Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: Up to RM800 More Expensive, But What’s New?
Samsung’s annual Galaxy Unpacked event has concluded, with the Korean tech giant unveiling its new generation of foldables. Chief among the lineup is the Galaxy Z Fold 7 which now boast a staggering starting price of RM7,799 in Malaysia – that’s RM500 more than last year’s Z Fold 6.
Nevertheless, the phone does promise incremental upgrades in hardware which foldable fans might take to.
The Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s “Thinnest fold yet”
Credit where it’s due, Samsung did pull of a remarkable feat by making the Z Fold substantially slimmer. The Zold 7 now has a thickness of only 8.9mm when folded, and 4.2mm when unfolded. In comparison, last year’s Z Fold 6 was 12.1mm when folded and 5.6mm unfolded.
Additionally, the Z Fold 7 is now 24g lighter, weighing only 215g.
With measurements like these, the Z Fold 7 is on par with the OPPO Find N5 which bags an 8.93mm folded and 4.21mm unfolded form factor. We will soon see fiercer competition when HONOR releases the Magic V5 later this month, a foldable touted to be the slimmest in the world.
Larger Screen Real Estate
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 now has a more expansive display with higher resolution. The cover display’s size is now 6.5 inches, with Dynamic AMOLED 2X, FHD+ (2520×1080) resolution, and 120Hz. When opened, the foldable reveals an 8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, with QXGA+ (2184×1968) resolution and 120Hz refresh rate.
In contrast, the Z Fold 6 had a 6.3″ outer screen with HD+ resolution, opening up to only a 7.6″ screen with QXGA+ resolution.
Powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite
A processor upgrade was something we could see coming for a mile away. Again, with a price tag that maxes out close to five digits, there’s no way we could see Samsung compromise on anything less. The Snapdragon 8 Elite will undoubtedly bolster performance in both the general and AI front.
For numbers, Samsung says the processor improves CPU performance by 38%, NPU performance by 41%, and GPU performance by 26%.
200MP Wide Camera, Improved Under-Display Shooter
Samsung has gotten rid of the 50MP main shooter, instead replacing it with a 200MP wide camera with 44% larger image sensor. This promises greater zoom-in clarity, along with better low-light performance. The ultra-wide and telephoto remain at 12MP and 10MP respectively.
Elsewhere, the 4MP under-display camera has improved to 10MP, though the main screen camera keeps to 10MP.
New Galaxy AI Features
At the heart of every Samsung phone released from 2024 and beyond, is Galaxy AI. Samsung took the opportunity at Galaxy Unpacked to introduce some neat AI features, including Gemini Live. This is essentially your AI bestie that will interact with you via your cameras.
Users can simply point the camera to a subject, like the contents of your refrigerator, and ask it to recommend a recipe. As per the demo, it can also give fit check reviews and suggest ways to liven up your attire. Plus, it’s also multimodal with users able to command Gemini to add in concert details from a poster into the calendar.
There’s also the new Audio Eraser, capable of removing background noise of a video to enhance voices.
Samsung also took the time to remind users of already-existing features, such as AI Summary, Writing Assist, Drawing Assist, and Transcript Assist.
What’s NOT New?
Amid the new features, remain some of the old. The Z Fold 7 will maintain the same 4,400mAh battery capacity. Charging speeds hasn’t officially been disclosed, but we can expect the same 25W wired and 15W wireless capabilities. Protection is still also limited to an IP48 rating, same as the Z Fold 6.
Samsung has also kept the 12GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB variant. However, the highest tier configuration is now 16GB/1TB, in contrast to the 12GB/1TB.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 price in Malaysia
As mentioned earlier, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 retails RM500 more than the previous year. Full pricing details can be viewed below:
- Galaxy Z Fold 7 (12GB/256GB) – RM7,799
- Galaxy Z Fold 7 (12GB/512GB) – RM8,399
- Galaxy Z Fold 7 (16GB/1TB) – RM9,899
If you wonder how much these prices have inflated. The Z Fold 6 retailed at RM7,299 for the 12GB/256GB configuration, RM7,899 for the 12GB/512GB model, and RM9,099 for the 12GB/1TB model.
With the max price now RM9,899, one can’t help to wonder if a five-digit-priced bookstyle foldable is only a about a year away.
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