now are available without the need to open the clamshell-style device, and you can also get weekly briefs at a glance. The device also gets access to curated wallpapers and custom emojis. One such example is the clock's Font To Fit, which takes the clock and stretches it around your personalized wallpaper—so, essentially, no more cutting off the face of a loved one or a pet. Gemini Also Joins The Flex Window
While much of the device is in the hardware, the Flip 7's Flex Window software saw some AI upgrades. This year, Samsung moved to go all-in with Google Gemini frameworks on the Flip 7. Mainly, you can now use Gemini without opening your device. Ask it questions, find restaurants and more without the need to flip the device open. Additionally, you can use the cameras to add context to anything you ask Gemini. Other Hardware Upgrades Include The Hinge And The Main Display
When opened, the display now sports a 6.9-inch display and is slightly wider than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, at 68.6mm wide. Like the Fold 7, the Flip 7 gets the Armor Flex Hinge to disperse stressors as you unfold and fold the device over the long term.
The new display adds 0.2 inches to the overall size. It's now a 6.9-inch display. Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
The cameras mostly stay the same: You can expect the 12MP ultrawide lens, the 50MP wide lens with 2x optical quality zoom and the 10MP main. The other large upgrade you can expect in the Flip 7 is the battery: The battery increases from 4,000 to 4,300mAh which, according to Samsung, promises up to 31 hours of video playback. A Plot Twist Comes To The Chipset
Still, it wouldn't be a Samsung event without a plot twist. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 sported a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor but, for this iteration, Samsung seemingly severed the partnership with Qualcomm in favor of Samsung's in-house Exynos 2400 chip. While the verdict is still out on whether this is a good move for the company, Samsung claims the 3nm processor works to bring another vital component to the Flip 7: Samsung DeX.
Samsung DeX software is a first for the device. It essentially turns the device into a mini PC, and you can use the display as a mouse if you connect it to a monitor or portable monitor. Further testing will show whether you can use the DeX software on the enhanced Flex Window.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 starts at $1,099 and comes in three colors: Coral Red, Jet Black and Blue Shadow. It offers two storage options, 256GB and 512GB. You can preorder the device now, and shipping begins July 25. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE
Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes A New Budget-Friendly Foldable
Samsung also debuted a new, more affordable version of the Samsung Galaxy Flip series. Many of the details are still scant on the latest budget-friendly addition to the Samsung Galaxy Flip family, but the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE looks very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6. The device features a white Armor Aluminum shell.
The new Samsung Galaxy Flip 7 FE joins the foldables family as a more affordable clamshell-style ... More foldable mobile device. Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
Like the Flip 7, the Flip 7 FE features a 50MP camera for snapping shots as well as what looks like a 3.4-inch cover screen similar to the Flip 6. It also has an Exynos 2300 chipset that probably isn't as high-performance as the Exynos 2400 chipset in the regular Flip 7, but is still promising.
Currently, the Flip 7 only comes in one color: white. It also comes in two storage options: 128GB and 256GB. You can preorder it now, and shipping begins July 25. Samsung Galaxy Watch 8
Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes The Brand's Latest Wearable Adds New Health-Tracking Features
In addition to new mobile devices, Samsung announced its new smartwatch wearable lineup. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic uses a redesigned internal structure that results in a 11% thinner design and subsequently a lighter build. The Watch uses an Armor Aluminum 2 frame to protect against bumps and scrapes, too.
One of the interesting choices Samsung made is regarding the design itself. Previous iterations of the watch use a circular design with complications to match. The Samsung Watch 8 now sports a cushion design that still has the circular touchscreen in the middle. It's an odd choice, and I'm not fully certain I'm a fan. Further testing will tell. But this design may come with some practical choices—the watch now has an 8% larger battery on both the smaller and larger sizes. The display brightness also increases from 2,000 nits on the Watch 7 to 3,000 nits—a 50% brightness increase.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 (left) is a little larger than its sibling, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 ... More (right). Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
There are plenty of software upgrades to the new wearable: First, like the rest of Samsung Galaxy devices, the Now Bar comes to the smartwatch and shares at-a-glance information, timers and more. The One UI 8 operating system also includes the ability to add featured apps to the top of your apps compilation for easy access to Samsung Health, messages and more. Software Enhancements For Upgraded Health-Monitoring Features
Like the mobile devices, Samsung also expands its partnership with Google Gemini for wearables. The AI framework can help you compose messages, set timers and perform some multi-step tasks—all from the smartwatch.
Samsung also announced four new health-tracking features that are part of the Samsung UI 8 update and will be available in the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8. There's the Antioxidant Index, which measures the antioxidant levels on your skin. Vascular Load helps you maintain and optimize your heart health and can help users understand their lifestyle choices based on their health data. Running Coach aims to guide users by providing plenty of running insights, from intensity recommendations to AI-based personalized training programs. Bedtime Guidance works in tandem with your health data, your preferred bedtime and Sleep Coach by reading the past three days of sleep data and recommending an optimal time to go to sleep.
Two new Samsung Health features this year are the Vascular Load and the Antioxidant Index. Rebecca Isaacs for Forbes
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 comes in Silver and Graphite, and offers both a Bluetooth and LTE option. The Bluetooth version costs $350 for a 40mm band and $380 for the 44mm band, and the LTE costs $400 for the 40mm band and $430 for the 44mm band. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic comes in White and Black; the Bluetooth option costs $500 and the LTE option costs $549. Both are available for preorder now, and shipping begins July 25. Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
While there wasn't a full announcement for the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, Samsung did share the arrival of a new Titanium Blue color. The new color offers expanded storage—64GB— and it retails for $650. You can preorder it right now, and shipping begins July 25.
What New Samsung Phones Are Launching In 2025?
In 2025, Samsung has launched a slew of smartphones aimed for all types of fans of the brand. The company debuted its Samsung Galaxy S series, including the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy S25, at the Samsung Unpacked winter 2025 event.
Recently, the company announced its thinnest phone yet, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.
At the company's Samsung Unpacked 2025 summer event, Samsung focused on its foldables and unveiled the latest in the Samsung Galaxy Z family. In particular, Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE.
When Can I Buy The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 And Flip 7?
Preorders for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 start today. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at $2,000, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 starts at $1,099. Shipping begins July 25, 2025.
What's The Difference Between The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 And Watch 8 Classic?
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic share the same software, including Samsung's UI 8 operating system, and all the fitness features. The Watch 8 features a sleeker design without the rotating crown for a more modern finish, while the Watch 8 Classic offers a rotating bezel and a slightly larger footprint on the wrist.
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