Samsung announced the new Galaxy Z Fold 7 last week, and the device has been praised by the tech community in terms of design and internals. The company has vastly changed the device, specifically the form factor, which is appealing to the masses. We can safely presume that the foldables have finally reached a point where they can become mainstream devices, strictly speaking, with the design in perspective. What this means is that the device is so thin when folded that it can easily compete against a standard phone, even an iPhone. However, it is not all sunshine and rainbows, as the company has made certain downgrades in the Galaxy Z Fold 7 that might impact usability.
Not every upgrade is actually an improvement for Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Fold 7
Samsung has made the Galaxy Z Fold 7 bigger and thinner, but it does come with a few downgrades. For instance, the device now has limited space inside, which limits the battery capacity to a certain level. The company has tackled this issue to some extent by incorporating the same battery size as the previous version, but it remains to be seen if there will be any real-world differences. Regardless, it may not be considered a downside, since the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip designed specifically for the Fold 7 is pretty efficient. Other than this, there are three main factors that are clearly downgrades over the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Galaxy Z Fold 7 no longer supports S Pen
A bigger screen gives room for a device to add support for external hardware, as it opens doors to more niches. For instance, you can easily doodle, draw, or take notes on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but with the S Pen support removed, the device only has a single means of interaction — through your fingers. You can no longer sketch on the device, which eliminates an entire group of people who wished to carry the device for the same purpose. Samsung says that it did it to make the device thinner, which is a plausible explanation, but eliminating an external accessory altogether is a downside for many. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 came with support for S Pen, which you can get right now for a cheaper price.
Eliminated the in-display camera
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 also came with an under-display camera on the internal screen, which minimized the distractions while consuming content or when you are casually using the device. Samsung was able to achieve this amazing feat by putting a layer of the OLED display over the cutout. Even though the resolution of the screen over the cutout was a bit less than the rest of the screen, the advancement in technology was particularly fascinating to reviewers and tech experts. The company downgraded this approach and went ahead with a full-fledged cutout on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which is a downgrade over the previous iteration. The company should have introduced a second generation of the in-display technology, but unfortunately, Samsung went backwards.
A higher price tag for the Galaxy Z Fold 7
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 now starts at $1,999 for the base variant, which is $100 more than the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Since the global economy is going through a recession, affordability will be an issue for the average user. Samsung is possibly charging more due to rising component costs and tariffs, but it does make the Galaxy Z Fold 6 a better deal, especially if you can get it used.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a stunning upgrade over its predecessor, especially when it comes to the thinness of the device and the rear camera setup. If you have been eyeing such a device, Amazon is running a phenomenal promotion where you not only get double the storage at 512GB for picking out any Galaxy Z Fold 7 color of your choice, but the purchase will grant you a $300 gift card for absolutely zero hidden charges. As for the Galaxy Z Flip 7, you get the same storage upgrade, but early adopters get a $200 gift card from Amazon.
We will be covering additional aspects of the device, so be sure to stick around. Do you think Samsung should enable support for third-party stylus for the Galaxy Z Fold 7? Let us know in the comments.
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