【1988 Archives】

A new leak puts the thickness (or988 Archives should we say, thin-ness) of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 at the slimmest ever seen in a foldable phone.

At a mere 8.2 millimeters folded, it would presumably be roughly just 4.1mm when opened.

To put that in perspective, a stack of three quarters would be thicker. The existing Z Fold6 measures in at 12.1mm when folded.

The new leak comes from X user Anthony, aka @TheGalox, via SamMobile.

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After only iterative improvements to the Fold6 last year, foldable fans are hoping for a big leap forward from this year’s model. We’re also expecting this to be the year of ultra-thin phones in general, with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge and iPhone 17 Air also set to be released in 2025.

Whenever I think of futuristic foldables, I think of the folding tablets from West World. If the new leak proves true, we’re getting awfully close to that world (at least in terms of the production design, not necessarily in terms of killer androids).

So far, the biggest obstacle to ultra-thin phones lies in the cameras. In supposedly leaked renderings of the new ultra-thin foldable, the cameras stick out noticeably from the back of the phone, a recurring problem in modern smartphone design.

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And to throw a dash of cold water on the latest rumors, previous leaks put the thickness of the Z Fold7 at 9.55mm closed, which is still very thin. 

Currently, the world’s thinnest phone is the Oppo Find N5 at 4.21mm when unfolded. And if the Oppo Find N5 was any thinner, it wouldn’t have room for a USB-C charging port. 

Does that mean we’ll soon see the return of something like the dreaded Lightning Cable? As an alternative, upcoming foldable smartphones could have no ports at all, relying entirely on wireless charging and connectivity, though that would come with major tradeoffs.