My First Impressions: The Samsung Z Fold Flip 7 Redefines Foldable Excellence

It’s that time again, the rhythmic tick-tock of the smartphone upgrade cycle. Last year, the updates to Samsung’s foldables felt almost imperceptible. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 received new chipsets, yes, but beyond that, not much changed. It was a subtle tick. This year, however, the landscape has shifted dramatically. With the launch of the new Samsung Z Fold Flip 7 lineup, specifically the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7, Samsung has delivered genuinely meaningful hardware updates that demand attention.

Welcome to my hands-on experience and initial review of Samsung’s latest generation of foldable devices. While both the Fold and Flip models are part of this exciting release, my thoughts will primarily revolve around the larger Galaxy Z Fold 7, as it’s the device that has seen the most noticeable and impactful transformations. These changes, I believe, will resonate differently depending on your familiarity with the smartphone world.

If you’re not deeply entrenched in the phone industry, then prepare to be amazed. The Samsung Z Fold Flip 7 series, particularly the Z Fold 7, is a revelation. It’s a brand-new, super-thin, ultra-light foldable phone that truly feels next-gen. For those of us who closely follow smartphone developments and have witnessed the advancements in ultra-thin foldables from other companies overseas, the feeling is one of Samsung finally catching up – and perhaps even setting new benchmarks. Regardless of your perspective, the difference with the Z Fold 7 is undeniable and significant.

The Samsung Z Fold 7: A Leap in Design and Ergonomics

The most striking improvement in the Samsung Z Fold Flip 7 series, evident in the Z Fold 7, is its dramatically thinner and lighter design. This is a game-changer. Each side, when unfolded, measures just over 4mm, meaning the entire device, when closed, is a mere 8.9mm thick. This is a remarkable feat of engineering. Samsung has clearly dedicated resources to simplifying, strengthening, and thinning the internal components, from the hinge mechanism to the chassis itself. The result? A device that weighs just 215 grams, astonishingly lighter than even a flagship like the S25 Ultra.

This relentless pursuit of thinness and lightness serves a clear purpose: to make the Z Fold 7 a much more usable “slab phone” when closed. The difference in handling and daily use compared to last year’s model is immediately noticeable. It feels barely thicker than a USB-C port on each side. Even the buttons and the fingerprint reader have been thinned down to seamlessly fit on the rail. In the past, I’ve often commented on other foldables being more practical when closed due to different aspect ratios or size choices.

However, I am genuinely loving the new form factor of this Samsung Z Fold Flip 7 member. And the best part? When it unfolds, it still transforms into one of the largest tablets you can comfortably fit in your pocket, now boasting an impressive 8 inches corner-to-corner display. Samsung has truly improved every aspect of its folded usage, while simultaneously enhancing the full-size open experience. Adding to this, it runs One UI 8 based on Android 16 right out of the box, ensuring that all the latest improvements for big-screen multitasking and multi-window management are readily available.

In the diverse world of foldables, different designs cater to different needs. Some are shorter and wider, making them more manageable when closed but less optimal when open. Others are taller and narrower, offering a grander open screen but feeling less comfortable when folded. This latest update from Samsung, particularly with the Z Fold 7, has brilliantly made the device better in both closed and open states. That’s a truly impressive achievement.

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Camera Innovations and Performance Powerhouse

On the theme of hardware improvements, one persistent challenge for thin foldables has been fitting in flagship-level cameras. With the Z Fold 7, while it’s still somewhat true that it doesn’t quite match the absolute best slab phones, the gap has narrowed significantly. Samsung has incorporated the S25 Ultra’s main 200-megapixel camera into the new Fold. While the glass and optics around it are slightly thinner to accommodate the design, it is, in essence, a true flagship camera, bringing all the pixel-peeping benefits that come with it to a foldable.

Having used this camera system on the S25 Ultra for months, I can attest to its quality. The 12-megapixel ultrawide and 10-megapixel 3x telephoto lenses are still smaller than their slab phone counterparts, but they are lesser-used cameras, and the vast majority of your photos will come from that stellar primary sensor. The only minor drawback I’ve encountered is the camera bump, which makes the phone notoriously wobbly when placed on a flat surface without a case.

It’s truly “diabolical” in its rocking potential! Thankfully, there’s also an improved, slightly wider-angle 10-megapixel selfie camera on the inside screen, which is great news for video calls and selfies.

Internal Hardware and Performance

Delving into the internal hardware of the Samsung Z Fold Flip 7, we find the new Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip. It’s a fascinating insight, but apparently, the sheer volume of this custom chip sold by Samsung is so massive that it might outsell all standard Snapdragon 8 Elite versions combined, effectively making the “for Galaxy” version the de facto standard. While this might mean nothing in practical terms, it was an entertaining piece of information. Performance-wise, as expected from the limited time I’ve had with it, it’s superb.

Everything feels incredibly smooth. Coupled with 12GB of RAM (and an impressive 16GB for the 1TB storage variant), this phone is built for multitasking. All the Galaxy AI tools, whether you use them occasionally or constantly, are remarkably fast and are ideally designed to improve over time. Samsung has even made bold claims about their image editor, promising even better background object removal – which is quite remarkable considering how advanced their current solutions already are compared to the competition.

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Not All Roses: The Few Downgrades

However, the Samsung Z Fold Flip 7 generation isn’t entirely perfect. I’ve noted three areas of regression, which I’ll present in ascending order of significance, in my opinion.

1. Removal of S Pen Support

Firstly, and perhaps the least impactful for the average user, is the removal of S Pen support on the Z Fold 7. The previous model offered S Pen compatibility, but this iteration does not. It seems Samsung faced a dilemma: either fully commit to the S Pen, perhaps even integrating a dedicated slot, or acknowledge that its adoption was limited and remove it. They chose the latter, removing the digitizer and making the UTG (Ultra Thin Glass) screen slightly thicker as a result. While this might disappoint some tech reviewers on platforms like YouTube who appreciated the feature, it’s clear that the majority of users weren’t utilizing it, leading to its discontinuation.

2. Price Increase

Secondly, and a more substantial concern, is the price increase. The base price of the Z Fold 7 has jumped by $100, from $1899 to $1999. It was already an expensive device, and now it’s even more so. While the inclusion of flagship cameras and the revolutionary thinner design justify some of this, $2000 for a foldable is a significant investment.

3. Battery Capacity Remains the Same

Finally, while not a direct downgrade in terms of size, the battery capacity remains the same as last year: 4,400 mAh. For those accustomed to Samsung’s ecosystem, this might seem acceptable, given the unique challenges of splitting a battery for a foldable design. However, for a $2000 device, I feel compelled to point out that silicon-carbon batteries exist, offering significantly higher capacities in smaller form factors. Samsung has been notoriously cautious about battery innovation in recent years, seemingly prioritizing safety above all else. It feels like they’re leaving potential on the table by not adopting silicon-carbon technology.

Comparison:

• Honor Magic V5: thinner than Z Fold 7, same weight, 5,820 mAh battery with fast charging
• Z Fold 7: 4,400 mAh battery

If you’re a power user, or if you frequently use the large 8-inch display in its unfolded state, battery life is a critical concern. It’s a bummer to see Samsung playing it so safe in this department. Perhaps they’ll catch up soon.

The Samsung Z Flip 7: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back?

Now, let’s turn our attention to the other half of the Samsung Z Fold Flip 7 duo, the Z Flip 7. This smaller, more affordable, hamburger-style flipping phone maintains the same starting price of $1099 as last year. However, you’ll immediately notice that everything about it is bigger. At first, this was a slight concern, as the Z Flip series was one of the last bastions of genuinely small phones. But then, you open it, and it’s a large phone, so perhaps the size increase doesn’t matter as much in practice.

Bigger Internal Display

Starting with the internal display, it has grown from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches diagonally. This means that when unfolded, it truly feels like a proper large flagship slab phone. Everything benefits from this larger canvas – watching videos, taking pictures, and crucially, they’ve also managed to fit a bigger battery, jumping from 4,000 mAh to 4,300 mAh. No surprises there.

Major External Display Upgrade

But the most significant improvement for the Z Flip 7 lies in its external display. Samsung has taken full advantage of the larger frame to make the cover display far more usable than ever before.

Highlights of the new cover display:

• 4.1-inch edge-to-edge display
• Brighter and smoother 120Hz refresh rate
• Camera rings integrated as elegant cutouts
• Ability to triage notifications, use widgets, and take high-quality selfies using the main camera

Chipset Update

However, there’s one update that could be a cause for slight concern: Samsung has reverted from a Snapdragon chip to an Exynos chip in the Z Flip 7. Last year’s Flip ran on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but this model features the Exynos 2500.

While I don’t believe it’s a bad chip, I also don’t think it quite matches the Snapdragon 8 Elite in its current combination of peak performance and power efficiency. This development is worth watching, as it could be a preview for the S26 series, with rumors suggesting Samsung might fully switch back to Exynos across its entire lineup. There are whispers of a 2nm processor and potential performance leveling up, but we’ll have to wait and see.

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Beyond the Foldables: A Glimpse at the Ecosystem

As I’m publishing this on the day of Samsung’s Unpacked event, it’s worth noting that other exciting products were announced alongside the Samsung Z Fold Flip 7 and Flip 7.

• Galaxy Watch 8: circular design with ability to measure toxins through skin via antioxidant index
• Z Flip 7 FE (Fan Edition): essentially a Z Flip 6 with Exynos 2400 chip, priced at $899

If you’d like me to cover anything else from the event, just let me know – I’ll be watching it just like you.

Samsung Z Fold Flip 7: the Conclusion

In conclusion, the Samsung Z Fold Flip 7 series represents a significant step forward for Samsung’s foldable line.

Key takeaways:

• Z Fold 7 → remarkably thinner and lighter, improved cameras, powerful performance, no S Pen support, slightly higher price
• Z Flip 7 → excellent improvements in screen size and external display functionality, switch to Exynos requires monitoring

Samsung is clearly pushing the boundaries of foldable technology, and I’m excited to see how these devices evolve in the hands of users.