Galaxy Z Fold 8 vs Z Fold 7: is the new Samsung foldable worth it?

Samsung didn't launch one new foldable this year. It launched three: a wider Z Fold 8, a thinner Z Fold 8 Ultra, and a refreshed Z Flip 8. If you own a Z Fold 7 or Z Flip 7 already, or you're shopping for one, that's a lot of new numbers competing for your attention. A new model number doesn't automatically mean your current phone fell behind. Sometimes the newest option trades away more than it adds. Here's the honest, model by model answer: what changed, what didn't, and whether a Z Fold 8 or Z Flip 8 earns its higher price over a professionally refurbished Z Fold 7 or Z Flip 7 from refurbed. Refurbished means tested, cleaned, and warrantied, not just used.

Before comparing anything to the new generation, it helps to be clear on what these two already do well. They're not old or outdated phones. They're last year's flagships, still running the cameras, displays, and one-handed comfort that reviewers keep coming back to when judging the new Z Fold 8 lineup. The specs below show exactly why.

The Z Fold 7 runs on Samsung's Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip and unfolds into an 8 inch AMOLED display at 120Hz, big enough for two apps side by side or a full-size PDF without squinting. Folded shut, its 6.5 inch cover screen works as a complete phone on its own, taller and narrower than the new standard Z Fold 8's wider cover screen, which is part of why reviewers comparing the two still call the Z Fold 7 the one to beat for comfortable one-handed use. The camera system covers 200MP main, 12MP telephoto, and 12MP ultrawide, so it handles everything from group photos to a genuine zoomed-in shot without switching phones. A 4400mAh battery and 215g weight round out a phone built for people who want a tablet and a phone in one pocket.

The Z Flip 7 folds down small enough for a jacket pocket, then opens into a 6.9 inch AMOLED display running at 120Hz with 12GB of RAM behind it for smooth everyday multitasking. Folded shut, a 4.1 inch Flex Window cover screen handles notifications, widgets, and a camera preview for selfies without opening the phone at all. Samsung's Exynos 2500 chip powers a 50MP main camera paired with a 12MP ultrawide, enough range for everyday photos and wider group shots alike. A 4300mAh battery and 188g weight make it one of the lightest phones in Samsung's whole lineup, foldable or not.

Samsung split the Fold line into two distinct shapes for the first time. The standard Z Fold 8 opens into a wider, squarer screen built more for watching video and reading side by side than for one-handed typing. The Z Fold 8 Ultra keeps the familiar tall, book-style shape that Z Fold 7 owners already know, just refined further. Across all three new phones, early hands-on reviews confirm the same core gains: Samsung's newest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, a first-ever jump to 45W wired and 20W wireless charging (up from 25W and 15W), bigger batteries throughout, and My Fan Cam, an AI feature that tracks and reframes a subject automatically. Reviewers who tested it in real use, not just staged demos, call it the standout new software feature of the whole launch. One honest note: the crease down the middle of the screen is visibly reduced again this year, continuing a fix Samsung has now attempted across several generations of foldables, but it isn't fully gone yet.

A quick snapshot of the new lineup, drawn from early hands-on coverage since none of these three are refurbed catalog items yet.

Z Fold 8: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, 5.5 inch cover display and 7.6 inch inner display at 120Hz, 4,800mAh battery, 45W wired and 20W wireless charging, 50MP main and 50MP ultrawide cameras with no telephoto, 201g. Reported launch pricing starts below the Z Fold 8 Ultra's.

Z Fold 8 Ultra: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, tall book-style shape close to the Z Fold 7's own proportions, 4.1mm unfolded, 5,000mAh battery with silicon-carbon cells, 45W wired and 20W wireless charging, 200MP main, 50MP ultrawide, and 10MP telephoto cameras, no privacy display. Reported launch pricing sits above the Z Fold 7's.

Z Flip 8: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, 6.1mm folded and 180g, a more durable hinge, 50MP main and 50MP ultrawide cameras, a redesigned Flex Window cover screen with far more customizable cards. No confirmed standalone launch price yet.

Treat all three as release-day specs from early coverage, not refurbed catalog data. None of them are available refurbished yet, which is exactly why the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 comparisons above matter right now.

The standard Z Fold 8 is the one model in this whole launch worth a closer look before assuming newer means better. Its cover and inner displays are both smaller than the Z Fold 7's, it's slightly thicker unfolded at 4.5mm versus the Z Fold 7's 4.2mm, and it drops the telephoto lens entirely. The main camera goes from the Z Fold 7's 200MP with real zoom reach down to 50MP with no zoom at all, a rare case of a numbered successor losing camera capability rather than gaining it.

To be fair, the standard Z Fold 8 is the lightest foldable Samsung has ever built, and its wider, more tablet-like inner screen suits video and reading better for some people. That's a legitimate shape preference. It just isn't a clean generational upgrade over the Z Fold 7 for anyone who cares about photography or overall screen size, and if the appeal here was just a bigger number on the box, this is the clearest counter-example in the entire launch.

The Z Fold 8 Ultra is the true successor to the Z Fold 7's flagship spot, and it does improve on it. It's thinner unfolded at 4.1mm versus the Z Fold 7's 4.2mm, its bigger battery uses silicon-carbon cells for the first time on a Samsung phone, and its ultrawide camera gets sharper with added autofocus, while keeping the 200MP main camera and telephoto lens that the standard Z Fold 8 gives up. Early hands-on reviews raised a fair question about the name, though: it launched without a privacy display or faster 60W-class charging, two features buyers often expect from an "Ultra" flagship. Early reported pricing in the US and UK puts it meaningfully above the Z Fold 7's launch price for these gains.

The Z Flip 8 gets a smaller, steadier set of upgrades: lighter and thinner than any Z Flip before it, a more durable hinge, and a redesigned Flex Window cover screen with far more customizable cards. Genuine, welcome refinement over the Z Flip 7, but nothing that makes a Z Flip 7 feel out of date.

Put the whole launch side by side and a clear pattern emerges. The standard Z Fold 8 sidegrades on the one thing most people notice day to day, the camera and screen size, while the Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8 improve on the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 only in modest, incremental steps, at a higher price than either predecessor launched at. The advice to wait for exactly this generation didn't fully pay off, either. Pre-launch chatter in 2025 promised a crease breakthrough and the return of the S Pen. Neither happened in full: the crease is smaller, not solved, and the S Pen never came back at all. There's no reason to assume the next round of wait and see advice lands any better.

Meanwhile, the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 already run last year's flagship chip generation, already carry excellent cameras (the Z Fold 7's telephoto lens still beats the standard Z Fold 8's), and are now available refurbished at a real price drop, precisely because the new generation just pulled buyer attention away from them. Paying full launch price for incremental gains, when a refurbished 7-generation phone matches or beats it for meaningfully less, isn't the savvy move it looks like on a spec sheet.

Coming from a Z Fold5, Z Fold6, or no foldable at all: a refurbished Z Fold 7 is already a big enough leap, and the standard Z Fold 8's camera trade-off makes the Z Fold 7 the easier pick.

Want the single thinnest Fold available and don't mind paying more: the Z Fold 8 Ultra is the one model in this entire launch with a clean, uncomplicated edge over the Z Fold 7.

Set on the new, wider standard Z Fold 8 specifically: go in with open eyes about giving up the telephoto lens and some screen size compared to the Z Fold 7.

Flip fan through and through: a refurbished Z Flip 7 covers nearly everything the Z Flip 8 does. Only chase the Z Flip 8 new if the redesigned Flex Window cards or hinge durability matter to you specifically.

For most people, buying refurbished from the 7th generation remains the honest, smart-value pick right now.

Every refurbished Z Fold 7 or Z Flip 7 sold on refurbed instead of a new phone from the Z Fold 8 lineup avoids a real, independently verified environmental cost.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 (256 GB)

    ↓ CO₂ emissions: 85.1 kg CO₂ SAVED (83% less than a new device, equivalent to driving ca. 595.7 km)

    ↓ Virtual water: 31,802.1 litres SAVED (87% less, equivalent to ca. 212 bathtubs filled with water)

    ↓ E-waste: 179.2 g SAVED (76% less than a new device)

    ↓ Critical raw materials: 49.5 g SAVED (71% less)

    ↓ Conflict materials: 1.5 g SAVED (96% less)

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 (256 GB)

    ↓ CO₂ emissions: 74.8 kg CO₂ SAVED (84% less than a new device, equivalent to driving ca. 523.6 km)

    ↓ Virtual water: 27,976 litres SAVED (87% less, equivalent to ca. 187 bathtubs filled with water)

    ↓ E-waste: 160.2 g SAVED (77% less than a new device)

    ↓ Critical raw materials: 41 g SAVED (67% less)

    ↓ Conflict materials: 1.3 g SAVED (96% less)

Figures come from Fraunhofer Austria's independent research, verified under ISO 14040/14044 standards, not from refurbed itself.

Is the Z Fold 7 still worth buying now that Z Fold 8 is out?

Yes. The standard Z Fold 8 has a smaller screen and a weaker camera than the Z Fold 7, so the Z Fold 7 remains the better all-round choice for most buyers, especially refurbished.

What's the real difference between the standard Z Fold 8 and the Z Fold 8 Ultra?

The Z Fold 8 Ultra keeps the taller, familiar Fold shape plus the 200MP camera and telephoto lens. The standard Z Fold 8 is a new, wider shape with a smaller camera system and no zoom lens.

Did the Z Flip 8 get a big camera upgrade over the Z Flip 7?

No. Camera hardware stays close to the Z Flip 7's. The bigger changes are a lighter, thinner body, a sturdier hinge, and a redesigned Flex Window cover screen.

Will Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 prices drop further now that the new generation has launched?

Prices on refurbished models typically ease as attention shifts to a new launch, though exact pricing depends on stock and condition grade. Check the current listings on refurbed for the latest Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 deals.

Comparing other Samsung generations too? See the Samsung Galaxy buying guide or the Galaxy S22 vs S23 comparison.