Samsung has been making big promises around the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s improved durability, but perhaps one of the biggest upgrades comes in the display which, according to Samsung, is now rated for 500,000 folds.
Nearly every Galaxy foldable to date has been rated at 200,000 folds, giving devices an estimated lifespan of around five years assuming 100 folds per day – far more than most users actually perform. But that rating is far below what Samsung’s competitors have been promising. The OnePlus Open, released in 2023, was rated for 1,000,000 folds. That said, it’s not like these figures have ever been a hard cutoff. The same year’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 survived around 400,000 folds before breaking in a torture test.
But, with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung is promising much better durability for the display.
Samsung says that the display in Galaxy Z Fold 7 is rated for 500,000 folds, a 150% increase from those prior generations. The company explains that this figure was reached following testing by Bureau Veritas at room temperature (25°C/77°F) over the course of 13 days. After 500,000 folds, the device was still “fully functional.”
Samsung explains:
The panel was tested and verified by the global testing, inspection, and certification company Bureau Veritas. Samsung Display raised its internal durability testing standard from 200,000 to 500,000 folds, which is 2.5 times its previous benchmark, underscoring its confidence in the panel’s long-term resilience. The panel is used in the recently launched Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7.
According to Bureau Veritas, the test was conducted over 13 days at 25°C (77°F), and the panel remained fully functional after 500,000 folds. A total of 500,000 folds translates to over 10 years of use for average users folding their device about 100 times a day, and over 6 years for heavy users folding more than 200 times daily, proving that durability is no longer a limiting factor in the lifespan of foldable smartphones.
Of course, it’s important to note that this is just the display itself. Samsung doesn’t provide a firm figure for the device as a whole, but it stands to reason that the display is going to give out far before the hinge and other components.
Where did these improvements come from? There’s a variety of factors at play, but Samsung attributes it mainly to an improved ability to absorb impacts, as well as 50% thicker ultra-thin glass and “a new high-elastic adhesive applied to each layer inside its OLED panel.” That adhesive apparently offers “over four times the recovery performance.”
With this new figure, Samsung says the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s display is ready to handle up to 10 years of “normal” use, extending well beyond the 7-year update promise.
Pre-orders for the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7, and Galaxy Watch 8 are now open through Samsung.com with up to $1,100 in trade-in values, plus an additional $50 in Samsung credit when you order through 9to5Google’s links below, but that credit only applies if you check out within 30 minutes, and only through July 24.
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