For years, the promise of a truly functional and desirable foldable phone remained elusive, with devices often burdened by compromises like excessive thickness. However, Samsung has finally delivered on this dream with the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. After weeks of testing, it's clear this device is a breakthrough, offering the utility of both a smartphone and a tablet in a remarkably svelte package.

The most striking aspect of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is its design. Unfolded, it measures an astonishingly thin 4.2mm, making it shockingly slender. Even when folded, it's a mere 8.9mm thick, which is only marginally thicker than an 8.25mm iPhone 16 Pro Max. This dramatic reduction in bulk addresses one of the primary criticisms of previous foldables, making it truly pocketable and dispelling the notion of these devices being as 'thick as tree trunks'. When folded, it seamlessly blends in as a regular Samsung smartphone, with only a subtle design line hinting at its foldable nature. Unfolded, it transforms into a high-end tablet, boasting an 8-inch OLED display. Crucially, there's no visible crease down the middle unless viewed at a sharp angle, maintaining a premium aesthetic. The phone comes in various eye-catching colors, including Blue Shadow, Jetblack, Silver Shadow, and an exclusive Mint option from Samsung. The only minor design drawback is a prominent camera bump on the rear, a necessary compromise for housing its advanced sensor technology.

Both the exterior and interior screens are of high caliber. The external smartphone-style display is a 6.5-inch OLED panel with a 2,520 x 1080-pixel resolution, offering a high-end viewing experience. The internal 8-inch OLED display boasts a 2,184 x 1,968-pixel resolution, placing it firmly in 'iPad Mini territory' for tablet usage, perfect for media consumption, e-reading, or gaming.

Performance is a non-issue for the Galaxy Z Fold 7, thanks to its blisteringly fast Snapdragon 8 Elite processor from Qualcomm. This ensures smooth operation across all tasks, from casual browsing to intensive gaming and demanding applications. The device comes with 256GB of storage as standard, with options to upgrade to 512GB or 1TB. Memory configurations include 12GB as standard, with a 16GB option bundled with the 1TB storage model, providing ample active space for most users.

One of the device's standout features is its enhanced multitasking capabilities, facilitated by the large foldable screen. Users can effortlessly open and arrange multiple apps simultaneously, dragging and dropping them from a dedicated tray. This allows for complex layouts, such as having a YouTube video and a messaging app stacked on the left, while a web browser occupies the entire right side of the screen – a feat impossible on a standard smartphone display. The phone runs on Google's Android software, layered with Samsung's custom UI, granting access to the vast Google Play Store and robust anti-malware protections. A significant perk is the integration of Google's powerful Gemini AI assistant, accessible by holding down the lock button. Praised for its effectiveness in tasks like voice chat and acting as a personal tour guide, Gemini enhances the user experience, offering intelligent assistance that surpasses many other virtual helpers.

Despite its dual large, pixel-dense screens and ultra-thin profile, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 houses a sizeable 4,400mAh battery, easily lasting a full day on a single charge. This demonstrates Samsung's engineering prowess in balancing performance, design, and endurance.

The camera system is equally impressive, cementing the Z Fold 7's position as a high-end device rather than a mere gimmick. It features five cameras in total: a 10-megapixel front camera, another 10-megapixel camera inside for the tablet view, and a formidable triple-camera array on the rear. This rear setup includes a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide snapper, and a 10-megapixel telephoto lens. The rear cameras deliver brilliant, sharp, detailed, and color-accurate photos, even in challenging low-light conditions. While it offers up to 30x zoom, only 3x is optical, with the rest being digital, leading to a quality drop at higher magnifications. A minor wish is for a higher optical zoom, perhaps 5x, for a device in this premium category. Innovative camera features include a preview mode in tablet view, allowing instant photo review, and Cover Screen Preview, enabling users to take high-quality selfies with the main rear camera while viewing themselves on the exterior screen.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is undoubtedly a 'dreamy' device, but its premium price tag of £1,799 for the base model (and up to £2,149 for 1TB storage) brings users back to reality. While more expensive than even Apple's top iPhone, its ability to effectively replace both a phone and a tablet somewhat mitigates the cost. This device represents the bleeding edge of smartphone design, and its remarkable thinness and seamless phone-to-tablet transformation have garnered universal praise from those who've experienced it. It successfully answers the common question, 'What's the point?' of foldable phones. While not for every budget, gadget enthusiasts, particularly those on the Android platform, will find it incredibly tempting. Samsung has crafted something truly beautiful and special, a significant breakthrough that sets a new standard for foldable technology, and its influence is expected to trickle down to more affordable options in the future. The Sun rates it 4.5/5, hailing it as a top buy for those who can afford this endlessly tempting super-phone.