After quite a few leaks and rumors, Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 7 is right here, bringing a bevy of design and software program enhancements. As with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, it looks like Samsung has one thing to show with the Galaxy Z Flip 7, and its daring but acquainted design exhibits us that it does take heed to customers… no less than considerably.
There is definitely lots to love concerning the Galaxy Z Flip 7, however there are some large query marks. This contains the transfer to a different chipset regardless of Samsung’s different telephones this 12 months utilizing the most recent from Qualcomm, in addition to Samsung’s insistence on not following Motorola’s footsteps with regard to precisely how that newly expanded cowl display screen is dealt with.
So, must you purchase the Galaxy Z Flip 7? Do you have to go for the cheaper Galaxy Z Flip FE or perhaps even final 12 months’s Galaxy Z Flip 6? Or must you skip Samsung’s flip telephone altogether and get the Motorola Razr as an alternative? Let’s break it down.
Let’s get the fundamentals out of the way in which
On the time of writing, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is at the moment obtainable for preorder and can hit shops on July 25. The telephone begins at $1,099 for the 256GB variant, which is identical beginning value as final 12 months’s Galaxy Z Flip 6, whereas the 512GB variant retails for $1,219. That stated, there are many Galaxy Z Flip 7 preorder offers obtainable, together with one from Amazon with a free storage improve and a $200 reward card.
This is a breakdown of the specs:
|
Class |
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 |
|---|---|
|
Show |
6.9-inch, 2520 x 1080, FHD+, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, LTPO (1-120Hz) |
|
Cowl show |
4.1-inch Tremendous AMOLED, 60/120Hz, 948 x 1048 |
|
Working System |
Android 16 (One UI 8) |
|
Chipset |
Samsung Exynos 2500 |
|
RAM |
12GB |
|
Storage |
256GB, 512GB |
|
Rear Digital camera 1 |
50MP, f/1.8 vast |
|
Rear Digital camera 2 |
12MP, f/2.2 ultrawide |
|
Entrance-facing Digital camera |
10MP, f/2.2 vast |
|
Battery |
4,300mAh |
|
Charging |
25W wired charging, 10W wi-fi charging, 4.5W reverse wi-fi charging |
|
Weight |
188g |
|
Dimensions (folded) |
85.5 x 75.2 x 13.7 mm |
|
Dimensions (unfolded) |
166.7 x 752.2 x 6.2 mm |
|
Safety |
IP48 |
|
Colours |
Blue Shadow, Jetblack, Coralred |
Design modifications that matter
Whereas a lot of the eye has been positioned on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 for attaining an ultra-thin profile, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 can be thinner than its predecessor, regardless of having a bigger battery. That is thanks partially to a redesigned hinge, which is thinner and extra sturdy. In actual fact, Samsung says the Z Flip 7 is 1.1mm thinner than the Galaxy S23 when unfolded. It is fairly a formidable feat and one which I might argue issues extra for flip telephones than foldables.
Since flip telephones have much less inner area, it is pretty tough to squeeze in a big battery. Not solely that, however folding them in half makes them vertically extra compact, which is nice, nevertheless it additionally doubles the thickness past that of a standard telephone. For this reason a thinner profile is all the time higher, as a result of then Galaxy Z Flip 7 circumstances will not really feel monstrously thick when the telephone is closed.
Because of this alone, I am already a giant fan of what Samsung has performed with the telephone.
Aesthetically, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 seems to be incredible, and whereas not each coloration choice is a success, there’s something for everybody. I discover that the Mint and JetBlack colorways are fairly boring, however the CoralRed and Navy coloration choices are clear standouts, giving Motorola’s reasonably colourful telephones a run for his or her cash.
The duvet display screen we wished… virtually
Along with a thinner profile and nicer colours, Samsung has taken a web page from Motorola’s e book and adopted a a lot bigger cowl display screen. Stretching throughout the complete prime half of the telephone, the exterior show measures 4.1 inches, making it barely bigger than the duvet display screen on the Motorola Razr Extremely 2025.
That is nice as a result of it means content material on the duvet display screen can have way more room to breathe, from selfie previews to app panels, and extra. It’s going to additionally look and circulation a lot better, due to a better decision and 120Hz panel. The cowl display screen on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is not the sharpest, so this will probably be fairly the advance.
So far as cowl display screen performance, there’s good and unhealthy information.
Because of One UI 8 and Galaxy AI, the extra expansive cowl display screen positive aspects new AI capabilities, together with the Now Bar and Now Temporary, which give entry to reside app updates, music controls, and a rundown/recap of your day. Plus, you get Gemini Reside digicam sharing and all the standard FlexCam options, permitting you to have a extra visible dialog with Gemini and take selfies with the first 50MP digicam or group photographs utilizing Auto Zoom.
At a look, it looks like Samsung is leaning extra into the duvet display screen expertise, which is nice. Nevertheless, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 nonetheless would not allow you to use apps on the duvet display screen out of the field. As famous by Andrew Myrick in his hands-on, Samsung nonetheless retains this performance behind the MultiStar module in Good Lock, that means customers should do a bit of additional work to allow this.
We have not had an opportunity to see if there are any enhancements to the general expertise, however this already would not bode nicely.
That stated, utilizing apps on the duvet display screen could be very helpful, nevertheless it’s not the be-all end-all of the complete Galaxy Z Flip 7 expertise. I make a giant deal out of it as a result of Motorola makes it fairly easy and genuinely helpful on the Razr collection, so it is frankly baffling that Samsung would not do the identical, as an alternative specializing in panels and AI.
Nonetheless, you must be capable of get a lot out of it, even when you need to do some further digging for canopy display screen apps (assuming you even need them). As I famous after a 12 months with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, most individuals I do know with Galaxy Z Flip fashions appear completely high-quality not utilizing apps, and enabling them is merely a bonus.
Bye-bye Snapdragon
Maybe probably the most attention-grabbing modifications to the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the change from Snapdragon to Exynos. Not like the Galaxy S25 collection and the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Flip is the one one in every of Samsung’s flagships to not use the Snapdragon 8 Elite. As an alternative, Samsung is utilizing the lately launched Exynos 2500.
Given the fame of Exynos, this will seem to be a serious downgrade in comparison with different Snapdragon 8 Elite telephones. That stated, it may not be as unhealthy as you assume, as early benchmarking has revealed some spectacular numbers, notably in GPU efficiency.
Sadly, it isn’t as rosy in relation to the CPU efficiency, as numbers recommend that the brand new chip matches the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, however provided that’s solely a last-gen chip that also performs very nicely, that does not seem to be an enormous loss.
|
Class |
Exynos 2500 |
Snapdragon 8 Elite |
|---|---|---|
|
Course of |
3nm |
3nm |
|
CPU |
Cortex-X5 3.3 GHz 2 x Cortex-A725 2.74 GHz 5 x Cortex-A725x5 2.36 GHz 2 x Cortex®-A520 1.8 GHz |
2 x 4.32GHz Oryon 6 x 3.53GHz Oryon |
|
GPU |
Samsung Xclipse 950 GPU |
Adreno 830 |
|
NPU/AI |
24K MAC NPU (2-GNPU+2-SNPU) and DSP |
Hexagon NPU (INT4, INT8, INT16, FP16) |
|
Reminiscence |
LPDDR5X |
LPDDR5X |
|
Storage |
UFS 4.0 |
UFS 4.0 |
|
Digital camera |
Single digicam 320MP (Max), Single digicam 108MP @30 fps, Twin digicam 64MP+32MP |
108MP single digicam with zero shutter lag, 320MP photograph, 10-bit HEIF, Dolby HDR |
|
Video |
8K 30fps encoding, 4K at 120fps |
8K HDR at 60fps, 4K at 120fps |
|
Connectivity |
5G NR Sub-6GHz 9.64 Gbps downlink, 2.55 Gbps uplink Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, UWB |
X80 5G Modem, 10Gbps downlink, 3.5Gbps uplink Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 |
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is a incredible chip, nevertheless it could be too good for flip telephones. The Razr Extremely 2025, for instance, would not appear to hit awe-inspiring benchmarking numbers in comparison with different 8 Elite units, regardless of the telephone performing very nicely in day by day use. The compact Z Flip 7 could not require all that energy, and Samsung could also be extra fascinated about effectivity than the rest.
I ought to observe that I do not put a lot inventory in benchmarking and as an alternative rely solely on my expertise utilizing units. The Razr Extremely 2025 can deal with absolutely anything I throw at it, however I can not assist however surprise if all that energy is why Motorola stuffed a 4,700mAh battery into it. In the meantime, Samsung appears content material with a 4,300mAh battery for the Galaxy Z Flip 7, and given the distinction in how these two chips are configured, I think about Samsung is ready to etch out extra battery life with much less.
After all, time will inform how the chip will carry out, and you will have to attend for our overview for extra particulars.
Verdict
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 looks like an enormous step in the appropriate course for Samsung. The improved design and bigger cowl display screen make this a way more aggressive flip telephone, which ought to make Motorola nervous. That stated, the jury continues to be out on whether or not the Exynos 2500 will shine or fall flat when in comparison with the competitors.
The cheaper pricetag is one thing the Galaxy Z Flip 7 has over the Razr Extremely 2025. You may get it in a decrease storage configuration than what Motorola presents, saving you about $200. Even at 512GB, it is nonetheless cheaper than Motorola’s flagship, though that is with much less RAM.
Total, I feel that anybody within the Galaxy Z Flip 7 ought to take into account shopping for one. You are getting a good looking flip telephone, loads of AI options from Google and Samsung, and in depth software program replace assist to make sure that you will get new Android variations and options for years to return.
You also needs to try our Galaxy Z Flip 7 vs. Razr Extremely 2025 comparability for an early take a look at how these two telephones stack up.
The AI flip telephone
Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 7 takes big leaps ahead when it comes to design and capabilities. The mix of strong {hardware} and software program make this a telephone price contemplating.
What concerning the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE?
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE is a curious telephone as a result of it marks Samsung’s first try at providing a extra reasonably priced foldable. It is basically the Galaxy Z Flip 6, however with an Exynos chipset and a decrease beginning value of $899.
That stated, the pricing would not really feel notably aggressive, particularly when you may probably get the Snapdragon-powered Galaxy Z Flip 6 for roughly the identical value, with potential value cuts and promotions. It will have been nicer to see Samsung pull off one thing just like the $699 Motorola Razr 2025. In actual fact, Android Central’s Brady Snyder calls the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE a “unhealthy deal,” suggesting that you just go for Motorola’s Razr as an alternative.
Alas, we’ll must see how Samsung’s first foldable FE experiment fares in the long term, however you’d most likely be a lot better getting the flagship Galaxy Z Flip 7 and staying away from the FE, except yow will discover a very good deal.
