Samsung launches three new foldable smartphones as it fends off Chinese rivals
Samsung on Wednesday launched three new folding smartphones — including thinner top-end devices and a cheaper version of its flip phone — as the tech giant looks to entice buyers to make the switch to foldables.
The main new additions to Samsung's foldable phone range are the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which folds like a book, and the Galaxy Z Flip 7, which takes on the form of the classic clamshell-style flip phones. Samsung also announced a cheaper version of its latest flip phone, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 SE.
The South Korean consumer electronics giant is refreshing its foldable phone lineup at a time when the company faces increased competition from Chinese rivals, such as Honor and Oppo. Last week, Honor — which spun off from Chinese tech giant Huawei in 2020 — launched the new ultra-thin Magic V5 folding phone, while Oppo introduced its own slim foldable device, the Find N5, earlier this year.
Samsung's share of the global foldable phone market slipped to 45% in 2024 from 54% a year earlier, according to Counterpoint Research. China also accounts for a significant share of the foldables market — although 17.2 million of these devices were sold last year globally, this drops to 9.4 million when excluding mainland China.
Thinner and bigger — but there's a catch
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is super thin at a thickness of 8.9 millimeters (0.35 inches) closed and only 4.2 millimeters open. It's also much lighter than its predecessor, weighing 215 grams (7.62 ounces). These stats put the phone on par with both Honor's Magic V5 and the Oppo Find N5.
The new Fold device has a 6.5-inch cover screen and an 8-inch main display when opened, making it bigger than its predecessor.
It's also decked out with premium new cameras, featuring a 200-megapixel main lens, as well as a 10-megapixel telephoto sensor, 12-megapixel ultra-wide and two 10-megapixel front cameras on both the cover screen and on the main display.
Samsung’s new Fold generation is, nevertheless, much more limited than other devices in the market when it comes to battery capacity. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a 4,400 milliampere-hour (mAh) battery — far less than the 6,100 mAh power pack in Honor’s Magic V5′s or the Oppo Find N5′s 5,600 mAh battery.
Samsung says its device is capable of 24 hours of video playback.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 will retail in the U.K. at a starting price of £1,799 ($2,434).