The crease that everyone complained about? Barely noticeable now. The cover screen that felt cramped? Massive upgrade. The bulky design? Thinner than ever.
On paper, the Z Flip 7 sounds like the foldable phone we've been waiting for. But after spending real time with it, I discovered something troubling: Samsung fixed all the surface-level problems while making the core experience arguably worse.
Let me explain.
The Crease Drama Is (Mostly) Over
Let's address the elephant in the room—or rather, the line down the middle of the screen.
The Z Flip 6 had a weird quirk: it didn't actually open flat. If you tried sliding it across a table, it would glide right under because of a slight bend in the middle. The Z Flip 7's redesigned hinge provides a firm snap into the open position, and the phone now opens completely flat.
Running your finger across the screen, you can still feel the crease—it's physically similar to the Flip 6. But visually? It's noticeably improved. The new water drop hinge design creates a gentler fold that catches light differently.
Here's the thing though: the crease was never really the problem for daily use. You mostly notice it in reflections, not when actually using the phone. The content on screen looks perfectly normal. So while this improvement is welcome, it wasn't the dealbreaker people thought it was.
What you still need to accept:
- Thicker raised bezels around the main screen
- A pre-applied screen protector you shouldn't remove
- No anti-reflection coating like the S25 Ultra (meaning more fingerprints)
- A slightly more fragile screen than traditional phones
If any of these bother you fundamentally, a flip phone probably isn't for you—no matter how invisible Samsung makes that crease.
The Cover Screen Glow-Up Is Real
This is where Samsung absolutely nailed it.
The cover screen jumped from 3.4 inches to 4.1 inches—a massive increase. But it's not just bigger; it's better. The bezels are razor-thin, and the screen wraps around the cameras with zero wasted space.
More importantly, it now shares the same specs as the main screen: OLED, 120Hz, 2,600 nits of brightness. Last year's cover screen was dim and laggy by comparison. This year's is a pleasure to use outdoors.
What Makes The Cover Screen Actually Useful
The whole point of a cover screen is avoiding the inconvenience of constantly unfolding your phone. The Z Flip 7 finally delivers on this promise:
Practical features:
- Wider keyboard that doesn't feel cramped
- Interactive widgets for timers, reminders, weather, and more
- Now Brief showing relevant contextual information
- Now Bar for controlling ongoing app functions
- Camera preview with filters and zoom slider
Fun features:
- Customizable interactive emoji wallpapers (surprisingly addictive to play with)
- Time-based wallpapers that change throughout the day
- Full app access via Good Lock MultiStar (made by Samsung, works flawlessly)
I found myself handling notifications, replying to texts, and checking information without ever opening the phone. It hits this perfect sweet spot: useful enough to be convenient, but limited enough that you don't fall into mindless scrolling.
That's genuinely valuable in 2025's attention economy.
The Main Screen: Bigger and Better
When unfolded, the Z Flip 7 sports a 6.9-inch display (nice). That's larger than the Flip 6 and honestly bigger than many regular flagship phones.
But the real improvement is the aspect ratio change from 22:9 to 21:9. This might sound minor, but it transforms the experience:
Typing is easier: The keyboard is wider and more natural to use
Videos look better: The viewing area is 15% larger when watching 16:9 content (which is basically everything)
It feels more normal: The wider screen makes it feel less like a tall, awkward phone
Compare the Z Flip 7 to "compact" options like the Galaxy S25 or iPhone 16, and you're getting dramatically more screen real estate in a package that actually fits in your pocket.
The screen itself is gorgeous—OLED, 120Hz, bright at 2,600 nits. The only weakness is the average anti-reflection coating, but that's a consequence of the necessary screen protector.
The Camera: One Big Upgrade, Zero Hardware Changes
Here's the good news: Samsung added Log video recording. If you're willing to do post-processing, you can now capture footage that looks closer to real camera quality with less in-camera sharpening and processing.
Here's the rest of the news: everything else is identical to last year.
Same 50-megapixel main camera. Same ultrawide. Same processing. The 1x and 2x zoom quality is exactly what you got with the Flip 6.
What this means in practice:
The cameras are perfectly fine. The main sensor is solid with good dynamic range. The 2x digital zoom is respectable. Taking selfies with the main camera using the cover screen preview is genuinely better than any traditional front-facing camera.
But zoom beyond 2x and you'll really miss having a telephoto lens. I took this to a concert, and while 1x and 2x shots looked great, zooming to 5x was rough. That's probably the biggest photographic compromise of choosing a Flip phone.
Weirdly, Samsung added more camera controls to the cover screen (filters, zoom slider, HDR toggle) but still only offers Photo, Video, and Portrait modes. No time-lapse, no slow-mo, no Pro modes. And you can't even start Log recording from the cover screen, which seems like an oversight for the one major camera upgrade.
The Performance Problem Nobody Saw Coming
This is where things get uncomfortable.
The Z Flip 7 uses Samsung's Exynos 2500 processor instead of the Snapdragon 8 Elite found in basically every other Samsung flagship. The Exynos should still be about 10% faster than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in last year's Flip 6.
Except it's not.
After just 6 minutes of benchmark testing, performance matches the Flip 6. After 20 minutes, the Flip 7 ranges between 5% faster to 3% slower than its predecessor.
You never see this in a year-over-year update.
The culprit? Samsung apparently removed the vapor chamber cooling system. The official spec sheets don't mention it anymore, and the thermal throttling backs this up. The phone runs hotter and can't sustain peak performance.
Reality check: For gaming, the Flip was never your first choice anyway. There's limited space for heat dissipation when you have screens on both sides. But it's still disappointing to see regression in a flagship update.
For everything else—multitasking, video watching, normal phone usage—it's perfectly fine. But "perfectly fine" isn't exciting in a $1,000+ phone.
The Battery Life Paradox
Despite increasing battery capacity from 4,000mAh to 4,300mAh, real-world battery life is barely better—and might actually be worse in some scenarios.
My testing results:
In one test looping benchmarks and videos, the Z Flip 7 died after 12 hours and 6 minutes. The Flip 6? Still had 11% remaining. For context, the S25 Ultra had 30% left.
In another test with different video content, the Flip 7 was only 1% ahead after nearly 3 hours.
The less efficient Exynos processor seems to be eating away any gains from the larger battery.
What this means for you: Both Flips will get most people through a full day, but neither is a battery champion. If all-day battery anxiety is real for you, this isn't your phone.
What Actually Got Better (And It's Significant)
Despite the performance and battery disappointments, the Z Flip 7 makes meaningful improvements where it counts most for daily use:
Physical design: Noticeably thinner body that feels more refined
The hinge: Satisfying firm snap when opening and closing
Wider aspect ratio: Makes the phone feel more "normal" when unfolded
Cover screen: Dramatically more usable with better specs and larger size
Storage: Now starts at 256GB instead of 128GB at the same price (effectively cheaper for most buyers)
Software features: One UI 8 adds fun touches like 95:5 split screen with instant switching and time-based wallpapers
DeX support: Now available on Flip (though you still need an external monitor)
The Flip Phone Lifestyle: Is It For You?
After all this, the question isn't whether the Z Flip 7 is a good phone—it objectively is. The question is whether the flip form factor fits your life.
You'll love it if:
- You want a large screen in a pocketable package
- You're tired of mindless phone scrolling (the cover screen helps with this)
- You appreciate unique, conversation-starting design
- You take lots of selfies (that main camera + cover screen combo is unbeatable)
- You don't game heavily on your phone
You'll hate it if:
- You need all-day battery confidence without compromises
- You want a telephoto camera for proper zoom
- You demand the absolute best performance
- You can't accept a screen protector and visible crease
- You need a super rugged, tank-like phone
The Uncomfortable Truth
Samsung fixed every complaint people had about the Z Flip 6. Smaller crease. Better cover screen. Thinner design. More storage at the same price.
But in doing so, they made the invisible stuff worse. The processor is less capable. The battery life barely improved despite a larger cell. There's no vapor chamber cooling.
It's like Samsung was so focused on addressing vocal complaints that they didn't notice they were regressing in areas that matter more to daily experience.
And yet...
I still think the Z Flip 7 is a compelling phone. Not because it's perfect, but because it represents a fundamentally different relationship with your smartphone. That cover screen genuinely changes how you interact with notifications and quick tasks. The pocketability is liberating if you've been carrying massive slab phones.
The performance and battery compromises don't fundamentally change the user experience for most people. But they do mean this isn't unquestionably better than last year's model—it's just different.
Should You Buy It?
If you have a Z Flip 6: This isn't a must-upgrade. The cover screen is significantly better, but you're not gaining performance or battery life. Wait for the Z Flip 8.
If you're new to flip phones: The Z Flip 7 is the best one yet. Just make sure you're okay with the inherent compromises of the form factor before committing.
If you want the absolute best Samsung phone: Get the S25 Ultra. Better battery, better performance, better cameras, better everything—except portability.
The Z Flip 7 is a statement phone. It says you value design and user experience differently than the spec-sheet crowd. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Just go in with your eyes open about what you're gaining—and what you're giving up.
Are you team flip phone or team slab? And if you have a Z Flip 6, is that bigger cover screen tempting enough to upgrade? Let me know in the comments—I'm curious what the dealbreakers and dealmakers are for actual users.