A detailed teardown by repair-advocacy group iFixit finds Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 7 exceptionally hard to service. Technicians must destroy the adhesive frame to remove the foldable inner display, and the twin ultrathin batteries are difficult to lift without risk of damage. Replacement parts for Samsung foldables also remain scarce, leading iFixit and other reviewers to describe the €2,000 handset as ‘near-irreparable.’ Separately, Korean YouTuber Tech-it manually folded and unfolded the device 200,000 times—an experiment intended to verify Samsung’s laboratory pledge that the hinge can survive 500,000 cycles. While both the internal and external screens stayed functional, problems surfaced well before the target was reached: the phone rebooted unexpectedly after roughly 6,000 folds, the hinge began to squeak around 46,000, a black fluid leaked at about 75,000, and the speakers failed near 175,000 folds. The twin findings spotlight the challenge of balancing thinner designs with real-world durability and repairability as foldable phones move into the premium mainstream. Consumer advocates say easier access to parts and less fragile construction will be essential if the form factor is to achieve Samsung’s projected lifespan of more than a decade of daily use.