The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 is a narrative of one thing previous, one thing new, one thing borrowed, and one thing blue. The blue half is straightforward — my overview pattern, supplied by Samsung, is the Blue Shadow colorway. The spotlight of the cellphone is unquestionably the “one thing new.” Samsung massively up to date its pocket-sized foldable cellphone with an enormous cowl display. At 4.1 inches, it is the biggest exterior show on a flip-style cellphone so far.
“One thing borrowed” comes within the type of the Exynos processor that lives contained in the cellphone. Previous variations of Galaxy Z Flips in worldwide markets have been powered by Exynos silicon prior to now, however U.S. telephones have usually had Snapdragon {hardware} from Qualcomm, which we strongly desire. The “borrowed label” is my hope that Samsung will return to Snapdragon {hardware} sooner or later — extra on that later.
Lastly, “One thing previous” — one among my greatest frustrations with the cellphone, which is a bit of bit higher this 12 months (however truthfully not that a lot better than the Galaxy Z Flip6). It has to do with the way in which apps seem on the exterior show (what Samsung calls the Cowl Display) and Samsung’s refusal to deal with that lovely canvas like a correct display. It is a bit of maddening, although it did not cease me from having enjoyable with the cellphone.
Shortly after Samsung unveiled the Z Flip 7 (and its extremely skinny older sibling, the glorious Galaxy Z Fold 7) this July, I hit the highway to sunny (and devastatingly scorching) St. Louis, house of the Gateway Arch, Six Flags, and Meremec caverns. Over the course of 5 days, I put this “AI Flip Cellphone” by way of the ringer for my Galaxy Z Flip 7 overview.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the Flex you suppose it’s
Earlier than I dive into the {hardware}, I want to debate the spotlight. Samsung — lastly — responded to market strain within the U.S. (and overseas) by bringing a big Cowl Display show to its flip cellphone, and thank goodness. The earlier two generations additionally had bigger screens, however they’d odd notches in them to accommodate the digicam modules, whereas everybody else was simply chopping the show across the cameras.
One of many first issues you need to do once you get this cellphone is allow apps to run on this show. The issue is, it takes 13 steps to do it, and until you are a geek (which, admittedly, in the event you’re studying this overview, you is likely to be), most individuals will not hassle. That is honest, however you will be going into this battle with one hand tied behind your again.
The Z Flip 7 has a bigger exterior show with ultra-thin bezels.
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The 4.1-inch AMOLED display is giant, attractive, and may completely be used to the fullest. Like the principle show, it has 2,600 nits of peak brightness and a 120 Hz refresh charge. Not all apps can deal with the Cowl Display (confusingly, Samsung additionally refers to this display because the Flex show and/or FlexWindow), however a lot of them will. The excellent news: when you do these 13 steps, you are finished fidgeting with settings. You possibly can merely add the apps that you really want. The dangerous information: Samsung does not actually need you to do it in any respect. You is likely to be questioning what I imply by that.
A hobbled expertise
If Samsung wished you to run apps on your house display, it would not require you to enter the Labs part of your settings and set up a separate app from the Galaxy retailer to do it. It would not pressure you to make use of the Samsung keyboard on the Flex show, with its lack of voice typing, no matter which keyboard is your default keyboard (Gboard FTW). Plus, if I needed to see “open your cellphone to proceed” yet another time, I used to be able to throw the cellphone out the window whereas driving in a automobile by way of central Illinois.
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All the pieces from including apps to the launcher to establishing widgets, to reordering widgets, all needs to be finished with the cellphone open, for some purpose. It makes me unhappy.
As soon as you’re employed round these picadillos and get right down to enterprise, the quilt display itself is gorgeous. Most apps work properly on there, together with Gemini and Gemini Dwell, which is a enjoyable technique to work with Google’s AI. The show additionally goes proper as much as the sting of the cellphone.
The remainder of the {hardware}
Samsung constructed a very strong cellphone right here, and it is nice to make use of. The casing is armor aluminum, and the hinge has been redesigned this 12 months, slimming down the cellphone only a bit. The {hardware} is extra squared off than Motorola’s Razr, which might make one-handed opening a bit of more durable. However it’s tight and practical. While you shut the cellphone, you’ll achieve this with some of the satisfying “Thwaps” you have ever heard. Talking of which, it makes hanging up on folks far more satisfying than it already was.
Whereas utilizing the cellphone, you will not discover the hinge on the principle show.
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The buttons on the aspect of the cellphone aren’t raised by a lot, which might make it exhausting to find them with out trying. I usually missed the fingerprint sensor within the energy button as a result of I had hassle discovering it. However the remainder of the {hardware} is totally strong. The 6.9-inch AMOLED fundamental display can be bigger than earlier generations at 6.9 inches. The display has the identical teardrop form closing that minimizes the crease, which you’ll be able to see however will not care about.
The cellphone is powered by a 4,300 mAh battery that is simply 100 mAh smaller than its bigger sibling, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. As such, it may possibly simply final all day, particularly in the event you carry out most duties on the quilt display. I observed the cellphone tended to run scorching, however solely after I was already exterior baking in a water park or on the St. Louis Zoo, so I believe the climate was simply as doubtless at fault because the cellphone itself.
The software program on the within
Having talked concerning the software program on the quilt display, the software program when open is… mainly the identical as some other Samsung cellphone. OneUI 8.0 is constructed onto Android 16, making these telephones the primary to ship with Android’s newest working system. That is no shock — Google and Samsung have been joined on the hip for some time now. OneUI 7 was a divisive working system as a result of plenty of Samsung customers appreciated how their telephones labored earlier than it rolled out (my spouse amongst them).
Personally, I beloved OneUI 7.0 as a result of it introduced again the vertical scrolling app drawer and the Capsule, which apes Apple’s Dynamic Island in plenty of nice methods. OneUI 8 provides all these advantages and takes issues a step additional, bringing 90:10 multitasking to the telephones. What which means is you may run two apps, one on prime and one beneath, however you may transfer the separator so that you solely see 10 p.c of one of many apps. Faucet that 10 p.c and the app pops as much as develop into the 90 p.c, and vice versa. It really works higher on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but it surely’s additionally fairly good on the Flip 7.
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While you half-fold the Flip, you activate Flex Mode, which helps you to take advantage of the foldable design. In Flex Mode, the app lives within the prime half of the display, and the underside half turns into a form of management panel in supported apps. In YouTube, for instance, the underside half will get a play bar and play controls, which is fairly neat.
I additionally love that Dex is offered on the Flip7. Samsung Dex mainly turns your cellphone right into a CPU once you join a monitor, mouse, and keyboard to it. It offers you a home windows interface much like Home windows. I spent a while with Dex on my journey to St Louis, however more often than not I am utilizing Dex is on long-haul flights, getting some work finished with a set of Xreal One glasses. Now that may be a rollicking good time and I am completely satisfied Samsung’s smaller foldable has that functionality.
We’ve to speak concerning the AI
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The Flip 7 has plenty of the identical AI tips as different Samsung telephones, together with digicam tips and AI picture modifying, akin to shifting topics round or utilizing generative AI to fill within the background. Two notable enhancements embody Gemini on the Flex display, together with Gemini Dwell. That is a pleasant bonus. Gemini Dwell additionally works with the exterior digicam (when the cellphone is open, to be clear) to develop into multimodal. On the St. Louis Zoo, I might level the digicam at an animal and ask what I used to be , and in each case, it was appropriate, which was stunning, to be completely trustworthy.
What was a bit of annoying was how chatty Gemini Dwell would get. “That is an Asian Elephant! You possibly can inform by the scale of the ears. Would you prefer to know extra concerning the Asian elephant? Do you will have any questions on it? Please for the love of all issues holy discuss to me!” That is not an precise quote, however you get the purpose.
The opposite AI options, like Samsung’s Now bar, additionally seem on the Flex display, even when the Now Temporary remains to be lower than good. It nonetheless returns information tales that are not related to me. It saved me updated with the climate whilst I traveled, so that was good, however I nonetheless haven’t got a lot use for it.
Battery life and efficiency
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 comes with an Exynos 2500 processor constructed on a 3nm course of, much like flagship processors from Qualcomm and Mediatek. That is Samsung’s homegrown silicon. What’s odd this 12 months is that every one Flip 7s will likely be sporting the Exynos processor. Up to now, Z Flip telephones offered abroad had Exynos whereas the U.S. variations had Snapdragon processors. Due to this, we all know that Snapdragon normally outperforms Exynos. This 12 months, we will not make that comparability, but it surely’s honest to say historical past just isn’t on Samsung’s aspect.
Geekbench is a benchmark software you need to use to get an concept of how a processor performs. Geekbench returns scores of two,354/7,340 single/multi-core scores on the Flip 7. For context, the Snapdragon 8 Elite within the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 returns a 2,430/8,823 rating, so it does not precisely blow it out of the water. Each day, the one actual stutters I famous have been within the digicam software program often, and generally when operating a number of home windows in Dex. They have been minor hiccups, however nonetheless noteworthy.
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As for battery life, regardless of spending all day, most days out and about, away from Wi-Fi and in scorching temperatures in addition to, the cellphone by no means died earlier than bedtime. I would not name this a multi-day cellphone, but it surely’s very not dangerous, and you will get much more mileage out of it in the event you use the quilt display as usually as potential.
Cameras are pretty much as good as your lighting
There are three cameras on this cellphone, however you will solely actually ever want to make use of two of them.
To be trustworthy, I did not discover a lot use for the 10MP selfie digicam.
One of many key advantages to utilizing a flip-style foldable cellphone is the flexibility to show the Cowl Display right into a preview window for taking selfies. The hinge could be very inflexible, so you may even use the cellphone as its personal tripod and use gesture controls to take pictures and movies. I took a bunch of enjoyable selfies on the St. Louis Arch, Meremec caverns, and all factors in between utilizing that flex hinge, and I acquired some nice photographs. You can even maintain the digicam half open at a 90-degree angle for a camcorder grip in the event you’re nostalgic (a characteristic you will additionally discover within the Motorola Razr Extremely).
Credit score: Adam Doud / Mashable
Credit score: Adam Doud / Mashable
The outcomes you get will likely be extremely dependent in your lighting situations. For instance, at Six Flags in the course of the day, my photographs have been good. Meremec Caverns and the St. Louis aquarium have been each a bit hit and miss. I’d suggest that in the event you’re in low-light situations, take plenty of photographs (to extend your odds of getting an excellent one) and ensure your topics are as nonetheless as potential. Photographs of stalactites are going to be excellent. Photographs of the folks standing in entrance of them, not a lot.
The digicam software program presents photographs of as much as 10x, however you’ll by no means wish to go that prime. In my expertise, the 4x zoom is usable; at 10x you lose all depth and texture. The photographs is likely to be OK for social media, however typically, you will wish to keep away from these. As usually as not, they are not good.
Left:
Credit score: Adam Doud / Mashable
Proper:
Credit score: Adam Doud / Mashable
Left:
Credit score: Adam Doud / Mashable
Proper:
Credit score: Adam Doud / Mashable
I additionally noticed a stunning quantity of grain in plenty of my lower-light photographs. Samsung is normally fairly good at cleansing these issues up in low gentle, however even among the daytime photographs, notably ultrawide and macroshots, ended up grainy in darker areas.
Capturing video is far the identical, although much less forgiving. Low-light video just isn’t horrible with the principle digicam, however do not transfer or stroll whereas capturing. The judder will get fairly dangerous once you begin strolling. Good photographs are potential at midnight, however that is extra the exception than the rule.
Credit score: Adam Doud / Mashable
Total, this can be a fairly good digicam setup that does very properly within the day, and even when the solar is beginning to go down. End up in a cave — as one does — and your outcomes will fall into the vary of “blended bag” right down to “dumpster fireplace.”
So, is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 value it?
Flip telephones are actually enjoyable. I really like utilizing them, particularly when taking selfies with the principle digicam. You are able to do that with the Fold 7, however holding that cellphone open is awkward. Holding a tiny little pocket sq. in your hand is a lot simpler and a a lot better expertise. For $1,099, I believe you’ll like this cellphone, too. Plus, it is cheaper than its main competitors, the Motorola Razr Extremely, which has a comparable digicam and the next price ticket.
There are some corners reduce right here. The Exynos processor just isn’t dangerous (Motorola’s flagship foldable has a Snapdragon processor), however not the most effective you should buy. I am unable to hate on Samsung’s cowl display software program an excessive amount of as a result of it is a curated expertise that Samsung needs you to have, and it actually solely makes me unhappy as a result of I am a nerd. The cameras are excellent for this class, although it would not harm Samsung to take some notes from abroad rivals.
So, must you purchase the Z Flip 7? Once more, in the event you’re a fan of the shape issue, that is probably the most compelling foldable on supply right here in the US. When you’re already one thing just like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus, this one folds in half for less than $100 extra. I like what Samsung has lastly finished right here, catching as much as its contemporaries and restarting a contest battle by which the buyer will finally win.
The place to purchase the Galaxy Z Flip 7
You should buy the Z Flip 7 at Samsung, Amazon, and Finest Purchase (or simply about anywhere that sells telephones) for $1,099.99. The bottom model solely comes with 256GB of storage, however in the event you choose up this cellphone at Amazon, you will get a $200 present card at no further value, which is difficult to argue with.
At Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung additionally debuted a mid-range model of the F Flip 7, following Motorola’s lead. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE presents a lot of the similar options for $899.99.
