Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 thickness could mean reduced battery life — what we know

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A thinner phone, but at what cost?

Galaxy Z Fold 6 shown in hand
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

A new leak has indicated that Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 will be the world's thinnest foldable when it launches. But it appears that there will be no major changes for the battery coming with the phone as a direct consequence.

A recent post from veteran tipster IceUniverse has revealed that the Z Fold 7 will be “the thinnest folding machine in the world at that time, 3.9mm after unfolding, 8.9mm after folding, with a battery of 4400mAh.” If accurate, this could help the phone stand out from the competition, which Samsung needs as it has fallen behind when it comes to the best foldables.

Oppo Find N5 open, showing the USB-C port

The Oppo Find N5, opened to show its thinness. (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Currently, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes with a 4,400 mAh battery, which means that Samsung is seemingly not planning on increasing the battery. This also matches recently leaked documents that indicate Samsung is planning on keeping the same capacity. But the Galaxy Z Fold 7 keeping a 4,400 mAh battery is disappointing, especially as the Oppo Find N5 comes with a 5,600mAh battery, thanks to using a denser silicon-carbon material for its cells.

Is keeping the battery the same size an issue?

Usually, keeping a similar battery isn’t the biggest issue, but recent rumors that Samsung is increasing the display size could make that more of a concern. It is also odd that Samsung is keeping the battery life on the Z Fold 7, while the Z Flip 7 is reportedly increasing to a max capacity of 4,300 mAh compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s 4,000 mAh.

Samsung's push for a thinner foldable phone by sacrificing battery could pay off in the end, but we won’t know until we have a chance to test it ourselves. Thankfully, we might not have long to wait as Samsung will reportedly unveil both new foldable phones at the next Galaxy Unpacked, which is rumored for July.

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Josh Render
Josh Render
Staff Writer

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer. 

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