I love the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7’s bigger cover screen, but these two things hold it back

Introduction

Iterative updates seem to be the smartphone standard these days, so the tech world tends to take notice when bigger transformations arrive. By massaging its clamshell series’ familiar form with larger displays and a notably thinner profile, Samsung has thrown the Galaxy Z Flip 7 into the spotlight in a way few of its predecessors ever managed.

The timing couldn’t be better. While the flip-style competition hasn’t been as fierce as the sort facing the Galaxy Z Fold, Motorola has been continually stepping up its game; the Razr 60 Ultra is now the clamshell to beat.

Samsung’s massive user base are sure to like the familiar software and consistent cameras – but a switch from Snapdragon power to home-grown Exynos might not please everyone, and the firm is falling behind on battery tech. Is there more here than style and screen size to justify the $1100/£1049 starting price?

Design & built: simply lovely

It’s still unmistakably a Galaxy Z Flip, but Samsung’s engineers have really upped their game for attempt number seven. There’s a new degree of thinness and minimalism here that looks simply delicious, especially in my review unit’s Blue Shadow colour. A matte finish helps keep fingerprints at bay, so I didn’t constantly need to polish it to keep it looking box-fresh.

The front half being almost entirely comprised of screen makes it an instant head-turner, while the flat sides and skinny aspect ratio sit perfectly in your palm whether open or closed. At 13.7mm when shut, it’s notably slimmer than the outgoing Z Flip 6, despite being a little heavier. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE – which appears to be a repackaged Z Flip 6 with a few hardware tweaks – is positively portly in comparison at 14.9mm.

An IP48 rating isn’t any better than the outgoing phone’s, but Samsung says that now applies at a circuit board level. That should bode well for any accidental sinkings, though none came up during my testing. Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both the outer screen and back panel should stave off scratches, too.

Whatever Samsung has done to the hinge now makes this phone snap shut like a hungry crocodile – it’s almost funny how loud it sounds when you shut it. The change has really minimised how visible the screen crease is, though, so I’ll happily take it.

Screen & sound: perfect pairing

The 4.1in cover display is a stunner, thanks to some incredibly slim 1.25mm bezels and two seamless punch holes for the twin camera lenses. This grants some functional benefits, like red accents around the lenses when recording video, or yellow ones when using the countdown timer. It’s a cosmetic and practical upgrade that feels long overdue, putting the Flip on a more level playing field with the Motorola Razr series.

It’s still a convoluted process to get full apps running on the outer screen, beyond the few Samsung grants you access to once you enable a beta toggle. Good Lock module Multistar is needed to run anything else. A shortcut to the Samsung app store makes it a little clearer what’s needed before you’ll be scrolling through Instagram without opening the phone up.

That’s a shame, as the outer screen is a beautifully bright AMOLED panel that peaks at 2600 nits. It’s as colourful and contrast heavy as I expect from Samsung phones, and looks super-smooth at 120Hz. The 1048×948 resolution looks plenty detailed, too.

I still ended up swapping to the 6.9in internal display for anything more complicated than checking notifications or scrolling through social feeds. It’s usefully larger than the Z Flip 6’s 6.7in panel, and looks sharp at 2520×1080. Black levels and contrast are superb, while the panel gets just as bright – and scrolls just as smoothly – as the outer display.

The stereo speakers – one down-firing main driver and an earpiece tweeter – are a great match for the visuals, with clear and loud sound. There’s not really much bass, but that’s hardly a shocker.

Cameras: that familiar feeling

Samsung has slimmed down the Z Flip 7’s outer camera sensors in order to fit into the phone’s new, tighter dimensions – but the pixel counts haven’t changed. That means you’re getting a 50MP main and 12MP ultrawide, just like the outgoing Z Flip 6. There’s also a 10MP selfie cam on the inside.

The only notable additions are on the software side, with a smooth zoom slider when shooting video and an auto-framing mode when recording in the Flex mode. Holding the phone sideways like a camcorder still puts zoom controls within easy reach. 10-bit HDR support persists to help with dynamic range, colour depth and low light performance in shots, while the main sensor’s cropped 2x zoom allows for a little extra versatility. It’s basically lossless in good light, with plenty of detail on display.

The ultrawide still feels like a step behind, even though it’s a good match for the lead lens on colour and exposure. There’s just not as much preserved detail, and with no autofocus it can’t double as a macro close-up camera.

I spent most of my time with the 50MP main shooter, which produces the same sort of detailed, colourful shots as last year’s phone did. Dynamic range is really very good and things stay fairly composed in low light, with deft image processing keeping sharpening amounts in check.

I also felt it did a better job at capturing moving subjects than previous Samsung phones, which could leave them looking a little blurry. That helps keep it competitive with non-folding mainstream flagships; if photography matters most, you’ll still want to steer clear of foldable phones.

I can’t say I saw any upgrades on the selfie side, but given the cover display makes for such a good viewfinder now, you’ll want to use the outer sensors over the 10MP inner camera anyway.

Software: let’s get productive

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 arrives running Samsung’s latest One UI 8 user experience atop Android 16 – the first to do so, even ahead of Google’s own Pixel phones. While the colourful icons and widgets look largely the same as before, Samsung has added its AI-assisted Now Bar to the cover screen.

I think users will massively appreciate the convenience once it has digested all their calendar and contact info, not least because of the clearer, more glanceable panel you now get to look at.

The biggest new addition is DeX support, making this the first Galaxy Flip to get a desktop-like experience when paired with a mouse, keyboard, and external display. I never understood why Z Fold phones got this but Z Flips didn’t, considering the Fold’s unique form factor already allowed for greater productivity than a conventional phone. Now the Z Flip 7 has been rendered one of the smallest work devices around. That’s pretty far removed from its roots as a device aimed solely at influencers and the fashion-conscious.

Multitasking is a breeze on the phone itself, too, as it has Android 16’s new 90:10 split. This lets one app fill the majority of the display, but keeps the other just a tap away without having to head back to the home screen first. Once you start using it you’ll wonder how you lived without it.

Samsung’s usual extensive app selection continues to overwhelm a bit if you’re new to the Galaxy ecosystem, and the majority of ‘em now use some form of Galaxy AI to speed up things like voice note transcription or document writing. They’re probably the best of the bunch right now in terms of usefulness and accuracy.

I appreciate Samsung continuing to commit to seven years of new Android generations, too. No rival clamshell offers as much, which bodes well for long-term ownership.

Performance & battery life: not quite flagship level

Powering DeX – and the rest of the phone’s rather nippy Android interface – is one of Samsung’s own Exynos 2500 chipsets, paired with 12GB of RAM. Not getting the same 8-core Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset as the Galaxy Z Fold 7 might be disappointing for spec snobs, and synthetic benchmark scores place this phone closer to the mid-range pack than flagships costing four figures.

That’s not to say it feels sluggish for daily duties. Apps still open quickly and games run at a decent lick. Just that graphics might need toning down for especially demanding titles, while a Snapdragon-equipped device can keep them on max. Social posting and web browsing won’t leave you wanting extra power, but video editing might – it’s slower to render than last year’s Z Flip 6, which is a bit of a downer.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 benchmark scores
Geekbench 6 single-core	2137
Geekbench 6 multi-core	7384
Geekbench AI	3055
PCMark Work 3.0	14636
3Dmark Wildlife Extreme	4802
3Dmark Solar Bay	7936

I also noticed that heavy workloads sent device temps skyrocketing, to the point the top half of the phone became uncomfortable to hold. Chalk that up to the thinner profile, as well as Exynos’ mixed history with performance and thermal efficiency.

This isn’t the most energy-friendly chipset, either. Samsung has found room inside for a 4300mAh battery – notably larger than what you got on the Z Flip 6, and almost as much juice as you’ll find on the far pricier Z Fold 7. However, it’s less than you’ll get from a Razr 60 Ultra, and lasts less as a result.

I could mostly make it from breakfast to bedtime without having to plug in, but would usually be in the battery saver mode for the last hour or so. This kicked in much sooner when spending the day on a 5G connection and taking lots of photos.

Sadly charging speeds haven’t improved at all, so you’re still looking at 25W wired and 15W wireless top-ups. That’s good for just over 50% in half an hour over USB-C. A Razr 60 Ultra will be closer to 80% in the same time.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 verdict

It’s comfortably Samsung’s best looking clamshell phone yet, and the extra productivity features mean the Galaxy Z Flip 7 isn’t solely focused on fun. The larger cover screen makes a huge difference to usability (even if you still must jump through hoops for wider app support) and the cameras are still competitive on image quality.

Battery life is only a small step up from last year, though, and performance isn’t much to shout about. If you care about gaming or want to last as long as possible away from the mains, the Motorola Razr 60 Ultra should be your go-to flip phone.

That said, the streamlined software and more appealing contract pricing will surely give the Flip 7 more mainstream appeal.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 technical specifications

Screen	4.1in AMOLED (outer) 6.9in AMOLED (inner)
CPU	Samsung Exynos 2500
Memory	12GB RAM
Cameras	50MP + 12MP ultrawide rear 10MP front
Storage	256GB/512GB
Operating system	Android 16 w/ One UI 8
Battery	4300mAh
Dimensions	75x86x13.7mm (folded) 75x167x6.5mm (unfolded) 188g