There are relatively few people in the world who are as invested in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series as I am. I love this device, and while there are enhancements I’d like to see, the Z Fold 7 has sadly taken away from me more than it offers.

My Z Fold 6 isn’t just my phone—it’s my only PC. There is no other 3-in-1 device like it in the US. If you also happen to own one, here are four things you’ll sacrifice by getting a Z Fold 7.

4

The Smaller Size

From its inception, the Galaxy Z Fold’s size has been controversial. The phone’s aspect ratio when closed is more narrow than your typical phone. Many people describe it as tall and narrow, but that isn’t actually the case. My Z Fold 6 is shorter than any semi-recent phone I’ve put it next to, be that a Pixel 6, my previous Moto Edge+ 2023, or the CMF Phone 2 Pro I recently reviewed. It was virtually the same height as the other book-style foldable I’ve held, the more conventionally-shaped OnePlus Open. In other words, it’s not a tall phone.

I also appreciate the narrow outer display. While it did feel a tad cramped on the Z Fold 5 (which was my first Z Fold), I find Samsung’s changes for the Z Fold 6 to be spot on. It may not be the easiest to type on, but I unfold the phone for that. Compared to other phones, the narrow aspect ratio just makes everything else so pleasant to use, because I don’t have to reach as far across, nor as high, as I do when using other phones.

In other words, despite having a tablet-sized screen on the inside, this is actually a relatively small phone. To me, it feels less bulky than other phones, even despite being ever-so-slightly thicker. As both a small phone fan and a 7-inch tablet fan, owning a Galaxy Z Fold has been a dream come true.

That’s changed with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Some might call it a bigger and better upgrade, but consider me nervous. I know many want the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to be as large as Samsung’s other phones when closed, and I can understand why. But I love having a small phone that unfolds into a big one. A big phone that unfolds into a bigger one is a fundamentally different thing.

Thankfully, Samsung has kept the aspect ratio the same. I’ve come to accept size creep when it comes to phones, and I was prepared to overlook this, until I heard about the next thing.

3

The S Pen

I’m not only writing these words directly on my Galaxy Z Fold 6, but I’m doing so with my S Pen. I don’t pair a Bluetooth keyboard to my phone all that often anymore. I currently don’t even use DeX with a wireless lapdock most of the time. I swipe my stylus over the virtual keyboard, using gesture swipes to bang out up to a couple thousand words per day.

I use my S Pen daily to such an extent that it has replaced both my keyboard and my mouse as my most essential computer accessories.

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I even keep a stash of backup S Pens, just in case.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 does away with the Wacom technology baked into many generations of Samsung phones until now. To make matters worse—the company hasn’t yet announced an active pen option as an alternative. For the time being, there simply is no S Pen for the Z Fold 7.

I chose the Z Fold 6 because it was the only foldable with both a desktop mode and a stylus. Now I’m left without any new option on the market that does what my current phone does.

2

The Under-Display Camera

I love the inner display on my Z Fold 6. It’s gorgeous, with even bezels and no camera notch. There’s not to say there isn’t a cut out for the selfie camera, but since Samsung has used an under-display camera, I don’t see it unless I’m actively looking. It largely fades into the background. This was just as true on the Z Fold 5.

This provides such a nice experience when using my phone to scroll through ebooks or read digital comics, since the text and imagery get to fill the entire display. I like the look when viewing anything that benefits from filling the entire screen, be that photos or browsing Google Maps.

I understand that under-display cameras don’t have the same image quality as regular selfie cams. On a foldable, I don’t see this as a big deal—I have two other cameras I use when I want to take photos.

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I’d almost be just fine doing without a camera on the inner screen entirely. If forced to choose between that and having a pretty obvious camera cutout, I’d rather have the untarnished display.

The Z Fold 7 does the opposite. It now has an obvious camera cutout, just like all the other book-style foldables from Google, Oppo, and OnePlus.

Those of us who are bothered by this have just lost our only option on the market.

1

The Price

The Galaxy Z Fold has never been a cheap phone. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a non-specialty phone in the US that costs more. And yet the Z Fold 7 costs even more. It’s love to see more people carrying around a book-style foldable, but that’s not going to happen with companies pricing these as status symbols.

As much as I love my Z Fold, even I didn’t pay MSRP for mine. I’ve bought every Z Fold I’ve owned second-hand. My first was an open box deal off eBay. My second was a used “like new” model off Swappa. Both cost me either just shy of a grand (Z Fold 5) or just over (Z Fold 6). Both were 512GB models with MSRPs of over $2000. At 50% off, they’re firmly in regular iPhone territory, the most popular phone in the US.

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Sometimes you might even call them cheap.

Foldable phones often launch with trade-in deals and carrier offers, and they simply don’t hold their value. The original Pixel Fold can be found on eBay for under $600. For a phone that cost $1700 new less than two years ago, and one that still has years of updates left, that is quite the fall.

Yet a more expensive Z Fold is still a more expensive Z Fold, even if you buy it used—and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is yet another more expensive Z Fold.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 may look like an upgraded Z Fold 6, but that’s not really the case. This is a different phone. It’s bigger. It lacks a stylus. Its inner selfie camera is now as obvious as on any other phone. It neither feels, functions, nor looks the same as previous models, despite the near-identical styling.

I don’t doubt that the Z Fold 7 will attract people who never quite liked the older models enough to make the switch, but it’s doing so at the expense of many of us who did.

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