8.3/ 10
SCORE

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7

$1,100 at Samsung

Pros

• The 6.9-inch screen is immersive, with lovely colors and contrast
• The 4.1-inch screen looks incredible
• It’s durable and survived a drop onto concrete
• One UI 8 (Android 16) runs wonderfully
• $1,100 is still a lot, but Samsung gives the phone more value than the Flip 6

Cons

• Gets warm when recording videos and playing games
• Battery life is the same as the Flip 6 despite a bigger battery
• Cover screen software has room to grow

When I first got my hands on Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 7, I was delighted to discover that it has a smaller crease, larger cover screen, thinner design and bigger battery compared to last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 6. But as I tested the new clamshell phone, I became enthralled by its inner screen. At 6.9 inches, this is the biggest screen on any Samsung phone aside from the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which has an 8-inch foldable display. 

The Z Flip 7’s large screen size makes content feel more immersive and colors look lovely and vivid. This led to epic TikTok and Instagram sessions, watching widescreen films such as A Working Man and Back to the Future, as well as jumping back and forth between two apps stacked vertically on the screen thanks to One UI 8’s 90:10 split tool.

This is not your father’s smartphone or even his old flip phone.

Every time I open the Flip 7, I am consistently dumbfounded by how such a large display can unfurl from something about the size of a makeup compact. And when it’s closed, there’s a 4.1-inch cover screen that’s fantastic in its own ways with new clever animations for when you’re recording a video, charging the phone or taking a selfie, all efficiently using the extra cover display real estate. In terms of functionality, though, the cover screen’s software is about the same as the 3.4-inch one on the Flip 6. 

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the most fully realized version of Samsung’s ideal of a flip phone since the launch of the original Galaxy Z Flip in 2020. The Flip 7’s appeal is simple: It’s a thin phone with a big, bold screen that folds in half into a coaster-sized square.

The Flip 7 launches at a time when Samsung’s competitors, especially Motorola, have found their own unique appeal and success with flip phones, which have progressed from novelty to competitive cutting-edge technological niche. So it’s a delight to see the South Korean company nail this phone’s design. And in my testing, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 has been a blast to use.

Whether I was on the streets of Little Italy in New York paying for gelato without opening the phone or watching Sinners on that 6.9-inch screen during a flight to San Francisco, the Flip 7 impressed me in nearly every way but one: its battery life. It has a larger battery than the Flip 6, but it doesn’t last any longer in daily use. It did consistently get me through a day on a single charge, often having 15 to 20% left, but there were also a few days where it needed an early evening top-off. That’s OK, but I was hoping to squeeze out a few more hours. Also, the Flip 7 did occasionally get warm easily while in use, especially when I was filming videos, playing games or using it as a desktop computer via DeX (yes, I’m that guy).

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 starts at $1,100 (£1,049, AU$1,799) and comes with 256GB of storage (512GB in Australia). That’s the same price as last year’s Flip 6, but you actually get double the storage. The $1,100 price is still a lot for a phone, but I think Samsung added more value to the Flip 7 than it did with the Flip 6, and there’s always the lower-spec (and less refined) Galaxy Flip 7 FE at $900 for those who want to save a little money. The Flip 7 FE is essentially a repackaged Flip 6 without its Snapdragon processor. But to help make the cost sting less, Samsung and carriers have deals for the Flip 7.

Who should buy the Galaxy Z Flip 7?

If you’ve been tempted by a clamshell-style foldable, you should definitely consider the Flip 7. If you’re trying to choose between the Flip 7 and the comparable $1,300 Motorola Razr Ultra, that’s a tough choice. I’m working on a comparison between the two flip phones but I will say this for now: I’m a huge fan of the Razr Ultra, and while on paper it costs $200 more than 256GB Flip 7, Motorola’s premium clamshell foldable comes with 512GB of storage. A Flip 7 with 512GB costs $1,220, which is still $80 of daylight between the two.

If you have a Galaxy Z Flip 4 or older, the Flip 7 will be an upgrade in every way. It’s harder to make that same recommendation for Flip 5 owners unless your phone is showing its age. And if you have a Galaxy Z Flip 6, you can sit this one out unless you really want those larger screens. 

Galaxy Z Flip 7 design

The entire Flip 7 is thinner than the Flip 6, including the hinge, which is nearly 30% smaller. The difference is noticeable when I hold it. The phone might not be as dramatically thin as the Fold 7, which is over two millimeters thinner, though I keep wondering how amazing a clamshell-style foldable would be if it were the same thickness as the Fold 7. The hinge can easily be positioned at nearly any angle between its open and close points. And closing the Flip 7 comes with a solid thwap sound that is as satisfying as rubbing a dog’s belly.

Despite the thinner design, the Flip 7 is actually a gram heavier than the Flip 6. In hand the phone feels light and is comfortable to hold. It has an IP48 rating for water and dust resistance which is the highest a foldable phone can have as of 2025. The number “4” in the rating means it is protected against particles that are 1-millimeter or larger. So the Flip 7, as with most foldables, isn’t something you should bring to the beach. If sand got into the hinge or screen it could do costly damage, for example.

In terms of durability, I didn’t expect to test this on my first day with the Flip 7, but I accidentally dropped it on a concrete patio. Aside from a tiny scratch on the hinge, the Flip 7 came out unscathed.

While the crease on the inner screen is less noticeable, I can still see it at certain angles and feel it when swiping. There are some picky purists waiting for a truly seamless folding screen who will be unsatisfied, but I truly don’t see it most of the time when the screen is on.

On previous Z Flip phones, going back and forth between the inner screen and the outer display showed off their differences, with the cover screen looking noticeably dimmer especially in sunlight. Thankfully Samsung fixed that. The cover screen and main display can each reach up to 2,600 nits of peak brightness and both have up to a 120Hz refresh rate to make system animations, scrolling around and video game graphics look buttery smooth and immersive. It’s a significant improvement.

Galaxy Z Flip 7 battery and processor

Samsung took a different approach with the Flip 7’s processor by opting for an Exynos 2500 chip, instead of the Snapdragon 8 Elite that is in foldables like the Razr Ultra and Fold 7. While it’s a notable change, the Exynos 2500 runs just fine in daily use. The only times I suspected something might be different was when the Flip 7 would get warm — but that might have more to do with the new thinner design.

In benchmarks for the CPU, the Flip 7 scored lower in the Geekbench 6 test than the Razr Ultra and Fold 7 and nearly the same as the Flip 6, which runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. And for gaming and graphics benchmarks, the Flip 7 was well behind the Fold 7, the Razr Ultra and the Flip 6 in the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme test. 

These tests should be taken with a grain of salt, though. The Flip 7 will be just fine for most people in daily use. If you’re heavily into mobile gaming, using on-device AI or want the Flip 7 to be your full-time videographer, you might want to look at the Razr Ultra or the Fold 7. But for less frequent AI use, video recording and gaming, you should be fine with the Flip 7’s hardware. I’m curious about the longevity of the Exynos 2500 chip, especially if someone were to keep the Flip 7 for the seven years that Samsung promises of software and security updates.

The Flip 7 has a 4,300 mAh battery; that’s up from the 4,000 mAh one in the Flip 6. But the Flip 7 has two larger screens and a cover screen that can hit a higher maximum peak brightness. So that extra bit of battery capacity gets gobbled up pretty quick. In real life, I averaged a full day of use on a single charge over two weeks. A couple more hours of use would be better, as it would definitely help with Flip 7’s longevity, especially as newer software could potentially drain the battery faster in the future.

In CNET’s 45-minute battery endurance test, which includes scrolling through social media and news feeds, streaming YouTube, conducting a video call, playing games and other general-purpose use, the Flip 7 lost less of its charge than the Flip 6, but dropped more than the Razr Ultra. And in CNET’s video battery test, which entails streaming video on the main display at full brightness for three hours, the Flip 7 lost less of its charge than the Flip 6 but more than the Razr Ultra, which has a maximum 165Hz refresh rate.

Galaxy Z Flip 7 One UI 8

Notably, the Flip 7 and Fold 7 run One UI 8 (Samsung’s customized version of Android 16) out of the box. Android 16 was released a month ago, so it’s incredible that Google and Samsung were able to actually do this — which brings Flip 7 owners the newest software bells and whistles.

In use, One UI 8 has been wonderful. I haven’t experienced any hiccups or bugs. I really enjoy having the 90:10 split interface on the main screen where one app takes up 90% of the display and another takes up 10%. And if I want to switch it up so that the app taking up 10% takes up 90%, I simply tap on that app’s window. It’s a small but delightful tool great for multitasking.

Samsung’s Now Brief UI feature plays a bigger role on the cover screen. There’s a tiny stack to the left of the cameras where I can shuffle through notifications like a deck of cards. In terms of Now Brief, the briefings are still rather sparse. I see the weather, a random news story and a prompt to add YouTube videos to my brief. I think Now Brief has potential, but as it is, I can’t say I’d use it.

Cover screen widgets are great and interactive. You can run full apps (via Samsung’s Good Lock app), but they aren’t as well-optimized for the screen as apps running on the Motorola Razr Ultra’s cover display. I’m happy to see Samsung expand the cover display’s size but wish the software matched the experience of the main screen better. I still encounter the “open phone to continue” pop-up more than I like.

There’s a new button on the cover screen for changing an app’s aspect ratio. It’s a killer feature given that apps running through the Good Lock app aren’t always optimized for the cover display’s square-ish aspect ratio. 

Galaxy Z Flip 7 camera

There are two cameras on the outside of the Flip 7: a 50-megapixel wide-angle and a 12-megapixel ultrawide. Cut into the inside screen is a 10-megapixel selfie camera. But if you haven’t used a modern flip phone before, know that you’ll be using that 50-megapixel main camera the most, even for selfies and group shots.

Like prior Z Flip models, the Flip 7 is one of the most versatile phones for capturing images and that’s largely because the foldable is its own tripod by unfolding it halfway. And while the cameras are not the best ones you can find on a phone or foldable, they consistently take good photos and videos.

Do I wish there was a dedicated telephoto camera? Yes, but cropping in or taking photos at 2x or even 4x looks good. And the Flip 7 gets the new zoom slider that the Galaxy S25 series has, which is handier for pinpoint adjustments than other phones’ camera apps. It makes such a difference when I’m holding the phone one-handed and trying to zoom in on a subject.

I have been a fan of Samsung’s ultrawide cameras for years — there’s just something magical with that lens specifically that can make a photo look dramatic without going completely distorted like a fisheye lens. Do I wish it took better photos under dim lighting like in a bar? Yes.

To improve the shooting experience, Samsung has added support for log video recording, which preserves more image information in the highlights and shadows, allowing for greater flexibility when it comes to editing a video’s colors and contrast. There’s also Audio Mix, which can make the audio in your videos sound better with the help of AI.

Galaxy Z Flip 7 final thoughts

It feels like Samsung took nearly every shortcoming that previous Z Flips had and solved them for the Flip 7. The phone is filled with smart compromises and will no doubt have a wider appeal as a result. And if you’re able to get to a store and see the Flip 7 in person, you’ll know immediately whether it’s for you or not. But the Flip 7 isn’t the only clamshell foldable that Samsung launched. There’s also the $900 Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, which is basically a repacked Flip 6 with a new processor. Previously, Samsung would keep last year’s Flip around with a $100 discount. We’re testing the Flip 7 FE, so keep an eye out for CNET’s review.

How we test phones

Every phone CNET’s reviews team tests is used in the real world. We test a phone’s features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it’s bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP rating for water resistance. We push the processor’s performance to the extremes using standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark, along with our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.

All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions, from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode, and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using it daily as well as running a series of battery drain tests.

We take into account additional features like support for 5G, satellite connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus support, fast charging speeds and foldable displays, among others that can be useful. We balance all of this against the price to give you the verdict on whether that phone, whatever price it is, actually represents good value. While these tests may not always be reflected in CNET’s initial review, we conduct follow-up and long-term testing in most circumstances.