Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on review: Feels like flip phone perfection

I didn’t think I was going to be this excited

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 held in the hand.
(Image: © Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

Early Verdict

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 arguably gets its biggest upgrades in years, with the changes making this flip-style phone even more versatile. Highlights include robust cameras features, helpful multimodal AI functionality, and support for Samsung DeX.

Pros

  • +

    Bigger Flex Window display

  • +

    Now supports Samsung DeX

  • +

    Price remains the same

  • +

    Multimodal AI thanks to Flex Mode

Cons

  • -

    Cameras are essentially unchanged

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For years I’ve always tried to convince myself to pick Samsung’s Z Flip phones as one of my daily drivers, but they’ve always come up short. This time, however, that could change thanks to the huge upgrades that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is getting.

Samsung's foldable flip phone receives a big makeover complete with larger inner and outer screens, more Galaxy AI features, bigger battery, and — for the first time ever in the series — Samsung DeX support. Everyone knows this is the one request I’ve been asking, so it took seven generations of the Flip for Samsung to finally add it.

What’s better is that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 remains at the same $1,099 starting price as last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 6, while also undercutting the $1,299 Motorola Razr Ultra (2025), currently the best foldable phone you can buy.

But Samsung’s not just introducing just one flip-style phone. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is joined by the cheaper Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE.

I honestly think that the Z Flip 7 is as close to perfect when it comes to flip-style phones. I’ve spent some hands-on time with Sammy’s new flip phones, and there’s a lot that could get you excited for this year’s batch.

Galaxy Z Flip 7 + FE Hands-On: You've Got Options! - YouTube Galaxy Z Flip 7 + FE Hands-On: You've Got Options! - YouTube
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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on review: Specifications

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Galaxy Z Flip 7

Galaxy Flip 7 FE

Price

$1,099 / £1,049

$899 / £849

Inner Display

6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (2520 x 1080, 21:9), 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate

6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (2640 x 1080, 22:9), 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate

Outer Display

4.1-inch Super AMOLED (948 x 1048), 120Hz refresh rate

3.4-inch Super AMOLED (720 x 748)

Chipset

Exynos 2500

Exynos 2400

RAM

12GB

8GB

Storage

256GB, 512GB

128GB, 256GB

Rear cameras

50 MP main (f/1.8), 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2)

50 MP main (f/1.8), 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2)

Front cameras

10MP (f/2.2)

10MP (f/2.2)

Battery

4,300 mAh

4,000 mAh

Water Resistance Rating

IP48

IP48

Colors

Blue shadow, Jet black, Coralred, Mint

Black, white

Size

2.96 x 3.37 x 0.54-inches (75.2 x 85.5 x 13.7mm) closed, 2.96 x 6.56 x 0.26-inches (75.2 x 166.7 x 6.5mm) open

2.83 x 3.35 x 0.59-iches (71.9 x 85.1 x 14.9mm) closed, 2.83 x 6.5 x 0.27-inches (71.9 x 165.1 x 6.9mm) open

Weight

6.63 ounces (188g)

6.6 ounces (187g)

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on review: Price and availability

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 in different colors.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which sees a U.S. price hike, I’m really happy Samsung’s keeping the price of the Z Flip 7 at $1,099. At this price, I would argue that Samsung's phone has a clear advantage over the pricier Razr Ultra (2025) — just as long as the new phone's processing and battery performances don’t disappoint. The $1,099 price comes with 256GB of storage and it’s available in four colors (Blue Shadow, Coralred, Jetblack, and Mint).

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE has a lower $899 starting price, but it comes with 128GB of storage and your choice of either white or black. I’m not sure how I feel about this, especially given how the cheaper FE has a lot of similarities with last year’s Z Flip 6. Plus, it’s nowhere as competitively priced as the Motorola Razr (2025) at $699.

I was hoping for more of a price gap between the Z Flip 7 and Z Flip 7 FE because $200 just isn’t enough. Regardless, both phones are available for pre-order starting today (July 9) — with full availability starting on July 25.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on review: Design

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 in flex mode.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

Almost instantly I’m drawn to the larger 4.1-inch Flex Window on the outside of the Z Flip 7. It’s bigger for sure than the Z Flip 6's 3.4-inch panel, but I like how the screen goes all the way to the edges this time around and wraps around the cameras — plus it helps that there’s an ever so tiny bezel around it. This size increase definitely makes it much more usable than before, which I’ll explain more when talking about the phone's software.

Although it’s not as noticeable, the Z Flip 7 technically grows in size and is a smidge wider than the Z Flip 6. Another minuscule difference is how the corners are less rounded than before, but apart from these changes, the new model looks just like last year’s Flip.

Samsung says that its new Amor FlexHinge is much more durable, but it’s hard to say for sure if that’s true. Yes, I find its snapping action much more responsive than the hinge on the Z Flip 7 FE, but the crease where the main display folds in half is still noticeable.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FlipSuit case.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

One area where Samsung is doing a better job than anyone else is supplying the Z Flip 7 with a wealth of accessories, including new FlipSuit cases that not only protect the phone, but also add custom wallpapers when they’re installed. Most of them are static wallpapers, but there’s one that I saw that’s dynamic and made it feel like I was playing a pinball machine with the Flex Window.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE in flex mode showing Flex Window.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

As for the Z Flip 7 FE’s design, it looks and feels a lot like the Z Flip 6 — down to the notch design with its Flex Window. It feels solidly constructed, but the hinge seems to be stiffer than what I’d like. On top of that, you only have black and white colors to choose from.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on review: Display

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 playing a video on main screen.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

Just as before, the 4.1-inch Flex Window on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 can be customized to include a bunch of different widgets. However, it’s still annoying that this panel doesn’t run full apps natively like the cover display on the Razr line. This means you’ll still have to download the Good Lock app. It’s one inconvenience that’s worth pursuing because many apps in Android 16 are customized to fit better on different screens.

The Z Flip 7's 6.9-inch inner display looks just as gorgeous as ever, complete with wide viewing angles, punch looking colors, and plenty of detail. At just the right angle, however, I can still make out the crease running through the phone, which isn’t terrible especially compared to notebook style foldables.

Due to the Z Flip 7's narrower design than your standard slate, it does cause videos to have black bars to the left and right in landscape — which can expand to fill out the entire screen with a pinch gesture. So far, I have no complaints about the display, but I’m hoping it turns out to be brighter.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE held in the hand.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

The Z Flip 7 FE essentially has the same display as the Z Flip 6, right down to the sizes. As noted above, the Flex Window still has the same notch cutout as before, but it still gets the same level of utility that lets me take selfies using the rear cameras. The 6.7-inch main display looks just as good as the one on the Z Flip 7, complete with the same saturated color tones and viewing angles.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on review: Cameras

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 showing camera preview on Flex Window.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

On paper, it doesn’t look like Samsung has upgraded the cameras — so it appears to be the same 50MP main and 12MP ultrawide combination. Even if the sensors are unchanged, I’m optimistic that the performance will be improved thanks to Samsung's updated ProVisual Engine and support for 10-bit HDR video. Likewise, Samsung claims optical-like quality with 2x zoom with the main camera.

The Z Flip 7 could be the ultimate camera phone for content creators thanks in large part to how I can lean on the Flex Window to shoot videos of myself with the superior rear cameras instead of the 10MP selfie cam on the main display. Camera enthusiasts will love the rich modes and manual controls this camera phone offers, including portrait video and pro video, that make it a lot more versatile when I can activate a preview with the Flex Window while using the main screen.

Among the new camera tricks included this year is Auto Zoom with the Flex Cam, which lets the camera automatically pick the best cameras to ensure everyone in the shot is in frame. I tested it out by placing the phone on a table with the Flex Cam pointing upward while I moved around. Not only did Auto Zoom track me, but it also will switch between the main and ultrawide cameras to fit everyone.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE held in the hand with Flex Mode.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

Curiously, the Z Flip 7 FE packs a similar 50MP main and 12MP ultrawide, along with a 10MP selfie camera. Functionally, it has the same useful features as the Z Flip 7, but obviously you’re working with a smaller outer screen — which isn’t a deal breaker.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on review: Performance

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 held in the hand.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

Ever since the first model, Samsung has leaned on Qualcomm’s chips to power its Z Flip line. That changes this year because for the first time ever in the series, Samsung’s using its in-house Exynos chips instead. That means an Exynos 2500 and 2400 for the Z Flip 7 and Z Flip 7 FE, respectively.

I’m not sure how this could impact performance one either phone, but it's something to pay attention to given the class-leading performance of the Snapdragon 8 Elite that won't feature in the latest Flips. So far, though, the Flip 7 feels snappy running different tasks — but that could change once I actually use it.

I have the same sentiments about the Exynos 2400 that’s powering the FE, which is actually made using a 4nm process instead of the 3nm one with the Exynos 2500.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on review: Battery life and charging

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 Flex Window turned on.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

With its larger size, the Z Flip 7 gets a larger 4,300 mAh battery — up from the Z Flip 6’s 4,000 mAh power pack. Now, what’s going to be critical will be the power efficiency features offered by the Exynos 2500.

I’m confident that the larger capacity alone is enough to propel the new model's battery life over last year’s Z Flip 6, but the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is going to need a lot to break past the Motorola Razr Ultra’s mark of 15 hours and 42 minutes in our battery benchmark test. The Z Flip 6 came in well under at 11 hours and 1 minute running the same test.

It doesn’t appear like Samsung has changed the charging speeds for the Z Flip 7, so it’s still stuck on the same 25W wired charging speed as before. Samsung hasn’t disclosed the wireless charging speed, but I suspect it’s the same 15W speed featured on the Z Flip 6.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on review: Software and AI

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 in a shirt pocket running Gemini Live.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

The biggest selling point with most flagships these days centers around the amount of AI features they come with — and the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is no exception. For starters, the new model gains the same new Galaxy AI features that were introduced by the Galaxy S25 line earlier this year. They consist of the Now Brief, Now Bar, cross app actions, and my favorite, multimodal AI.

Fundamentally, I can run Gemini Live and let it access my Galaxy Z Flip 7 camera to see what I’m seeing and proceed to ask it questions. But since this is a flip-style phone, it’s a lot like having Samantha — the AI chatbot in the 2013 film “Her” — that Joaquin Phoenix carries around in his shirt pocket to interact with the real world. I really dig this level of interaction with Gemini, especially when it can be helpful for a number of things.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 showing settings for Samsung DeX.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with the new One UI 8 interface that’s running on top of Android 16 on the Z Flip 7, but it carries a lot of the staple features that I’m used to seeing with Samsung’s phones. For example, it’s really big on multi-tasking with features like split screen.

More importantly, the Z Flip 7 is finally getting the one feature I’ve been asking for years — Samsung DeX. This opens up a whole new experience that the series has never seen before, so I’m eager to see what changes, if any, Samsung makes with this version.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE showing One UI 8.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

In my even shorter time with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, the software appears mostly identical to the Flip 7. One UI 8 looks and feels identical, including new additions like the Now Brief, the same widgets for the Flew Window display, and the various Flex Modes to capture content with the cameras. The only thing it’s missing is Samsung DeX support.

More time is needed to get a good idea of how the software works, but from what I’ve seen so far, it’s shaping out to be a rich experience that caters to productivity, entertainment, and content creation.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on review: Outlook

Using the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 for a phone call.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

Considering how there’s been stiff competition with foldable phones the last couple of years, it’s nice to see that Samsung has finally responded in a big way with the Galaxy Z Flip 7. By choosing to keep the new model's price unchanged, while adding bigger upgrades that I feel are the most substantial to date, Samsung has a strong chance at convincing people to adopt a foldable.

I’m particularly stoked about Samsung DeX and its multimodal AI, but I’m still a little apprehensive about the chipset switch to Exynos silicon. Depending on how our testing goes, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 has the potential of pulling ahead of the Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) — and I think it’s the better foldable against the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

As much as I’m happy for Samsung to bring to market a lower cost Flip, I’m really torn about where the FE model is supposed to fit in the lineup. Samsung certainly will have a harder time convincing people to choose the FE over the standard Flip 7, but it’s even more confusing that the new low-cost model doesn’t offer any additional incentives to differentiate it against the Flip 6.

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John Velasco
Senior Channel Editor for Phones

John’s a senior editor covering phones for Tom’s Guide. He’s no stranger in this area having covered mobile phones and gadgets since 2008 when he started his career. On top of his editor duties, he’s a seasoned videographer being in front and behind the camera producing YouTube videos. Previously, he held editor roles with PhoneArena, Android Authority, Digital Trends, and SPY. Outside of tech, he enjoys producing mini documentaries and fun social clips for small businesses, enjoying the beach life at the Jersey Shore, and recently becoming a first time homeowner.

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