Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 review: A little too late

Samsung is having a reasonably stable 12 months with the Galaxy S25 Edge, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and the upcoming Project Moohan; nonetheless, not every part they’ve launched this 12 months has been successful. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely was an ideal telephone, however very costly for the expertise, and now the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is likely to be a bit of too late. Although there are some enhancements, the corporate additionally took a few steps again.

Improved design

Samsung has lastly taken a design cue from Motorola and has prolonged the Cowl Display’s 3.4-inch panel to 4.1 inches, matching the likes of Razr flagships. This display sports activities a Tremendous AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh charge, 2,600 nits of brightness and 948 x 1048-pixel decision. With the Cowl Display, you’ll be able to simply verify and reply to notifications, verify the time, scroll by means of a wide range of widgets and use Google Gemini, even Gemini Dwell.

Moreover, when you obtain Good Lock from the Galaxy Retailer, you’ll be able to entry each single app in your telephone, much like the Razr model. It’s bizarre that it’s important to obtain one other app to have the ability to do that, contemplating the Razr has no problem permitting customers so as to add any single app to the Cowl Display.

Nonetheless, I’m completely satisfied Samsung has improved the Cowl Display expertise, and has positively made it extra usable whereas providing a premium look and expertise.

Unfolded, the Z Flip 7 sports activities a 6.9-inch show with a 1080 x 2520-pixel decision. As all the time, you’ll be able to nonetheless see the crease in the course of versatile planel. The display doesn’t look significantly better than its predecessor, however the further 0.2 inches is a pleasant addition. The handset’s body is flat, and it feels much like the S25 Extremely, however the Moto Razr Ultra feels extra snug in your hand with its extra rounded body.

The smartphone is lighter than the Razr Extremely, which is a pleasant contact, but it surely additionally lacks the enjoyable eco leather-based again or the wooden again panel on some fashions.

And in comparison with its predecessor, the Z Flip 6, the Flip 7 can also be thinner, which suggests it’s not as cumbersome when folded in your pocket and slimmer when unfolded in your hand. The Z Flip 7 positively has a greater design than its predecessor, but it surely’s exhausting to say outright that the Flip 7’s design is any higher than the Razr Extremely, its greatest competitors in the marketplace. That mentioned, it’s not unhealthy by any means, and the design enhancements are positively worthwhile.

Lacking a dragon

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 sports activities an Exynos 2500 chip, even in Canada, alongside 12GB of RAM and as much as 512GB of storage. The telephone can deal with any activity, together with scrolling social media, watching movies on YouTube, and taking part in Marvel Snap. I used to be fairly shocked to see the Exynos chipset in Canada since Samsung usually makes use of Snapdragon chips in its flagship gadgets in North America. Whereas it most likely makes the machine extra reasonably priced because it’s Samsung’s personal in-house chip, the Exynos chip seemingly falls wanting the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

I observed that the telephone would get heat when it was in my hand and even in my pocket, in addition to after a couple of Marvel Snap video games, when taking footage and even when utilizing Google Maps. I anticipated higher from Samsung, contemplating the success of handsets just like the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and the S25 sequence. And whereas I’m not too fascinated by speaking about benchmarks, in response to Geekbench, the single-core and multi-core scores are worse than the Z Flip 6. You’re taking a look at a single-core rating of 1,971 and a multi-core rating of 6,627, in comparison with the Z Flip 6’s single-core rating of two,246 and a multi-core rating of 6,740. I don’t put a number of weight into these scores, but it surely sucks that the successor is pulling worse benchmarks. Though to be honest, compared to the Razr Extremely, the Z Flip 7 isn’t that unhealthy. The Razr Extremely had a single-core rating of 1,749, and a multi-core rating of 6,702, which is fairly unhealthy in comparison with a number of the different Snapdragon 8 Elite gadgets.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 has a bigger battery than its predecessor, now sporting a 4,300mAh cell in comparison with the 4,000mAh on the Z Flip 6. Regardless that the telephone has a much bigger screens, it hasn’t negatively impacted the battery efficiency. I can simply get by means of a day, and it’ll make it to the afternoon the next day with out a problem. On days I performed a number of Marvel Snap and took footage, coping with the additional heat of the telephone, the Z Flip 7 nonetheless made it to the tip of the day. Samsung nonetheless solely presents 25W wired charging, which isn’t rather a lot in comparison with different telephones in the marketplace. Nonetheless, the foldable impressed me by surviving for therefore lengthy within the day. It lasted longer all through the day than the Motorola Razr Extremely regardless of having a smaller battery.

Respectable digicam, however not the very best

And whereas the Snapdragon 8 Elite is designed to reinforce picture processing and add AI options, the Z Flip 7 with its duo of cameras and Exynos 2500 chipset with its AI-powered stablization, isn’t that unhealthy. The 50-megapixel major shooter takes stable footage with vivid colors, excessive dynamic vary, and it presents sufficient particulars for social media footage. Nevertheless, when you have been a photographer, you may want a tool just like the S25 Extremely or Z Fold 7 as each handsets can seize much more element of their footage. Additional, the 12-megapixel ultra-wide digicam is a bit of underwhelming. I most popular the first shooter on the Z Flip 7, however I needed the cameras had extra consistency, much like the Razr Extremely, the place the 2 cameras have been constant.

Nonetheless, when you’re rocking the Z Flip 7, you’ll take a number of the greatest selfies by utilizing the rear-facing shooters for front-facing pictures.

The Crownless

Altogether, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is a stable smartphone, and whereas some features of it aren’t as much as par with the Razr Extremely, Samsung’s flip telephone is extra afforable. The Z Flip 7 costs $1,642.99, whereas the Razr Extremely is priced at $1,899.99. Each telephones are significantly too costly for my part, however no less than if you would like a stable foldable, and the Razr Extremely is out of your worth vary, Samsung’s handset is likely to be for you. I’d advocate this handset to somebody who needs to do this kind of foldable telephone, doesn’t thoughts that they’re not getting top of the range footage and isn’t a cellular gamer.

Nevertheless, with an extended battery life, and the nice 4.1-inch Cowl Display, the Z Flip 7 isn’t a foul possibility, however I wouldn’t take into account it the very best flip fashion foldable in the marketplace anymore, as that crown can simply go to the Razr Extremely this 12 months.