Technologies

Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs. Z Fold 6: Slimmer Body, Bigger Screens and Slightly Higher Price

Samsung’s new book-style foldable has big upgrades on its predecessor — so how do they stack up?

At Samsung Unpacked in July, the phonemaker introduced its most advanced foldable yet: the Galaxy Z Fold 7. It supersedes last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 with upgrades big and small (or rather, big and thin), but how exactly do they compare? Here’s the Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 6 specs comparison.

Samsung has been releasing foldable phones for over half a decade now since the initial Galaxy Fold (no «Z» back then) launched in 2019, and the company has gotten pretty good at the newer smartphone format. Gone are the days of display and hinge durability issues; now, Samsung’s foldable phones are as reliable as their flat counterparts… though at $2,000, the Z Fold series’ prices are still high enough to put them out of reach of all but deep-pocketed enthusiasts.

The Z Fold 7 packs the latest Samsung upgrades and some design innovations, while the Z Fold 6 is still a powerful and capable device, leaving either a great choice for those who can afford them — just note the $100 difference in list price, as all those upgrades have led the Z Fold 7 to start at $2,000 while the Z Fold 6 starts at $1,900. Here’s how both foldable phones compare.

Design and display

Both the Z Fold 7 and Z Fold 6 follow the same broad design: a book-style foldable that has an outer screen to function more or less like a flat smartphone when folded closed. It can be unfolded to reveal its wider, more tablet-like inner display, providing more screen real estate for tasks, games and watching media.

The Z Fold 7, however, takes the Z Fold 6’s design and slims down its thickness so it takes up even less space in pockets or bags. The Z Fold 7 is 8.9mm when folded up, down from 12.1mm thick in the folded-up Z Fold 6. Likewise, when unfolded, the Z Fold 7 is only 4.2mm thick, down from the 5.6mm in the Z Fold 6. That’s even thinner than the Galaxy S25 Edge’s 5.8mm thickness, which commands an $1,100 price because of its own deliberately thin and light design.

While users may not see how much thinner the Z Fold 7 is unless they put it side by side with another phone, there are areas where it’s noticeably trimmed down — there’s hardly any bezel left around the top and bottom of the USB-C port. The new foldable comes in at 215 grams, which is about the weight of most flatphones and lighter than the Z Fold 6’s 239 grams.

Both foldables are IP48 rated for dust and water resistance, meaning while they may survive being dunked in water for at least 30 minutes (the «8» in that rating) they won’t protect against molecules smaller than 1mm (the «4» in that rating, lower than the «6» in most phones’ IP68 rating) — so keep either foldable away from dust and sand.

Read more: I Held the Galaxy Z Fold 7. It’s So Thin I Almost Forgot It’s a Foldable

The Z Fold 7 is overall slightly taller and wider than its predecessor, which results in bigger screens. The new foldable has a 6.5-inch AMOLED Full HD Plus (2,520×1,080 pixels) cover display, up from the 6.3-inch AMOLED Full HD Plus (2,376×968 pixels) cover display on the Z Fold 6. Both models have 1 to 120Hz variable refresh rates.

Similarly, the Z Fold 7 has a larger 8-inch AMOLED tablet-like (2,184×1,968 pixels) inner display compared to the Z Fold 6’s 7.6-inch AMOLED tablet-like (2,160×1,856 pixels) inner display. Both also have 1 to 120Hz variable refresh rates.

Cameras

The Z Fold 7’s camera array is mostly unchanged from last year’s model, with one glaring exception: the 200-megapixel main camera, which it inherits from the Galaxy S25 Ultra that launched in January (and also made it to the Galaxy S25 Edge that arrived in May). While we haven’t had much time to try it out, the Z Fold 7’s main camera should take sharper photos than the 50-megapixel one on last year’s Z Fold 6.

On paper, the Z Fold 7’s remaining cameras seem otherwise identical to their counterparts on the Z Fold 6: a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, 10-megapixel 3x telephoto and a 10-megapixel front-facing camera on the cover screen. The 10-megapixel camera on its internal display is now inside of a display cutout, moving away from the under-display camera that prior Fold phones used.

Both foldables shoot video in 8K at 30 frames per second.

Specs and battery

It’s not surprising that the Z Fold 7 gets a boost in specs over last year’s Z Fold 6. The most notable is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite in the Z Fold 7, which is more powerful and efficient than the Z Fold 6’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

The Z Fold 7 has the same internal storage options as its predecessor: 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. But whereas the Z Fold 6 only offered 12GB of RAM for all three of those storage options, the new foldable kicks it up a notch by offering 16GB of RAM for its largest storage (the 256GB and 512GB are again paired with 12GB of RAM).

The Z Fold 7 has the same 4,400mAh battery capacity as last year’s Z Fold 6. But until we test out the new foldable, we won’t know whether its particular setup will result in more or less battery life — the slightly larger displays on the Z Fold 7 would suggest it would drain its battery faster, and prior testing with Snapdragon 8 Elite phones found they drained more power.

Connectivity-wise, the Z Fold 7 has the edge with its Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 support, which are newer and more advanced than the Z Fold 6’s Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support.

But there’s still one area where the Z Fold 7 remains painfully behind the times: charging. The foldable still has 25-watt maximum charging, which is pretty dismal and borderline embarrassing in 2025 for a phone of this price — even the flawed OnePlus Open that launched in 2023 had faster 67-watt charging, which filled that foldable from dead to 76% in half an hour. As a point of comparison, last year’s Z Fold 6 (also 25 watts) recharged just over 40% in 30 minutes.

Both phones also have Qi wireless charging. Samsung is selling magnetic cases for the Fold 7 that add compatibility with Qi2 wireless chargers and other magnetic accessories.

Software, support and AI

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 launches with Samsung’s One UI 8 and Android 16 out of the box, which is an improvement over the Z Fold 6 arriving with Android 14. Yes, despite being a year apart, Samsung’s biggest foldable will arrive with the newest version of Google’s mobile operating system, which the software giant surprise-dropped back in June months ahead of its usual release window.

While this is obviously a big win for the new foldable to not have to wait weeks or months for Android 16, it’s also a longevity upgrade: Samsung is once again promising seven years of software and security updates for the Z Fold 7, which means it should get annual upgrades until 2032. But while the Z Fold 6 has the same number of upgrades, one of those was Android 15 that came out later in its launch year — meaning it should only get upgrades until 2030.

Both folding phones get the full suite of Samsung’s Galaxy AI features as well as Gemini access. From Google’s Circle To Search to erasing objects in photos, there’s a range of little tools and tricks. But because the Z Fold 7 gets more years of Android updates (and has a newer processor), it could get more Galaxy AI features in the future.

Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 6

	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
Cover display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	6.5-inch AMOLED, 2,520×1,080p, 1-120Hz refresh rate	6.3-inch AMOLED; 2,376×968 pixels; 1-120Hz variable refresh rate
Internal display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	8-inch AMOLED, 2,184×1,968p, 1-120Hz refresh rate	7.6-inch AMOLED; 2,160×1,856 pixels;1-120Hz variable refresh rate
Pixel density	Cover: 422 ppi; Internal display: 368ppi	Cover: 410 ppi; Internal: 374 ppi
Dimensions (inches)	Open: 5.63 x 6.24 x 0.17 inches; Closed: 2.87 x 6.24 x 0.35 inches	Open: 6.04×5.21 x0.22 in; Closed: 6.04×2.68×0.48 in
Dimensions (millimeters)	Open: 143.2 x 158.4 x 4.2mm; Closed: 72.8 x 158.4 x 8.9mm	Open: 153.5×132.5×5.6mm; Closed: 153.5×68.1×12.1mm
Weight (grams, ounces)	215g (7.58 oz.)	239g (8.43 oz)
Mobile software	Android 16	Android 14
Cameras	200-megapixel (main), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (telephoto), 10-megapixel (cover screen, selfie)	50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto)
Internal screen camera	10-megapixel	4-megapixel (inner screen under-display); 10-megapixel (cover screen)
Video capture	8K at 30fps	8K
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
RAM/storage	12GB + 256GB, 12GB + 512GB, 16GB + 1TB	12GB + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Expandable storage	No	None
Battery	4,400 mAh	4,400 mAh
Fingerprint sensor	Yes	Side
Connector	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	No	None
Special features	One UI 8, 25W wired charging speed, Qi wireless charging, 2,600-nit peak brightness, Galaxy AI, NFC, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, IP48 water resistance	IP48 rating, 25W wired charging, wireless charging + powershare, 3x optical zoom (up to 10x digital and 30x Space Zoom with AI Super Resolution tech)
US price starts at	$2,000 (256GB)	$1,900 (256GB)
UK price starts at	£1,799 (256GB)	£1,799 (256GB)
Australia price starts at	AU$2,899 (256GB)	AU$2,749 (256GB)

Each September, Apple’s product release playbook dials up the unveiling of the company’s newest line of iPhones, along with a variety of complementary gadgets. On Tuesday, the company took the wraps off the iPhone 17 in all its variations, most notably the new skinny iPhone Air, along with new Apple Watches — Series 11 and Ultra 3 — and an upgrade to its 2-year-old AirPods Pro 2 earbuds.

Along with the hardware, Apple is rolling out the new versions of the devices’ respective operating systems, iOS 26 and WatchOS 26, both of which have been in public beta all summer. (The final version of iOS 26 will be available on Monday, Sept. 15.) The new Liquid Glass interface design may even seem routine to you by now.

Many of the new devices’ capabilities come from new features in their operating systems, and throughout Apple stressed health and fitness as one of the primary drivers. It deemphasized how many of the features’ analysis capabilities — notably most of the new heart-rate sensing and Live Translation in the AirPods Pro 3 — really rely on the iPhone for their heavy lifting.

Given Apple’s struggles with its AI efforts, especially given how much it stressed Apple Intelligence at previous events, the company came as close to downplaying it as it could: There was only the occasional mention of features being driven by AI and the increased neural power in the new A19 Pro processor. And despite no discussion of smart home tech, there was a brief hint in the iPhone Air announcement.

For more in-the-moment commentary, check out ourApple Event live blog.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

iPhone 17 boasts a better screen

The update to Apple’s most mainstream model comes in pastel colors. Notably, the base iPhone 17 now has a ProMotion (120Hz VRR) display, which was formerly only on the Pro models. The screen is larger (6.3 inches) and brighter (up to 3,000 nits) with an improved scratch- and glare-resistant coating. ProMotion has been a much-wanted upgrade; I think there’s probably some dancing going on right now. Inside, it incorporates the A19 chip with a five-core GPU and adds fast charging.

The new front camera has an 18-megapixel square sensor for more flexibility in framing, alongside a larger field of view to enable Center Stage and stabilization. It still has two cameras, though the main camera is bumped to 48 megapixels via Dual Fusion or 24 megapixels as standard.

It starts at $799 in the US — the 16E remains in the line at $599 — and all the iPhones are available for preorder now. It’s £799 in the UK and AU$1,399 in Australia.

The iPhone Air is thin but powerful

Thin seems to be in for phones this year — at least for manufacturers, since buyers don’t seem to be quite as interested and iPhone buyers even less so. Did anyone ask for a super thin iPhone? But in the continuing absence of a foldable iPhone model, what’s a company to do? Behold the iPhone Air, at 5.6mm thick.

It has a polished titanium frame and Ceramic Shield on both sides, which makes some people just want to touch it. According to the company, it’s almost entirely battery on the inside, with Apple claiming all-day battery life.

It’s got high-end specs, too: a 6.5-inch ProMotion XDR display and the A19 Pro processor found in the Pro models. The processor incorporates neural accelerators into each GPU core (six of them), bigger caches and more, giving it quite a bit of computing power.

A new N1 chip and C2 modem improve connectivity (Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6) and power conservation. The device has 48-megapixel Fusion and 12-megapixel wide-angle cameras, the Center Stage front camera, and a way to combine front and back cameras live.

It requires all-new accessories, including a MagSafe pack (80 hours) and a thin, translucent case. It starts at $999 (£999, AU$1,799).

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max deliver a love letter to videographers

The flagship iPhone Pro models tend to differ only by screen size (now 6.3 and 6.9 inches), and their unique features are made possible by their higher-powered processors, more flexible camera arrays and other component differences over the lower-end models.

Like the Air, the iPhone 17 Pro uses an A19 Pro processor with updated cooling and thermal management — a vapor chamber — and has a Ceramic Shield back and front. Apple promises 39 hours of video playback.

The cameras are usually the highlight of the Pro, and that remains true: It has an 18-megapixel front Center Stage camera and a triple-camera Fusion Telephoto system, with three 48-megapixel cameras, including a 4x-8x telephoto for a maximum of 200mm equivalent. The phones can capture ProRes Raw and Genlock (to synchronize cameras for video), which should tickle the fancy of pro videographers.

The Pros now come in orange, which isn’t everyone’s favorite, and there’s a new 2TB storage option. They start at $1,099 (£1,099, AU$1,999).

Apple Watch Series 11, Watch SE and Watch Ultra 3 get redesigns

The Apple Watch Series 10 is our Editors’ Choice for smartwatches. The next-generation Watch Series 11 shrinks the thickness, with a more scratch-resistant front glass. It adds 5G support and better power management for up to 12 hours of battery life. A new Flow watch face takes advantage of Liquid Glass visuals. It adds blood pressure tracking (based on blood flow) to find indications of high blood pressure and sleep score from WatchOS 26. Prices start at $399 (£369, AU$679).

There are new bands in new colors, too.

It’s been three years since the last iteration of the Watch SE. Now, we get the Watch SE 3, with the new S10 chip with 5G wireless. It still delivers 18-hour battery life and an always-on display. There’s wrist temperature sensing for ovulation tracking, it gets sleep apnea tracking, sleep score and more. Prices start at $249 (£219, AU$399), and preorders start now.

Apple’s top-of-the-line smartwatch, the Ultra 3, is updated over the Watch Ultra 2 with a wide-angle OLED (smaller bezels mean more display area). Apple has given it emergency-related satellite connectivity, which required a new antenna and receiver. It also comes with increased battery life. Prices start at $799 (£749, AU$1,399).

AirPods Pro 3 upgrade includes live translation

The AirPods Pro 2 version released in 2023 offered only incremental hardware upgrades over the 2022 models (hence the lack of a name change). The AirPods Pro 3 are smaller, with an updated design that introduces foam-ish eartips for better noise isolation and upgraded active noise cancellation, live translation with adaptive ANC for better focus on the speaker, five sizes of ear tips and IP57 water resistance. Fitness enhancements include heart-rate and calorie tracking, among other updates, which come from iOS. Battery life increases to eight hours with ANC and 10 hours with transparency.

The live translation can be somewhat awkward, though, or as CNET’s Macy Meyer puts it, it’s fluent in convenience, not culture. The price hasn’t changed; they still start at $249 (£219, AU$429).

Notable new accessories for the iPhones

The iPhone Air debuts with new accessories. If you want to keep it thin and still have some level of protection, Apple is offering a $39 polycarbonate bumper that wraps around the edges. Aside from drop protection, I know I’d need it simply to keep the slight phone from slipping out of my hands. There is also a traditional $49 clear MagSafe Case along with an opaque Beats-branded polycarbonate case for $45. If for some reason you want to turn your ultrathin phone into a thicker one with longer battery life, you can pick up the $99 MagSafe battery.

The redesign of the camera section of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max means it needs a new case design, and in addition to all the newly designed versions of the usual cases Apple introduced a $59 MagSafe case made of a new TechWoven material — colored yarns of recycled polyester woven into a textured material and coated with polyurethane, or PTU. Presumably, it will fare better than the FineWoven cases Apple released with the iPhone 15.

You can also get a novel (for Apple) $59 Beats Kickstand Case, which looks like the standard polycarb case. The kickstand, though, isn’t a kickstand; it’s a handstrap with a small bit on the end that you can use for standing the case on its side. The kickstand case also comes in a version for the iPhone 17.

For many of the iPhone cases Apple launched yesterday, the company introduced magnetic attachment points. That makes them compatible with its new $59 Cross-Body Strap. On one hand, I’m not sure I want to trust my $1,200 phone to some magnets or my propensity to walk into walls and doorways. On the other, it’s probably safer than my back pocket.

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