Cover screen battery life: how long can you use Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Moto Razr Ultra, external screens only?

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Cover screen battery life: how long can you use Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Moto Razr Ultra, external screens only?

Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 7 finally pushed out that external screen and made it edge-to-edge. Furthermore, it's no longer a simple "widget screen" — it allows you to use the entire Android interface and apps, which should — for the most part — scale to fit, since Android has become a lot more adaptive over the past years.

But someone else has been doing this for a couple of years already. Motorola's Razr phones have had a big, fully usable external screen for a while now. And the Razr Ultra (2025) just pushes those borders fully out. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 has a 4.1-inch cover screen, the Razr Ultra gives you a 4-inch one.

So, you can definitely use them for a quick browse, and email check, a text response even. The question is — do you save much battery by sticking to that for casual use, or do they drain just the same? Well, we tested them!

$619 ⁹⁹

$1219 ⁹⁹

$600 off (49%)

Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 7 pre-orders have finished. At the time of writing, the smartphone is available for up to $600 off with eligible device trade-ins.

Buy at Samsung

$459 ⁹⁹

$959 ⁹⁹

$500 off (52%)

If you're looking for a relatively affordable Galaxy flip phone, consider the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE. Right now, this device arrives for up to $500 off at the Samsung Store.

Buy at Samsung

$1099 ⁹⁹

$1499 ⁹⁹

$400 off (27%)

The Motorola Razr Ultra is here, and the official store has a splendid deal to help you save big on this ultra-powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite phone. The model with massive 1TB of storage is $400 off right now.

Buy at Motorola

Galaxy Z Flip 7 vs Motorola Razr Ultra screen differences

Z Flip 7	Razr Ultra
Cover Screen: 4.1 inches 1048 x 948 px (roughly 4:3.6 ratio) Super AMOLED 120Hz refresh rate	Cover Screen: 4.0 inches 1272 x1080 px (roughly 4:3.4) P-OLED 165Hz refresh rate
Main Screen: 6.9-inch 2520x1080px, 21:9 ratio Super AMOLED 120Hz refresh rate	Main Screen: 7.0-inch 2640x1080px, 22:9 ratio P-OLED 165Hz refresh rate

So, the cover screens on both are almost square-ish, the Razr Ultra is a bit narrower. The upside is that the Razr does give you slightly more when you open it up, but in general, these feel quite the same both closed and open. Now, on to the question — how much battery do you save by sticking to the cover screens as much as possible?

YouTube video streaming test

Phone	Cover screen	Main Screen
Galaxy Z Flip 7	9 hours 50 minutes	9 hours 32 minutes
Motorla Razr Ultra 2025	10 hours 13 minutes	6 hours 16 minutes

So, we ran our infinite YouTube playlist through both phones, first on the main screens, then with the phone flaps closed. Brightness settings and volume set the same. Interesting results!

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 barely makes any difference. Whether you are watching on the internal or external screen — you get about the same amount of juice. An odd 20 minutes isn't going to make much difference in real life usage scenarios.

The Razr Ultra 2025, on the other hand, came out a lot more efficient, giving us a full 4 hours (roughly a 66% improvement) of extra use!

Web Browsing test

Phone	Cover Screen	Main Screen
Galaxy Z Flip 7	19 hours 24 minutes	18 hours 58 minutes
Motorla Razr Ultra 2025	29 hours 2 minutes	23 hours 51 minutes

Our web browsing test runs a script, which simulates swiping across web pages and loading new ones at equal intervals. Again, brightness and refresh settings are the same. And again, the results are curious.

The Samsung, again, seems to offer very little gains if you only use the external screen. At this point, if you are using that cover screen thinking you are saving battery — you might as well stop. It is still more convenient for quick replies, weather checks, and GPS navigation! Just not more energy-efficient.

The Motorola Razr Ultra 2025, again, gave us a boost in endurance. About 5 extra hours of web page viewing, or roughly a 22% improvement.

Conclusions

So, if you are planning to be a bit of a trickster with your phone usage and use the cover screen to save up on battery — the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 seems to be the phone you should go for. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 offers no gains if you choose to live on the crammy 4-inch screen for general purpose use.

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Preslav, a member of the PhoneArena team since 2014, is a mobile technology enthusiast with a penchant for integrating tech into his hobbies and work. Whether it's writing articles on an iPad Pro, recording band rehearsals with multiple phones, or exploring the potential of mobile gaming through services like GeForce Now and Steam Link, Preslav's approach is hands-on and innovative. His balanced perspective allows him to appreciate both Android and iOS ecosystems, focusing on performance, camera quality, and user experience over brand loyalty.

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