Samsung unveils thinner Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7, Watch 8

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 

MANILA — Samsung has launched its newest generation of folding phones and smartwatches in its annual Unpacked event. 

Unlike last year's launch, when Samsung touted the AI features of its latest phones, the focus this year was squarely on hardware and design improvements. 

After initially getting overtaken by other brands in terms of thinness, the company that brought folding phones into the mainstream has caught up with other brands that had leapfrogged it in terms of design and build.  

Samsung says that the Z Fold 7, when closed, is just 8.9 mm thick, which is very svelte compared to the chunky  12.1 mm heft of the Z Fold 6. It's slimmer than the previous record holder, the Oppo Find N5, which has a claimed thinness of 8.93 mm, and the HONOR Magic V3, which was already crazy thin at 9.2mm.

But Samsung also beefed up the screen, which now unfolds to a full 8 inches, from the previous generation's 7.6 inches.  

While slashing the thickness and stretching the unfolded screen, Samsung also made the Z Fold 7 lighter, with a claimed weight of just 215 grams--that would make it even lighter than the S25 Ultra, which weighs 218 grams. 

The company said it was able to accomplish this with special aluminum material for the frame and a titanium plate layer for the display support. 

Samsung said that despite being thinner, the Z Fold 7 still packs the flagship 200 megapixel camera seen in the S25.

However, battery life will continue to be a challenge, it seems, as the Z Fold 7 packs just a 4400 mAh battery, with 25W wired charging and 15W wireless. With some midrange phones already packing 7000 mAh batteries, this seems strange for a phone at this price point, to be honest. 

Samsung also slimmed down its popular flip phone, with the Z Flip 7 now just 13.7 mm thick when folded, down from 14.9 mm in the previous generation, and 6.5 mm thick when unfolded from 6.9 mm in the Z Fold 6. 

But it also has a relatively small 4,300 mAh battery. Just like in its line of flagship slab phones, Samsung now also has an FE version of the Z Flip 7. The FE version however, also has an even smaller battery--just 4000 mAh. 

Samsung has also brought back a beloved version of its smartwatch with the Galaxy Watch8 Classic with the rotating bezel. There's also a cheaper Watch8 without the rotating bezel.

The Z Fold 7 starts at P112,990, while the Z Flip 7 starts at P70,990, and the Watch8 Classic starts at P26,991. All these items are now available for pre-order at the Samsung Philippines website.