5 Android phones you need to get as opposed to the Galaxy Z Layer 7

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 unfolded in hand showing home screen
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 unfolded in hand showing home screen

C. Scott Brown/ Android Authority

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 does not formally struck shop racks up until later on this month, however it’s currently developed itself as one of one of the most interesting collapsible launches of the year. With its remarkably slim and light style, bigger displays, and much better video cameras, the Z Layer 7 makes a solid debate for being the folding phone to get in 2025.

Although the United States isn’t including collapsible mobile phones the means various other markets are, there are still alternatives to pick from. And just as good as the Layer 7 looks, it deserves taking into consideration those alternatives prior to choosing that Samsung’s most current is the appropriate suitable for you.

So, prior to you click “Get currently” with the Galaxy Z Layer 7 in your on the internet buying cart, below are 5 options I might advise acquiring rather.

Which phone do you assume is the very best Galaxy Z Layer 7 choice?

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Samsung Galaxy Z Layer 6

samsung galaxy z fold 6 hands on open v

Alex Walker-Todd/ Android Authority

Probably one of the most apparent choice to the Galaxy Z Layer 7 is its precursor, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Samsung’s latest Layer is clearly the much better of both phones, with one of the most noteworthy distinction being the style. The Layer 7 is significantly thinner than the Layer 6 (8.9 mm shut vs. 12.1 mm) and much lighter, as well (215g vs. 239g). That can make a rather huge distinction in everyday usage, specifically if you have actually usually discovered folding phones to be as well large.

Nonetheless, if you’re alright with the Layer 6 being a little bit chunkier and much heavier, it might deserve opting for in 2015’s mobile phone. While the Layer 7 has somewhat bigger screens, they’re not drastically larger than the ones on the Layer 6. The Layer 6’s 50MP main cam might not seem as outstanding as the 200MP one on the Layer 7, however it’s still a great, reputable sensing unit. And the Layer 6’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, while over a years of age at this moment, is still plenty quick for practically any kind of application or video game.

Even more notably, lots of elements of the Layer 7 and Fold up 6 equal. Both phones have 256GB of storage space and 12GB of RAM for the base design, 4,400 mAh batteries, 25W wired billing, a 10MP telephoto cam, and a 12MP ultrawide cam. The Layer 7 is a much better phone, however it likewise has a whole lot alike with its older brother or sister.

Although Samsung is no more marketing the Layer 6, lots of sellers and providers still are. Much more notably, offered the Layer 6’s age, you need to have the ability to discover it at a rather wonderful discount rate. Basically, if you desire a Samsung collapsible and do not require the brand-new style of the Layer 7– or do not wish to pay a tremendous $2,000 for it– the Galaxy Z Layer 6 can make a superb, less costly choice.

Samsung Galaxy Z Layer 6

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
AA Editor's Choice

Samsung Galaxy Z Layer 6

Thinner and lighter • Significant cover display screen • Piece de resistance

Thinner, lighter, and much more effective than ever before.

With a concentrate on improvement over previous generation Layer phones, the Samsung Galaxy Z Layer 6 rocks a 6.3-inch cover display, a 7.6-inch, 20.9:18, 120Hz AMOLED folding display screen, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile System for Galaxy chipset, a 50MP cam, 12GB of RAM, and as much as 1TB of interior storage space.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Layer

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold back

Ryan Haines/ Android Authority

If you desire a collapsible phone however do not need to have a Samsung collapsible phone, the following finest selection today is the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Google’s folding phone is somewhat thicker (and a whole lot much heavier) than the Layer 7, however if you can ignore that, it’s a terrific different to Samsung’s most current.

In regards to hardware/specs, the Pixel 9 Pro Layer has a whole lot to such as. It has an 8-inch internal display screen (the very same dimension as the Layer 7), 16GB of RAM for the base design, and a good cam arrangement– consisting of 48MP main, 10.8 MP telephoto, and 10.5 MP ultrawide sensing units. Its battery is likewise a bit larger than the Layer 7, including a 4,650 mAh ability.

What truly makes the Pixel 9 Pro Layer attract attention, nonetheless, is its software program. The Pixel 9 Pro Layer has every one of the very same Pixel-exclusive software features discovered on various other Pixel phones, and they’re amongst the very best you can obtain. With functions like Telephone call Display, Hold For Me, Currently Playing, Pixel Screenshots, and so on, there are numerous wonderful software program rewards you can just hop on a Pixel. And also, if you like the Material 3 Expressive interface that’s coming as component of Android 16 QRP1, just the Pixel 9 Pro Layer– not the Galaxy Z Layer 7 or Fold up 6– will certainly obtain that transformation.

The Pixel 9 Pro Layer’s $1,800 list price is currently $200 less costly than the Galaxy Z Layer 7, and it’s an additional phone that’s not unusual to discover greatly marked down. The largest factor not to get the Pixel 9 Pro Layer is that the Pixel 10 Pro Layer is most likely introducing on August 20, possibly with a huge chipset upgrade. That’s most likely worth waiting on, however if you desire a brand-new collapsible today, the Pixel 9 Pro Layer continues to be a strong choice.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Layer

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
AA Editor's Choice

Google Pixel 9 Pro Layer

Better style • 8-inch folding display screen • 7 years of software program updates

The Layer goes Pro.

The Pixel 9 Pro Layer is Google’s many outstanding collapsible to day, using a 6.3-inch outside display screen, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of interior storage space. When you await even more, unravel to access the 8-inch indoor display screen. Strong video cameras, a good battery, and first-class software program assistance complete this beast of a tool.

OnePlus Open

OnePlus Open placed on a pillow

Dhruv Bhutani/ Android Authority

My following referral might not be one of the most sensible, however it’s a phone I still appreciate a lot practically 2 years after its launch that I can not assist however include it. The OnePlus Open is much from the latest collapsible phone on the marketplace today, but also for the appropriate individual, it can still be well, well worth it.

Design-wise, the OnePlus Open still looks great. I like the big round cam bump (which is a terrific area to relax your finger while waiting), and the natural leather back on the black design is great. Both the external and internal screens stand up exceptionally well by 2025 requirements, and I would certainly suggest that the video cameras are greater than experienced, as well. You likewise obtain 512GB of storage space and 16GB of RAM by default, a huge 4,805 mAh battery, and super-fast 67W wired billing.

As you may get out of a phone launched in 2023, there are drawbacks to acquiring the OnePlus Open in 2025. Its IPX4 score isn’t almost as extensive as the IP48 score for the Galaxy Z Layer 7, its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip is obtaining a little aging, and the Open is ensured simply 2 even more OS upgrades to Android 16 and Android 17. There’s likewise no cordless charging.

Those are genuine disadvantages to think about, and for lots of individuals, the Layer 6 or Pixel 9 Pro Layer will certainly be much more secure options. Yet however, the OnePlus Open is still unique. It’s a phone I sometimes go back to from time to time, and if you discover it for sale, it can still make an excellent acquisition– also in a globe where the Galaxy Z Layer 7 exists.

OnePlus Open

OnePlus Open
AA Recommended

OnePlus Open

Strong video cameras • Fine-tuned equipment • Alert slider

A launching collapsible phone with wonderful equipment

The OnePlus Open up brings what could be the very best equipment on a collapsible phone and sufficient smart software program methods to transform heads. It sets top-end internals with a few of OPPO’s cautious trial-and-error to develop a launching collapsible phone that rarely seems like an initial effort. Include an affordable asking cost, and the OnePlus Open simply may offer various other foldables a run for their cash.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Someone holding the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra with its display turned on.

Joe Maring/ Android Authority

If you’re taking into consideration acquiring the Galaxy Z Layer 7, it’s most likely since you desire a huge, effective Samsung phone that can do all of it. While a piece phone will certainly never ever reproduce the adaptability provided by a collapsible, the Galaxy S25 Ultra obtains rather close.

The S25 Ultra is Samsung’s finest non-foldable presently readily available, and what it does not have with its non-folding style, it offsets with considerably much better specifications in some crucial locations. While both the S25 Ultra and Z Layer 7 have the very same 200MP main cam, the S25 Ultra’s various other video cameras– consisting of a 50MP 5x telephoto cam, a 10MP 3x telephoto cam, and a 50MP ultrawide cam– are significantly much better than those on the Layer 7.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra has a much bigger 5,000 mAh battery than its collapsible equivalent, faster 45W wired billing, and includes an integrated S Pen for every one of your transcribed note-taking and scribbling needs. As a pointer, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 doesn’t support the S Pen in any way.

You obtain every one of this with the very same One UI software program and Snapdragon 8 Elite chip that powers the Z Layer 7– all for a much reduced beginning cost of $1,300, a complete $700 much less than the Layer 7.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
AA Recommended

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

100x zoom • Huge battery • 7 years software program assistance

Samsung’s finest for 2025 

Basically, this is Samsung’s absolute best phone for 2025. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is a 6.9-inch QHD+ gadget with 12GB of RAM, 256GB+ of storage space, ingrained S Pen, and the overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC. The crucial upgrade over the reduced S25 versions is a 200MP major cam and 100x Area Zoom.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 widgets on cover display

C. Scott Brown/ Android Authority

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is a terrific Z Layer 7 choice if you desire the largest and finest specifications feasible, however what happens if you still desire a Samsung phone that folds up? If you aren’t wed to the book-style collapsible kind aspect, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is well worth an appearance.

Where previous Z Flips have actually been obstructed by a little and confined cover display, the Flip 7 breaks that trend with an edge-to-edge 4.1-inch display screen. It is just one of the biggest on a flip phone collapsible today, and the bump to a 120Hz freshen price is wonderful, as well. At the same time, the 6.9-inch internal display screen coincides dimension as the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s display.

The concept behind a flip-phone collapsible is clearly fairly various from a book-style one, however relying on what you desire out of a folding phone, the Flip 7 might be the much better fit. If the possibility of having a “regular” Android phone that can fold up in fifty percent to get on a pocket or bag appears attractive, the Galaxy Z Flip 7– not the Galaxy Z Layer 7– is what you need to get.

The very best component? With a beginning cost of simply $1,100, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 obtains you a collapsible Samsung phone for practically half the price of the Layer 7.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7

Largest ever before Flex Home window • 6.9-inch vibrant AMOLED 2X folding display • 7 years of updates

Blends Galaxy AI with the brand-new edge-to-edge FlexWindow

With a 6.9-inch major display screen and a 4.1-inch FlexWindow external display screen, the Samsung Galaxy Flip 7 concentrates on placing AI smarts in your pocket. Gauging simply 13.74 mm thick when folded up, it’s the slimmest Z Flip phone yet. Loaded with a 50MP cam and a collection of AI devices, Samsung calls the Z Flip 7 a “pocket-sized selfie workshop.”

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