Should you wait for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7?

If you’re in the market for a new foldable phone, then it’s likely you’ve been eyeing the rumored Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. This foldable flagship is expected to land in July, and it could well be one of the best foldable phones of the year.

So, with likely under three months to go, should you wait for it? The short answer is probably yes, but for more details of why, read on.

And if you simply can't wait, you'll also find some advice on what to do instead.

You should probably wait

If you’re reading this article then we assume you’re probably at least somewhat set on a Samsung foldable as opposed to another brand, and that you like the look of the Z Fold line over the Z Flip.

If not, you may not want to wait for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, as we’ll get to below. But if so, then with this phone likely launching in under three months at the time of writing (and quite possibly closer to two), it would seem hardly worth buying anything else.

Yes, you could probably grab a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 for less money, but you’ll likely find yourself looking jealously at Galaxy Z Fold 7 owners a couple of months from now – and even if you decide the Z Fold 7 isn’t for you, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 might see a price drop when the new model launches, so it could still be worth waiting for that.

With few major sales expected in the meantime, there’s little reason to choose a current Samsung foldable if you still have a functional phone, since you'll probably end up paying a lot for soon to be dated tech – Amazon Prime Day is expected in July, so it's worth keeping an eye on deals there, but that may well be after the Z Fold 7’s launch anyway.

And the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is rumored to be a major upgrade on the Z Fold 6, with talk of a new 200MP camera, bigger screens, a slimmer build, a smaller crease, a powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and more.

So, if you have anything older than a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 this should be well worth upgrading to, and even if you already have a Z Fold 6 it could make for a worthwhile upgrade.

If you must buy a new phone now or aren't set on the Z Fold 7…

If you feel the need to buy a new phone before the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 – perhaps because yours is lost or broken – then it’s worth considering just buying something cheap to tide you over until then, and then still buying the Z Fold 7.

You could even consider a refurbished handset to keep the price as low as possible. In any case, you probably shouldn’t buy a foldable for this, as these will inevitably still be quite expensive. Instead, take a look at our list of the best cheap phones.

On the other hand, if you think the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 might be out of your price range (as this is after all likely to be one of the most expensive phones of the year), then you could consider an older or cheaper model, like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 – though with the more affordable Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 also expected to launch soon, it might still be worth waiting for that.

And if you’re not set on Samsung then you might want to take a look at some of the other foldable phone options – both those that are already out and those coming soon. Though at this point in the year we’d generally advise waiting still, because many of the current best foldable phones could soon look a bit dated in the face of upcoming ones.

That said, with OnePlus not planning to launch any new foldable phones this year, the main alternative to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 will probably just be the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold (expected in August), so there might not be too many alternative options.

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