Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: some decisions will need to be made!
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is coming out in a couple of months. All rumors point to big upgrades in the design and camera — will it kill the Galaxy S25 Ultra?
Intro
This summer, Samsung’s got not one but two flagship-tier phones vying for your attention and wallet. On one end, we’ve got the futuristic, folding, productivity-obsessed Galaxy Z Fold 7. On the other, the classic, camera-beast, S Pen-wielding Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Now, normally, this would be a “foldable vs bar phone” debate. But the Fold 7 is rumored to be catching up in the camera field and slimming that design, making it less of a compromise and more of a "the best of everything" phone. As it should be, for $1,800 (hopefully, not more)! Meanwhile, the S25 Ultra is built on multiple refinements and reiterations of the same tech. If you follow it back to its roots — it's a Galaxy Note. Just made 47 times better with modern tech!
Two flagships. Two philosophies. Only one pocket. Let’s see who fits best.
Now, normally, this would be a “foldable vs bar phone” debate. But the Fold 7 is rumored to be catching up in the camera field and slimming that design, making it less of a compromise and more of a "the best of everything" phone. As it should be, for $1,800 (hopefully, not more)! Meanwhile, the S25 Ultra is built on multiple refinements and reiterations of the same tech. If you follow it back to its roots — it's a Galaxy Note. Just made 47 times better with modern tech!
Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs Galaxy S25 Ultra expected differences:
| Galaxy Z Fold 7 | Galaxy S25 Ultra |
|---|---|
| Might be as thin as the Ultra at 8.2 mm | 8.2 mm — a bit on the thick side by bar phone standards |
| 6.5-inch cover screen, but big 8-inch internal screen | Single, large 6.9-inch screen |
| 2,600 nits of peak brightness or more | 2,600 nits peak brightness Special anti-reflective coating |
| Triple rear camera (200MP+12+10MP), 10MP external and 4MP internal selfie cameras | 200MP+50+10+50MP, 12MP selfie camera |
| Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm) with 12GB of RAM likely coming | Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm) with 12GB of RAM |
| 256GB and 512GB, as well as 1TB version likely available | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Expected 4,400mAh+ battery | 5,000mAh battery |
| 25W wired and 15W wireless charging expected | 25W wired and 15W wireless |
| Android 16 and One UI 8? | Android 15 / One UI 7 (eligible for update) |
Table of Contents:
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Design and Size
Origami vs Slab
Right off the bat: these are both big phones. But how they get there is totally different.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is your familiar heavyweight champion—an angular slab of glass and titanium, weighing in at 218 g, with that signature boxy silhouette. A 6.9-inch flat AMOLED up front and an S Pen tucked inside. Familiar yet fresh thanks to the boxy redesign from this year.
The Z Fold 7, though? That’s Samsung’s ultimate flex (literally). Rumors say it’ll slim down to a crazy-thin 8.2mm when folded, and shed a few grams down to 236g. To make it clear, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is 8.2mm right now — a bit thick by choco bar phone standards, but all forgiven because it's packed with high-tier tech. If the Z Fold 7 is truly about that thin, that'd be a huge upgrade from before.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is your familiar heavyweight champion—an angular slab of glass and titanium, weighing in at 218 g, with that signature boxy silhouette. A 6.9-inch flat AMOLED up front and an S Pen tucked inside. Familiar yet fresh thanks to the boxy redesign from this year.
The Z Fold 7, though? That’s Samsung’s ultimate flex (literally). Rumors say it’ll slim down to a crazy-thin 8.2mm when folded, and shed a few grams down to 236g. To make it clear, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is 8.2mm right now — a bit thick by choco bar phone standards, but all forgiven because it's packed with high-tier tech. If the Z Fold 7 is truly about that thin, that'd be a huge upgrade from before.
The Z Fold 7 outer screen’s getting wider, finally moving away from the “TV remote” dimensions of previous generations. And inside? An 8-inch foldable AMOLED screen, supposedly slightly wider than before, and ready to morph into your mini tablet.
| Galaxy Z Fold 7 | Galaxy S25 Ultra |
|---|---|
| Thickness 4-6 mm unfolded 8.2-12.2 mm folded | Thickness 8.2 mm |
| Weight ~236 gr | Weight 218 gr |
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is protected by Gorilla Armor on the front — a mix between Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and Samsung's proprietary anti-reflecting coating on top. It's very durable and resistant to those pesky micro-scratches that have a tendency to appear out of nowhere. We could hope for the cover screen of the Z Fold 7 to get the same anti-reflective treatment, but chances are low. More likely, it will be protected by a vanilla Victus 2.
For ingress protection, don't expect the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to match the IP68 rating of the Galaxy S25 Ultra. IP48 is more probable — Samsung has achieved water protection by way of ancient black magic, we suppose. But particle resistance is limited to larger chunks of sand — the hinge will let super-fine dust in, so don't bring it along for that camping trip.
Display Differences
Flat or flexible — take your pic
This one’s easy: both phones will have jaw-dropping Dynamic AMOLED x2 displays. You just need to decide if you want one huge screen, or two very different ones.
S25 Ultra: One large 6.8-inch QHD+ AMOLED, flat this time (no curves towards the edge), running 1-120 Hz adaptive refresh with 2,800+ nits of peak brightness. Samsung’s finest display for sure.
S25 Ultra: One large 6.8-inch QHD+ AMOLED, flat this time (no curves towards the edge), running 1-120 Hz adaptive refresh with 2,800+ nits of peak brightness. Samsung’s finest display for sure.
Fold 7: A much-improved 6.5-inch outer AMOLED, now actually usable, and a massive 8.0-inch internal screen that unfolds into tablet territory. Both at 120 Hz, for smooth animations and possibly the same peak brightness.
| Galaxy Z Fold 7 | Galaxy S25 Ultra |
|---|---|
| Cover screen 6.3-6.5 inches | Main screen 6.9 inches |
| Main screen 7.6-8.0 inches | - |
Where the Fold wins: multitasking, immersive media, and productivity. Where the Ultra wins: simplicity, S Pen integration, and fewer moving parts. Granted, you can buy an S Pen for the Z Fold series ever since the Z Fold 3. But it sits outside the phone or needs a bulky case to be attached to. So, it's easier to lose somewhere.
And yes, Samsung might finally be reducing the crease on the Fold 7. Fingers crossed.
Performance and Software
Same brains, different bodies
Under the hood, both the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and S25 Ultra will rock the new Snapdragon 8 Elite "for Galaxy", built on a shiny 3 nm TSMC process. It comes with better thermal efficiency, boosted AI capabilities, and benchmark-shattering performance. We were quite happy with the Galaxy S25 Ultra's performance through our benchmarks ring early this year.
Both phones should come with 12 GB of RAM, though the Fold might offer a 16 GB option for those who want to juggle five apps and a spreadsheet on that 8-inch screen.
Software-wise, we may — emphasis on may — get Android 16 with One UI 8 right out of the box, along with the full Galaxy AI suite: real-time translation, Circle to Search, live call summaries—the usual “AI but make it useful” features. And yes, both will enjoy Samsung’s 7 years of updates, which means both should last you well until 2032, so long as their batteries survive the trip.
Both phones should come with 12 GB of RAM, though the Fold might offer a 16 GB option for those who want to juggle five apps and a spreadsheet on that 8-inch screen.
Software-wise, we may — emphasis on may — get Android 16 with One UI 8 right out of the box, along with the full Galaxy AI suite: real-time translation, Circle to Search, live call summaries—the usual “AI but make it useful” features. And yes, both will enjoy Samsung’s 7 years of updates, which means both should last you well until 2032, so long as their batteries survive the trip.
Camera
The Fold finally catches up — almost
Here’s where the S25 Ultra still asserts its dominance. A 200MP main sensor, 12MP ultra-wide, 10MP 3x telephoto, and 50MP 5x periscope. It's packed with framing options and fun tools to play with and it deservedly tops the ladder on our expansive camera benchmark test.
The Z Fold 7? It’s finally catching up, it seems. Rumors say it’ll borrow the 200MP main camera from the Ultra, which is a huge upgrade over the Fold 6. But the rest of the setup is still pretty modest: a 12 MP ultra-wide and 10 MP 3x zoom. It will most probably do fine. It just won't be an outrageously over the top, "I have two zoom cameras" type of phone.
The Z Fold 7? It’s finally catching up, it seems. Rumors say it’ll borrow the 200MP main camera from the Ultra, which is a huge upgrade over the Fold 6. But the rest of the setup is still pretty modest: a 12 MP ultra-wide and 10 MP 3x zoom. It will most probably do fine. It just won't be an outrageously over the top, "I have two zoom cameras" type of phone.
| Galaxy Z Fold 7 | Galaxy S25 Ultra |
|---|---|
| Main camera 200MP | Main camera 200MP |
| Ultrawide 12MP | Ultrawide 50MP |
| Telephoto 10MP 3X | Telephoto 10MP 3X |
| - | Periscope 50MP 5X |
| Cover selfie 10MP | Selfie 12MP |
| Internal selfie 4MP under-display | - |
So if photography is your game, the Ultra is your racket, but the Fold 7 will hardly be considered a compromise. At least that's what we expect if all the rumors come true.
It's worth keeping our expectations just a notch below that, though. The long-awaited Galaxy S25 Edge recently arrived with a 200 MP main camera of its own. While it's nothing to snark at, when directly compared to an S25 Ultra main camera, it does appear softer and less contrast-y. Hang tight for a full review and comparison, though.
Battery Life and Charging
Same story, different stamina
We don't expect huge, huge changes here. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 had a 4,400 mAh cell, word is we will get the same with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Look, if the new foldable is slimmer, we get it. Samsung wants to be safe on the battery side for reasons we shan't talk about. But the charging speed is also not going to impress, it seems.
Supposedly, there will be no change — 25 W on the wire, 15 W wirelessly to top up that Galaxy Z Fold 7. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is at least a bit faster, with a 45 W power draw to charge its 5,000 mAh battery. Wirelessly, it also supports 15 W "almost" Qi2 charging (no magnets, thus the "almost").
Specs Comparison
Here's how the Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs Galaxy S25 Ultra will likely compare, based on rumored specs. Of course, reality may differ slightly once the Z Fold 7 is revealed:
| Galaxy Z Fold 7 | Galaxy S25 Ultra |
|---|---|
| Size, weight 8.2 mm folded ~236gr | Size, weight 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm 218 gr |
| Screen 8.0" OLED internal, 120Hz, 2600 nits 6.5" OLED external, 120Hz 2600 nits | Screen 6.9" OLED, 120Hz, 2600 nits |
| Processor Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy 3nm | Processor Snapdragon 8 Elite 3nm |
| Versions: 12GB/256GB 12GB/512GB 12GB/1TB LPDDR5X | Versions: 12GB/256GB 12GB/512GB 12GB/1TB LPDDR5X |
| Cameras: 200MP main 12MP ultra 10MP 3X zoom 10MP front 4MP internal front | Cameras: 200MP main 12MP ultra 10MP 3X zoom 50MP 5X zoom 12MP front |
| Battery: 4,400 mAh | Battery: 5,000 mAh |
| Charging: USB-C 25W wired 15W wireless | Charging: USB-C 25W wired 15W wireless |
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Summary
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is the most refined slab phone Samsung’s ever made. It has the best camera system, longer battery life, built-in S Pen, and no moving parts. It’s the safe bet—but also the best bet for most users.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7? That’s for the multitaskers, the early adopters, the power users who want their phone to be a tablet and their tablet to be their phone. If it truly happens to be thin enough, light enough, and fast enough to be taken seriously, it may just draw in the last on-the-fencers to its side!
Which one’s right for you?
The Galaxy Z Fold 7? That’s for the multitaskers, the early adopters, the power users who want their phone to be a tablet and their tablet to be their phone. If it truly happens to be thin enough, light enough, and fast enough to be taken seriously, it may just draw in the last on-the-fencers to its side!
Which one’s right for you?
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