Summary
- The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is available for $2,000 with a limited-time offer to upgrade to the 512GB variant at the same price. It features a more boxy design compared to the OnePlus Open, with larger screens and a more powerful processor.
- The OnePlus Open, despite being about two years old, still stands its ground in 2025. It offers brighter screens, a more versatile camera setup (although with inferior processing compared to Samsung), and a larger battery.
- At $1,699.99, the OnePlus Open certainly appears to be a decent bargain, but there are things you should know before deciding to spend your hard-earned money on the device.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is among the best book-style foldable smartphones on the market, but it also comes with a hefty price tag. On the other hand, the OnePlus Open seems like a decent bargain in 2025, given its relatively cheaper price tag. So, which one should you choose?
Price & Availability
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 (256GB) is now available for $2,000. For a limited time, buyers can also upgrade to the 512GB variant for the same price (which otherwise costs $2,119.99).
The OnePlus Open (512GB) costs $1,699.99 on the official website, making it the more affordable option of the two. However, to save $300, you’ll need to compromise on certain aspects.
Both Foldables Have a Strikingly Different Design
Both the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the OnePlus Open are book-style foldables, but they follow different design languages.
With the Fold 7, you get boxy corners, thin bezels, and a subtle camera module with blacked-out lenses. Folding the phone reveals the metallic hinge, bearing Samsung’s branding. On the other hand, the OnePlus Open features rounded corners, slightly thicker bezels, and a gigantic circular camera module on the back (with a textured finish).
When folded, the Fold 7 is just 8.9mm thick, making it about 23% slimmer than the OnePlus Open (which measures 11.7mm). Unfolding Samsung’s latest clamshell makes it even thinner, measuring 4.2mm, which is 28% thinner than the Open. A similar trend is visible in the devices’ weight, wherein the Fold 7 is at least 24 grams lighter (as it weighs 215 grams).
While the Fold 7’s cover screen uses Corning’s Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 (similar to the S25 Edge), the back panel incorporates Gorilla Glass Victus 2. In comparison, the OnePlus Open features a Ceramic Guard on the front (20% tougher than Gorilla Glass Victus), and a glass or eco leather back (depending on the variant). Both foldables have an aluminum frame.
You get an IP48 dust and water resistance rating on the Fold 7 (similar to the Fold 6), and it is better than the IPX4 splash resistance rating on the OnePlus Open.
Regarding colors, the Fold is available in Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow, Jet Black, and Mint, while the Open is available in Emerald Dusk and Voyager Black.
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Fold 7 Offers Bigger Screens
Samsung has increased the screen size on its latest book-style foldable to 6.5 inches for the cover screen and 8.0 inches for the inner screen. Both screens use a Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X panel that supports an adaptive refresh rate (up to 120Hz) and a peak brightness of 2,600 nits.
In contrast, the OnePlus Open has a 6.31-inch cover screen and a 7.82-inch inner foldable display. The screens feature an AMOLED panel with LTPO3 technology, which makes them more power-efficient while switching between refresh rates (up to 120Hz). Furthermore, they can shine brighter than the Fold 7, reaching a peak brightness of 2,800 nits.
Clearly, the OnePlus Open’s screens were way ahead of their time. You could also say that Samsung is holding back with the peak brightness on its panels.
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs. Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Even though the screens on the OnePlus Open hold their ground in the comparison, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (released in 2022) doesn’t stand a chance against the Snapdragon 8 Elite on the Fold 7.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm) comprises two 4.47 GHz prime cores, the Adreno 830 GPU, and Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU for local AI processing. Samsung pairs the chipset with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage.
The OnePlus Open, on the other hand, features the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4nm) with a 3.2 GHz prime core, Adreno 740 GPU, and an older version of the Hexagon NPU, paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM (higher than the Fold 7) and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage.
To give you a better idea of how well the phones perform, the OnePlus Open scores around 2,000/5,300 points in the GeekBench 6 CPU benchmark. The Fold 7 is in a league of its own, scoring around 2,890/9,220 points in the same benchmark, which suggests 45% and 74% improvements in single- and multi-core scores, respectively.
The performance gap isn’t surprising, given the two-year gap between the processors. In fact, if you compare the Geekbench’s Compute Score (which evaluates their GPUs’ peak performance), the Fold 7 outperforms the OnePlus Open by a dramatic margin (its scores are over 150% higher).
So, whether it’s demanding video games, multitasking in the split-screen view, opening apps, or just navigating the user interface, the Fold 7 should feel much more responsive than the OnePlus Open (a difference that should be apparent to regular users and reviewers alike). Even so, the Open still offers enough power for regular users.
One UI 8 vs. OxygenOS 15
Out of the box, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 runs on Samsung’s custom user interface, One UI 8, based on Android 16 (following the release to compatible Google Pixel devices in June 2025).
With plenty of customization options (including a new dynamic clock for the lock screen), One UI 8 brings new features for several system apps, including My Files (with per-app filters), Quick Share (with dedicated screens for sending and receiving files), Samsung Internet (configurable quick menu), and Samsung Health (reminders to enter good intake), among others.
The Fold 7 also benefits from the new 90:10 split-screen view, which allows you to focus primarily on one application while keeping the other visible at a glance. Other apps and features, such as Calendar, Reminders, Weather, and AI Select, have also been updated with either a new look or improved functionality.
And yes, the Fold 7, like the Fold 6, will get seven years of major operating system and security updates (till 2032). Samsung has also updated its Galaxy AI suite of AI-based features with a new visual lookup feature that recognizes what the camera is looking at and responds to it with suggestions.
On the other side of the fence, the OnePlus Open currently runs on OxygenOS 15 (its second major Android update), which features a revamped quick settings section, numerous lock screen customization options, new Flux Themes, and centered Live Updates. Other additions include three-second Live Photos, improved multi-app switching, and the OnePlus Share app.
The OxygenOS 15 also goes heavy on AI-based features, including a comprehensive AI writing tools suite, multiple features for editing pictures, a dedicated AI Assistant for Notes, and a feature called AI Motion that turns pictures into three-second videos.
Regarding software updates, the OnePlus Open should receive two more generations of Android updates (up to Android 17) and another year of security updates after that.
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OnePlus Open Offers High-Resolution Cameras
The most significant addition to the Fold 7’s camera setup is Samsung’s 200MP (f/1.7, OIS) ISOCELL HP2 sensor (borrowed from the S25 Edge). However, the other two sensors, including the 10MP (f/2.4, OIS) sensor with a 3x optical zoom lens and the 12MP (f/2.2, 123°) ultrawide sensor, remain the same.
While the cover screen retains its 10MP (f/2.2) camera for capturing selfies, the inner screen now gets an ultrawide 10MP (f/2.2) punch-hole selfie shooter (goodbye under-display camera).
Additional features include 8K video recording at 30 fps, HDR10+ 4K video recording at 60 fps, improvements to Portrait Studio, refreshed filters, and the new Audio Eraser feature.
Now, let’s talk about the OnePlus Open’s cameras (which still look impressive in 2025). The foldable has a 48MP (f/1.7, OIS) primary sensor, a 64MP (f/2.6, OIS) secondary sensor paired with a 3x optical zoom lens, and a 48MP (f/2.2, 114°) ultrawide sensor with autofocus.
In addition, the OnePlus Open features a 20MP (f/2.2) punch-hole camera on the foldable screen and a 32MP (f/2.4) camera on the cover screen. Except for the primary camera, all the other sensors on the OnePlus Open have a higher resolution than the Fold 7 (especially the zoom lens that enables up to 120x hybrid zoom).
Some key features include 4K (60 fps) and 4K Dolby Vision (30 fps) video recording, 4K (30 fps) video on the front camera, Hasselblad color tuning, and other AI-based editing features like AI Eraser, Unblur, Reflection Eraser, and AI Live Photo, among others.
OnePlus Open Features a Bigger Battery
Like the Fold 6, the Fold 7 also sports a 4,400 mAh battery that supports 25W wired, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. Even though the phone doesn’t include a larger battery, we expect it to deliver slightly better usage time due to its highly efficient chipset.
On the other hand, the OnePlus Open boasts a 4,805 mAh battery that supports 67W wired charging, which is both larger and faster. Despite this, I expect the Fold to last as long as the Open (or possibly fall short by a few minutes).
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Galaxy Z Fold 7 Offers Satellite Connectivity
Besides the Snapdragon X80 5G modem, which supports both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G networks, the Fold 7 also features Snapdragon Satellite, enabling users to send and receive text messages via low-Earth orbit satellites.
Other connectivity options on the foldable include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.4, GPS, GLONASS, NFC, and a USB Type-C 3.2 port.
Conversely, the OnePlus Open only supports sub-6GHz 5G networks, alongside Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.3, dual-band GPS, GLONASS, NFC, an IR Blaster, and a USB Type-C 3.1 port.
Which Is the Right Foldable for You?
The Fold 7 isn’t just an incremental update over its predecessor: it improves upon all the aspects (except battery) in a manner that makes things like carrying the phone around, fitting it in a pocket, using demanding apps, and capturing pictures in the unfolded state easier.
However, for these improvements, Samsung charges a premium price. So, you should buy the Fold 7 if it fits your budget. If that’s not a concern for you, the foldable brings several improvements over the OnePlus Open, including increased processing power and longer software support.
If you already have the OnePlus Open, and budget is not a problem for you, I’d say that Samsung does a great job of justifying an upgrade.
- Brand
-
Samsung
- RAM
-
12GB
- Storage
-
256GB
- Battery
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4,400mAh
- Operating System
-
One UI 8
- Connectivity
-
5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Samsung’s thinnest and lightest Fold yet feels like a regular phone when closed and a powerful multitasking machine when open. With a brighter 8-inch display and on-device Galaxy AI, it’s ready for work, play, and everything in between.
-
- SoC
-
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
- RAM
-
16GB
- Storage
-
512GB UFS 4.0
- Battery
-
4,805 mAh
- Ports
-
USB Type-C 3.1
- Operating System
-
Android 13 (OxygenOS 13.2)
The OnePlus Open is a tablet-like foldable phone. It features a phone-sized outside display and nearly square inside display, along with a massive camera array on the back.
If you want to know more details about how the Fold 7 compares to the Fold 6, or how the Galaxy Watch 8 stands in comparison to the Galaxy Watch 7, I’ve compiled detailed comparisons that discuss all the aspects of the devices, in case you’d like to check them out.