Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 Hands-on: Bigger Screens, Bigger Battery, Better Foldable?

Once again, it’s clip for Samsung’s mid-year Galaxy foldable showcase. Over nan past 10 years, Samsung gave america curved edges, curved screens, and past screens that fold (both ways). While we’re still waiting for that rumored tri-fold Galaxy, Samsung has primed 2 caller Flip foldables, nan Galaxy Z Flip 7 and (surprise!) nan Z Flip 7 FE.

First, there’s nan Galaxy Z Flip 7. This year, nan biggest alteration is simply a larger 4.1-inch 2nd show pinch cutouts for nan dual cameras. This occupies nan full beforehand aboveground of nan instrumentality and is simply a sizeable summation from nan 3.4-inch show of past year’s Z Flip 6. (It besides looks a batch for illustration Moto’s astir caller foldable.)

The Flex Window is besides amended successful almost each way. It tin scope highest brightness levels of 2,600 nits (matching nan S25 Ultra), has a 120Hz refresh complaint and nan thinnest bezel yet (1.25mm) of immoderate Samsung smartphone. The beforehand surface is simply a important betterment complete nan Z Flip 6, but refinements besides widen to nan main display.

Samsung has expanded nan superior soul surface to 6.9 inches, up from 6.4 inches. It’s now successful nan much emblematic smartphone show ratio of 21:9. Previous Flips had a much elongated screen, making it harder to paw astatine nan precocious corners. This intends video contented fits better, too.

What astir nan crease? Well, successful person, it looks nan aforesaid arsenic past year’s phones, and, interestingly, Samsung isn’t hyping immoderate hard-to-measure crease visibility metric. I did chuckle erstwhile nan institution said that it made nan main screen’s ultra-thin solid “50 percent thicker.” The wording’s clunky, but it points to Samsung’s continued attraction connected improving toughness and longevity. The Flip 7 now has a caller waterproof coating beneath nan solid and AMOLED display. Once again, nan hinge has been further strengthened.

And yet, nan Flip 7 is thinner than past year’s model. It measures 6.4mm (0.25 inches) thick, down from 6.9mm. That's adjacent to nan Galaxy S25 edge, wherever nan awesome trading constituent was its thinness. I shouldn’t person to say, but that thickness doubles erstwhile you fold it distant – Samsung says it’s 13.7mm (0.54 inches) erstwhile closed. However you measurement it, this is nan thinnest Flip yet.

Despite little space, Samsung has accrued nan artillery up to 4,300mAh, 300mAh much than nan Z Flip 6.

Samsung is addressing our issues pinch its caller Flip foldables. It’s besides delivered coagulated artillery life connected astir each instrumentality it has launched successful nan past twelvemonth aliases so. The institution besides mentioned that nan Flip 7 packs a caller 3nm processor, nan company’s ain Exynos 2500 chip.

This is intriguing: past year’s foldables featured nan powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy that delivered awesome artillery life. I’m willing successful seeing whether Samsung’s latest silicon delivers akin capacity and efficiency.

While Samsung has equipped nan Z Fold 7 pinch a caller sensor, nan Flip 7 fundamentally matches past year’s model, featuring a 50-megapixel superior camera pinch 2X optical zoom and a 12MP ultra-wide secondary camera. This year, nan Flip 7 tin grounds video successful 10-bit HDR, up from 8-bit, resulting successful richer colors for those seeking moreover much polished video from their smartphone.

Camera controls person been refined to amended suit nan Flex Display connected nan front. There’s now a zoom slider for smoother video punch-ins and much broadly, an interface tidy-up. If you’re into utilizing Samsung’s built-in photograph filters, nan Flip 7 will show unrecorded previews successful each select earlier you moreover take one. Some of my favourite package features introduced connected nan Z Flip 6, auto-zoom and auto-frame, are backmost erstwhile again successful nan Flip 7. While nan Flip is closed, nan cameras tin observe and way users, zooming successful and retired to attraction connected nan taxable automatically.

Software-wise, Samsung is folding successful nan Gemini AI smarts and Now Brief features that debuted successful nan S25 series. As a refresher, it’s Samsung’s rival return connected nan iPhone’s Dynamic Island. It’ll coming wellness information, euphony and video controls and unrecorded updates from supported apps for illustration Uber. It’s a cleanable fresh for nan Flip, pinch its mini glanceable screen. Similarly, you tin now chat to Google’s Gemini Live AI adjunct without unfurling nan phone.

As I mentioned successful my reappraisal of nan Galaxy S25, nan entreaty of nan Now Brief and Bar depends connected really often you usage it. Hopefully — and I’ve asked Samsung to corroborate this — transferring information betwixt Galaxy devices should see nan floor plan and accusation utilized to populate these 2 features. With nan Flip 7, you tin pat into nan Now Bar without opening nan phone.

Samsung is besides adding play updates to your Now Briefing, though it was difficult to discern from nan demo devices earlier this week whether that would beryllium future-facing summaries of your schedule aliases much of a what-you-did-last-week summary of nan week that’s already happened – it’s thing we’ll beryllium testing during review.

There isn’t overmuch caller functionality for nan larger 4.1-inch secondary screen, which is simply a shame. In this regard, Motorola still manages to connection much pinch its flip phones.

The Flip 7 is besides nan first Flip instrumentality to support rodent and keyboard peripherals, which means, yes, Samsung Dex is back. It ne'er left. And Samsung will proceed to show america each astir it. If you want to plug your foldable into a elephantine monitor, you tin now do that.

There’s besides nan Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, priced astatine $900, pinch a 6.7-inch main show and a 3.4-inch Flex Window connected nan front. And if you deliberation it looks and sounds familiar, you’re right. This is almost wholly nan Galaxy Z Flip 6 pinch a caller name. The only important artistic alteration is that nan Z Flip 7 FE lacks nan metallic accents connected nan cameras. The only meaningful spec alteration is an Exynos chip, replacing nan Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy.

The Z Flip 7 FE has a 50MP superior camera and 12MP ultra-wide, pinch a 10MP camera erstwhile it’s unfolded. The FE does a bully occupation of showcasing really overmuch thinner nan Z Flip 7 is and really overmuch amended that full-width screen show looks, but those aren’t awesome trading points successful and of themselves. The timing sucks, too: successful Amazon’s Prime Day sale, the Z Flip 6 is $800. That’s $100 little than this "new" entry-level foldable, which is almost identical.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 will motorboat astatine nan aforesaid value arsenic its predecessor, at $1,100. It’ll travel successful aggregate colors: a very handsome acheronian blue, reddish and nan accustomed monochrome achromatic and achromatic options. There will besides beryllium a mint color, disposable arsenic an online exclusive. Preorders unfastened today, pinch devices shipping connected July 25.

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