Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Live Blog: Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7, Watch 8 and everything you need to know

Fast forward a couple of weeks, and we were graced with what appeared to be our first “real world” look at the Z Fold 7. It was only one picture and didn’t really do much in the way of answering many questions.

However, it did give us a look at the rear camera array, and not much else. At the same time, a report claimed that Samsung was developing “a new S Pen that will be compatible with the Galaxy Z Fold7 upon release.” This would make sense if the digitizer is removed, but it will be interesting to see what actually happens.

As the calendar flipped into May, yet another report provided further confirmation of just how thin the Z Fold 7 is likely to be. But this time, @UniverseIce reaffirmed what we already assumed about the battery of Samsung’s next foldable.

In order to make the phone thinner, this comes with some obvious sacrifices. The first is the aforementioned removal of the S Pen digitizer, and it seems that the Fold 7 will yet again sport a 4,400mAh cell. Meanwhile, Oppo’s Find N5 is just 8.93mm when folded, yet it packs a sizable 5,600mAh cell. Let’s just hope the processor efficiency has improved to at least give us some type of battery upgrade.

Later in April, more rumors seemed to corroborate previous reports of the Z Fold 7 taking the crown for thinnest foldable. More specifically, TechManiacs stated it would be just 8.2mm, while also sporting a “regular smartphone-like” design when folded.

Unfortunately, if this were to be done, it’s rather likely that Samsung would be dropping the S Pen digitizer. This is how the Z Fold Special Edition was able to be so much thinner than the Z Fold 6, as the digitizer shaves about 0.6mm of thickness from the phone.

As for those rumors and leaks, Samsung’s latest foldable is said to feature a 6.5-inch cover screen and an 8-inch inner display, up from the 6.2-inch and 7.6-inch Z Fold 6 screens. In April, @TheGalox_ claimed the Fold 7 will be “4.5mm unfolded,” however, a more recent rumor from Setsuna Digital suggests it will be 4.2mm when unfolded and 8.9mm when folded.

If Setsuna Digital is correct, that would give the Fold 7 the title of being the “thinnest foldable phone,” which is currently held by the Oppo Find N5 (4.21mm/8.93mm). What remains to be seen is whether Samsung will also be able to improve the inner display crease.

Nevertheless, it proved that Samsung is more than capable of releasing a foldable phone with the upgrades we’ve been clamoring for. Plus, a few of us would venture to guess that the Special Edition provided a glimpse at what’s in store from Unpacked.

If the leaks and rumors are true, we’re possibly looking at the biggest upgrade ever to the Galaxy Z Fold line. It would at least be on par with the upgrade from the original Galaxy Fold to the Galaxy Z Fold 2, which was pretty massive itself.

In late 2024, Samsung did something rather surprising, as the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition was announced. It has a lot of the changes that we were hoping to see from the Fold 6, such as featuring a larger cover screen and a thinner chassis.

Arguably more importantly, Samsung also upgraded the primary camera, implementing a 200MP sensor compared to the 50MP lens in the Fold 6. Unfortunately, the Z Fold Special Edition was only released in China and Samsung’s home country, South Korea.

Starting off with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, many of us are hoping to see a meaningful redesign come to Samsung’s book-style foldable. For the most part, the last three generations have basically been spec bumps, while iterative improvements have been made to the hinge.

At first, this might not seem like all that big of a deal, that is, until you look around at the rest of the market. Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a far cry from the original Pixel Fold, which you might think was designed by a different company. While the OnePlus Open 2 never came to fruition, the Oppo Find N5 is as sleek and svelte as ever, complete with an array of excellent cameras to boot.

More recently, the Vivo X Fold 5 was unveiled, packed with a 6,000mAh battery and still managing to weigh just 217 grams. For reference, that’s more than 20 grams lighter than the Z Fold 6 with its paltry 4,400mAh battery.

Time flies when you’re having fun, and we can’t believe it’s already been about six months since the last Galaxy Unpacked took place. Since January, we’ve seen an abundance of shiny new devices announced, including a few foldables here and there. Meanwhile, the Galaxy foldable rumor mill hasn’t slowed down, not one bit.

During Unpacked, Samsung is expected to reveal both the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, the obvious successors to the Fold 6 and Flip 6 from last summer. However, there are rumors aplenty that we could see the Galaxy “G Fold,” and Galaxy Z Flip FE. On top of that, the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch Ultra 2 are likely to be announced, in addition to One UI 8 and the latest version of One UI Watch.

Shortly after Samsung made the announcement regarding when Unpacked would be taking place, it also opened up its Galaxy Reserve program. All you need to do is provide your email address, and you’ll get $50 in credit, along with saving up to $1,150 on one of the new devices.

Not only that, but Samsung is also hosting a sweepstakes where you’ll be entered to win $5,000. Pretty wild if you ask me.