Samsung’s latest generation of foldables has slimmed down to the point of rivaling the thickness of Galaxy Note devices — once synonymous with the “big” mobile experience. Today, a Galaxy Z Fold can slide into a pocket almost as easily as a Note, a tangible sign of how quickly foldable hardware has progressed.
Evolution of dimensions in numbers
– The contrast is striking. The original Galaxy Fold (2019) closed to between 15.7 and 17.1 mm depending on where you measured it — nearly twice the 8.1 mm of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. By comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 reduced folded thickness to 8.9 mm (4.2 mm unfolded). The expected 2024 model, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, is reported to be about 9.7 mm folded — almost identical to the 9.65 mm of the very first Galaxy Note (2011) and comparable to the Note 9 (8.8 mm). These figures show that the volume penalty that plagued early foldables is increasingly fading.
What this means for users
– Practically speaking, reductions in thickness mean the principal trade-off of foldables — pocket bulk — has been largely mitigated. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 weighs 215 g, approaching the weights of recent Notes (for example, 208 g for the Note 20 Ultra). The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is reported at around 201 g, in the same ballpark as some historical Note models. Other trade-offs remain — price and some folding-mechanism limits, for instance — but the “too thick to be practical” argument has lost much of its force.
The technical path to thinner foldables
– The transition wasn’t instantaneous. After a chunky start with the original Fold, Samsung gradually shaved down thickness — Fold 6 to about 12.1 mm, then Fold 7 to 8.9 mm — before approaching the thinness of the Note phablettes. Improvements have come from hinge optimization as much as from more efficient internal component and battery layouts, enabling an inner display the size of a small tablet while preserving everyday portability.
What to keep in mind ahead of the Fold 8 announcement
– With Samsung’s Unpacked event scheduled for July 22, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 underscores a clear trend: foldables are no longer synonymous with excessive bulk. The 9.7 mm folded thickness demonstrates that you can now get a tablet-sized screen without sacrificing pocketability or daily comfort. For fans of large displays, that’s a strong signal that foldable technology is becoming pragmatic as well as impressive.
In seven years, Samsung has gone from one of the thickest flagship phones on the market to foldables that compete in slimness with historical phablettes. That removes one of the main practical objections to foldables — whether widespread adoption will follow depends on how consumers weigh the remaining compromises and price.
