- 2 days ago
@PaulAntill tries to replace both his iPhone 16 Pro and iPad Mini 7 with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 — but did it actually work? In this video, he puts the Fold 7 through real-world use for productivity, gaming, cameras and daily life to see if it can truly be a phone and tablet in one device. From Samsung’s large screen that’s great for some multitasking and entertainment, to its missing stylus support, here are the pros and cons Paul discovered after living with the Z-Fold 7 for the past few weeks.
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00:00Hey, can the Galaxy Z Fold 7 really replace my iPhone 16 Pro and my iPad mini?
00:06That's the question I've been trying to answer for the past few weeks.
00:09But with the Z Fold 7, this is a $2,000 foldable that's trying to be your everything device.
00:14So I've been using it as my phone, tablet, productivity hub, and gaming machine, trying
00:18to figure out, can it really do it all, or does it just fall short of what I expect for
00:22that price tag?
00:23Let's find out.
00:26So I think it only makes sense to start things off with price because with that eye-watering
00:30starting cost, this replacement could either be dead on arrival or make a lot of sense.
00:35For context, my iPhone 16 Pro starts at $999, while my iPad mini, $499.
00:43That's $1,500 for the pair or about $500 less than the Fold 7, so definitely not pocket change.
00:49But I think if the Fold 7 can deliver a seamless experience, giving me most of the utility of
00:54these two different devices, which I rely on most without a lot of compromise, that
00:58premium might actually be worth it to me.
01:00Besides price though, the other thing that always held me back from buying a foldable
01:04is that they've just been so bulky and awkward, especially with their outer screens.
01:10The Fold 7 completely changes that.
01:12And when compared to the Z Fold 5 that I reviewed a few years ago, this is a huge step up.
01:17Back then, the chunkiness was impossible to ignore, especially when folded up in my pocket.
01:22It always felt like I was lugging around a much larger device.
01:26The narrow cover screen was another pain point for me, making typing feel really cramped and
01:30awkward.
01:31I'd constantly hit the wrong letters, so even for a quick text, I'd just end up opening
01:35it up, which I think completely defeats the point of having a cover display in the first
01:39place.
01:40But with the Fold 7 now, I can do everything I normally would with the iPhone right from
01:44the cover screen, no unfolding required.
01:46And you have to really hold one in hand to believe just how thin and light this feels.
01:51Somehow Samsung managed to make this feel about as easy to carry as my 16 Pro while fitting
01:56a larger 6.5 inch cover display and a massive 8 inch folding screen inside.
02:02And it's crazy to think that when opened up, this is only 4.2 millimeters thick, nearly half
02:07of my iPhone, just barely enough to fit the USB-C port at the bottom.
02:12And then compared to my iPad Mini, where it really sets itself apart is convenience.
02:17With the Fold 7, I can get that big screen experience when I need it, then fold it shut
02:21and go right back to phone mode without thinking twice about it.
02:24When I'm done, it slides right back into my pocket, which my iPad Mini definitely can't
02:28do.
02:29Overall, the Fold 7's upgraded design is a huge win, but there were a few things I didn't
02:36love as much.
02:37First, the Fold 7's thinner, more squared off frame means that its sides can dig into my palms
02:41after a while.
02:42And in that way, I actually preferred the Fold 5 because of its rounder, chunkier edges,
02:47which just made it more comfortable, especially with one hand.
02:50Second, this phone is really delicate.
02:53Between almost costing as much as rent and having a nearly all screen design, I'm always
02:58a little bit hesitant where I use the phone.
03:00And while this has always been a concern with foldables, the extra thinness makes it feel
03:03a little bit more fragile this year.
03:05You'll almost never catch me using the inner screen one handed while out and walking.
03:10And it's not hard to see why.
03:11Opening up this gorgeous display also means there's a lot more vulnerable screen surface
03:16if it ever were to hit the ground, God forbid.
03:18Most of the time, I'll stop and do what I need with the phone, check the info, then close
03:22it back up and either just use the outer screen or slip it back into my pocket before I'll
03:26move on again.
03:27One thing that definitely helps though if you're willing to trade a little bit of thinness
03:31is a case.
03:32The Spigen Slim Armor Pro I recently slept on makes a huge difference.
03:35And especially when folded now, the phone feels almost as durable as my iPhone.
03:40And for me, a case like this isn't just optional, it's a must have for the Z Fold 7.
03:43And here's the thing.
03:48Once I added a case and started to get over my fear of dropping this thing and started
03:52to actually use it like it was meant to be, I began to rely on the Fold 7 in ways that
03:56my iPhone 7 just couldn't match.
03:59Even before I opened it up, the extra height I get with the outer screen lets me run two
04:03apps stacked vertically and I can resize them depending on which one I need to see more
04:07of.
04:08It's perfect for quickly referencing something from another app or even just using two instances
04:11of Chrome so I didn't have to switch between tabs.
04:14I can't tell you how many times I wish I could do that with my iPhone.
04:17I haven't even opened the screen yet and the Fold 7 is already a much better multitasking
04:22device.
04:23Things are only more impressive with the 8 inch screen and when running two apps side
04:27by side, it felt like a true mini PC for a lot of tasks.
04:31One of my favorite things to do is to have Chrome open next to Google Maps while restaurant
04:35hunting to research the menu or draft an email while also referencing links from online.
04:41The comparison gets a little bit more interesting though when putting it side by side with my
04:45iPad mini.
04:47Overall, the mini has the leg up with the larger 8.3 inch screen that works really well for
04:53single apps and two at a time.
04:55I can see more on screen, especially with more text heavy websites.
04:59On paper, the Fold 7's 8 inch screen might not sound significantly smaller than the iPad
05:04mini but what I found interesting is the more squared 10 by 9 aspect ratio compared to the
05:103 by 2 on the iPad and made things feel more cramped on the Fold 7.
05:14And even though the Fold 7 can run up to three apps at once in split screen, neither orientation
05:19proved to be that useful for productivity compared to the iPad.
05:23Taking things even further with the Fold 7, I only have a few different layouts for resizing
05:27my apps.
05:28My iPad mini on the other hand now runs iPadOS 26 which gives me better multitasking and
05:33windowing features that are very similar to a MacBook.
05:36I can freely resize my apps and I'm not just limited to using three on screen at once.
05:41And when paired with a mouse and keyboard, it's been a great way to get lots of work
05:45done all without needing a real laptop.
05:50But one of the other main reasons I bought the iPad mini in the first place is to edit
05:53photos in Lightroom.
05:54It gives me plenty of extra screen space to see all the details in my images and I think
05:58it's the perfect screen size to use with the Apple Pencil.
06:01But to be a pencil, I'm really bummed that they dropped S Pen support with the Z Fold
06:057 this year.
06:06With a larger screen, this would have been the best Fold yet to try it out on.
06:10And besides editing photos, I could have also seen myself really using this to quickly markup
06:13or sign documents, which considering I could have done this on the Z Fold 5, this is a major
06:18step back.
06:19And sure, dropping pen support is probably a big part of how they got the phone this thin,
06:22but considering I'm also trying to replace my iPad mini, it's not a tradeoff I'm ready
06:26to make.
06:28Beyond using the phone to get work done, I was also really interested to see how well the
06:31Fold would be for reading.
06:33Depending on where I am, I usually use my phone or iPad to read a mix of books, comics,
06:37or catch up with the news, especially on my commute to work.
06:41What I quickly realized is even with the screen closed, the Fold 7 was a much better choice
06:44for reading compared to my iPhone thanks to the larger outer screen.
06:48And opened up, I felt like I was getting a similar enough experience to the iPad mini
06:51where I didn't really notice the smaller screen here.
06:54On top of that, I also found it a lot more comfortable to read, especially with one hand
06:57compared to the iPad, which could get tiring much more quickly.
07:00And because of that, I think the Fold 7 might just be the perfect form factor for reading
07:04on the go.
07:06What about other entertainment?
07:07For the more casual games that I usually play on the go like Fallout Shelter, unsurprisingly,
07:11this was a better experience than my iPhone.
07:13The screen is big enough to give me a more immersive experience while still being very portable
07:17when I need it.
07:18And here's the part I didn't expect to like so much, running emulators.
07:24I just installed Fullroid, which is a free Game Boy Advance emulator for Android.
07:28I loaded up some of my favorite Game Boy games, and it was like being thrown back to 2004.
07:33I even tried comboing this with Gemini's AI screen sharing features just to see how much
07:37insight it could give me to my battles, and the results weren't half bad.
07:41What is this Pokemon weak against?
07:43Paris is a bug-slash-grass-type Pokemon, so it's weak against fire, flying, rock, and
07:49poison-type moves.
07:50Comps, again, this is a grass-type, so it doesn't have any super-effective moves against
07:55the rocks.
07:56However, it does not make a dream.
07:58When it came to watching content on this, though, I was a little bit disappointed.
08:04The more squared-off screen means that shows and movies have black bars at the top and
08:08bottom, so I never really felt like I was getting full advantage of this larger viewing
08:11area.
08:12And unless I pinch in, which I don't always want to do, the iPad Mini takes the easy win
08:16here.
08:17I'm going to wrap things up by talking about camera quality.
08:21Obviously, I'm not trying to be that guy that uses my iPad to take photos, but how does this
08:24compare to my iPhone 16 Pro?
08:26The Fold 7 has a triple camera setup, a 50-megapixel main, a 12-megapixel ultrawide, and a 10-megapixel
08:33telephoto with 3x optical zoom.
08:35Photos and videos were actually really good and about on par with the iPhone 16 Pro, and that's
08:39a really big milestone for foldables which have notoriously had inferior cameras compared
08:44to their slab phone counterparts.
08:45Where the phone really crushes it, though, is selfies.
08:50Sure, the intercam is okay and about on par with my iPhone, but the real win comes when
08:55using the rear cameras with a cover screen as a viewfinder.
08:58I can now get higher quality selfies using different focal lengths, and honestly, it's
09:03the best selfie camera that I've used to date.
09:08So getting to use the Fold 7 for the past few weeks, here's what I think.
09:11If money wasn't part of the equation, I'd swap my iPhone for it right now.
09:15In almost every way, it matches or outperforms my slab phone, and for the first time that
09:20I've tested a foldable, I'm actually getting that big screen experience when I need it, while
09:24still feeling like a regular phone when it's closed.
09:26But at $2,000, this still can't replace my iPad mini.
09:29The inner display is gorgeous and perfect for quick tasks, but it's squared off aspect ratio
09:34and limited multitasking keep it from handling my heavier productivity needs, and it's just
09:39not as enjoyable to watch movies and shows on.
09:42But who knows, maybe when we eventually get an affordable tri-fold or rollable, that'll
09:46nail the all-in-one sweet spot that I've been after.
09:49But what about you?
09:50Would you pay a premium for a device that almost does it all, or are you sticking with
09:54your phone and tablet duo?
09:57You can find us everywhere at Tom's Guide, and you can follow me to see what other cool
10:00tech I'm reviewing.
10:01And until the next one, catch you later.
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