Every now and again I challenge myself to replace my main camera, phone, or gadget to see if I can live with the latest flashy new thing — and then decide if it’s actually worth making the switch. This time, I wanted to see if the Galaxy Z Fold 7 could replace not just my iPhone 16 Pro, but also my iPad Mini 7.
I’ve previously tried this with the Pixel 9a and came away impressed saying it was the best value android phone for most people. However, the Fold 7 is a $2,000 flagship and best foldable phone champion trying to be your everything-device.
So for the past few weeks, I’ve been using the Galaxy Z Fold 7 as my daily driver for everything, both as a productivity hub and gaming machine. The big question of course is whether it actually does it all, or is it just trying to do too much?
Design and Daily Use
One of the things that held me back from buying a foldable phone is that they’ve been bulky with awkward outer screens. The Galaxy Fold 7 completely changes that. You really have to hold it to believe how thin and light it feels.
What’s more remarkable is how it’s as easy to carry as my iPhone 16 Pro, while still fitting a bigger 6.5-inch cover display and a massive 8-inch folding screen inside. When it’s open, it’s only 4.2mm thin, which is nearly half my iPhone — and it still manages to squeeze in a USB-C port at the bottom.
Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 I last reviewed, this is a huge step up. Back then, the chunkiness was impossible to ignore, especially folded up in my pocket. It always felt like I was lugging around a much thicker phone. The narrow cover screen was another pain point, making typing feel cramped and awkward.
With the Fold 7, I can do everything I would normally do on my iPhone right from the cover screen without the need to unfold it. Compared to my iPad Mini 7, where it really sets itself apart is convenience. With the Fold 7, I can get that big screen experience when I need it, then fold it shut and go right back to phone mode without thinking about it. When I’m done, it slides right back into my pocket, which my iPad Mini can’t.
Even with its pricey cost, the Fold 7’s upgraded design is a huge win, but there were a few things I don’t love as much.
Is it too delicate?
With its thinner, more squared-off frame, I find that it digs into my palms after a while of using it. In that way, I actually prefer the Fold 5’s rounder and chunkier edges, which were more comfortable to hold one-handed.
Second, this phone is delicate, between costing almost as much as rent and having a nearly all-screen design. I’m always a little bit hesitant when I use the phone. And while this is a concern for all foldables, that extra thinness makes it feel even more fragile.
Opening it up, the gorgeous big display also means there’s much more vulnerable screen surface to damage if it ever was to hit the ground, and that thought is always certainly in the back of my mind.
I recommend adding a case to any device this thin. After I slapped it into the Spigen Slim Armor Pro case, I noticed how much of a difference it makes. It keeps the hinge and edges much better protected, plus the phone now feels almost as durable as my iPhone.
Multitasking and productivity
I can attest that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is way more useful at multitasking and productivity than my iPhone 16 Pro — without a doubt. Even without opening it up, the extra height that I get with the outer screen lets me run two apps stacked vertically and I can resize them depending on what I needed to see more of.
It’s perfect for quickly referencing something from another app, or doing a quick google search without switching back and forth. I can’t tell you how many times I wish my iPhone could do that. I haven’t even opened the screen and the Fold 7 is already way better for multi-tasking.
Things are only more impressive with its 8-inch screen and when running two apps side by side, so it felt like a true mini PC for a lot of tasks. One of my favorite things to do is running Chrome open next to apps like Google Maps to check out a menu, or drafting an email while referencing links from online.
The comparison gets a bit more interesting when putting it side-by-side with my iPad Mini. Overall, the Mini has a leg up with its larger 8.3 inch screen that works really for single apps and two at once. I can see more on screen, especially with more text heavy websites.
On paper, the Fold 7’s 8 inch screen might not seem significantly smaller than the iPad mini, but what I found is that its squarish aspect ratio makes it feel more cramped. Even though the Fold 7 can run up to three apps at once in split screen, neither orientation proved as useful for productivity.
Goodbye S Pen support
I also use my Mini 7 all the time to edit photos in Lightroom. It gives me plenty of screen space to see details and, in my opinion, the perfect size for using with the Apple Pencil. Speaking of pencils, I’m so bummed Samsung dropped S Pen support this year.
I get that dropping S Pen support was likely to help make the phone thinner, but I’m not ready to make that tradeoff, especially if I’m trying to replace my iPad with it.
Great for on-the-go reading
I read a lot of comics and books, especially on my commute to work. Even with its screen closed, the Z Fold 7 is better for reading than my iPhone, and opened up, the experience pretty much matches the iPad Mini.
I’m still getting something that feels very similar in size and weight to a Kindle, but Amazon’s eReaders have better screens especially for graphic novels. Folding it slightly, the Z Fold 7 kind can also feel a bit more like a real book. I find it to be more comfortable to hold one-handed than the Mini, which can get tiring after a while.
Gaming goodness
For more casual games like Solitaire or Fallout Shelter, this was unsurprisingly way more enjoyable than my iPhone. The screen’s big enough to make it more immersive, but still small enough to stay portable. And here’s the part I didn’t expect: emulators. I installed FullRoid, and loaded some of my favorite Gameboy Pokémon games and it felt like 2004 again but on a much nicer screen.
But when I fired up something more complex titles like Civilization VI, that’s when I missed the larger and wider aspect ratio of the iPad Mini. The Fold’s screen often felt too cramped to see my units, cities, and get that big overview of the entire map.
Odd full screen viewing
Surprisingly though, I was a little bit disappointed when it came to watching content on this. Its squarish screen meant that most of my shows and movies have black bars at the top and bottom.
So I never really felt like I was getting much extra viewing room for how big it is. And because of how striking the black bars are, I actually just prefer watching stuff with the outer screen.
Versatile cameras
I’m gonna wrap things up by talking about camera quality. Obviously I’m not using my iPad that much but how does it compare to my iPhone 16 Pro? The Fold 7 has a triple camera setup. A 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, and a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom.
Photos and videos are actually really good out of this and about on par with my iPhone 16 Pro, which is a really big milestone for foldable. That said, I still prefer my iPhone 16 Pro’s 5x zoom for that extra optical reach.
The Fold 7’s 10x and 30x digital zooms might sound impressive on paper, but in reality they’re meh. Daytime shots are okay, but I can definitely tell that Samsung’s AI is trying to do its best to enhance stuff, but it only gets worse under low light. I was at an evening jazz show and took a few shots of the band and the shots just weren’t usable at all.
Where the Fold really crushes it though is with selfies. Sure, the inner cam is okay and about as good as my iPhone. but the real win is using the rear cameras with a cover screen as a viewfinder.
Unmatchable AI features
Samsung’s AI edge is real. Accessing Gemini right from the floating home screen icon is fast, and screen-sharing with Gemini for asking it what I’m looking at are some of the big things you still can’t do with the Gemini app for iPhone.
I also thought it was cool that I could access the Gemini assistant from my texts. This might sound weird, but it kind of was like I was texting someone and having a more natural conversation. I asked for things to do in Williamsburg, cafe spots nearby, and even good nicknames for Pokémon I was catching while playing on the emulator.
Siri is still way behind, and I usually only use her to ask for the weather, but Apple promises they’ve got big updates coming soon. For now though, I really wish we could get Gemini to be more integrated in iOS, but that’s just wishful thinking.
Bottom Line
So here’s what I think: if money wasn’t part of the equation, I’d swap my iPhone for the Fold 7 right now. In almost every way, it matches or outperforms my slab phone, and for the first time that I’ve tested a foldable, I’m actually getting that big-screen experience I’ve been chasing, without sacrificing how it feels when closed.
But at $2,000, this still can’t fully replace my iPad Mini. The inner display is gorgeous and perfect for quick tasks, but its squared-off aspect ratio and limited multitasking keep it from handling my heavier productivity needs and isn’t as enjoyable for watching movies and shows.
Maybe when affordable tri-fold or rollables land, that could nail the all-in-one sweet spot I’m after.
Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
