Welcome To The Post-Slab Era

In a World of Flat, the Galaxy Z Fold7 Finally Feels Fully Formed

- Niraj Kakade

Growing up in the early 2000s, witnessing the evolution of mobile technology was the millennial equivalent of watching the space race, just without the threat of nuclear armageddon. Coloured screens? Whoa. A camera on a handheld device? No way. Full touchscreen display? What are we, in The Jetsons?

But then came the slabification. Safe, sleek, and about as thrilling as a PowerPoint template. Phones became predictable. Pocketable. Smooth in shape, smooth in function, occasionally edgy, but mostly, meh. In between, phone companies threw spaghetti at the wall. Slide-outs, swivels, dual screens, phones shaped like powder compacts. Most fizzled out within a year.

That was until 2019, when someone at Samsung asked the question: “What if we take a mini tablet and fold it into a phone?”

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Now in its seventh generation, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold has moved beyond gimmick. It is quietly becoming a real everyday device. You can feel the difference the moment you hold it. Last year’s Fold6 was 12.1mm thick when closed. This one is just 8.9mm. The Fold7 looks like it has been on Ozempic, slimmed down, sleeker, but without the dead-eyed, calorie-deficit stare.

Most of the glow-up comes from the outer display. It is now 6.5 inches with a 21:9 aspect ratio, a relief after last year’s awkward, finger-yoga screen. Unfold it, and it doesn’t even feel like a foldable anymore. I wrapped it in a case and showed it to my mom. She thought it was a regular phone. It wasn’t until I took off the case and opened it that the awe kicked in. The same awe tech nerds probably felt the first time they scanned their fingerprint to unlock a phone.