So much has already been said about the Samsung Galaxy Fold7. So here’s a slightly different take.
Yes. It’s a money clip. I inadvertently discovered this after parking at a nearby S&R for my usual milk run and wondered if there was a better place to keep my parking ticket rather than the wallet. As the day was blessed with a barrage of brilliant ideas, I looked at the Galaxy Fold7 before tucking it in my pocket and wondered “hmm, what if…”
Guess what: the parking ticket fits.
Since then I’ve been using it as a secondary wallet for small bills and parking tickets. Coincidentally, the Fold7 has the same dimensions as the Philippine bills. In the photo below I had to show the protrusion of the 100 peso bill to emphasize how well it fits.
When I go on my usual bike rides during the weekend, I stick a bill or two inside the fold so I have cash in that rare case that my go-to coffee shops aren’t accepting GCash or Maya. The Fold7 creates a near-perfect seal when fully folded to the extent that you can hold the phone dangling by the receipts, depending on the texture of the paper. Does that make it … folded, and hung?
On paper, the Galaxy Fold7 measures 8.9mm thin when fully folded. That is roughly 3mm thinner than the previous model, the Fold6. The Internet has been ablaze with how thin this device can get, and yes it’s really thin. But that’s only half the equation. For me, I always factor in a case because I’d be crazy to want to scratch the blue shadow paint job if I accidentally dropped it. A typical bumper case from your favorite mall tiangge has always been my go-to choice for flagship devices. And my feedback from using the Fold7 for almost a month is that it’s really light: it feels like I’m holding a slightly lighter version of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Curious friends have uttered the following words after holding the device: “parang hindi foldable” (I didn’t think it was a foldable) or “ang gaan” (it’s so light).
Deployable joy
The Galaxy Fold7 has made me more aware of my phone use habits. On the go, I use the phone folded as it finally has the dimensions of a regular Android phone. Prior to this I was using the Galaxy S25 Ultra and apart from the location of the biometrics (the Fold7 has it on the power button), it’s pretty much the same. Sitting down, I find myself using the device fully unfolded. It’s like I fully deployed myself to sit down and consume media or work on a sheet or edit an article. It’s a mini laptop. You know how there’s this saying that Gen X will do important things like book a flight or pay for something online using a desktop or a laptop? Well I find myself doing just that with a fully unfolded screen! Because it’s the Gen X way!
Some final thoughts here and there that don’t really fit this article’s narrative: the camera of the Fold7 I would say is a mixed bag. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a very decent camera that performs well in most occasions except for telephoto and some night shots (it does well in high contrast evening shots). I often find myself using the thumb slider on the screen’s focus point to lower the exposure to get better shots in general. Coming from the S25 Ultra, it’s essentially the same camera with less zoom options.
Lastly, battery life is quite a topic: on tests, reviewers have claimed that it has roughly one hour less battery than the S25 Ultra, which is saying a lot because we have to remember that the Fold7 is powering two sets of screens, so battery life is actually more efficient thanks to several AI power saving functions. Depending on usage, you will roughly get slightly less than a day’s worth of charge. Perhaps 9 hours? In the mid afternoon, I clock in at roughly 40-50% battery if fully charged from the morning. So if you are driving or at your desk, it would be a good idea to pit stop charge this phone.
Let’s Fold in!
Last year, I went on record to say that the Galaxy Fold6 was the best foldable Samsung has released. The year prior, I said that the Fold5 is what will make people jump into the foldable space. This year I’m going to go on record again to say that the Fold7 is Samsung’s best foldable yet. Everything just works. Outside the Google Pixel, this is the top shelf Android flagbearer for the industry. Is this the year you may want to fold and give in to the Fold7? If you’re like me, then probably yes.
