While the Galaxy S25 series is stealing all the spotlight, Samsung hasn’t forgotten about its foldable plans. Rumor has it that Samsung will unveil at least four new foldables. The upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip could feature a scaled-down version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite to match the demands of foldables.
Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7 Might Have a 7-core Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC
Qualcomm has quietly rolled out a trimmed-down version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, which cuts one CPU core compared to the standard model. This means we’ll likely see the 7-core Snapdragon 8 Elite in the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7. Meanwhile, the 8-core version will likely power the Galaxy S25 series. It’s a 3nm chip, built using TSMC’s N3E process node, and given the missing high-performance core, it should probably be more affordable too. But we’ll have to wait and see how that plays out for consumers. We can expect the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 to drop during Samsung’s second Galaxy Unpacked event.
The 7-core Snapdragon 8 Elite is made specifically for foldables, and it should generate less heat, according to sources in the know (h/t Mishaal Rahman). As for performance, it’s about 2% behind its 8-core counterpart in AnTuTu and 7% slower in Geekbench’s multi-core tests. With what it’s packing, there’s a good chance we’ll see the Galaxy S25 Slim feature this 7-core chip too.
Four foldables are in the pipeline
Also, it looks like Samsung is dialing back its foldable shipments for the year, meaning we might not see as many of the upcoming foldables hit the market. Reports suggest that Samsung is slashing foldable shipments by about 40% in 2025. That said, we can still expect to see the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7, Flip FE, and possibly even the rumored tri-fold model make their debut.
