The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is finally thin enough, here’s what Samsung should fix next

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a major step forward for Samsung; it’s the lightest and arguably thinnest foldable phone on the planet. That’s a dramatic upgrade over last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 6, which looked dated compared to rival devices.

Here’s the thing, though. We’re now at the point where the Galaxy Z Fold and other foldable phones are arguably thin enough; they are now a hair thicker than conventional smartphones. If we no longer need thinner phones, here’s what I’d like Samsung to do next with the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Samsung’s recent foldable phones offer IP48 ratings, meaning they can withstand immersion in fresh water but can’t withstand dust. In other words, you still have to baby the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to some extent. That’s a shame when you’re paying $1,800.

It’s high time that Samsung adopted an IP58 or IP68 rating for proper dust resistance on the Galaxy Z Fold 8, as it would make for a far more durable device. Samsung wouldn’t be the first foldable maker to offer both water and dust resistance, either. The vivo X Fold 5 and HONOR Magic V5 have IP58/59 ratings, while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is tipped to arrive with an IP68 rating for the first time in a foldable.

One of my pet peeves with all foldable phones is that the folding screens are still fragile and feel like soft plastic. Of course, these screens are plastic, albeit with an underlying layer of ultra-thin glass. Nevertheless, it still annoys me after all this time.

I doubt we’ll see folding screens entirely made out of glass in the future, but I’d love to see some of glass’s properties come to foldable displays. This includes a harder feel, improved durability so your fingernail won’t damage the screen, reduced glare, and improved oleophobic coatings. On the upside, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 uses ultra-thin glass that’s 50% thicker than before to improve toughness. So it’s not like Samsung and others have been standing still.

I’d also like to see Samsung finally offer crease-free folding screens. This isn’t a huge problem for me compared to the fragility and plastic feel, but it is something people notice when using foldable phones. The good news is that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 could finally address this issue.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a slimmer and lighter design, but it also has the same 4,400mAh battery seen since 2021’s Galaxy Z Fold 3. Samsung’s rivals offer foldable phones with 5,000mAh batteries or even more. The vivo X Fold 5 even packs a 6,000mAh battery despite being a little thicker than the Fold 7.

Most other foldable brands achieve these gains thanks to silicon-carbon batteries, so we hope Samsung takes this route or finds a different way to increase battery capacity. I’m not asking for a massive capacity jump, either. Even a 5% to 10% increase would be appreciated, especially for people primarily using the folding screen.

I’d also appreciate a meaningful increase in charging wattage after six straight generations of 25W wired charging. This would be particularly useful if Samsung decides to increase the Galaxy Z Fold 8 battery size.

Samsung’s latest Fold also ups the ante by offering a 200MP main camera for the first time in a foldable phone. This camera should deliver great low-light photo quality and good cropped zoom, but we have to talk about Samsung’s secondary cameras.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 still uses the same 12MP ultrawide and 10MP 3x telephoto camera seen on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. I don’t care too much about ultrawide cameras, although there are reasons to upgrade this sensor (e.g., low-light image quality, stabilized video). However, that ageing 3x camera doesn’t cut it anymore when you’re paying almost $2,000 for a smartphone.

The foldable form factor prevents manufacturers from using the best zoom camera hardware. However, Samsung’s rivals show that there are great solutions in this regard. The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold opts for range over megapixels with its 10.8MP 5x camera, while many Chinese foldables have high-resolution 3x to 4x cameras. Now, about Samsung offering a new solution.

There’s already plenty to like about the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but I’d be really excited if Samsung can make at least some of these improvements for next year’s Z Fold 8.