How Much Bigger is The Z Fold7?
Now that we have renders and dimensions for the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold7, I thought it might be useful to take a look at exactly how much larger this new Fold is compared to the Z Fold6 from last year.
Z Fold6
Unfolded: 153.5 x 132.6 x 5.6 mm
Folded: 153.5 x 68.1 x 12.1 mm
Z Fold7
Unfolded 158.4 x 143.1 x 4.5mm
Folded 158.4 x ??? x 9.5mm
As you can see, the new Fold is noticeably thinner and it also extends beyond the footprint of the Fold6 in every direction. It’s also worth noting that my hope for a wider aspect ratio might be a dashed here as they look nearly identical in terms of shape - one is just a bit larger than the other. Samsung has found what they think is a happy medium that works well enough for split screen use, but also handles what are largely phone apps quite well on that larger screen.
It appears they’ll be sticking with that strategy for the Z Fold7.
VS Other Foldables
Even though the Fold7 will really only be directly competing against the Google in most regions, let’s take a look at how it stacks up against the Oppo Find N5 and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold as well.
When we’re talking about fractions of millimeters it can get tough to tell who is thicker than who, but it still should be fairly clear that the Find N5 is the winner in that regard. It is also interesting how close in overall dimensions the Fold7 is to the Find N5, both of which stand out over the Pixel and the Fold6.
These are very large phones..
Surprisingly, the Find N5 actually has the tallest aspect ratio of all of the phones shown here. It’s slightly more narrow than the Fold7, but also a decent amount taller. The Pixel stands out as being by far the widest device, or perhaps you could say the closest to square. Personally, I think this aspect ratio works better for split screening apps, but I was also a big fan of the original Pixel Fold which was literally wider than it was tall. The wider the better, I say.
I would have loved to dive into how these all stack up folded into phone mode, but Android Headlines neglected to give the folded dimensions. If I run across them, perhaps I’ll do another write-up like this one.
Conflicting Reports
With Android Headlines reporting that the Galaxy Z Fold7 would feature an inner display that was “around” 8.2-inches with a 6.5-inch cover display, I turned to Ross Young on Twitter to see if he had said anything recently to that effect. In the past he had claimed the Fold7 would have an 8-inch inner screen with a 6.49-inch cover display.
Interestingly, he had actually just reiterated those numbers in a series of comments. From his sources, the Fold7 is indeed more or less the same size as the Z Fold Special Edition from last year. This .2-inch discrepancy isn’t really a big deal, but it does mean the difference between having the biggest inner screen on a foldable and not. The fact that he has the cover display more or less the same as OnLeaks while differing on the inner display adds further intrigue for me.
8-Inches or 8.2-inches?
Does it make sense that the Find N5 is physically larger than the Fold7, but also has a smaller screen? Given the vagueness of the original report from Android Headlines - only committing to “about 8.2-inches” and the physical size issues comparing to the Find N5 plus a reputable screen leaker like Ross Young sticking with 8-inches I think we have no choice but to assume the Fold7 will not have an 8.2” display. For the orignal report to be true, the Find N5 bezels would need to be so large the Pixel Fold would blush.