Over the previous few months, I’ve fallen in love with the foldables – a lot so, in reality, that I’ve primarily ditched my iPhone in favor of the hybrid smartphone format.
This newfound appreciation for foldables meant that I used to be past excited to see what Samsung had up its sleeve for Galaxy Unpacked earlier this week, and suffice to say, I used to be able to half methods with my hard-earned money for a Z Fold 7.
Now, just some days after the cellphone’s official reveal, I’m left feeling conflicted about Samsung’s new flagship foldable – and I do know the rationale why.
On the one hand, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is an extremely massive step ahead in comparison with the Z Fold 6, however on the opposite, there’s a giant elephant within the room: one of the best Chinese foldables from corporations like Oppo and Honor are nonetheless objectively higher units – not less than by way of {hardware}.
My time with the Oppo Find N5
Before I’m going into depth as to why I’m torn about shopping for the Z Fold 7 as my first private Android system (sure, I’ve been shopping for iPhones since 2008), I would like to provide you a little bit of background on my expertise with foldables.
I’ve been utilizing the Oppo Find N5 during the last couple of months, an unbelievable piece of China-made package that was despatched to TechSwitch for assessment. However, as a tech journalist, I view merchandise I purchase versus merchandise I write about in utterly totally different lights, typically returning to my private units after I change off my laptop computer within the night.
In the case of the foldable Oppo Find N5, I’ve cherished my expertise with it a lot, and located the {hardware} to be so modern, that I’ve used it as my every day work driver for the final six weeks or so. But even then, the place I’ve opted to make use of the system exterior of labor, and never for assessment, I nonetheless discover myself gravitating again to my private iPhone – primarily as a result of I personal it, so it feels prefer it’s mine.
TL;DR, I completely love the Oppo Find N5, however if you wish to purchase it within the West, you’ll have to import one from Singapore. And whereas I’ll proceed to make use of this smartphone till it must be returned, it would by no means really really feel like my very own. That’s why I used to be critically considering forking out over $2,000 on a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Enter Samsung… type of
If you need to purchase a foldable smartphone within the US or the UK, Samsung’s brand-new Z Fold 7 is now one of the best in the marketplace. It has higher shows than its predecessor, one of the best chipset in any Android system (the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy), a improbable digital camera setup, and, for my part, most significantly, one of the best Android pores and skin on the market, One UI 8.
In hand, whenever you evaluate it to the Z Fold 6 and even different foldable smartphones from giants like Google, it’s superior. In reality, I went to mess around with the Fold 7 in my native Samsung Store final night time, and I used to be shocked at simply how good it felt to carry; 215g is lighter than my iPhone 16 Pro Max!
Samsung’s new foldable may really feel new within the grand scheme of Samsung units, however Chinese producers cracked the code a very long time in the past.
The factor is, I’m not seeking to purchase the Z Fold 7 from the eyes of somebody who purchases a brand new smartphone each few years and is barely conscious of what’s obtainable in a bubble dominated by Samsung, Google, and Apple. I reside and breathe expertise, and irrespective of how onerous I attempt to justify the Z Fold 7, I can’t assist however really feel disillusioned and short-changed due to what else is on the market.
Both the Oppo Find N5 and Honor’s newest foldable, the Magic V5, are as skinny because the Fold 7, if not thinner, and within the case of the Oppo, it has existed for almost six months. See what I’m getting at? Samsung’s new foldable may really feel new within the grand scheme of Samsung units and what’s available in Western smartphones, however Chinese producers cracked the code a very long time in the past.
In reality, Samsung itself cracked the code final 12 months by launching the Z Fold 6 Special Edition, which may be very near the Z Fold 7 by way of specs, however once more, it was by no means offered exterior of Asia.
The greatest challenge
There’s one key space, nonetheless, the place the Fold 7 falls further quick in comparison with different top-tier foldables on the market, and that’s battery. You see, these flagship Chinese foldables have battery expertise powered by silicon-carbon, which permits producers to suit giant capacities into smaller kind elements.
The tech is so unbelievable that the Oppo Find N5 I’ve been utilizing has a 5,600mAh battery with wonderful 80W fast-charging. The Honor Magic V5 – which is ready to launch in Europe later this 12 months – takes that one step additional with over 6,000mAh.
Considering how a lot of an influence drain the big inner display of a foldable is, blended with the thinness of those units, it’s completely astonishing to have real two-day battery life on this kind issue. In reality, I’d go so far as to say that it’s the largest smartphone innovation I’ve skilled within the final decade, because it utterly eliminates battery anxiousness.
Knowing that this expertise exists, and that it is available even on telephones offered exterior of Asia, just like the OnePlus 13, I can’t assist however really feel just like the 4,400mAh battery within the Z Fold 7 is an insult. Heck, the Z Flip 7 in its tiny kind issue has almost the identical quantity!
Innovation in a bubble
So there you will have it, the dilemma that’s stopping me from buying a Samsung Z Fold 7: the notice that higher does exist.
I really like my iPhone due to iOS, and I can’t expertise iOS wherever else. I really like the Oppo Find N5 due to its glorious foldable design, skinny kind issue, and unbelievable battery life, and because it stands, Samsung’s newest foldable can’t compete with that.
Yes, One UI 8 is great, however I’m prepared to sacrifice an Android pores and skin for higher battery life, and till Samsung really catches up with the competitors, I can’t see myself buying any foldable realizing that the best foldable phones are within the East.