Assessment: The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 foldable is nearly an excessive amount of enjoyable

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 is a narrative of one thing outdated, one thing new, one thing borrowed, and one thing blue. The blue half is simple — my assessment pattern, offered by Samsung, is the Blue Shadow colorway. The spotlight of the cellphone is unquestionably the “one thing new.” Samsung massively up to date its pocket-sized foldable cellphone with an enormous cowl display. At 4.1 inches, it is the most important exterior show on a flip-style cellphone up to now.

“One thing borrowed” comes within the type of the Exynos processor that lives contained in the cellphone. Previous variations of Galaxy Z Flips in worldwide markets have been powered by Exynos silicon prior to now, however U.S. telephones have sometimes had Snapdragon {hardware} from Qualcomm, which we strongly favor. The “borrowed label” is my hope that Samsung will return to Snapdragon {hardware} sooner or later — extra on that later.

Lastly, “One thing outdated” — one among my largest frustrations with the cellphone, which is just a little bit higher this yr (however truthfully not that significantly better than the Galaxy Z Flip6). It has to do with the best way apps seem on the exterior show (what Samsung calls the Cowl Display screen) and Samsung’s refusal to deal with that lovely canvas like a correct display. It is just a little maddening, although it did not cease me from having enjoyable with the cellphone.

Shortly after Samsung unveiled the Z Flip 7 (and its extremely skinny older sibling, the wonderful Galaxy Z Fold 7) this July, I hit the street to sunny (and devastatingly scorching) St. Louis, dwelling of the Gateway Arch, Six Flags, and Meremec caverns. Over the course of 5 days, I put this “AI Flip Cellphone” by means of the ringer for my Galaxy Z Flip 7 assessment.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the Flex you suppose it’s

Earlier than I dive into the {hardware}, I would like to debate the spotlight. Samsung — lastly — responded to market strain within the U.S. (and overseas) by bringing a big Cowl Display screen show to its flip cellphone, and thank goodness. The earlier two generations additionally had bigger screens, however they’d odd notches in them to accommodate the digital camera modules, whereas everybody else was simply slicing the show across the cameras.

One of many first issues it’s best to do once you get this cellphone is allow apps to run on this show. The issue is, it takes 13 steps to do it, and until you are a geek (which, admittedly, if you happen to’re studying this assessment, you is perhaps), most individuals will not hassle. That is truthful, however you will be going into this struggle with one hand tied behind your again.

The 4.1-inch AMOLED display is giant, attractive, and will completely be used to the fullest. Like the primary show, it has 2,600 nits of peak brightness and a 120 Hz refresh price. Not all apps can deal with the Cowl Display screen (confusingly, Samsung additionally refers to this display because the Flex show and/or FlexWindow), however lots of them will. The excellent news: when you do these 13 steps, you are accomplished twiddling with settings. You possibly can merely add the apps that you really want. The dangerous information: Samsung would not actually need you to do it in any respect. You is perhaps questioning what I imply by that.

A hobbled expertise

If Samsung needed you to run apps on your house display, it would not require you to enter the Labs part of your settings and set up a separate app from the Galaxy retailer to do it. It would not drive you to make use of the Samsung keyboard on the Flex show, with its lack of voice typing, no matter which keyboard is your default keyboard (Gboard FTW). Plus, if I needed to see “open your cellphone to proceed” yet one more time, I used to be able to throw the cellphone out the window whereas driving in a automobile by means of central Illinois.

Every part from including apps to the launcher to organising widgets, to reordering widgets, all needs to be accomplished with the cellphone open, for some motive. It makes me unhappy.

As soon as you’re employed round these picadillos and get right down to enterprise, the quilt display itself is beautiful. Most apps work properly on there, together with Gemini and Gemini Reside, which is a enjoyable approach to work with Google’s AI. The show additionally goes proper as much as the sting of the cellphone.

The remainder of the {hardware}

Samsung constructed a very stable cellphone right here, and it is nice to make use of. The casing is armor aluminum, and the hinge has been redesigned this yr, slimming down the cellphone only a bit. The {hardware} is extra squared off than Motorola’s Razr, which might make one-handed opening just a little more durable. Nevertheless it’s tight and purposeful. While you shut the cellphone, you’ll accomplish that with one of the satisfying “Thwaps” you’ve got ever heard. Talking of which, it makes hanging up on folks far more satisfying than it already was. 

The buttons on the facet of the cellphone aren’t raised by a lot, which might make it arduous to find them with out trying. I usually missed the fingerprint sensor within the energy button as a result of I had hassle discovering it. However the remainder of the {hardware} is completely stable. The 6.9-inch AMOLED most important display can be bigger than earlier generations at 6.9 inches. The display has the identical teardrop form closing that minimizes the crease, which you’ll be able to see however will not care about.

The cellphone is powered by a 4,300 mAh battery that is simply 100 mAh smaller than its bigger sibling, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. As such, it will possibly simply final all day, particularly if you happen to carry out most duties on the quilt display. I seen the cellphone tended to run scorching, however solely after I was already exterior baking in a water park or on the St. Louis Zoo, so I think the climate was simply as seemingly at fault because the cellphone itself.

The software program on the within

Having talked in regards to the software program on the quilt display, the software program when open is… mainly the identical as some other Samsung cellphone. OneUI 8.0 is constructed onto Android 16, making these telephones the primary to ship with Android’s newest working system. That is no shock — Google and Samsung have been joined on the hip for some time now. OneUI 7 was a divisive working system as a result of quite a lot of Samsung customers appreciated how their telephones labored earlier than it rolled out (my spouse amongst them).

Personally, I cherished OneUI 7.0 as a result of it introduced again the vertical scrolling app drawer and the Capsule, which apes Apple’s Dynamic Island in quite a lot of nice methods. OneUI 8 provides all these advantages and takes issues a step additional, bringing 90:10 multitasking to the telephones. What meaning is you’ll be able to run two apps, one on high and one beneath, however you’ll be able to transfer the separator so that you solely see 10 % of one of many apps. Faucet that 10 % and the app pops as much as turn into the 90 %, and vice versa. It really works higher on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but it surely’s additionally fairly good on the Flip 7. 

While you half-fold the Flip, you activate Flex Mode, which helps you to profit from the foldable design. In Flex Mode, the app lives within the high half of the display, and the underside half turns into a type of management panel in supported apps. In YouTube, for instance, the underside half will get a play bar and play controls, which is fairly neat.

I additionally love that Dex is accessible on the Flip7. Samsung Dex mainly turns your cellphone right into a CPU once you join a monitor, mouse, and keyboard to it. It provides you a home windows interface much like Home windows. I spent a while with Dex on my journey to St Louis, however more often than not I am utilizing Dex is on long-haul flights, getting some work accomplished with a set of Xreal One glasses. Now that may be a rollicking good time and I am completely satisfied Samsung’s smaller foldable has that functionality.

We have now to speak in regards to the AI

The Flip 7 has quite a lot of the identical AI tips as different Samsung telephones, together with digital camera tips and AI photograph enhancing, comparable to shifting topics round or utilizing generative AI to fill within the background. Two notable enhancements embody Gemini on the Flex display, together with Gemini Reside. That is a pleasant bonus. Gemini Reside additionally works with the exterior digital camera (when the cellphone is open, to be clear) to turn into multimodal. On the St. Louis Zoo, I might level the digital camera at an animal and ask what I used to be taking a look at, and in each case, it was appropriate, which was stunning, to be completely sincere.

What was just a little annoying was how chatty Gemini Reside would get. “That is an Asian Elephant! You possibly can inform by the dimensions of the ears. Would you prefer to know extra in regards to the Asian elephant? Do you could have any questions on it? Please for the love of all issues holy speak to me!” That is not an precise quote, however you get the purpose.

The opposite AI options, like Samsung’s Now bar, additionally seem on the Flex display, even when the Now Transient remains to be lower than good. It nonetheless returns information tales that are not related to me. It stored me updated with the climate whilst I traveled, so that was good, however I nonetheless do not have a lot use for it.

Battery life and efficiency

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 comes with an Exynos 2500 processor constructed on a 3nm course of, much like flagship processors from Qualcomm and Mediatek. That is Samsung’s homegrown silicon. What’s odd this yr is that every one Flip 7s will probably be sporting the Exynos processor. Previously, Z Flip telephones bought abroad had Exynos whereas the U.S. variations had Snapdragon processors. Due to this, we all know that Snapdragon often outperforms Exynos. This yr, we won’t make that comparability, but it surely’s truthful to say historical past will not be on Samsung’s facet.

Geekbench is a benchmark instrument you need to use to get an concept of how a processor performs. Geekbench returns scores of two,354/7,340 single/multi-core scores on the Flip 7. For context, the Snapdragon 8 Elite within the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 returns a 2,430/8,823 rating, so it would not precisely blow it out of the water. Daily, the one actual stutters I famous had been within the digital camera software program sometimes, and generally when operating a number of home windows in Dex. They had been minor hiccups, however nonetheless noteworthy.

As for battery life, regardless of spending all day, most days out and about, away from Wi-Fi and in scorching temperatures moreover, the cellphone by no means died earlier than bedtime. I would not name this a multi-day cellphone, but it surely’s very not dangerous, and you will get much more mileage out of it if you happen to use the quilt display as usually as attainable.

Cameras are pretty much as good as your lighting

There are three cameras on this cellphone, however you will solely actually ever want to make use of two of them.

To be sincere, I did not discover a lot use for the 10MP selfie digital camera.

One of many key advantages to utilizing a flip-style foldable cellphone is the power to show the Cowl Display screen right into a preview window for taking selfies. The hinge may be very inflexible, so you’ll be able to even use the cellphone as its personal tripod and use gesture controls to take photographs and movies. I took a bunch of enjoyable selfies on the St. Louis Arch, Meremec caverns, and all factors in between utilizing that flex hinge, and I bought some nice pictures. It’s also possible to maintain the digital camera half open at a 90-degree angle for a camcorder grip if you happen to’re nostalgic (a characteristic you will additionally discover within the Motorola Razr Extremely). 

The outcomes you get will probably be extremely dependent in your lighting situations. For instance, at Six Flags through the day, my pictures had been good. Meremec Caverns and the St. Louis aquarium had been each a bit hit and miss. I might suggest that if you happen to’re in low-light situations, take quite a lot of pictures (to extend your odds of getting a great one) and ensure your topics are as nonetheless as attainable. Photographs of stalactites are going to be superb. Photographs of the folks standing in entrance of them, not a lot.

The digital camera software program affords pictures of as much as 10x, however you’ll by no means wish to go that prime. In my expertise, the 4x zoom is usable; at 10x you lose all depth and texture. The pictures is perhaps OK for social media, however usually, you will wish to keep away from these. As usually as not, they don’t seem to be good.

I additionally noticed a stunning quantity of grain in quite a lot of my lower-light pictures. Samsung is often fairly good at cleansing these issues up in low gentle, however even a few of the daytime pictures, significantly ultrawide and macroshots, ended up grainy in darker areas.

Capturing video is way the identical, although much less forgiving. Low-light video will not be horrible with the primary digital camera, however do not transfer or stroll whereas taking pictures. The judder will get fairly dangerous once you begin strolling. Good pictures are attainable in the dead of night, however that is extra the exception than the rule.

Total, it is a fairly good digital camera setup that does very properly within the day, and even when the solar is beginning to go down. End up in a cave — as one does — and your outcomes will fall into the vary of “blended bag” right down to “dumpster hearth.”

So, is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 value it?

Flip telephones are actually enjoyable. I like utilizing them, particularly when taking selfies with the primary digital camera. You are able to do that with the Fold 7, however holding that cellphone open is awkward. Holding a tiny little pocket sq. in your hand is a lot simpler and a significantly better expertise. For $1,099, I feel you’ll like this cellphone, too. Plus, it is cheaper than its major competitors, the Motorola Razr Extremely, which has a comparable digital camera and a better price ticket.

There are some corners lower right here. The Exynos processor will not be dangerous (Motorola’s flagship foldable has a Snapdragon processor), however not the most effective you should buy. I am unable to hate on Samsung’s cowl display software program an excessive amount of as a result of it is a curated expertise that Samsung needs you to have, and it actually solely makes me unhappy as a result of I am a nerd. The cameras are superb for this class, although it would not harm Samsung to take some notes from abroad rivals.

So, must you purchase the Z Flip 7? Once more, if you happen to’re a fan of the shape issue, that is essentially the most compelling foldable on provide right here in the US. In the event you’re already taking a look at one thing just like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus, this one folds in half for under $100 extra. I like what Samsung has lastly accomplished right here, catching as much as its contemporaries and restarting a contest warfare wherein the buyer will finally win.

The place to purchase the Galaxy Z Flip 7

You should purchase the Z Flip 7 at Samsung, Amazon, and Greatest Purchase (or simply about anyplace that sells telephones) for $1,099.99. The bottom model solely comes with 256GB of storage, however if you happen to choose up this cellphone at Amazon, you may get a $200 reward card at no further value, which is tough to argue with.

At Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung additionally debuted a mid-range model of the F Flip 7, following Motorola’s lead. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE affords many of the identical options for $899.99.