Berke İpekçiTo be candid, I’ve typically gravitated toward the larger, book-style foldable phones—those have always seemed more practical for productivity, at least from my perspective. The flip phones, despite their recent surge in popularity, haven’t really been on my radar.
(Image credit: Andrew Myrick (http://androidcentral.com)
That said, I did spend a week with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 ahead of the Unpacked event and the Flip 7 announcement, so I wasn’t starting from scratch. After getting some hands-on experience with the Flip 7, my initial reaction was honestly more positive than anticipated. Even with just a brief period using the Flip 6, the improvements in the Flip 7 are immediately noticeable—it’s a significant step up.
Flex Window Takes Center Stage
To be frank, the key driver behind my perspective is the FlexWindow upgrade. The display’s significantly larger now, which really expands its functionality and overall value. That enhancement alone stands out as the primary reason for my enthusiasm about this release.
Samsung’s putting some real effort into customization lately—auto-curated wallpapers, for one. The FlexWindow clock widget? They finally addressed that, so it no longer covers people’s faces in your photos. Smart move. Feels a bit inspired by Apple’s recent updates, but hey, it’s a solid addition regardless.Now, on to the FlexWindow’s actual functionality. Samsung made a lot of noise about all these new features, which is great, but here’s the catch: you still can’t just run any app on the cover screen unless you go through Good Lock and MultiStar. That’s a bit puzzling, honestly.Given the new, larger cover display, expanding app support would’ve been a standout feature for the Flip 7. It seems like a missed opportunity, especially considering how much emphasis they put on improvements elsewhere. The new features are welcome, no doubt, but this limitation stands out.
No More Snapdragon? Enter Exynos
Sure, the FlexWindow draws plenty of attention, but it’s far from the Flip 7’s only selling point. Samsung’s also refined the main display. Now, you’re looking at a 6.9-inch Dynamic 2X AMOLED panel that’s a bit wider than the Flip 6—almost matching the Galaxy S25 Plus in width, if you can believe it.
As for what’s under the hood, it’s a bit of a curveball. No Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy this time. Instead, Samsung is introducing its new Exynos 2500, their first 3nm SoC. It was only just announced, so this is a bold move. That said, early Geekbench results suggest performance is right up there with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, so it should hold its own just fine.
Flip 7. Still, credit where it’s due—Samsung managed to get me genuinely interested in what these new flip phones can bring to the table. Didn’t expect that, but here we are.
