Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Might Finally Break The Iterative Upgrade Cycle
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
'The newest Galaxy Z series is the thinnest, lightest and most advanced foldable yet,' says a Samsung Newsroom release teasing the Galaxy Z Fold 7. It's paired with a video that showcases a silhouette of the upcoming foldable. This is followed by, 'The Ultra experience is ready to unfold.'
But what does an Ultra experience mean for you? Will there be a new Galaxy Z Fold Ultra? Or will the Galaxy Z Fold 7 borrow features from its S-series Ultra sibling? It could be a mix of both. Here's what you should expect from Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 camera module
For the last couple of years, Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold lineup hasn't reinvented the wheel and nor has it challenged the thinner and lighter Chinese competitors. While the South Korean company has focused on refining the foldable experience, it hasn't introduced any notable hardware advancements. Meanwhile, the likes of Oppo Find N5 and Honor Magic V3 have pushed the limits of book-style folding phone design, while Huawei has developed a tri-fold. But things could finally change with the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Going by the new teasers, it's safe to say the upcoming folding phone will be Samsung's thinnest and lightest foldable yet. Looking at the silhouette video, it appears that Samsung is gunning for Oppo's thinnest and lightest foldable phone crown. For context, Oppo's Find N5 is currently the thinnest book-style foldable in the world. At 8.9mm folded and 4.21mm when unfolded, it is considerably thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which measures 12.2mm when folded and 6.1mm when unfolded.
According to past reports, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 could finally challenge its Chinese competitors in cutting-edge foldable hardware design. It is rumored to measure just 4.54mm in the unfolded state, which doesn't beat the Oppo foldable but gets very close. Even if it misses, the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7 will most likely be the thinnest and lightest foldable available in the US, beating the likes of the OnePlus Open and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
Samsung has a lot of things going in its favor. As I wrote in my Galaxy Z Fold 6 review, the South Korean tech giant has the most polished Android software and a solid hinge design that feels more reliable than the competition. If Samsung manages to retain those two factors and pair them with its new 'thinnest and lightest' design, it could offer the most complete folding phone experience yet.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra with Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S23 Ultra in the background
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is said to offer an Ultra experience, which, in my understanding, could mean borrowing the Galaxy S25 Ultra's 200MP primary camera and offering a more robust AI phone experience. The latest teaser shows a chip, three camera lenses, and states, 'Galaxy camera is now part of the intuitive interface that turns what users see into understanding and action.'
The upcoming Samsung folding phone is said to offer a 'unified vision' to allow 'Galaxy devices to continuously redefine mobile photography, empowering users to capture, create and communicate more meaningfully.' It hints at a smarter camera experience as well as better optics.
As for the smarts, I speculate that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 could integrate Gemini Live capabilities right into the Samsung Camera app. For the unaware, Gemini Live allows a conversational AI chatbot to answer questions about what you're looking at in real time. You can point your phone's camera at your surroundings and ask Gemini for help. Like, asking how to fix a broken bicycle or clean your messy room.
'When paired with the flexible, expansive screen of a foldable, this experience becomes even more powerful, dynamic, and immersive,' says the Newsroom post. The Galaxy camera is also claimed to be a 'part of the intuitive interface that turns what users see into understanding and action.' So, the 'Ultra experience' is likely meant to convey a smarter device instead of an additional Galaxy Z Fold Ultra smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 cover screen
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is rumored to stick with the same 4,400mAh battery as its predecessor. That might not be enough, especially when Samsung is rumored to increase the folding display size from 7.6 inches to 8 inches.
While I'm not holding my breath for all-day battery life, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite is an efficient processor, and the new Galaxy S25 Edge lasted me longer than expected. Samsung is also tipped to use AI to extract more runtime from its battery. All of this could combine to offer a satisfactory experience.
I hoped Samsung would use a silicon-carbon battery, but it's likely not going to happen this year. A recent Bloomberg report claimed that Samsung and Apple battery supplier TDK is all set to begin shipping its third iteration of silicon-anode batteries by the end of June, earlier than its original schedule of September. As a result, we might see the new-gen battery debut on the iPhone 17 Air, but it will likely only make its way to Samsung phones starting with the Galaxy S26 series next year.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 also arrives at a time when Samsung's foldable shipments are dropping. According to a report from The Elec, Samsung now plans to manufacture 1.18 million Galaxy Z series folding phone units—down from last month's estimate of 1.34 million units for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7. Last year's Galaxy Z lineup also fell a few million units short of expectations.
However, this decline could've been a wakeup call and paved the way for Samsung to start innovating with its hardware again. And if we are to go by the latest teasers, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 could be the generational upgrade we've been waiting for.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
9 hours ago
- Forbes
Android Circuit: Galaxy Z Fold7 Details, Honor Magic V5 Previewed, OnePlus Nord 5 Arrives
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Taking a look back at this week's news and headlines across the Android world, including Galaxy Z Fold7 specs, Pixel 10 Pro features leak, Galaxy S26 benchmarking, OnePlus Nord 5 released, Poco F7 debuts, Honor promises record-breaking Magic V5, and Google Photos' upgrade. Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Android in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Apple news here on Forbes. Galaxy Z Fold's Practical Upgrade Samsung has revealed details of the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold7 on three occasions in the last three weeks, and it may not be done yet. Nevertheless, new details on the specs are coming out alongside the official teasers. One of those regards the cover screen of the foldable and how practical the Fold 7 will be when closed: "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." (Forbes). Pixel 10's New Camera Feature Google looks set to make a switch with its macro photography option for the Pixel 10 family by moving the feature from the ultrawide hardware into the telephoto hardware. It's an approach used by other manufacturers, leading to improved close-up images: "Telephoto sensors are typically better, optics-wise, than the ultrawide sensor. Providing a better quality image on macro. Additionally, using the telephoto sensor means you can be further away from the subject, which is great for capturing insects. But it also means that you and the camera won't be blocking the light. Keep in mind that macro photography does need a good bit of light to produce a good image." (Android Headlines). Galaxy S26 Ready To Challenge The iPhone 17 Looking further ahead to next year's Galaxy S26 family, new details have leaked on the potential performance of the Snapdragon Elite 2 chipset earmarked for the South Korean flagship. The numbers match the single-core numbers of Apple's upcoming A19 Pro, and show a significant lead in multi-core performance: "The Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chip is rumored to be fabricated on TSMC's third-generation 3nm process node. Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station (DCS) has posted the chip's preliminary CPU performance results on Weibo. The chip's octa-core CPU reportedly scores over 11,000 points in Geekbench 6's multi-core CPU performance test and over 4,000 points in the single-core CPU performance test." (SamMobile). OnePlus Nord 5 Revealed OnePlus has confirmed a launch date of July 8 for the latest Nord phone, the OnePlus Nord 5. Alongside it, OnePlus also revealed the OnePlus CE5 OnePlus Pad Lite, OnePlus Watch 3, and OnePlus Buds 4. As the Nord 5 is squarely in the flagship-killer category, OnePlus will be balancing performance with price, none more so than in the choice of processor. It has stepped back to last year's flagship Snapdragon, which should offer capability while keeping the cost relatively low: "The Nord 5 is the latest in the company's mid-range smartphone line, and is the first Nord to feature a flagship Qualcomm chip — in this case the Snapdragon 8S Gen 3, which was designed for cheaper flagship phones — along with an upgraded cooling system and support for LPDDR5X RAM. That's all we know about the phone's specs, but from the picture we can glean that it'll come in a pale blue finish (officially dubbed 'Dry Ice') and features a dual rear camera." (The Verge). Poco F7 Debuts Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 We already knew that the F7 would ship with 12 GB of memory, presumably backed up by various storage levels and a 6,000 mAh battery. As well as confirming a release date of June 24, Poco has announced the F7 will ship with the leading Snapdragon 8 chipset: "Poco has been drip-feeding us with information about the Poco F7, which will be unveiled on June 24. The brand previously revealed its battery size (7,550 mAh) and charging speed (90W), and yesterday, it gave us our first official look at the smartphone. Today, Poco confirmed that the F7 will be powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC." (GSM Arena). Honor Teases Record Breaking Foldable Honor has confirmed that its next foldable will launch on July 2nd in the Chinese market. Previous Magic V handsets have had an international launch a few months after China, and we'd expect the same to happen here. We're also expecting the push for innovation and records to continue in the V5: "Honor has suggested that its new foldable will depart from the current Magic V3 with a more powerful chipset, PC-level productivity and a design that is thinner than the Oppo Find N5 while also being lighter than the Vivo X Fold5." (Notebook Check). And Finally... Following hints at the new features in Google Photos, a deep dive into the pre-release APKs by the Android Authority team has revealed more about the features. No tools have been removed; they are laid out in a more logical fashion, many of the AI tools are now under Auto, and several new additions are included: "The 'Filters' section is also getting some love. A new 'Sky styles' option lets you choose from dramatic skyline effects like Luminous, Radiant, Vivid, Ember, and more. Google has also made a minor visual tweak to the filter selection tray, making it more intuitive to adjust filter strength." (Android Authority). Android Circuit rounds up the news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes. Don't forget to follow me so you don't miss any coverage in the future, and of course, read the sister column in Apple Loop! Last week's Android Circuit can be found here, and if you have any news and links you'd like to see featured in Android Circuit, get in touch!
New York Post
9 hours ago
- New York Post
SoftBank pitches chip giant TSMC on building $1 trillion AI hub in US: report
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is pitching Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company on a massive $1 trillion complex in the US to build robots and artificial intelligence, according to a report. The giant robotics center would be based in Arizona, a version of the production hub seen in the Chinese city of Shenzhen that could help bring manufacturing back to the US, sources told Bloomberg. It comes as President Trump has been calling for an all-hands approach to bringing manufacturing opportunities to the US, especially by tech companies and automakers. 3 SoftBank's CEO Masayoshi Son speaking during a White House event as President Trump looks on. KEN CEDENO/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Son is seeking out TSMC invest $165 billion in the US and has opened its first Arizona factory – as a partner, according to the report. It's unclear what role Son sees for the Taiwanese chip giant, which makes Nvidia's most advanced chips, and if the company would even be interested in the project. TSMC declined to comment. Codenamed 'Project Crystal Land,' the complex is a clear attempt not only to advance artificial intelligence but to ensure a lasting legacy for Son, who has often talked down his past accomplishments and abandoned projects midway, sources told Bloomberg. The ambitious, one-of-a-kind facility would require support from the Trump administration. SoftBank officials have spoken with federal and state officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, to discuss possible tax breaks for firms building factories or investing in the complex, sources told Bloomberg. Son is also speaking with major tech companies as possible investors, like South Korea's Samsung. SoftBank, Samsung and the White House did not immediately respond to The Post's requests for comment. 3 Masayoshi Son is reportedly seeking out TSMC as a partner in the Arizona project. REUTERS Son's company has invested heavily in ChatGPT maker OpenAI, recently leading a $40 billion funding round for the Sam Altman-led firm as the two seek to raise hundreds of billions of dollars to fund large data centers in the US. These data centers are crucial to the artificial intelligence industry, which requires vast amounts of power and large storage capabilities. SoftBank's campaigning process for the Arizona complex could signal that its money-raising efforts alongside OpenAI are proceeding at a slower pace than they had anticipated, according to the report. Son has created a list of companies that might take part in the Arizona manufacturing hub, like automation company Agile Robots SE, sources said. 3 President Trump has said he wants to bring manufacturing opportunities back to the US. AP Meanwhile, SoftBank is exploring project financing options for Stargate, its $500 billion initiative to build data centers in the US with OpenAI and Oracle. This financing method could allow SoftBank to raise funding on a project-by-project basis, which is easier than gathering a large sum of money upfront. The same process could potentially be used for Project Crystal Land, according to the Bloomberg report. These plans are still preliminary and could change, sources told the news outlet.
CNBC
9 hours ago
- CNBC
AI avatars in China just proved they are ace influencers. It only took a duo 7 hours to rake in more than $7 million
Key Points A Chinese entrepreneur raked in $7.65 million after streaming using an interactive digital avatar. That was more than what he earned from his previous livestream, which he hosted personally. "This is a DeepSeek moment for China's entire livestreaming and digital human industry," an analyst said. Chinese influencer Luo Yonghao and co-host Xiao Mu tried out livestreaming on Sunday, June 15, 2025, using interactive digital avatars based on Baidu's generative artificial intelligence model. Screenshot BEIJING — Avatars generated by artificial intelligence are now able to sell more than real people can, according to a collaboration between Chinese tech company Baidu and a popular livestreamer. Luo Yonghao, one of China's earliest and most popular livestreamers, and his co-host Xiao Mu both used digital versions of themselves to interact with viewers in real time for well over six hours on Sunday on Baidu's e-commerce livestreaming platform "Youxuan", the Chinese tech company said. The session raked in 55 million yuan ($7.65 million). In comparison, Luo's first livestream attempt on Youxuan last month, which lasted just over four hours, saw fewer orders for consumer electronics, food and other key products, Baidu said. Luo said that it was his first time using virtual human technology to sell products through livestreaming. "The digital human effect has scared me ... I'm a bit dazed," he told his 1.7 million followers on social media platform Weibo, according to a CNBC translation. Luo started livestreaming in April 2020 on ByteDance's short video app Douyin, in an attempt to pay off debts racked up by his struggling smartphone company Smartisan. His "Be Friends" Douyin livestream account has nearly 24.7 million followers. Luo's and his co-host's avatars were built using Baidu's generative AI model, which learned from five years' worth of videos to mimic their jokes and style, Wu Jialu, head of research at Luo's other company, Be Friends Holding, told CNBC on Wednesday. VIDEO07:49 AI & future of workforce: Andrew Yang on how the technology will impact jobs "This is a DeepSeek moment for China's entire livestreaming and digital human industry," Wu said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. DeepSeek, China's version of OpenAI, rattled global investors in January with its claims of rivaling ChatGPT at far lower costs and using an open-source approach. AI avatars can sharply reduce costs since companies don't need to hire a large production team or a studio to livestream. The digital avatars can also stream nonstop without needing breaks. "We have always been skeptical about digital people livestreaming," Wu said, noting the company had tried out various kinds of digital humans over the years. But he said that Baidu now offers the best digital human product currently available, compared to the early days of livestreaming e-commerce five or six years ago. A growing industry Livestream shopping took off in China after the pandemic forced businesses to find alternative sales channels. More people are turning to livestreaming to earn money from commissions and virtual gifts amid slower economic growth. Livestreaming generated so many sales on Douyin last year that the app surpassed traditional e-commerce company to become China's second-largest e-commerce platform — and ate into the market share of lead player Alibaba, according to a report from Worldpanel and Bain & Company last week. Both and Alibaba's Taobao also offer livestreaming sales portals. Meanwhile, other Chinese companies, including tech giant Tencent, have developed tools to create digital people that can be used as news anchors. In late 2023, several businesses started trying out virtual human livestreamers during the Singles Day shopping holiday. But analysts have cautioned that products sold via livestreams tend to have a high return rate as they are often impulse purchases. The biggest challenge for using virtual humans to livestream is no longer the technology, but compliance and platform requirements, Wu said. Digital humans need to be trained to adhere to regulations about product advertising, while major livestreaming platforms may have different rules about allowing virtual people to host the sessions, he said. Weekly analysis and insights from Asia's largest economy in your inbox Subscribe now For example, Douyin has rolled out restrictions on using the technology, especially if the virtual people do not interact with viewers. While Luo's next virtual human appearance hasn't been set yet, Wu said he expects it will be very soon. And in the future, he said, digital humans could easily livestream in multiple languages to reach users outside China.
