The Galaxy Z Flip 7 from Samsung is the latest Clamshell foldable from the brand in India, with a starting price tag of Rs 1,09,999. For that price, it has to deliver impressive results across the board and while we have already tested its cameras in detail before, here’s our full detailed review, which will help you find out whether it is worth that price tag in other areas and if it’s worthy enough to upgrade over last year’s model.
Design & Display
This year’s Galaxy Flip doesn’t just bring a chip upgrade but also offers a new design. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the thinnest Galaxy Z Flip device to date, measuring 6.5 mm when unfolded and 13.7 mm when folded, which is 0.4 mm thinner and 1.2 mm thinner than its predecessor.
The reduced thickness definitely feels good in the hand, offering a much better grip and a more premium feeling. The device is larger than the Flip 6, which only worsens my long-standing complaint about the button placement on the Flip devices. When unfolded, the buttons now sit even higher, making them harder to reach. For users with smaller hands, adjusting the volume will likely feel awkward and uncomfortable.
The new Dual Rail hinge feels smoother than the Flip 6, but there’s less free play, which means it can’t stand at, say, 30-degree angles as it would just unfold/fold at that point. However, the slimmer hinge looks good and is also claimed to last longer than the previous models, so it should be durable as well.
Speaking of durability, Galaxy Z Flip 7 has the same IP48 water and dust resistance rating as the previous model, meaning it’s certified to withstand submersion in up to 1.5 metres of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. As I couldn’t test the rating, so we’ll have to take Samsung’s word for it.
The matte and flat side rails offer a good grip in the hand. The bezels on the front do look slimmer, but I am not entirely sure, considering I haven’t compared it side by side with the Flip 6. The Haptics remain identical to the previous model and I don’t appreciate that as they are still inferior to the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy S-series flagships. They are strong and tight, but not as much as the other flagships front for the brand.
The stereo speakers offer quite a loud sound and possess a treble-oriented sound signature so don’t expect a lot of bass, but yes, there is some.
The side-mounted fingerprint sensor works nicely. It is fast and worked 10 out of 10 times in my case.
The displays in the Galaxy Z Flip 7 have received several upgrades over those in the Galaxy Z Flip 6. The 4.1-inch Super AMOLED (948 x 1048) cover display is now larger and smoother, with support for up to a 120 Hz refresh rate. It is the most complete cover display ever on Samsung’s Flip phone and while some competitors adopted it early, it is great to see Samsung finally catch up.
The new display covers the area around the cameras and also appears sharper. It is also much smoother, thanks to the higher refresh rate. While the feature set remains largely unchanged, this new display looks great and enhances its utility. You can open any App you want (with the MultiStar Good Lock module) on the cover screen, for example, for quick replies on WhatsApp or to check your email. For obvious reasons, some apps don’t fit well with overlapping elements.
There are a number of clock styles you can choose from, along with a plethora of widgets that one can scroll through. Swiping left brings up the various cover screens, while swiping right brings up the notifications, the same as before. Swiping down from the top brings up quick settings and a new Play Music tile that simply plays music from the last app where you last played it.
You can also use the rear cameras, just as before, from the cover screen to take selfies. It is also easier to do that as the interface looks better on the bigger screen and you get a bigger viewfinder. The cover screen is also quite bright, even under direct sunlight, so readability isn’t an issue.
Moving on to the inner foldable display, there are two major upgrades in the Galaxy Z Flip 7, including a 0.2-inch larger size, now standing at 6.9 inches versus 6.7 inches previously, along with a less visible crease.
Speaking of the latter, the crease is still present and becomes noticeable after a few days of folding and unfolding, but it’s far less prominent than on the Z Flip 6. It’s barely distracting, even when viewed from certain angles, and you won’t feel any dent while scrolling across it, which is also a great achievement.
As for the display performance, it is what one would expect from a Samsung flagship, and that’s sharp, smooth, responsive, and highly vivid. The Resolution remains capped at 1080p, and it looks as great as the displays of previous Z Flip foldables. Same as the cover display, it’s bright enough outdoors for clear readability. It was a treat to watch content on this display, whether on Netflix (which indicates that HDR 10 support is present) or YouTube. Overall, I have no complaints about this panel in any regard.
While the cover display doesn’t, the inner panel also supports full-screen AOD, which means it can show the lock screen wallpaper even on the Always-On display.
Read More: Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Review: This Design Grows on You
Software & Performance
For the first time, we get an Exynos-powered Flip from Samsung, with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 featuring the Exynos 2500 at its helm. While I was already impressed with the Exynos 2400 in last year’s S24 and S24+, the Exynos 2500 doesn’t disappoint either.
Although it sits slightly below the Snapdragon 8 Elite in benchmarks, that difference is not noticeable in daily use. However, the device did get a little too hot in the upper half in some scenarios, but that has been the case even with Snapdragon-powered flips, which I think is due to the form facto,r as there’s not much area for heat dissipation
Gaming performance was also decent, and the device could easily run demanding titles at maximum graphics settings. However, this is not a gamer’s phone by any means, as it tends to get warm quickly, which can affect gaming performance in the long run. Gaming features such as bypass charging, gaming motion smoothness, and auto touch protection are also available.
Further, I think the chip could’ve been more efficient but I’ll talk about it in detail in the battery segment. Other than that, performance has been flawless. If you were concerned about lags or the Galaxy Z Flip 7 not meeting flagship standards, you can rest assured—that’s not an issue here.
RAM management has been great, and switching through apps has been a breeze. The device is responsive, quick, and smooth for the most part. Yes, there have been a few minor animation stutters and also a couple of UI crashes and reboots, but that’s likely a software bug and could easily be fixed with an update.
We couldn’t test certain features on the device, like Samsung Pay, as it’s a UAE-sourced unit, so features like those won’t work in India.
Next, One UI 8 has been phenomenal so far, aside from the bugs. You do get a good amount of pre-loaded apps, but again, they can be uninstalled quickly. In terms of design, there have been no major changes in One UI 8 compared to One UI 7. There are some elements, such as the dialogue boxes, which now have a background blur, making them look more polished. App opening and closing animations have also gotten even smoother than before.
There are the Flip-exclusive features as well, such as Flex mode, which also helps you shoot photos when kept on a surface with a 90-degree fold so you don’t need a tripod. The Android 16 feature, named Predictive Back Gestures, needs to be turned on in the Labs section, so that whenever you go back through the gesture, it shows the screen you will land on.
As has been the case with Samsung phones for the past year or so, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is also filled with AI features to the brim. You get the likes of Gemini assistant, which is pretty standard on all phones nowadays, but here, you get a slightly tweaked version in terms of UI, as it is also suited for the small cover screen.
Then there’s the Galaxy AI suite of features, which gives you access to features such as Call Assist, Write Assist, Interpreter, Note Assist, Transcript Assist, Browsing Assist, Photo Assist, Drawing Assist, Audio Eraser, Photo Ambient Wallpaper, Now Brief, and Health Assist. All these are the same as what you saw with the Galaxy S25 earlier this year and work the same way.
However, features like Now Brief are now also having a UI built for the cover screen, similar to Gemini, so you don’t always have to unfold the device to use them.
Samsung claims that in One UI 8, “features like Now Bar and Now Brief will deliver even more customised insights and suggestions to help you stay on top of tasks and support your daily routine, through curated AI information.” Personally, I haven’t been a fan of the Now Brief feature in the Now Bar, as it hasn’t provided the utility factor I look for. It still doesn’t show me something useful that I would need on a daily basis.
The Now Bar, though, works impressively. If you are using Samsung Health to track a workout, playing music, or on a call, etc., everything shows up in the Now Bar on the lock screen, which is extremely useful.
The Now Bar on the cover screen also features a sleek music player interface. While it resembles the Flip 6’s cover screen UI, the larger display on the Flip 7 gives the music player a more refined appeal.
Speaking of cover screen UI, Samsung has also introduced new options to choose from, allowing you to select one of three UI types for any app you open on the outer display. One, where it opens full screen (including around the cameras) so some elements of the app get overlapped or hidden under the camera cutouts, but you get to use the full display. Two, you can add a black bottom bar above the cameras, so no elements get hidden, but the app size gets smaller. And third, it opens in a 16:9 aspect ratio (vertically), which is more suited for apps like Instagram, as they are designed for vertical use. With the third option in use, you can also align the screen to the left or right, making it easier to use with one hand.
Connectivity performance, including that of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, was good. 5G performance wasn’t the most impressive, which, in my opinion, is due to the device being an UAE unit rather than an Indian one. Due to this, 5G performance was somewhat inconsistent. We also finally get Samsung DeX on a Z Flip, which is also a first, and it works as it should, without any problems.
We did receive the August security patch in the third week of the month. Updates haven’t been an issue with Samsung devices for a while now (except for the delayed rollout of One UI 7), so you can rely on the brand in this space without a doubt.
Battery backup
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 features the largest battery ever in a Samsung Z Flip, boasting a 4,300mAh capacity. However, wired charging speeds are still capped at 25W.
That’s still a big disappointment, considering both foldable and slab-style phones at this price point (or lower) have faster charging speeds. The device takes slightly over an hour and a half to charge from an empty battery to full, and I want to emphasise how disappointing that is. Wireless charging works as it should, but is good for frequent and short top-ups rather than relying solely on it.
As for the runtimes, I consistently achieved a battery life of about 17 to 18 hours with regular use, which included mostly Wi-Fi usage, AOD enabled, listening to music, chatting on WhatsApp and Telegram, scrolling through Instagram, using Chrome, and taking some calls. The device was also connected to the Galaxy Watch 8. The screen-on time mostly hovered around 4 to 4.5 hours, and the maximum I could get was close to 5.5 hours with mostly active use.
Now, those are decent stats, but for some reason, last year’s Z Flip 6 with a similar use pattern and a smaller 4000mAh battery gave me similar (and sometimes better) results. However, note that those were with the normal AOD (and not full screen), but despite that, the battery life on the Flip 7 could’ve been better. This is where I think the Exynos Processor is to blame, as Flip 6 had a Snapdragon chip and a smaller battery but gave me better results. Without AOD, the results would get better, obviously, but then those like me, who regularly use it would get a little disappointed.
If your day involves heavier usage patterns, such as navigation, using the camera outdoors, using the display at high brightness, or gaming, then the battery life drops further for obvious reasons. With about 4 hours of screen-on time, this is not ideal. While the screen-on time drops, fortunately, it should still be able to get you through the day most of the time without needing you to plug in mid-day.
For those who like to keep track of battery health, it is now also displayed by Samsung under Battery Settings> Battery Information.
Cameras
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 features the same camera setup as the Galaxy Z Flip 6, including a 50MP primary sensor on the rear, paired with a 12MP ultra-wide-angle sensor. The front has a 10MP sensor for selfies and video calls.
We have already thoroughly tested the Flip 7’s cameras and mentioned in our detailed camera review that it indeed offers improvements over last year’s Flip 6 in the camera department, despite carrying the same hardware. This is most likely due to refined software processing and a new ISP onboard as well.
Although ultra-wide shots and zoomed-in captures still leave room for enhancement, the Galaxy Z Flip 7’s camera system turns out to be a solid package for the asking price, provided you don’t mind the absence of a dedicated telephoto lens.
However, you may still consider alternative smartphones if you want stronger camera performance, such as Samsung’s own Galaxy S24 Ultra from last year, currently available on Amazon for Rs 81,599. It continues to be the more reliable choice for photography thanks to its superior camera hardware.
