I don't know whether to thank or blame Apple for how Fold 7 turned out

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Galaxy Z Fold 7 | Image Credit - Samsung

Samsung today revealed the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and while the company's latest book-style foldable handset is a significant improvement over its predecessor, it's also pricier and no longer includes stylus support. While time will tell if that's an acceptable trade-off, one thing is for sure: the Fold 7 is the clearest sign yet that Apple's first foldable iPhone is right around the corner.

Samsung finally made an impressive foldable phone

The Fold 7 is one of thinnest foldable phones available. | Image Credit - PhoneArena

After betting big on what was then a nascent category, Samsung stopped innovating, while competition moved at breakneck speed. The result was that Samsung's phones looked dated among the best foldable phones of 2025.

Samsung was finally jolted awake and gave us almost everything we asked for this year. The Fold 7 is visibly thinner, feels lighter in hand, and its bigger screens are better suited to multitasking. It even sports a 200MP main camera.

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These improvements mean that customers won't feel like they are missing out when they go for a Samsung foldable instead of a bendable device from another manufacturer. The updated design also brings it closer to the feel of normal phones, which don't feel like a brick in your hands. The wider outer display now resembles a traditional phone, so it won't feel cramped when using the phone in the folded state.

We only have Apple to thank for these improvements

The foldable iPhone may have a creaseless display, unlike the Fold 7. | Image Credit - PhoneArena

While it's true that Samsung had been losing ground to Chinese rivals and that foldable sales had been slumping, the fact that it took so long for the company to make the desired changes indicates that the South Korean giant is worried about the impending threat of a foldable iPhone, which Apple is expected to announce next year.

Rumors say that Apple doesn't want to leave any stone unturned in making a foldable iPhone that's as close to a conventional iPhone as possible. Apple allegedly isn't willing to compromise on things such as crease and thickness, which are problems that plagued the early generations of foldable phones.

Samsung may have faltered, but it still has the lion's share of the foldable market. While its brand image might have been enough to preserve its standing, that magic won't work once the foldable iPhone is released, and Samsung knows it. This is perhaps why it has started taking foldable phones seriously again.

Apple is also to blame for the Fold 7's $2,000 price tag

With a starting price of $2,000, the Fold 7 is more expensive than it has any right to be. And, considering the Fold 6 sold poorly, it was pretty bold of Samsung to increase the price again this year.

Factor in the rumor that the foldable iPhone will cost between $2,000 and $2,500, and it's easy to see where Samsung is going with this. Pricing often signals how premium a product is, and by bringing the price of the Fold 7 to the same level as the rumored foldable iPhone, the company wants to make sure that customers don't perceive its phone as inferior.

Has the Fold 7 lived up to your expectations?

Watch Samsung get away with things that may not have been possible before

I don't think we are making enough fuss about the removal of S Pen functionality. It has been a hallmark of high-end Samsung phones since the Note days, and for Samsung to just casually ditch it doesn't sit right with me.

Samsung argues that removing the feature allowed it to make the phone thinner, and I am no phone maker, but I do think Samsung would have found a way to make it work if it wanted to.

However, I am not surprised, as Apple seems to have this strange effect on companies and makes them do things they swore they would never do. In a bid to build a phone that could rival the foldable iPhone, Samsung omitted the one thing that gave it an edge.

At the end of the day, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 got more things right than wrong, and that's what matters I guess. It also makes me more excited about the iPhone Fold or whatever it ends up being called. While I still can't justify dropping $2,000 on a foldable phone, I do think that if there's one company that can make foldable phones go mainstream, it's Apple, and once more people start buying them, they may become affordable.

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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.

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