Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 Review: Still the King!

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 review is a fascinating one for several reasons. Clamshell smartphone users often don’t prioritize raw power or performance. Instead, style and compact design are the primary motivations for choosing this form factor.

Samsung understands its audience well—listening closely to feedback and working diligently to enhance the experience. For those concerned about the steep £1,049 price tag, Samsung introduced a more affordable alternative this year: the Z Flip 7 FE. But what truly makes the Galaxy Z Flip 7 stand out? Below is our experience after several weeks with the device.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 Review

Design

Samsung has addressed most of the complaints from the previous generation. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is a triumph in design. The hinge is both flexible and incredibly durable, featuring an improved structure that minimizes the visibility of the crease.

One of the biggest improvements is the outer screen, which is now larger and easier to use. This not only enhances usability but also allows for a bigger battery this year. The end result is a win-win.

Unfolded Dimensions: 166.7 x 75.2 x 6.5 mm
Folded Dimensions: 85.5 x 75.2 x 13.7 mm
Weight: 188g

The Flip 7 achieves the core purpose of a clamshell phone: portability. It easily fits in your pocket, making it the most stylish and practical flip phone to date.

Durability

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 has proven to be a remarkably durable phone. In JerryRigEverything’s durability test on YouTube, the device passed the bend test with flying colors. Samsung’s engineers did a great job reinforcing the structure, ensuring it doesn't snap under pressure.

The device is protected by an Armor Aluminum frame and comes with IP48-rated dust and water resistance. The front is plastic (when unfolded), while the back is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2, a robust combination that adds confidence to everyday use.

Display

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 features a 4.1-inch Super AMOLED cover display and a 6.9-inch Foldable Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X main screen. The tall, narrow design improves one-handed usability and comfort.

The outer display, although compact, is genuinely usable. It’s expansive enough for quick tasks like reading messages or controlling music, thanks to Samsung’s smart UI enhancements. While typing on it still isn’t as fluid as on the main display, it's by far the most practical cover screen available on a flip phone.

The main display offers a 120 Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, and peak brightness of 2,600 nits, making it ideal for indoor and outdoor use. Its resolution of 1080 x 2520 pixels (21:9 ratio) delivers sharp, vibrant visuals that elevate your content experience.

The cover display also supports a 120 Hz refresh rate and reaches 2,600 nits of brightness, protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2. It’s colorful, bright, and remarkably fluid.

Performance

Performance-wise, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 delivers just what it needs. It is powered by the Exynos 2500 5G chipset—a processor that, while not matching the Snapdragon 8 Elite in sheer power, shines in AI-related tasks.

Unfolding the phone reveals a large 6.9-inch screen, perfect for gaming. The Exynos 2500’s GPU is well-suited for most mobile games, and during our testing, we didn’t encounter any lag or stuttering. However, not all high-end games are optimized for this chip.

Samsung pairs the chipset with 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. There is no 128GB variant this year, and there’s no microSD slot. Starting storage at 256GB makes sense for a device in this class.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 may be compact, but its cameras still perform admirably. While it doesn’t match the photographic capabilities of the S25 Ultra or S25 Edge, it still shows noticeable improvement over its predecessor.

The 50MP main camera delivers realistic photos, avoiding the common Samsung habit of over-saturating colors. The contrast feels more balanced, and the dynamic range has improved—making highlights and shadows appear more natural.

However, under harsh conditions (like sunlight reflecting off beach pebbles), the sensor still struggles slightly. But overall, it’s a step forward.

Primary camera: 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm (wide), 1/1.57", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS
Ultrawide camera: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 123˚, 1/3.2", 1.12µm

Video capabilities are solid: 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 60/120/240 fps, and 720p at 960 fps, with HDR10+ support. While not groundbreaking, video performance is stable, detailed, and perfectly usable for casual content creation.

Software & Galaxy AI

No Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 review is complete without mentioning software—and this year, software is where the Flip 7 truly shines.

Out of the box, it runs Android 16 with Samsung’s One UI 8 skin. It even leapfrogs Pixel devices in terms of updates, with Samsung committing to 7 years of OS support.

Galaxy AI brings impressive new features that elevate the user experience:

Photo Assist: Move or erase background objects
Writing Assist: Improve grammar or rephrase text
Browsing Assist: Summarizes web content
Interpreter: Real-time translation
Transcript Assist: Summarizes audio recordings
Note Assist: Makes notes more concise

However, the outer display software still needs improvement. Only a few apps—like Maps, YouTube, Netflix, and Messages—are supported natively. Full-fledged app support for the cover screen remains a key area for future upgrades.

Battery Life

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 is equipped with a 4,300 mAh battery. It can comfortably last a full day under moderate use. However, heavy gaming or extended video shooting will deplete it faster.

It supports 25W wired charging, which isn’t the fastest, but it gets the job done. A switch to silicon-carbon battery technology in the future could significantly improve both capacity and charging speeds while maintaining the device's slim profile.

Conclusion: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 Review

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the best clamshell smartphone on the market today. It delivers on its promise—style, usability, durability, and a premium experience in a compact form factor.

The expanded cover screen, improved hinge, Galaxy AI features, and overall performance make this a standout device. However, there's still work to be done, especially in expanding native app support for the outer display.

For now, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 remains the king of flip phones—and a recommended buy for those who crave elegance and functionality in one.