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regular-article-logo Wednesday, 23 July 2025

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 tipped to be the most fashionable clamshell phone of 2025

The thick bezel-ed Flip6 is history. What you now get is a significantly brighter Flip phone with an outer screen (or Flex Window) that’s far more useful than before

Mathures Paul Published 22.07.25, 12:23 PM
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 is slimmer than its predecessor. There are some meaningful upgrades, starting with a larger 4,300mAh battery. The Flip7 also supports DeX.  

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 is slimmer than its predecessor. There are some meaningful upgrades, starting with a larger 4,300mAh battery. The Flip7 also supports DeX.   Pictures: Mathures Paul

The days of transformative jumps between two generations of a phone are now uncommon. Samsung takes the proverbial leap of faith and delivers exactly that with the Galaxy Z Flip7. The thick bezel-ed Flip6 is history. What you now get is a significantly brighter Flip phone with an outer screen (or Flex Window) that’s far more useful than before. It feels like you’re using software that’s specifically designed for the hardware in your hand.

The blocky thickness and the undersized cover screen of previous generations are gone. Instead, you get an edge-to-edge Flex Window and a hinge mechanism that drastically reduces the screen crease.

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The Gorilla Glass Victus 2 enclosure offers peace of mind by taking care of drops. And the hinge mechanism has just the right amount of snap when the phone is shut. The main display is larger than before, a move that will please video watchers, and it’s also a little wider, making document parsing easier.

The design difference between Galaxy Z Fold7 (left) and Flip7

The design difference between Galaxy Z Fold7 (left) and Flip7

More usable than ever before

The screen we need to discuss is the Flex Window. It is now 4.1 inches. You still have to enable full apps on the cover. It’s an added step that needs to be done only once. Samsung gives you an option to choose the aspect ratio in which you can run apps on the cover screen. It helps when working with apps that you don’t want to reflow into a square.

Everything is bigger about the Flip7, which may have concerned users who are always looking for a smaller phone. But the update is just about right to ensure a better experience on the cover screen without making the feel of the phone —when clutched — different.

The inner screen has gone from 6.7 to 6.9 inches, making it feel like a large flagship phone when unfolded. All the functions on the phone benefit from having a larger display, be it watching videos or taking pictures.

The phone has a bright display with close integration with Google

The phone has a bright display with close integration with Google

On the cover screen, Samsung has gone corner to corner while making the cameras appear as cutouts. It’s a 4.1-inch edge-to-edge cover display, which is brighter and offers 120Hz refresh rate. The phone is more usable than ever when folded.

It helps that the phone is only 6.5mm thin when unfolded. There used to be a waterproofing seal on the outside, around the screen’s edges. Now the circuit board itself is water resistant, allowing Samsung to cut the layer from the screen and make the phone slimmer.

There is also Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 FE, which is a slightly cheaper model, but there are minor compromises you need to make on the Flex Window. In spite of that, it’s still a flagship-quality phone.

Best clamshell camera

Flip phones so far have had an issue with the camera. The Flip7 camera will not let you down. Instead of relying on the front-facing snapper, your self-portraits can be taken by leveraging the full resolution of the main camera, thanks to Flex mode. You will always have better portraits and videos.

For someone who uses the telephoto camera a lot, they may wish for the same on the Flip7. But at 50MP, with crop zooms that are of good quality, pictures are highly usable.

There is also a dual-camera mode for picture-in-picture recording, particularly helpful for vloggers who want to narrate a scene. The ultra-wide, too, is quite good and works fine at night.

Making the camera game special is the sturdy hinge. It allows you to position the camera in a number of ways. This is undoubtedly one of the best flip cameras money can buy.

Better battery performance

Flip7 packs a bigger battery than any other past Flip devices. The day usually begins with sending a number of messages and then comes a couple of video calls, after which it’s time to hop onto Google Maps to navigate the streets. During commutes come a few photos and videos that ultimately make it to social media.

The 4,300mAh battery lasts longer than before. It’s an all-day phone on most days, but if you are taking plenty of videos and using Google Maps often, you may need to juice up before the day is just about through. In case you need to charge the phone, there is the option to run apps on the cover screen, which consumes less power.

A few of the things you can do on the cover screen or Flex Window: Work on a bunch of apps, play YouTube full screen, play around with widgets

A few of the things you can do on the cover screen or Flex Window: Work on a bunch of apps, play YouTube full screen, play around with widgets

Excellent software offering

The overall software experience is consistent rather than bug-prone on most Android phones. The phone doesn’t crash or hang, and things are easy to find.

When it comes to Galaxy AI, there are some helpful features, like Writing Assist (tools to compose, organise and improve text), Transcript Assist (transcribes voice calls) and Interpreter (especially helpful when you are in a foreign land). By taking help from Gemini, the phone can become your tour guide. There are Gemini Live Screen sharing features, and Samsung has done a great job of making it work nicely on the outer screen.

One of the wins for the phone is the new DeX mode or desktop emulation. The phone didn’t overheat during our short usage of the mode, and apps did not crash. But we will need to work on DeX for longer periods to find out if the phone can handle it.

Make the call

What are the things that Samsung can work on? If you are using the outer screen, you need to use Samsung’s own keyboard. Most people will not have a problem with this, but if you are running Gboard on the inner screen, you expect the same to work on the outer screen because the layout is different. Also, you cannot rearrange icons on the launcher through the cover screen.

It’s also true that Samsung seems to be listening to its loyal customers. The processor? It doesn’t matter if it is Snapdragon or Exynos because you won’t feel any difference. This is a topic that only creates chatter on X, but in real life, users don’t feel any difference. It will make a difference only if you are playing a top-of-the-line mobile game, but I don’t think anybody with a Flip phone would. Given the performance, if Samsung moves everything to Exynos in the future, it will not be a bad move, especially if it is a 2nm processor.

The main camera has a powerful 50MP sensor

The main camera has a powerful 50MP sensor

Samsung is synonymous with Android, and the company has enough features to make the device highly competitive; it ensures that the foldable category flourishes. It is the phone most people will identify with in the clamshell category. The Flip7 strikes the right balance of specs and display capabilities. You get a better phone when closed or when unfolded. Galaxy Z Flip7 is that clamshell phone with a lot of colourful sprinkles. It is in the race to become the most fashionable phone of the year.

At a glance

Device: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7

Price: Upwards of 109,999 (512GB + 12GB)

Colours: Blue Shadow, Jet Black, Coral Red

High notes

  • Consistent software performance
  • The cover screen is more useful than before
  • The inside screen is bigger, but the phone is slimmer when unfolded
  • Better battery life
  • Comfortable to hold

Muffled note

  • You still have to enable apps on the cover screen once

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