I Accidentally Learned Just How Durable the Galaxy Z Flip 7 Is
After less than six hours with the Galaxy Z Flip 7, I accidentally performed my own informal drop test. At a catered affair in Brooklyn, I walked outside to get a view of the waterfront, and when I pulled the Z Flip 7 out of my pocket, I fumbled it. I watched helplessly as Samsung's newest foldable phone fell to the ground. The noise it made when it clacked against the concrete caused everyone around to look at me with a knowing, sympathetic expression that said, "Aw, that's a shame. Your phone is toast."
Have you ever dropped your phone? There's that Schrödinger's cat-like moment before you pick it up when you're anxious to see if the phone survived.
Fortunately, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 was fine. The 4.1-inch cover screen didn't have any cracks or scuffs. The 6.9-inch inner display was unharmed because the phone was shut. The only tell that it kissed the ground was a tiny scuff on the bottom of the phone near the microphones. Samsung's claim that its new "Armour Flex Hinge" is built to withstand impact is indeed true.
In the early days of foldable phones, one of the biggest unknowns was their durability. It's amazing that about six years later, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 can handle being dropped on concrete like it had landed on a velvet pillow. Now, I still wouldn't take the Flip 7 (or any foldable phone) to the beach, as it can only withstand particles that are 1mm or larger. So going to a confetti factory would be fine, but a salt factory is a definite no-no.
Ultra Thin: First Look at the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 Ultra Thin: First Look at the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7
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Ultra Thin: First Look at the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7
The Galaxy Z Flip 7's thin design
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is 6.5mm thick when open and 13.7mm thick when closed.
Joe Maldonado/CNET/PCMag
The star of Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event was the Galaxy Z Fold 7. At 8.9mm thick when closed, the Fold 7 is ridiculously thin. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 looks like it also went on Ozempic, but it's 13.7mm thick when closed. That's slim, but not Fold 7 slim. Why couldn't the Flip 7 be super slim like the Fold 7? I just keep imagining a Galaxy Z Flip 8 with the same thinness as the Fold 7.
For some perspective, here's how the Flip 7 compares to its clamshell kinfolk:
Galaxy Z Flip 7 thickness vs. other flip phones Phone Closed Open Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 13.7mm 6.5mm Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 14.9mm 6.9mm Motorola Razr Plus 15.32mm 7.09mm Motorola Razr Ultra 15.69mm 7.19mm Motorola Razr (2025) 15.85mm 7.25mm
The Galaxy Z Flip 7's big cover screen
Here are three Galaxy Z Flip 7 phones in different colors.
Joe Maldonado/CNET
The original Galaxy Z Flip had a tiny, 1.1-inch pill-shaped cover display. It was perfect for showing the time but pretty much useless for anything else. The defining feature on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is its 4.1-inch cover display. The screen looks incredible. I was checking my notifications on the screen under direct sunlight and was able to read everything. One of the hang-ups I had reviewing the Galaxy Z Flip 6 was switching from the inner screen to the cover display outdoors. There would be times on sunny days where I could barely make out what was on the cover display, despite having no issues with the main screen.
Samsung has increased the maximum brightness of the Flip 7's cover screen to 2,600 nits, which is the same as the inner display. Both screens now top out at 120Hz, too, which should make for a much more consistent experience by having system animations, gameplay and scrolling through a social feed look super smooth.
The 6.9-inch inner screen is big, but it doesn't feel unwieldy when I use it. The Flip 6 had a 6.7-inch display, but that extra 0.2 inches on the Flip 7's screen makes it feel much bigger, which my middle-aged eyes are grateful for.
In terms of functionality, the cover screen's natural state is widgets. And some, like Spotify's widget, are all I need in lieu of using full apps. But I want apps on the home screen, so I need to enable this functionality in the Labs section of Settings and download the MultiStar app. It takes a couple of minutes to set up, but I do wish the interface supported apps by default.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7's cameras
The Z Flip 7 has a 50-megapixel camera with a wide-angle lens and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera in its cover screen.
Joe Maldonado/CNET
The Flip 7 has three cameras: a 50-megapixel wide-angle, a 12-megapixel ultrawide and a 10-megapixel selfie camera (in the main 6.9-inch screen). The cameras are the same as those on the Flip 6 and Flip 7 FE. But the phones run on different processors, so differences or improvements in photos and videos (if any) will come from Samsung's processing and machine learning.
Here are some of my favorite photos from the Galaxy Z Flip 7 so far:
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I grabbed this shot of the New York skyline with the Flip 7's main camera set at 2x. The highlights and texture in the clouds really make this photo pop.
Patrick Holland/CNET
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This image of CNET's Tara Brown and Vanessa Hand Orellana was taken with the Flip 7's main camera, which did a good job of handling the combination of warm front lighting and the bright white backlight from the sign.
Patrick Holland/CNET
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New York streets look great at night after it rains, especially in this photo I took with the main camera.
Patrick Holland/CNET
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I'm a fan of ultrawide cameras, and this snap that I took with the Flip 7 is one example why. I like the way Samsung's ultrawide lens distorts and exaggerates the subject and makes it look more dramatic.
Patrick Holland/CNET
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Here's another photo from the phone's main camera, taken in a dim airline cabin.
Patrick Holland/CNET
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Both these shots are from the main camera. The one on the left was lit purely by the sign, from behind me. And the one on the right captures the texture and details of the large gelato cone.
Tara Brown, Patrick Holland/CNET
Galaxy Z Flip 7 final thoughts for now
The hinge on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is nearly 30% smaller compared with the one on last year's Galaxy Z Flip 6.
Joe Maldonado/CNET/PCMag
Samsung gave its foldable line a major overhaul. And while the Galaxy Z Fold 7 feels like an entirely different phone from previous Folds, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 seems like a nice refinement. I will say that I've had only two days with the phone. And as enamored as I am with the larger cover screen, I'm excited to see how the battery life measures up.
Samsung gave the Flip 7 a 4,300-mAh battery (compared with the Galaxy Z Flip 6's 4,000-mAh battery), but I wonder if the increased capacity will be offset by the power needed for its Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and those larger, brighter displays.
I have a lot more testing to do. But as I work my way toward a full review, I'll try not to drop the Flip 7 anymore.
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