Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 evaluate: great-looking and enjoyable, however iterative Android | Samsung

Samsung’s seventh-generation Flip telephone trims the fats, features an even bigger cowl display on the surface and a bigger folding show on the within, however essentially doesn’t reinvent the wheel.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 joins the book-style Z Fold 7 as Samsung’s two flagship folding telephones for 2025. Like its predecessors, the Flip’s largest promoting level is that it takes one of many largest screens on a Samsung and folds it in half for a extra pocket-friendly dimension.

Costing from £1,049 (€1,199/$1,099/A$1,799) it’s related in worth to the common S25+ and super-thin S25 Edge, however with a barely bigger display.

The Flip 7 is barely taller and wider than its predecessor accommodating the bigger 6.9in interior show. It can be thinner than the Flip 6 by 1.2mm when folded, however you’ll be onerous pressed to note the distinction, not like the transformational change given to the Fold 7 this yr.

The new bigger cowl show on the surface fills the highest half of the Flip 7 encircling the cameras and LED flash. It is ready to match extra textual content from notifications and widgets on show, nevertheless it additionally appears much better than predecessors. Choose wallpaper and it appears gorgeous, notably in the dead of night metallic blue color.

The Flip 7 has hardened glass on the surface, however the inner display remains to be lined by a essentially softer layer that picks up fingerprints, suffers from glare and could be simply marked. It requires extra care than an everyday slab telephone. The Flip is water-proof however not mud resistant, so should be refrained from fantastic particles which may gum up its hinge.

Specifications

• Main display: 6.9in FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED Infinity Flex Display (397ppi)

• Cover display: 4.1in AMOLED 120Hz (345ppi)

• Processor: Samsung Exynos 2500

• RAM: 12GB

• Storage: 256 or 512GB

• Operating system: One UI 8 based mostly on Android 16

• Camera: 50 +12MP rear, 10MP front-facing

• Connectivity: 5G, nano sim + esim, wifi7, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4 and GNSS

• Water resistance: IP48 (1.5-metre depths for half-hour)

• Folded dimensions: 85.5 x 75.2 x 13.7mm

• Unfolded dimensions: 166.7 x 75.2 x 6.5mm

• Weight: 188g

Fast and snappy, however just a little brief on battery life

The Flip 7 has a Samsung Exynos 2500 chip, which is a high-end processor much like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite utilized in the remainder of Samsung’s flagship telephone line. It gained’t win any uncooked efficiency awards, however each day it made the Flip 7 really feel speedy with a strong gaming expertise, even when the telephone obtained fairly heat throughout extended periods.

The battery life is falls barely wanting the Flip’s predecessors lasting about 36 hours between fees whereas on a mixture of 5G and wifi and actively utilizing the display for about six hours. That roughly matches the smallest S25 mannequin and means the Flip 7 will see out a heavy-use day with most individuals needing to cost it nightly. Note that extended use on 5G had a larger drain on the battery than Qualcomm-equipped Samsung telephones.

One UI 8

The Flip 7 is without doubt one of the first Samsung telephones, alongside the Z Fold 7, to run One UI 8 (Android 16) out of the field. It is without doubt one of the finest variations of Android out there providing deep customisation and strong efficiency.

It appears and behaves very very similar to the software program on the usual S25 line, together with numerous AI instruments throughout writing, picture enhancing and era, transcription and translation, and so forth. It additionally has Google’s AI companies together with Gemini and Circle to Search. The Now bar is nice, exhibiting at present ongoing actions akin to sport scores, music playback, timers, alarms and different bits.

The Flip 7 has some extra instruments to utilize the folding type. The helpful flex mode strikes the content material, website or app to the highest half of the display and places controls on the underside half while you fold the Flip into an L-shape.

It additionally has a number of instruments to make use of the surface display. You can view notifications, reply texts, management music or system settings, entry numerous widgets together with a voice recorder and calculator, plus speak to Gemini with out opening the telephone. A handful of apps together with Google Maps, messages, WhatsApp, Netflix and YouTube could be opened on the surface display too. But to make use of different apps on the quilt display requires downloading Samsung’s MultiStar plugin from the Galaxy Store, which is easy sufficient however ought to be a default function.

Samsung will present Android and safety updates till 31 July 2032.

Camera

The digicam is without doubt one of the weaker areas of the Flip 7. It has a 50-megapixel fundamental and 12MP extremely huge digicam on the quilt display and a 10MP selfie digicam on the within.

The selfie digicam is OK however not nice, struggling in low mild although completely fantastic for video calls. Instead you get significantly better outcomes utilizing the primary digicam for selfies with the quilt display because the viewfinder.

The fundamental digicam does shoot nice images open air and in good mild, with loads of element and strong colors, however could be a bit darkish, gray and grainy indoors or in troublesome lighting situations. The ultra-wide digicam is respectable for landscapes however struggles in decrease mild settings.

The digicam has loads of enjoyable modes, together with the power to shoot images and video partially folded like an old-school handycam or propped up for hands-free selfies.

Overall the Flip 7 shoots respectable images however its cameras aren’t fairly on par with what you get on customary flagship telephones.

Sustainability

The battery has an anticipated lifespan of no less than 2,000 full-charge cycles with no less than 80% of its unique capability.

The telephone is usually repairable. Inside display repairs value about £294. Samsung provides a self-repair programme, in addition to Care+ unintentional injury insurance coverage that reduces the price of repairs to £119.

The Flip 7 is produced from recycled aluminium, cobalt, copper, glass, gold, lithium, plastic, rare-earth parts and metal, accounting for 18.2% of the load. Samsung provides trade-in and recycling schemes for outdated units, and breaks down the telephone’s environmental affect in its report (pdf).

Price

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 prices from £1,049 (€1,199/$1,099/A$1,799).

For comparability, the Z Fold 7 prices £1,799, the S25 Edge prices £1,099, the S25+ prices £999, the Z Flip 7 FE prices £849, the Motorola Raze 60 Ultra prices £1,099 and the Xiaomi Mix Flip prices £640.

Verdict

The Flip 7 is Samsung’s most engaging flip telephone but, however the largest improve is the bigger cowl show on the surface.

The remainder of the telephone is fairly much like its predecessors. The inner folding show is nice, however comfortable and desires care. The fingerprint scanner within the energy button is unbelievable, however is positioned a bit too excessive up the aspect of the telephone. The cameras are respectable however less than the identical requirements of standard flagship telephones, whereas the battery life is a bit on the brief aspect. The software program is nice and comes with seven years of updates. But all of it feels very iterative.

The Flip 7 is the nonetheless one of the best ways to suit a big display in a small pocket, nevertheless it’s crying out for the type of transformational redesign given to its bigger Fold 7 sibling this yr.

Pros: larger outdoors display, nice giant display that folds in half, IP48 water resistant, nice software program with seven years of updates, loads of AI options, engaging design, enjoyable.

Cons: costly, much less sturdy than an everyday telephone and expensive to repair, no mud resistance, digicam lacks telephoto zoom and less than par with common flagship telephones, not a significant replace.