At its Galaxy Unpacked event in New York City, Samsung revealed a range of new devices, including theGalaxy Z Fold 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7, andGalaxy Z Flip 7 FE. I had the chance to try out both the Fold 7 and Flip 7 in New York, and so far, I’ve been impressed by Samsung’s refreshed foldables. This story will focus mainly on the Flip 7, but if you’re interested in the Fold 7, I’ve also written ahands-on impressionsarticle about that device.
I’ve always been interested in Samsung’sZ Flip foldable phones, mainly because of my nostalgia for theGame Boy Advance SP’sclam-shell design. Samsung released its first Galaxy Z Flip in 2020, and over the past five years, it has been refining and improving the device each year, with the Z Flip 7 being no exception. Notably, it features a larger display, a bigger battery, and a thinner design.
At Galaxy Unpacked, I had the opportunity to go hands-on with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and explore the device in person. Though my time with it was limited, I did get a feel for Samsung’s newclam-shell foldablethis year, and an idea of how the experience will be when it launches July 25. Here is what you need to know about the Flip 7, and my initial impressions of the device.
Galaxy Z Flip 7
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 7 is a solid upgrade from last year’s Flip 6, offering a refined cover screen, a thinner design, and a larger battery.
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Samsung nailed the Flip 7’s cover screen
It’s larger and wraps around the rear cameras
The first thing I immediately noticed about the Flip 7 when I picked it up for the first time was its new and improved cover screen, which Samsung refers to as its “Flex Window.” My biggest disappointment with theFlip 6last year was that the cover display didn’t wrap around the phone’s rear cameras, like the Motorola Razr. The oddly shaped design of the cover screen on past Z Flip phones has always thrown me off, and this year, Samsung has finally fixed that issue.
The Flip 7’s cover screen now wraps around its two rear cameras, and during my hands-on experience with the phone, I was captivated by this feature. The display looks stunning, and it feels much more natural. It features a larger 4.1-inch cover screen with a 948 x 1048 pixel resolution – an upgrade from theFlip 6’s 3.4-inch cover display– making it much easier to use and interact with features like the selfie camera and widgets on it. What I also loved about the Flip 7’s cover screen is its ultra-thin bezels, which measure just 1.25mm. you’re able to even use Gemini Live on it, which is handy if you want to find out something quickly.
Looking at the Flip 7’s unfolded main display, it is a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 2520 x 1080 pixel resolution and an adaptive refresh rate of 1-120Hz. While I was playing around with it, it reminded me a lot of theGalaxy S25 Ultra, which also has a 6.9-inch display. The crease line is also much less visible than last year, which helps sell the illusion that you’re not using a foldable phone even though you are.
Another new design feature of this year’s Flip 7 is its slim profile. Like the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Flip 7 has seen a noticeable reduction in thickness this year. The Flip 7 measures 13.7mm in thickness when unfolded and 6.5mm when folded, weighing 188 grams. That’s a noticeable improvement over the Flip 6, which measures 14.9mm thick when folded and 6.9mm thick when unfolded, and weighs 187 grams. While the Flip 7 is 1 gram heavier than the Flip 6, its slim profile makes it more comfortable to hold, and at times, it didn’t even feel like I was holding a Flip phone.
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The Flip 7 has the largest battery in a Samsung Flip yet
The cameras are the same as last year
What also impressed me about the Flip 7 is what Samsung has done with the battery. Although it is slimmer than the Flip 6, Samsung has managed to fit a larger 4,300mAh battery, the biggest in its Flip lineup yet. Samsung claims the Flip 7 can last up to 31 hours of video playback on a single charge. For comparison, the Flip 6 features a 4,000mAh battery, so the Flip 7 is a notable upgrade.
Unlike the Fold 7, which features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, the Flip 7 is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 2500 chipset with 12GB of RAM. The Flip 7 is available in two storage options: 256GB and 512GB. It comes in three colors: blue shadow, jet black, and coral red. Samsung is also offering a fourth exclusive color, called mint, on its website. You can check out the full specifications for the Flip 7 below.
I only had a brief chance to try out a few apps on the Flip 7, but the experience felt smooth, and One UI 8 looks stunning. The phone will launch with Samsung’s Android 16-based One UI 8 update right out of the box. Due to the limited time I had with the device, I can’t comment on how well the Exynos 2500 performs in multitasking and gaming. It will be interesting to see how it compares to the Snapdragon 8 Elite, with initial leaks suggesting it will not be far behind in performance.
Regarding the cameras on the Flip 7, it features two rear shooters on the cover screen: a 50-megapixel f/1.8 ultra-wide lens and a 12-megapixel f/2.2 wide lens. Its front camera is a 10-megapixel lens. The cameras remain unchanged from those on the Fold 6.
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The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is a solid upgrade
Unlike the Fold 7, its price has not gone up
Overall, I was impressed with what Samsung has achieved with the Flip 7 this year, and I don’t have anything negative to say about it yet. Its new cover screen design truly stands out and looks much better than the Flip 6’s. Samsung even managed to address my concerns about battery life with the thinner chassis by fitting a 4,300mAh battery into it.
While the Flip 7 is a solid upgrade from the Flip 6, I don’t think it’s as significant as the jump from the Fold 6 to the Fold 7.
However, like all new tech, it ultimately comes down to value. The Flip 7 starts at $1,100 for the 256GB model, the same price as the Fold 6 last year. Unlike with the Fold 7, Samsung did not increase the price of the Flip 7 this year, which is a positive move and might encourage more people to try it out as their first foldable.
While the Flip 7 is a solid upgrade from the Flip 6, I don’t think it’s as significant as the jump from the Fold 6 to the Fold 7. If you own a Flip 6, there’s no compelling reason to upgrade unless you’re excited about the new cover screen design. If you have a Flip 4 or a Flip 5, switching to the Flip 7 is definitely worth it for the extra screen space and the lighter, slimmer build.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is now available for pre-order on Samsung’s website, with the phone shipping July 25. If you want more coverage from Samsung’s recent Unpacked event in New York City, check out my story on theGalaxy Z Fold 7and theGalaxy Z Flip 7 FE.
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