Galaxy Z Fold 7 — we just got bad news about the design right before Unpacked

Android Headlines render of an opened Galaxy Z Fold 7 showing the cover display and back panel with camera array
(Image credit: Android Headlines)

A fair amount looks likely to change with the design of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung's upcoming foldable phone that's on track for a launch next week. But improved dust resistance may not be among those changes.

That's the word from leaker PandaFlashX (via Android Police) who posted on X that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 would have an IP48 rating for dust and water resistance. That spec is unchanged from what the current Galaxy Z Fold 6 offers.

An IP48 rating means that the Galaxy Z Fold can withstand a dunk in water — up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes to be specific — but that dust resistance is limited to larger particles and not finer grains like you get from a device with an IP68 rating.

The phones in Samsung's Galaxy S25 flagship lineup — especially the Galaxy S25 Ultra — offer the superior IP68 rating.

You can approach this news from either a glass-half-empty or glass-half-full perspective. On the bright side, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is maintaining the dust resistance level offered by its predecessor. So even with Samsung reportedly making the phone thinner and increasing its screen size, it's not taking a step back on the durability rating.

But on the other hand, Samsung may be the victim of its own expectation setting here. In a series of teasers for the upcoming phone, Samsung has touted the new model as delivering an "Ultra" experience, evoking comparisons to the top-of-the-line Galaxy S25 Ultra.

In a subsequent teaser, Samsung talked about how "Samsung engineers and designers are refining each generation of the Galaxy Z series to be thinner, lighter and more durable than the last." (Emphasis added.)

Durability can be measured in different ways, not just dust resistance. But in that area, at least, it doesn't sound like Samsung is moving things forward.

Galaxy Z Fold 7: Biggest rumored upgrades

A leaked rendering of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

(Image credit: Evan Blass)

That said, it doesn't sound as if the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will be wanting for changes when it makes its debut at the Galaxy Unpacked July 2025 event on July 9 in New York.

Rumors tip the new phone to increase the main display to 8 inches, up from 7.6 inches on the Galaxy Z Fold 6, while the cover screen is set to expand to 6.5 inches from 6.3 inches.

Galaxy Unpacked 2025 preorder: 
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Galaxy Unpacked 2025 preorder: Samsung's expected to show off its latest Galaxy devices at the next Galaxy Unpacked event on July 9. Before that gets here, you can place a reservation now and earn a $50 credit to Samsung.com

Samsung reportedly plans to make a thinner device, too, in the vein of the recently released Galaxy S25 Edge. The open foldable could be anywhere from 3.9mm to 4.5mm thin depending on which rumor you pay attention to, which would be a considerably slimmer profile than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and its 5.6mm thinness.

Last year, Samsung hiked the price on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to $1,899, an increase of $100 over the previous model. Pricing rumors predict that Samsung will hold the line on price for the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Whatever the price of the new phone winds up being, you can make sure to save on that phone — or any device Samsung shows off at Unpacked — by taking advantage of a pre-event offer. Register your name and email address with Samsung ahead of the July 9 event, and you'll get a $50 credit toward the purchase of any product debuting at the show.

In addition to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, we're expecting Samsung to show off the Galaxy Z Flip 7, a new version of its foldable flip phone, plus the latest Galaxy Watch 8 models. We could also get previews of a variety of products, from a triple folding Galaxy G Fold device to the Project Moohan mixed reality headset.

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Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

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