The Galaxy Z Fold 7 finally gets something right that Samsung’s struggled with for years: a cover screen that doesn’t feel like a compromise.
Galaxy Z Fold 7 finally feels like a phone, but that’s the problem
With a 6.5-inch outer display, the Fold 7 moves away from the narrow, awkward designs of its predecessors. The cover screen is wide enough for real productivity, comfortable for media, and no longer feels like a placeholder. It behaves like a regular phone screen, which is exactly what many users have been asking for.
That change improves usability, but it also disrupts the balance that defined Samsung’s foldable experience.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 reduces the need to unfold
Earlier Fold models created friction by design. The slim, tall cover screens pushed users toward the inner display, encouraging them to open the phone to access its full potential. That constant interaction made the foldable form factor feel necessary, not just novel.
With the Fold 7, that incentive is gone. The updated cover screen makes unfolding optional. As a result, the large inner display is used less frequently, and the foldable begins to operate more like a traditional slab phone than a dual-function device.
A better phone, but a diminished foldable
This change improves daily convenience but undercuts what sets the Fold apart. The stronger the outer display becomes, the less compelling the foldable identity feels. The Fold 7 refines the formula, but in doing so, it distances itself from the one feature that defines the category: transformation through unfolding.
It’s a shift that improves usability at the cost of distinction.
The rumored tri-fold could restore purpose to the inner display
Samsung’s upcoming tri-fold device, which has appeared in recent patents and leaks, may offer a solution. Even with a wide outer screen, a tri-fold’s expanded inner panel would deliver a far larger visual experience enough to justify unfolding again.
That increased screen real estate could push users back toward immersive use cases like media viewing, gaming, and multitasking, giving foldables a clearer reason to exist beyond novelty or form factor experimentation.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 perfects the outer screen, but by solving one problem, it may have exposed another.
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