Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Hands-On: Early Thoughts

We may earn compensation from reviewed products. Learn about our editorial policies.

90%

90%

Much like the Galaxy Fold7, the Flip7 is by far Samsung's best ever flip phone thanks mostly to a huge external display, a very robust design and a solid camera system. If you want a flip phone, this is an excellent choice.

The Good

1. Large, useful external display
2. Very high build quality
3. Respectable main camera lens

The Not So Good

1. Limited zoom options on the camera

• User Ratings (0 Votes)
  0

Need-To-Knows

• Larger, edge-to-edge front display is a huge improvement
• Very thin and light, lovely to hold
• New Gemini integrations for the front display
• FE model is good but noticeably less premium

---

I get to test a lot of smartphones, but there’s one specific category I wish I were cool enough to actually need beyond the review period. These are otherwise known as ‘flip’ phones. You can think of them as normal-sized smartphones that fold in half. They’ve been around for a long time, and Samsung and Motorola make the best versions of them.

As I type, it’s the Korean company’s latest flippable pocket monster that’s getting all the attention, having been launched with much aplomb in Brooklyn at Samsung Unpacked earlier this month. I was at that event and picked up a review unit while there.

If truth be told, my focus since Unpacked has been on the Z Fold7, which is much more ‘me’, but I knew I needed to give the Flip7 some attention, which is why I spent an entire weekend with it to see if, finally, I could find an excuse to carry it around for the long term.

How I reviewed the Z Flip7

My main phone is an iPhone 16e (no, really). That contains my primary SIM card, but I have a secondary SIM card which is placed into whichever phone I happen to be testing and reviewing at the time.

Last weekend, I placed that SIM card in the Z Flip7 and used it as my primary device for three days.

I appreciate that three days isn’t long enough to fully assess a smartphone, but I’ve been doing this for a while now, and I’ve reviewed most of the previous generation Z Flip series, so I can apply all of that knowledge to Samsung’s latest effort.

Key specs and pricing

Category	Specification
Software	OneUI 8
Exterior Display (Flex Window)	4.4” Super AMOLED (vs 3.4” on Flip6)
Flex Window Features	Gemini Live (camera-assisted search)
	Now Bar
	Ultra-high-density circuit board
Main Display	6.9” Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, 2,600 nits
	Thinnest bezels ever (1.25mm)
Build	Ultra-high density circuit board
	Armor FlexHinge (nearly 30% slimmer)
Battery	4,300mAh – up to 31 hours of video playback
Processor	3nm Exynos 2700
DeX Support	Yes
Camera (Rear)	50MP Wide (2x Optical Zoom)
	12MP Ultra-Wide
Camera (Front)	10MP Selfie Camera
Camera Features	Enhanced Portraits
	Auto Zoom (tracks face, adjusts tone/lighting)
	Zoom Slider
	10-bit HDR video
RAM	Up to 12GB
Colours	Blue Shadow, Jet Black, Coral Red; Mint (online exclusive)

The Z Flip7 has received one huge – literally – and obvious upgrade over its predecessor, which is the super-sizing of the external ‘Flex Window’. It’s now 4.1 inches diagonally (up from 3.4 inches), which is bigger, hilariously, than the original iPhone’s display.

Related: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 review

That display also has the thinnest bezels of any Z Flip phone (and is thinner than those on the Motorola Razr 60 Ultra), and sports a 120Hz variable refresh rate and 2,600 nits of peak brightness.

Open it up, and you’re treated to a 6.9” inner screen, behind which is a 3nm Exynos 2500 chip, 12GB of RAM, and a 4,300mAh battery (the largest to go into any Z Flip phone).

Samsung has given the Z Flip7 a significant fettling in terms of structural integrity, too, with an Armor Flex hinge which is stronger than before, despite being nearly 30% slimmer. There’s also an ultra-high density circuit board, and refined core components such as the camera module and battery unit. This results in a Z Flip that should be stronger and longer-lasting than ever before (both in terms of durability and battery life).

The Z Flip7 also gains a bunch of new AI-based features, some of which can be accessed on that new Flex Window, including the Now Brief and Now Bar. Gemini Live has also come along for the ride, and Google Gemini can be accessed from the Flex Window.

You can grab the Z Flip7 in Blue Shadow, Jet Black, or Coral Red – and there’s a mint green online exclusive colour, too. Prices start at £1,049/$1,099.

FE enters the chat

This year, we’re getting two versions of the Z Flip7. For the first time, there’s an FE edition of Samsung’s flip phone, weighing in at £849/$899. This already happens with the flagship range; you can read more about that in my Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review.

There are some concessions, as you might expect. The chip is the lesser Exynos 2400, and it comes with 8GB of RAM as opposed to 12GB. It also has a slightly smaller internal display and, more noticeably, a smaller Flex Window, which is essentially the same as the one from the Z Flip6.

Xioami’s take: Xiaomi Mix Flip review

The Z Flip7 FE also has a smaller battery, but that’s where the differences cease. It’s got the same camera system as the more expensive version and also runs One UI 8 with all of the AI bells and whistles.

Although this review isn’t covering the Z Flip7 FE specifically, it’s a very tasty option if you don’t mind going without that new, larger Flex Window.

A note on flip phones

Flip phones aren’t for everyone – I feel I always need to issue that public service announcement before diving into my thoughts on the Z Flip series.

Despite how long flip phones have been a thing, they’re still a pretty rare sight. That makes them rather desirable; they’re different, interesting, and have a lot of the ‘wantability’ factor so many smartphone manufacuturers strive for.

However, flip phones, by their nature, need to be opened. Regularly. This isn’t something you have to do with a normal phone – it’s open all the time. And no matter how large or more usable that outer display becomes, the prospect of continually flipping open your phone to use it properly can get a bit tiresome.

Nearst competitor? Motorola Razr 60 Ultra review

This isn’t the case for everyone, but that’s why flip phones like the Z Flip7 are still such a rare sight; they have an incredibly niche, specific user base. And you must suss out whether or not you’re potentially part of that before spending your hard-earned money.

I appreciate that you possibly can’t do that until you get one in your hand, but… well, don’t say I haven’t warned you.

48 hours with the Z Flip7: random observations

What follows are some random notes I made while using the Z Flip7 last weekend. They’re in no specific order, which makes this the least traditional review you’ll read of this particular device. But who cares, right? There are loads of traditional reviews out there already.

That new Flex Window is a brilliant tweak by Samsung. It brings it more in line with devices like the Motorola Razr 60 Ultra and makes the one overriding benefit of owning a Z Flip even more enjoyable. That benefit is the ability to take brilliant selfies on the Flex Window with the main camera system. Just double-tap the power button to open the camera, smile and wave, and the three-second countdown timer starts automatically. The Flex Window, for some unfathomable reason, is an endlessly addictive platform for taking selfies in that way.

Read my Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review!

It’s also great if you’re a vertical content creator. The Z Flip7 is such a convenient device to use for shooting TikTok and Instagram videos, thanks to the way you can half-open it like a tripod and use the main camera system to capture your footage. Once again, the Flex Window provides the perfect preview screen.

I love the haptics on the Z Flip7 when typing. I think I had a similar reaction to previous generations of Flip devices; the typing experience is made all the more satisfying, thanks to the gentle but perfectly judged haptic ‘tap’ you get with each key press. Sometimes, it’s the little details that matter.

Having access to Gemini on the Flex Window is a stroke of genius. It makes Google’s assistant even more tempting to invoke, and I found myself using it more on the Z Flip7 because of that accessibility. Once again, I know it’s just as accessible on a regular phone, but, well… there’s just something about the Flex Window, isn’t there?

As has long been the case, you can install Good Lock on the Z Flip7 and, within that app, add the ability to launch many more apps from the Flex Window. The results vary in terms of usability, but I found it useful – as I had with previous generations – for quickly accessing YouTube Studio or having a momentary browse of my Instagram feed. Your mileage might vary with this.

The battery life is great. You’ll get two days out of the Z Flip7, and standby time is superb. Performance is brilliant, too – I think the Exynos was a smart choice on Samsung’s part for this particular device. Certainly, I didn’t miss Snapdragon’s performance.

Camera

The Z Flip7 sports a 50MP main camera with a 2x zoom, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP selfie camera (which you probably won’t use, because of that Flex Window). It also features the smooth zoom slider from the S25 Ultra, enhanced portraits, and Auto Zoom, which keeps you in the frame and in focus while you’re dancing around performing your latest TikTok video.

It would be lovely to have more optical zoom range on the Z Flip7, but that isn’t what this phone is about when it comes to photography. The main camera does a superb job, and it is all about taking selfies on the Flex Window. I can’t overemphasise that enough (although I probably have done just that in this review).

New flagship king? Nothing Phone (3) review

My test for any smartphone camera system at the moment is to grab a usable selfie that contains my three-year-old son and 12-week-old puppy. Neither of them stands still for any more than half a second, so any phone that can nail such a photo gets my vote. The Z Flip7 did so, in one take. Bravo, Samsung.

I shot a bunch more photos with the Z Flip7 while in New York City a couple of weeks ago, and I’m a fan of what the phone captured. As always, this is an extremely subjective topic, so please do get involved in the comments and let me know what you think.

Conclusion

I wish the Z Flip7 was for me, but it isn’t. I’m a Z Fold7 kinda guy.

This doesn’t make the Z Flip7 a bad device at all. Far from it, in fact. It’s one of the best flippable phones on the market, and Samsung continues to push the rest of the field with its innovation. That new Flex Window is superb, and despite all of the additions to the phone as a whole, it hasn’t lost sight of the fact that the main benefit is the photo-taking capabilities of the Flex Window.

More Samsung: Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review

Oh, and the addition of the FE is equally smart, and I think it’ll be a big seller.
What fascinates me is who buys the Z Flip series phones. If that’s you, and you have a specific use case or one particular element that you love about it, please do get involved in the comments.