Technologies
Here’s How to Access Apple’s Visual Intelligence on an iPhone 15 Pro
You don’t need an iPhone 16 to use this feature anymore.
Apple will release iOS 26 this fall and that update will bring a new Liquid Glass design, the ability to screen incoming calls and more to your iPhone. But when Apple released iOS 18.4 in March, that update brought a handful of new controls to the iPhone Control Center, including one that brings Visual Intelligence to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
When Apple released iOS 18 in September, that update remodeled the Control Center to give you more control over how the feature functions. With iOS 18, you can resize controls, assign some controls to their own dedicated page and adjust the placement of controls to your liking. Apple also introduced more controls to the feature, making it a central hub for your most-used iPhone features.
Apple continues to expand the number of controls you can add to the Control Center with iOS 18.4. If you have the update on your iPhone, you can add ambient music controls, and Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones get a few AI controls in the menu, too.
Here’s what you need to know about the new controls and how to add them to your Control Center.
Apple Intelligence controls
Only people with an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or the iPhone 16 lineup can access Apple Intelligence features for now, and those people got three new dedicated Apple Intelligence controls with iOS 18.4. Those controls are Talk to Siri, Type to Siri and Visual Intelligence.
Here’s how to find these controls.
1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. Tap Add a Control.
Then you can use the search bar near the top of the screen to search for «Apple Intelligence» or you can scroll through the menu to find the Apple Intelligence & Siri section. Tap any (or all) of these controls to add them to your Control Center. While Talk to Siri and Type to Siri controls can be helpful if you have trouble accessing the digital assistant, the Visual Intelligence control is important because it brings the Apple Intelligence feature to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
Visual Intelligence was originally only accessible on the iPhone 16 lineup because those devices have the Camera Control button. With iOS 18.4, Visual Intelligence is now accessible on more devices and people thanks to the titular control in Control Center. But remember, Visual Intelligence is like any other AI tool so it might not always be accurate. You should double check results and information it shows you.
Ambient Music controls
With iOS 18.4, Apple gave everyone four new controls in the Control Center library under the Ambient Music category. These controls are Sleep, Chill, Productivity and Wellbeing. Each of these controls can activate a playlist filled with music that corresponds to the specific control. Sleep, for instance, plays ambient music to help lull you to bed.
Some studies suggest white noise could help adults learn words and improve learning in environments full of distractions. According to the mental health company Calm, certain kinds of music can help you fall asleep faster and improve the quality of your sleep. So these new controls can help you learn, fall asleep and more.
Here’s how to find these controls.
1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. Tap Add a Control.
You’ll see a section of controls called Ambient Music. You can also search for «Ambient Music» in the search bar at the top of the control library. Under Ambient Music, you’ll see all four controls. Tap one (or all) of them to add them to your Control Center. Once you’ve added one or all the controls to your Control Center, go back to your Control Center and tap one to start playing music.
Here’s how to change the playlist for each control.
1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to open your Control Center.
2. Tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. Tap the Ambient Music control you want to edit.
4. Tap the playlist to the right of Playlist.
A dropdown menu will appear with additional playlists for each control. If you’re in the Sleep control, you’ll see playlists like Restful Notes and Lo-Fi Snooze. If you have playlists in your Music app, then you’ll also see an option From Library, which pulls music from your library. Tap whichever playlist you want and it will be assigned to that control.
Apple already lets you transform your iPhone into a white noise machine with Background Sounds, like ocean and rain. But Ambient Music is actual music as opposed to more static sounds like in that feature.
Both of these features feel like a way for Apple to present itself as the first option for whenever you want some background music to help you fall asleep or be productive. Other services, like Spotify and YouTube, already have ambient music playlists like these, so this could be Apple’s way of taking some of those service’s audience.
For more on iOS 18, here’s what you need to know about iOS 18.6 and iOS 18.5, as well as our iOS 18 cheat sheet. You can also check out what you should know about iOS 26 and my first impressions of the iOS 26 beta.
Technologies
Bye, Bye Titanium! The iPhone 17 Pro’s Aluminum Frame Might Be in This New Leak
The iPhone 17 Pro could have an aluminum chassis, according to a new leak. The phone is also expected to get several camera upgrades, including a new 8x telephoto lens.
We are less than a month from Apple’s annual September iPhone event, but that hasn’t stopped more rumors and leaks about the iPhone 17 Pro from rolling in.
This week, an alleged image of the iPhone 17 Pro’s new aluminum chassis appeared on the Chinese social media site Weibo, as reported by MacRumors. The photo shows an unfinished aluminum frame with cutouts for the cameras and a full-body wide camera bump (that lines up with other rumors). It’s impossible to know if this is an actual body for an iPhone 17 Pro or just a mock-up that someone made. But if it’s true, it validates previous rumors that Apple could be changing the iPhone Pro models’ frame from titanium to aluminum, which is much lighter.
Although speculation about an ultrathin iPhone 17 Air has hogged the spotlight, the Pro models tend to include more upgraded features. In addition to the camera, the Pro could get a surprising new color and the much-coveted scratch-resistant, antireflective display. But with looming tariffs still threatening to hike the price, there’s a lot to watch for with the rumored iPhone 17.
There’s even a rumored video of the iPhone 17 Pro posted from the X account @skyfops, although there’s no confirmation this was in fact the actual iPhone 17 Pro or perhaps a dummy model:
I just spotted a test development iPhone in the wild 🤩🤩🤩 pic.twitter.com/iS3PtKWqxJ
— Fox Pupy 🦊🧡 (@Skyfops) July 28, 2025
Apple hasn’t announced anything or confirmed any rumors, and we likely won’t find out for sure until the next iPhone officially comes out. Until then, we’re tracking all the biggest leaks and rumors about the iPhone 17 Pro and sharing what we’ve heard so far.
Read more: I May Upgrade to the iPhone 17 Pro Max If These 6 Rumors Are True
iPhone 17 Pro’s rumored camera bump redesign and movable telephoto lens
The iPhone 17 Pro’s camera has been the subject of multiple rumored changes, but recent ones come from an anonymous tipster.
MacRumors says a tipster who claimed to be familiar with an iPhone Pro commercial revealed features that included a telephoto lens — upgraded to 8x optical zoom from 5x on the iPhone 16 Pro — that can apparently move. A moving lens could allow continuous optical zoom at various focal lengths, according to MacRumors.
CNET Managing Editor Patrick Holland, who’s been reviewing phones for CNET since 2016, noted that Sony, which for years made the sensors for the iPhone, had a couple of phones with a variable zoom lens that worked like an actual camera zoom lens. While Apple may not use the exact same technology as Sony’s, Holland notes, it could adapt some of it for the iPhone 17 Pro.
MacRumors also reported the iPhone 17 Pro could have an additional Camera Control button, which would be in addition to the bottom-right edge camera button the iPhone 16 models sport, as well as a new camera and video app.
In January, Bu posted a leaked image on X suggesting that the phone could feature a pill-shaped camera bar that looks a lot like the camera bar on Google’s Pixel 9 phone.
That raised the question of whether the iPhone 17 Pro would align the three camera lenses in a single row or leave them stacked in a pyramid design, as it did with the iPhone 16 Pro.
In February, Bu posted CAD renders of what could be the iPhone 17 lineup, and Front Page Tech also shared iPhone 17 Pro renders in this video on YouTube (Apple filed a lawsuit against YouTuber Jon Prosser, featured in this video, over leaks about the iOS26):
Both showed horizontal camera bars for the iPhone 17 Pro models that keep the stacked lens layout.
Pu wrote in March that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will feature a 48-megapixel telephoto rear camera, up from 12 megapixels on the iPhone 16 Pro models. That would mean all three cameras on the iPhone 17 Pro models — wide-angle, ultrawide and telephoto — would be 48 megapixels.
And as for your selfies, analyst Jeff Pu reports that the front-facing camera will be upgraded from 12 megapixels on the iPhone 16 to 24 megapixels on all iPhone 17 models.
Front Page Tech reported in April that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max may also add a built-in video feature that allows you to record with the front and rear cameras simultaneously. The feature would let you overlay a shot of your face over an outward-facing video. A video upgrade from the already stellar iPhone 16 Pro could add some serious value for video creators considering the iPhone 17 Pro.
Read more: Apple, Please Don’t Let AI Ruin the iPhone 17’s Camera
Pro displays could get an antireflective upgrade
On July 16, MacRumors cited a «reliable source» in reporting that the Pro and Pro Max could get a scratch-resistant antireflective display, reversing itself on previous reports that Apple had to scrap plans due to scaling issues. If the latest rumor proves true, the upgrade from Apple’s Ceramic Shield display could prove an enticing feature for the Pro and Pro Max.
Holland called the antireflective display one of the best attributes of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Apple Insider reported in May that the iPhone 17 could get a larger display than the iPhone 16. DSCC founder and Counterpoint Research VP Ross Young posted on X that the base iPhone 17 will be 6.3 inches, an upgrade from the iPhone 16’s 6.1-inch display. In theory, that means the iPhone 17 would have the same screen size as the iPhone 17 Pro.
The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are rumored to continue with a 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display, respectively, similar to the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Rumored design changes for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max
The latest rumors about the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max design include colorful developments and a new frame composition.
Orange among the Pro color lineup
Rumors of a new color for the iPhone started in April, when Twitter user and leaker Majin Bu (not the Dragon Ball Z character) posted that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max could get a sky blue option.
But on July 14, Bu posted that Apple is ditching sky blue for the Pro Models, with only the rumored iPhone Air claiming the hue. Then on July 29, Bu posted a video on X of Pro mockups in four colors:
- black
- silver
- dark blue
- orange
What’s your favorite iPhone 17 Pro color? pic.twitter.com/yVck0lXuss
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) July 29, 2025
Digital blogger Weibo said that one of the colors is «related to the liquid glass design of iOS 26,» saying it would be white but with different visual effects depending on which light it was in.
For reference, the iPhone 16 and Plus made a splash last year when they debuted pink, teal and ultramarine color options, alongside the standard white and black. The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max introduced a new color, desert titanium — a restrained shade of peach — alongside the classic natural titanium, white titanium and black titanium options.
The Pro models have traditionally featured more muted colors, so the prospect of an orange or glass-inspired color could offer an exciting new look for the Pro.
Apple logo moving lower
The Apple logo on the back of the phone may be moving lower on the Pro models, as shown in a Bu post on X of an iPhone 17 mockup:
iPhone 17 Pro design: logo moves lower.
Here’s why
Full Article:https://t.co/xeC6d0oBeN pic.twitter.com/Q8QwkT56IL— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) June 28, 2025
The change in location is reportedly coming to make room for the larger camera bump design.
Improved audio quality
On June 2, wccftech, said the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max would get longer earpieces, citing a post on X from @duanrui1205. In theory, that could signal improved audio clarity. At the Worldwide Developers Conference later in June, Apple said audio quality will improve with software updates in AirPods with H2 chipsets. CNET got to learn firsthand how Apple tests, calibrates and tunes the audio (and video) on an iPhone. Additional improvements in audio quality could potentially elevate an already impressive feature.
More RAM for iPhone 17 lineup
Apple Intelligence and AI are likely to play more prominent roles with the iPhone 17. To support the new features, all the iPhone 17 models will step up to 12GB of RAM, tipster Digital Chat Station reported in April. Kuo said the iPhone 17 Air and Pro models would get that increased 12GB of RAM, but not the base model.
Considering that the iPhone 16 lineup had 8GB of RAM across all models, this could be a big upgrade for the iPhone 17.
Aluminum frames for all, except Air
There’s been plenty of discussion about whether the iPhone 17 Pro will ditch its titanium alloy frame for an aluminum one. In February, MacRumors said Pu predicted that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will have all-aluminum frames or potentially part glass, part aluminum for better durability. The iPhone 17 Air would stick with Apple’s current titanium frame — or possibly a mix of titanium and aluminum.
Dynamic Island size in question
Pu predicted in May that all iPhone 17 models will use a new metalens technology for the proximity sensor, which could result in a smaller Face ID sensor and Dynamic Island, according to a report by 9to5Mac. However, Pu’s report contradicts Kuo, who said that the iPhone 17’s Dynamic Island would remain «largely unchanged» compared with the iPhone 16.
Dimensions
According to a report by 9to5Mac in May, the iPhone 17 Pro line may be thicker, 8.725mm, compared with the iPhone 16 Pro, which clocks in at 8.25mm thick. That larger size could potentially make room for more battery.
In a post on X on July 11, Majin Bu showed a video of a case for a thicker iPhone 17 Pro model, with the design likely based on the iPhone 17 Pro’s rumored dimensions:
New Magsafe Case Design for iPhone 17 Pro pic.twitter.com/ynavEmiPam
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) July 11, 2025
New A19 Pro chip could improve performance
There’s been some back and forth about the chip for the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup, but rumors have consistently given the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max the A19 Pro chip.
More recently, MacRumors reported that a Weibo account known as Fixed Focus Digital said the iPhone 17 Air will also come with an A19 Pro chip, like the Pro models. But the Air would have a 5-core GPU, according to the rumor, whereas the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max would get a 6-core GPU. An upgraded GPU could improve graphics and video rendering.
Battery life could get a big boost
What good is a new phone if it doesn’t last all day, right? The iPhone 17 Pro Max will get the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, the Weibo leaker known as Instant Digital said in a post on X, as reported by MacRumors. However, the site noted Instant Digital’s spotty record with Apple rumors. If the Pro’s dimensions are identical to the Pro Max’s, as they’re rumored to be, it stands to reason that the Pro could get the bigger battery, too.
And Majin Bu posted on July 3 that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will feature a vapor chamber cooling system, which could help prevent the bigger battery from overheating.
iPhone 17 Pro release date expected in September
In the past several years, Apple has consistently announced its new phones on the first Tuesday of September after Labor Day. However, the first Tuesday is the day after Labor Day in 2025, so that could push the date for the iPhone event to Wednesday, Sept. 3 or Tuesday, Sept. 9. That would mean a release date of Sept. 12 or 19.
This likely will be the case with the full iPhone 17 lineup, with the exception of the iPhone 17E, which could arrive in early 2026, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and a report from The Information.
The iPhone 17 lineup may be the last to follow this fall-release model. Starting with the iPhone 18, Apple will reportedly split its phone releases so that lower-cost iPhones launch in the first half of the year and the higher-end Pro models become available later in the year. But that isn’t expected to happen until 2026 so you can likely still expect the iPhone 17 Pro to become available this fall.
Preorders for a new iPhone typically begin the Friday after the announcement, with the phone shipping a week later. Based on the expected announcement on Sept. 3 or 9, the preorder date could be either Sept. 5 or 12.
Tariffs could raise the price, but there are other factors
Trump has raised, lowered and paused tariffs a dizzying number of times since February, all of which could affect the cost of the iPhone 17 Pro.
Apple, which says it could move much of US iPhone production from China to India, has escaped many of the tariff hikes thanks to a reciprocal tariff exemption list that includes many phones, laptops and other electronics that Apple produces.
However, all the reprieves appear to be temporary so reciprocal tariffs could still affect prices by the time the iPhone 17 is released.
Trump threatened Apple with a 25% tariff on all iPhones made outside the country in a social media post on May 23. Later that day, he said that all smartphones — not just iPhones — would be hit with the 25% tariff by the end of June if they don’t move operations to the US.
Regardless of how tariffs play out, Apple plans to raise iPhone prices later this year, The Wall Street Journal reported. Apple apparently plans to ascribe the price increase to better features and design costs so it can avoid pointing the finger at tariffs and incurring the wrath of Trump (like Amazon temporarily did).
Holland points out that the iPhone is overdue for a price bump. He noted that Apple has never increased the price for an iPhone Pro ($999) since the iPhone X was first introduced in 2017.
So yes, you should expect to pay more for the iPhone 17, regardless of tariffs.
Read more: Thinking About Buying a New iPhone? Here’s Why You Should Wait
Are new iPhone rumors and leaks to be trusted?
Here’s the part where I come in and say: Everything’s a rumor until Apple officially releases the next iPhone. Rumors and speculation leading up to the iPhone’s release are often based on insider knowledge or leaked information from teams working on the iPhone’s designs, but those designs are works in progress — not necessarily the final product.
Technologies
I Tested the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE and Had Mixed Feelings (Until I Saw the Sale Price)
Review: Samsung’s lower-cost flip could be a great $900 value, but it gets in its own way to command that price.
Our Experts
Pros
- The same software experience as the Z Flip 7
- Smaller cover screen is still functional
- Cameras the same as the Flip 6 and Flip 7
Cons
- Fingerprint and dust magnet
- May run warm
- Battery life gets through a day, but not much more
I’ve spent a few weeks testing Samsung’s $900 Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, and while I’d love to say it’s just a slightly less powerful version of last year’s Z Flip 6 and a less-expensive alternative to the $1,100 Galaxy Z Flip 7, there are moments when the phone feels a little too cheap for its price.
That’s not to say the Flip 7 FE is bad, because the phone does use the same body as last year’s Flip 6. This means it has the same 3.4-inch cover screen that is easy for me to tap out quick texts or glance at map directions, along with the same cameras that are powerful enough to use in dark and bright settings. Its ability to fold in half makes it easy to use the phone as a tripod for my photos, or to prop up on my desk to play YouTube videos. It’s even able to use the same phone cases as the Galaxy Z Flip 6.
But you’ll likely find that a case is necessary in order to truly enjoy using the Z Flip 7 FE. That’s partly because of the phone’s oleophobic coating is a fingerprint magnet — at least on the black review sample I tested. Its hinge easily accumulates skin oil and pocket lint on the outside which is something I find to be more common on phones that cost $300, not $900.
I also found the phone to run a little warm. My initial review unit ran warm enough during a 40-minute video call with light web browsing that the phone displayed a message that I could no longer do both at the same time, as the phone was now too hot. Samsung provided me a second review unit which did not get as warm under similar use. But if you’re someone who gets particularly sensitive to noticing when your phone gets warm, having a case should help.
But putting those design-related issues aside, the Flip 7 FE makes a lot of smart choices to be Samsung’s first flip phone priced under $1,000. The FE uses Samsung’s Exynos 2400 processor, which is capable of handling apps and Galaxy AI features, but is slower than the Qualcomm chip in the Flip 6.
Even though the $700 Motorola Razr is cheaper and has several fun design choices, I can see how Samsung might justify its $900 price, thanks to the Flip 7 FE’s superior software experience and photography. And recent sales are closing that price gap: at the time of this writing, the Flip 7 FE costs $700 for its 128GB model and $760 for 256GB. Both models are normally $200 more, and the Flip 7 FE offered for $700 then becomes a much easier recommendation over the Razr when you consider all of the software support Samsung offers.
My experience with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE
While I’m not crazy about the Z Flip 7 FE’s need to be in a case to guard against fingerprints, I have to admit that the phone remains quite fun to use.
The Flip 7 FE’s cameras (a 50-megapixel wide, 12-megapixel ultrawide and 10-megapixel selfie camera) and the ability to use the phone as its own tripod are certainly the main reasons to consider this phone. I brought the Flip 7 FE to Utopia Bagels, and despite not having a telephoto lens, my 1x and 2x shots taken on the wide-angle camera of a sausage, egg and cheese bagel with red onion and tomatoes are filled with detail.
On the 2x shot in particular, you get the cheese drip, the dimples of the bread inside the bagel and noticeable color separation between the sausage patty and the red onion slices.
And like with other flip-style Android phones, it’s easy to make use of the main camera for selfies by having the phone prop itself up like a stand, and then making a hand gesture that activates a camera timer. This works with both the rear camera and the front-facing camera inside the screen. In both of my photos, the focus is on my face, and, as expected, there are slightly fewer details available in the food for the photo taken with the interior screen’s 10-megapixel camera.
The Flip 7 FE can also capture video at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, matching the Flip 7. Oddly, you’re limited to shooting at 1,080p from the main camera when the phone is folded into a stand. Similar to the Motorola Razr, you can also fold the phone into a «camcorder» mode to use the top half of the internal screen like a viewfinder.
Recycling the Flip 6’s design means that apps that were optimized for that device readily work here. I use the Transit app for subway directions, and it’s easy for me to navigate the 3.4-inch display and type in my destination, as well as scroll through those directions.
A smaller edition of Samsung’s Now Bar — a shortcut of active apps that’s similar to the iPhone’s Dynamic Island — gives me fast access to my music and podcasts while I look at those directions, and I especially enjoy treating the cover screen like a mini-music player a la the MP3 players of the 2000s.
But if you do use cameras extensively, be prepared to recharge the phone more often than you’d expect. The 4,000-mAh battery is the same as what’s on the Flip 6, and in my use, it just barely got through a day of use (albeit the weekend when I use my phone the most). My battery life fared better on office days, where heavier use was limited to morning and evening, but I typically ended with 10% to 30%, making an overnight charge necessary.
This was also noticed in CNET’s battery tests, where the Z Flip 7 FE drained faster than the Z Flip 7 and Motorola’s Razr (2025) and Razr Ultra in our 45-minute endurance test and the 3-hour YouTube streaming test. In the 45-minute test, the Flip 7 FE performs equal to the Flip 6. In our 30-minute wired charging test, the phone’s 25-watt charging speed brought the battery up from 0% to 45% in 30 minutes. The Flip 7 FE also supports 15-watt Qi wireless charging.
Samsung’s flip is more powerful, but Motorola’s has personality
Because Samsung’s Flip 7 FE costs $200 more than the $700 Motorola Razr when the former isn’t discounted, it’s important for Samsung’s phone to earn that premium. And on a software level, it unequivocally does.
The Flip 7 FE’s operating system — running the brand new Android 16 and debuting Samsung’s One UI 8 overlay — looks great, and Samsung plans to update the phone with software and security updates for seven years. This is a far cry from the three-year update cycle (and four-year security upgrades) of the Razr. The Razr doesn’t yet have Android 16, but will eventually get the update.
In benchmark testing for the CPU (Geekbench 6), the Flip 7 FE performed better than the Razr (2025) but worse than the Flip 6 and Flip 7. And in a benchmark test for graphics (3DMark), it did better than the Razr (2025), and almost identical to the Flip 7.
Geekbench v.6.0
- Single-core
- Multicore
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
The Flip 7 FE’s ability to tackle low-light photography is also easily better than what Motorola provides with the Razr. I took both phones to CNET’s TV lab — which is a very dark space — and the Samsung phone was able to light it up despite there being very little available light. Meanwhile, the Razr photo looks borderline unusable.
The Razr has a slightly larger 3.6-inch cover screen, but I found both phones to be equally functional. In some cases, despite having a smaller screen, the Z Flip 7 FE would show more information. For instance, with Mozilla Firefox loaded on each, the Z Flip 7 FE chooses to zoom out a little bit on this comparison of CNET’s homepage.
The Motorola Razr lets you run any Android app on the cover screen by default, but doing so on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 FE requires downloading Samsung’s Good Lock app.
Both phones have access to their respective Galaxy AI and Moto AI feature suites for generative AI and adopt different tactics. Galaxy AI mostly focuses on translation, transcription and photo editing features like Generative Edit for removing objects. Moto AI blends multiple services together, including using Perplexity for contextual service, Meta’s Llama AI for summarizing notifications and Motorola’s own features that are focused on photo processing. But it’s still early days for most AI features like these, and I wouldn’t say one is necessarily better than the other as of yet.
But whereas the Galaxy provides better photography and software support, the Razr just looks aesthetically better. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE comes only in a black-and-white finish that easily picks up fingerprints, dirt and lint. The Razr ships in four colors with varying materials. My Motorola Razr (2025) review unit came in Pantone Spring Bud green and has a leather-like back that doesn’t pick up fingerprints.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE: Bottom line
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE is a good phone that’s worth the premium over the $700 Motorola Razr, but its $900 price feels awkward. By being so similar to the Flip 6 in design but having a slightly slower processor, it’s quite possible that a better overall value could be a discounted Flip 6 in the event you find last year’s model for a similar $900 price. If the Flip 7 FE itself is discounted into the $700 range, like we are currently seeing at Amazon, then choosing Samsung over Motorola is absolutely the move. But without the sales, the Flip 7 FE could be a good upgrade for someone who prefers Samsung phones, is curious about getting a flip-style phone and wants a more compact handset with decent cameras.
Most people looking for an affordable flip phone, however, should either consider saving more money by going with Motorola’s $700 Razr (2025), or spring upward for the $1,000 Razr Plus or $1,100 Flip 7. All of these alternatives start with double the storage of the Flip 7 FE with 256GB of space, and have larger cover displays. You could also consider buying a Galaxy Z Flip 6 with 256GB of storage, which can be found (at time of publishing) for $899 on Amazon. That gets you a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and more RAM. In his review for the Flip 6, CNET’s Patrick Holland noted that the phone got warm occasionally but didn’t have any overheating issues. It’s likely because it had a vapor chamber cooling system. It’s unclear if the Flip 7 FE has the same cooling system.
How we test phones
Every phone tested by CNET’s reviews team was actually 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 consider additional useful 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 its price, 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.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Aug. 15
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 15
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Today’s Mini Crossword has one of those two-part clues that I hate. 6-Across and 8-Across go together. I solved all the others, then let those fill in a bit before I saw the answers. Need help with the NYT Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Answer to a party invitation
Answer: RSVP
5A clue: Bring to a bubble
Answer: BOIL
6A clue: With 8-Across, tree that produces nearly two-foot-long cones
Answer: SUGAR
8A clue: See 6-Across
Answer: PINE
9A clue: Enjoy a hill in chilly weather, say
Answer: SLED
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: N.F.L. ball carriers, for short
Answer: RBS
2D clue: Campbell’s products
Answer: SOUPS
3D clue: Candlelight ___
Answer: VIGIL
4D clue: It travels the high way
Answer: PLANE
7D clue: Like the maple leaf on Canada’s flag
Answer: RED
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