When it comes to foldable smartphones, clamshell or flip foldables have always been my favourite, especially Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip series, and nostalgia is to blame. However, despite being a pioneer in this category, Samsung has been falling behind the competition in recent years, failing to adopt more modern designs and offering specs that can seem underwhelming compared to rival products.
But it seems the Korean tech giant has finally woken up with its latest Galaxy Z Flip 7. Does it now deliver specs that give its peers a run for their money? Or is it still playing catch-up? Here’s what I discovered after using the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 as my daily driver for slightly over a week.
Samsung finally catches up with the competition?
When I learnt that Samsung’s latest clamshell foldable for 2025 would come with a full cover screen, I thought, “Hey, Samsung has finally woken up”. That was good news after several generations of underwhelming upgrades.
With the Galaxy Z Flip 7, you now get a 4.1” Super AMOLED cover display with a resolution of 1048×948 pixels, up from the Z Flip 6’s smaller 3.4” panel.
It’s (slightly) larger than those on rivals like Xiaomi’s Mix Flip and Mix Flip 2, as well as Motorola‘s Razr 60 Ultra — thanks in part to its smaller camera rings. While it does trail in resolution, I didn’t find this to be an issue during my week of usage.
Besides the extra screen real estate, the Galaxy Z Flip 7’s cover display now features a 120Hz refresh rate — double the Z Flip 6’s 60Hz — and a higher peak brightness of 2,600 nits (up from 1,600 nits).
What do these improvements mean in daily use? For starters, taking selfies using the rear cameras is now much easier and clearer. Apps and widgets are also more usable and less cramped than before.
In addition to the larger display, Samsung has also equipped the Z Flip 7 with a beefier 4,300mAh battery — 300mAh more than the Z Flip 6, and only 100mAh shy of the larger Galaxy Z Fold 7.
That gave me just over 6 hours and 30 minutes of screen-on time (SOT) in a day of normal usage — mostly social media, YouTube, Spotify, and some light gaming.
I even ran a mini “stress test” by heavily using the phone for arcade games, social media, and Netflix during a 16-hour day. Even so, I managed to squeeze out a bit more than 5 hours and 30 minutes of SOT, with Always-On Display, Wi-Fi, mobile data, and GPS all on. That’s not amazing by modern flagship standards, but it can definitely be considered good enough.
Samsung also gave the Flip 7 a physical upgrade — it’s thinner and lighter than the Flip 6. You will have to place the devices side by side to really experience the difference. As a fan of compact phones, I appreciated the Z Flip 7’s portability when folded and the big-screen experience when unfolded — sort of like the best of both worlds.
Samsung goes Exynos instead of Snapdragon — Bad decision?
Inside the Z Flip 7 is Samsung’s in-house Exynos 2500 chipset, a change from last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
Any performance issues? Not really, except when using the cameras outdoors. After just five minutes of taking photos, the upper half of the back panel started feeling noticeably warm.
I won’t immediately point fingers at the Exynos chip, as this heat buildup could be due to the slim chassis, limited space for a large vapour chamber, or the fact that it’s tightly packed with both displays and three cameras.
Wireless DeX also heats things up. Yes, the Z Flip 7 is Samsung’s first flip phone to support DeX, both wired and wirelessly. Turning your phone into a makeshift desktop, at least in Samsung’s case, is actually very useful and surprisingly reliable.
Samsung nails it (again) on display, cameras, and software
As expected from a flagship Samsung phone, the main foldable display on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is vibrant, saturated, and beautiful. It has grown slightly to 6.9” (from 6.7” on the Flip 6). Here’s a quick glance at its specs:
- 6.9” Foldable Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X
- 120Hz refresh rate
- 2520×1080 resolution
- 2,600 nits peak brightness
The Z Flip 7’s camera hardware, on the other hand, is essentially brought over from the Flip 6:
- Rear: 50MP f/1.8 OIS main + 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle
- Front: 10MP f/2.2 punch-hole camera
But what makes the clamshell foldables like the Z Flip 7 shine is how the rear cameras and cover display work together. For selfies, it’s hard to beat. Photos came out looking great with good dynamic range, contrast, and natural colours. Video recording was also impressive. You can even fold the phone 90° and use it like a camcorder — very reminiscent of a 2000s Sony Handycam.
That said, I wish Samsung had included a telephoto lens. Unfortunately, space constraints in clamshells make this difficult for now.
If you’re a social media butterfly who loves taking selfies, clamshell foldables like the Galaxy Z Flip 7 are made for you. Anyway, here are some photos we’ve taken using the Z Flip 7.
On the software front, One UI 8 (based on Android 16) is easily my favourite UI for foldables, or dare I say, in the Android space. It’s clean, intuitive, and packed with character.
The Galaxy AI suite includes handy tools like Object Eraser, Chat Assist, and Sketch to Image. And not to forget my favourite AI features — Google’s Circle to Search, as well as Gemini and Gemini Live, which you can use even on the cover display.
But it’s not perfect, limitations still exist
First off, if you’re coming into the Galaxy Z Flip 7 expecting to use its larger cover display as much as possible without needing to open up the phone, well, you might be disappointed.
Where do I begin? For starters, the number of apps supported natively on the cover screen is still limited, just like the last two generations.
To unlock more, you’ll need to head to the Galaxy Store, install the GoodLock app, and enable the MultiStar feature. But one handy feature of MultiStar is its ability to let you change an app’s aspect ratio on the fly, giving you greater flexibility.
Now, back to the cover screen’s limitations, again. You can’t just add new apps onto the MultiStar widget straight from the cover display, as the phone will direct you to open it up to do so. Replying to notifications on the cover display will limit you to using only Samsung Keyboard — no Gboard or other alternatives.
Also, quick settings toggles on the cover screen aren’t customizable. What you see is what you get. This is where rivals like Xiaomi and Motorola do a better job, allowing more freedom on the cover screen, which should be the point of having a foldable in the first place.
Battery size and charging speeds are another area where Samsung trails behind. Yes, 4,300mAh is better than the Flip 6’s 4,000mAh, but Xiaomi’s Mix Flip (4,780mAh) and Mix Flip 2 (5,165mAh with silicon carbon tech) are way ahead.
And 25W wired / 15W wireless charging in 2025 is not fast enough. In fact, it hasn’t been for quite a while. It takes almost two hours to fully charge the Z Flip 7 via USB-C. In contrast, the Mix Flip 2 supports 67W wired and 50W wireless charging.
On the bright side, though, you’re getting a more advanced USB-C 3.2 port on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 rather than the 2.0 port on the Xiaomi Mix Flip 2. With its smaller battery and more conservative charging speeds, you do get a significantly slimmer and lighter body with the Galaxy Z Flip 7. I mean, you can’t have it all, right?
Verdict: Buy it for selfies, software, and style, but not value
You might think I didn’t enjoy the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 — but actually, I did. A lot.
I loved the display, the refined design, the excellent One UI software, and the clever camera setup. It’s a meaningful upgrade over the Z Flip 6.
But it’s my job as a reviewer to evaluate both pros and cons so readers can make an informed decision. And the competition is fiercer than ever in the foldable space, with major pressure from the Chinese brands.
So, is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 worth buying? It’s available in Malaysia with two configurations, and here are their pricing details:
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 (12GB RAM + 256GB storage) – RM4,999
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 (12GB RAM + 512GB storage) – RM5,599
But at the time of writing (until 31st July 2025), you can get the 512GB storage variant at just RM4,999.
If you want to look at alternative options, the Xiaomi Mix Flip is also sold at the same RM4,999 price for its sole 12GB+512GB configuration, or you can go for last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 6, which at the time of writing is going for as low as RM3,249 on Shopee. That’s even cheaper than the new Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE.
Final thoughts
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is Samsung’s strongest clamshell foldable yet. It’s finally competitive, but still has room to grow.
If you love taking selfies, appreciate polished software, and want the prestige of the Samsung name, this phone’s a winner. But if your top priorities are maximum features, battery life, charging speeds, or the best value for money, you might want to consider what rivals like Xiaomi are offering.
