Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: some decisions will need to be made!

Intro

Design and Size

Origami vs Slab

It also helps that the new Fold’s outer screen is wider, finally moving away from the “TV remote” dimensions of previous generations. It’s a 21:9 now, again – like “normal” smartphones of this day and age. And inside? An 8-inch foldable AMOLED screen, slightly wider than before, and ready to morph into your mini tablet.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is protected by Gorilla Armor on the front — a mix between Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and Samsung’s proprietary anti-reflecting coating on top. It’s very durable and resistant to those pesky micro-scratches that have a tendency to appear out of nowhere. No such luck on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 — it has Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 on its cover screen (we’ll see how this one does with reflections), and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on its back.

For ingress protection, don’t expect the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to match the IP68 rating of the Galaxy S25 Ultra. It sticks with IP48 — Samsung has achieved water protection by way of ancient black magic, we suppose. But particle resistance is limited to larger chunks of sand — the hinge will let super-fine dust in, so don’t bring it along for that camping trip.

Display Differences

Flat or flexible — take your pick

Fold 7: A much-improved 6.5-inch outer AMOLED, now actually usable, and a massive 8.0-inch internal screen that unfolds into tablet territory. Both at 120 Hz, for smooth animations and the same peak brightness.

Where the Fold wins: multitasking, immersive media, and productivity. Where the Ultra wins: simplicity, S Pen integration, and fewer moving parts. Well, and camera, somewhat, we’ll get to that in a bit.

Yes, no S Pen support on the Z Fold 7. Doesn’t make sense when you have such a large canvas? Well… Apparently Samsung doesn’t agree. Well, the company did test a Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition in South Korea a few months ago. It was a much thinner phone, like the current Z Fold 7, but lacked S Pen support because the stylus digitizer just had to go. Apparently, users prefer the thinner foldable without S Pen than the opposite. So… it is what it is.

Performance and Software

Same brains, different bodies

Camera

The Fold finally catches up — almost

Despite having the same main 200MP sensor, the Z Fold 7 did score a couple points less in our standardized test. The differences are minor — its exposure dances around a little bit more from one shot to the next, its details are a little bit worse than the S25 Ultra. Again, just a couple of points.

Main Camera

And, as expected, the main camera doesn’t give us huge differences between both. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 does appear to have slightly more contrast, with more blooming highlights and deeper shadows, whereas the S25 Ultra produces slightly flatter images. But that’s nitpicking. Details, colors, and exposure are pretty much the same.

Even in low light, spotting differences between the two main cameras is a hard task.

Zoom Quality

Interesting result from the zoom test. We do like the colors and contrast from the Z Fold 7 shot, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra definitely shows that it’s the zooming king with much, much better detail where the Z Fold 7 melts into oversharpening.

Ultra-wide Camera

Both ultra-wide cameras are equally vivid, kind of HDR-y, kind of oversharpened. But extremely similar in output.

Selfies

While both selfie cameras give us about the same sharpness, details, and exposure, the colors from the S25 Ultra selfie camera are a bit closer to reality, while skintone from the Z Fold 7 has a bit of a yellow-ish pale look in comparison.

More Camera Samples

Video Quality

With the same sensor, video performance from both is also extremely similar. The Z Fold 7 footage did come out with a bit less contrast and a bit more pink-ish hue in the well-lit scene at the beginning. But from then, stabilization, shadows, and details — pretty much the same.

So if photography is your game, the Ultra is your racket, but the Fold 7 will hardly be considered a compromise.

Battery Life and Charging

Same story, different stamina

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 gets the very same 4,400 mAh cell we’ve seen in its predecessor. However, this is a pretty astounding achievement, considering how much of the body it slimmed down. The Galaxy S25 Ultra does have a 5,000 mAh cell and a smaller main display to feed with it. So… how does that all reflect on battery life?

And yeah, as expected — the Galaxy S25 Ultra is just able to outlast the Z Fold 7 by quite a bit. But, again, we did run the test with the Z Fold 7 unfolded, so that’s the performance when it has to feed that 8″ screen!

With charging, there is no change — 25 W on the wire, 15 W wirelessly to top up that Galaxy Z Fold 7. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is at least a bit faster, with a 45 W power draw to charge its 5,000 mAh battery. Wirelessly, it also supports 15 W “almost” Qi2 charging (no magnets, thus the “almost”).

Specs Comparison

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Summary