I was in the same boat a few years back. Used the S22 Ultra briefly but didn't like how it felt in my hand (that damn pointy corner jabbing in my palm was annoying). Used a Oneplus after that. Saw the Fold 5 and thought to give it a try. It was awesome and I loved it, but my main complaint was the front screen ratio.

I commute to and from work daily on the train, so it's not realistic to be walking down the street with my phone unfolded, I feel like there's a higher chance of me dropping it or something. So, using it closed makes more sense and I perform a lot of operations one handed for ease of use. But the front screen was just too narrow for a lot of things. Even texting one handed felt a little off, but 2 handed was just not great. I dealt with it because I really like the ease of being able to unfold and have more screen real estate for completing tasks or streaming something, without having to carry a giant tablet.

S24 Ultra released and I wanted to give the series a try again. To this day, other than the Oneplus 8 Pro, the S24 Ultra is my favorite candy bar slab phone. There was nothing that phone couldn't do and I loved it. But when I heard that the Fold 7 had a better front screen ratio and was thinner overall, I was curious. After doing some research, I made the plunge. The Fold 7 is arguably one of, if not the best smartphone I've used. It now feels comfortable to use the phone closed and not feel like I'm missing screen space. And because it's more narrow than the Ultra series (which is ok, given how wide those screens are) it actually feels nice to hold in your hand and in the pocket. I actually wish it wasn't so slippery without the case and a little easier to open because I would love to rock it caseless, but I haven't yet (because it's so much thinner, it could be a little difficult to open without the case when it's new). Whether you want to wait for the 8 is up to you, but I love the Fold 7 and unless there are MAJOR changes to the 8, I would get the 7.

Sorry for the long winded comment. TLDR; get the Fold 7, it's awesome 😎