Summer is fast approaching, and that means it won’t be long before we see Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 7 make its debut. While the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a top-notch foldable, it also felt like Samsung phoned it in last year. That new model offered mostly modest improvements over the Z Flip 5, with the most significant ones being hidden under the hood, like thermal improvements, or generally underwhelming, like a larger cover screen that didn’t improve in any other meaningful way.
We’re hoping that Samsung does better with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 this year. The good news is that plenty of leaks and rumors suggest the company is on the right track to hit it out of the park in its seventh inning. Let’s dig in and go over everything we’ve heard so far about what to expect from Samsung’s flagship flip phone this year.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: Design
We’re not expecting any radical changes in the overall design of the Galaxy Z Flip 7 this year compared to its predecessor. Samsung generally takes a more iterative approach to the design of its foldables, refining the design each year with modest style and usability enhancements rather than making broader changes.
Some rumors have suggested that Samsung could move away from the softer, rounded edges of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and prior models, adopting a “boxier” aesthetic this year. The theory is that this might be needed to accommodate new displays and a larger batter without compromising its slimness. However, most of the leaked renders we’ve seen indicate that if any such changes occur, they’re likely to be subtle. All the renders we’ve seen suggest that the button placement will remain the same.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 may grow slightly taller and wider — some leaks have suggested dimensions of 166.6 x 75.2 x 6.9mm, compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 6, which comes in at 165.1 x 71.9 x 6.9mm, but other renders are barely distinguishable from the current model. Unconfirmed rumors point to the possibility of a titanium build, but we’d take those with a grain of salt, as Samsung has thus far reserved that material for its top-of-the-line Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Samsung made some significant improvements to the hinge on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 last year, featuring a new “dual rail hinge” design that offers better shock distribution and moves more fluidly than ever while being rigid enough to let you prop the phone up at any angle. Samsung says that the Z Flip 6 hinge is rated for 200,000 folding and unfolding cycles. We were impressed with what Samsung did here, but it may not be finished if the rumors are accurate. The company has repeatedly said it’s focused on improving its hinges’ long-term reliability and durability as much as possible, and several sources suggest some of those improvements could arrive in this year’s model.
It’s an open question how much practical difference this will make in everyday use, but it could ensure that Galaxy Z Flip 7 owners can continue enjoying a solid and reliable hinge mechanism even if they hold onto their phone for several years. Sadly, there’s been little reporting on whether an improved hinge might also improve dust resistance. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 has an IP48 rating, which provides excellent water protection, but falls short on dust resistance compared to premium non-foldables, which typically carry an IP68 rating. The lower score for dust resistance is mainly due to the hinge and the flexible inner display, and there’s only so much Samsung can do here. Beach sand won’t be a problem — IP48 is enough to protect against particles larger than 1mm — but fine dust may remain an issue.
There’s been no word yet on what colors we can expect the Galaxy Z Flip 7 to arrive in. Samsung typically has some pretty fun shades for its Z Flip series, and we expect that will continue. However, what we’d really like to see is a return of the Bespoke Edition initiative that Samsung from the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 era.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: Displays
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is slated to get some very nice display improvements this year, both inside and out.
Reliable sources, including display analyst Ross Young, believe the main foldable display will grow from the 6.7-inch size that’s been the norm for the past few years to an even larger 6.8-inch or 6.85-inch screen. While the width and height may increase to make room for this larger screen, Samsung is also expected to reduce the bezels.
Samsung’s display division showed off some impressive creaseless screen technology at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC), rivaling what we’ve seen in the Oppo Find N5. This has made some hopeful that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 could finally rival what OnePlus, Oppo, and Honor have already managed to pull off. Sadly, we’re not holding our breath on this one, as it’s probably too early for Samsung’s bleeding-edge screen tech to be ready for this year’s model. Multiple reports say Samsung will noticeably reduce the crease in this year’s model, which is still good news, but it may not go away entirely until the Galaxy Z Flip 8 comes around next year.
Meanwhile, the cover screen is rumored to become both larger and more functional. Most reports agree on a 4-inch display — a healthy increase from the 3.4-inch one of the Galaxy Z Flip 6. Some reports call it a “full-sized” or “full-width” screen, suggesting it could cover most of the front. Again, some of this increase will come from slimmer bezels. There’s a preponderance of evidence for this new cover screen, including comments from Young, leaked CAD renders, and images of early Z Flip 7 case designs.
Several sources suggest Samsung’s goal is to finally make the cover screen fully functional. Previous Galaxy Z Flip models limited the cover screen mostly to notifications, quick settings, and widgets. Even when the display went from 1.9 to 3.4 inches on last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 6, Samsung did little to improve the experience — it just made it bigger. The 720 x 748 resolution and 60Hz display made everything look sluggish and fuzzy, and you still couldn’t run apps on it without fiddling with settings and third-party tools.
We’re hoping that Samsung has listened to user feedback and taken a cue from the Motorola Razr Plus, which has a cover screen that leaves Samsung in the dust; a 4-inch display that’s just as limited as the current 3.4-inch one would be a major disappointment. Based on everything we’ve heard, the outlook is good, but we won’t know for sure until Samsung unveils this year’s foldables.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: Camera
While the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is expected to take a nice leap forward in screen technology, it doesn’t look like Samsung will do the same for its camera system. By all reports, this year’s model will feature identical camera specs to the Galaxy Z Flip 6: a dual-camera array with a 50-megapixel (MP) primary wide lens and a 12MP ultra-wide, joined by a 10MP selfie camera under the main display.
Some of those cameras may gain new sensors under the hood for better light sensitivity and color reproduction, but most of the camera improvements will likely come from a more powerful image signal processor (ISP) inside this year’s model and the AI computational photography improvements from a more advanced neural processing unit (NPU).
Along those lines, Samsung may introduce more AI-driven features for editing and optimizing photos, further expanding its Galaxy AI Suite like it did for the Galaxy S25 lineup earlier this year. However, most of those also came to older Galaxy S-series and Z-series phones, so they may not be unique to the Galaxy Z Flip 7.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: Specs
There’s been a running debate among analysts and leakers about whether this year’s Galaxy Z Flip 7 will pack in Qualcomm’s custom Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy or Samsung’s own flagship Exynos 2500 chip. Early speculation pointed to the Exynos, but Samsung has reportedly been having production problems in producing enough chips to meet expected demand.
This is the same issue that reportedly led to Samsung scrapping its Exynos plans for the global Galaxy S25 models and going all-in on the Snapdragon 8 Elite. While there’s still evidence that the Exynos 2500 could be used in the rumored Galaxy Z Flip FE, it’s looking more likely that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 will follow the S25 lineup and go exclusively with Qualcomm chips, at least for its first run. North American models will likely use the Snapdragon 8 Elite either way, as Samsung hasn’t used Exynos chips in any of its flagships sold in the U.S. since 2015 and in Canada since 2016.
Memory and storage specs are likely to remain unchanged this year. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 was available in 256GB and 512GB storage capacities, both with 12GB of RAM, and all rumors point to the same for the Z Flip 7, so don’t hold your breath for a 1TB model.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: Battery and charging
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 could see a modest battery size increase, with reports pointing to a 4,300mAh cell — a 7.5% bump from the 4,000mAh battery in the Galaxy Z Flip 6. However, the real battery life improvements will likely come from other efficiency improvements, both technical and practical.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite chip has already proven itself a winner in battery efficiency, and several rumors suggest that the new displays will adopt a more power-efficient Color Filter on Encapsulation (CoE) technology, or what Samsung Display calls Eco²OLED. This first came to the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and has been refined on subsequent Z Fold models. There have also been rumors it could appear on next year’s Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Potential cover screen usability improvements will also offer a more practical way of increasing battery life. Since a four-inch panel draws less power than a 6.85-inch screen, the more you can do with the phone closed, the longer the battery will last. Most Galaxy Z Flip users find themselves flipping their phones open several times a day, even just to read an email or text message. If our experience with Motorola’s recent flip phones is any indication, we expect Galaxy Z Flip 7 users will need to do this far less often.
Leaks from early prototype testing indicate that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 could run for nearly an hour longer on a single charge despite having the same battery as its predecessor. This makes us optimistic that we can expect comparable improvements for the Galaxy Z Flip 7.
Unfortunately, there’s some bad news on the charging front: According to information from China’s 3C certification database, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is expected to retain the same paltry 25W wired charging speeds as its predecessors. That’s disappointing but not altogether surprising; Samsung tends to take a conservative approach to charging speeds. The specific reasons for this aren’t entirely clear, but it helps reduce excessive heat in a cramped folding design and ensures the battery stays healthier in the long term.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: Software and features
In a surprising twist, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 could be one of the first Samsung phones to launch with One UI 8. That’s thanks to Google releasing Android 16 earlier than usual this year, with the next major release expected to land in June.
This means that Android 16 will be out by the time the Galaxy Z Flip 7 launches. It’s unlikely Samsung wants to be left behind, so it’s reportedly been hustling to have One UI 8 ready to go in time to take advantage of all the latest Android enhancements.
In addition to upgraded health tracking features, Audio Sharing, and enhanced anti-theft protections, Android 16 offers a native Desktop mode for the first time, allowing users to project a Chrome OS-like interface onto a larger screen. This has led to speculation that Samsung might include DeX support on the Z Flip 7 to provide its own desktop computing experience rather than simply relying on what Android 16 offers.
Some have even suggested that DeX could work with Samsung’s Flex Mode, allowing it to be used as a dedicated webcam for video calls on a larger screen. Nevertheless, these rumors remain speculative, and it’s equally possible that Samsung may choose to retire DeX in favor of Android’s more standard desktop mode.
Beyond the Android 16 features that One UI 8 will embrace, it’s a safe bet that we can also expect to see some new Galaxy AI features show up. There’s been no word on what these might be, and much of what Samsung has offered so far has leaned more toward the gimmicky. Most of the really useful ones, like Circle to Search, Magic Editor, and Gemini Live, come from Google, not Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: Release date and pricing
There’s been no reliable information about when Samsung plans to release the Galaxy Z Flip 7, but the odds are on a July event. While Samsung’s summer Galaxy Unpacked events were typically held in August, the company switched things up in 2023 by moving to July 26 for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 reveal. That continued into 2024, when Samsung went even earlier, with a July 10 event in Paris to unveil the Galaxy Z Flip 6.
Still, we don’t think that’s a trend. The July 10 event was likely scheduled to beat the 2024 Summer Olympics rather than a sign that Samsung plans to keep moving its events to earlier dates. If anything, the new timing for Android 16 and Samsung’s need to have One UI 8 ready will likely push things into late July or possibly even August.
As for the price, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 got a $100 price bump last year, raising the starting price to $1,099. This makes it more likely that Samsung will hold the line on pricing for this year’s models, which are expected to be available in the same 256GB and 512GB capacities for $1,099 and $1,219, respectively.
