Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 vs Galaxy S25: Is it time to get a flip phone?
How does a non-foldable flagship phone stacks against its modern and hip flip counterpart? This is our Galaxy Z Flip 7 vs Galaxy S25 comparison!
Intro
Foldable phones have been around for more than five years now, and the million-dollar question is still up in the air and more relevant than ever. Is it time to give these devices a chance? The timing is perfect, because we're gearing up to get the next big thing in flip phones, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7.
On the other hand, we have rigid and conventional phones to choose from, and the Galaxy S25 is a perfect example, especially because it's more or less the non-folding alternative of the Galaxy Z Flip 7.
Now, according to all the information, Samsung is tweaking the Z Flip series with minor upgrades this year (as has been the case for the past couple of generations), but these upgrades might finally sway people to reach out and grab a Galaxy Flip.
On the other hand, we have rigid and conventional phones to choose from, and the Galaxy S25 is a perfect example, especially because it's more or less the non-folding alternative of the Galaxy Z Flip 7.
So, let's compare these two and see who wins the battle for the heart of the Samsung fan. A little disclaimer: as usual, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 hasn't been officially announced, so the information is based on rumors at this point.
Galaxy Z Flip 7 vs Galaxy S25 differences:
| Galaxy Z Flip 7* | Galaxy S25 |
|---|---|
| It's a flexible flip phone, it bends in half | Hard as a rock, doesn't bend (more than once) |
| A tad bigger, but folded it gets more compact | It's more compact than the unfolded Z Flip 7 |
| Overall design is pretty similar, but it has a cover screen | Flat back, front and sides, no additional displays |
| Upgraded 50MP main camera | Main camera is pretty much the same |
| 1-120Hz AMOLED main display, 2600 nits brightness | 120Hz AMOLED display, same peak brightness |
| Bigger display at 6.85 inches, same pixel density | 6.2-inch display, 1080 x 2340 pixels resolution |
| 4-inch cover screen with 120Hz refresh rate | There's no second screen on this one |
| Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite platform | The same Snapdragon 8 Elite |
| 12GB of RAM | 12GB of RAM here as well |
| Bigger 4,174mAh battery | 4,000 mAh battery |
| The same charging speeds | 25W wired, 15W wireless charging |
| More expensive at just north of $1000 | Cheaper at $799 for the base model |
Table of Contents:
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Design and Size
To flip or not to flip?
This is the ultimate question when it comes to comparing a conventional, rigid phone with a flexible-screen foldable (or, in this case, flip) device. On the one hand, we have a tad more compact phone in the face of the Galaxy S25, but you can't fold it in half and put it inside a tight pocket or a small purse.
On the other hand, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 becomes this tiny square when folded, but it's a bit thicker, and you also have to unfold it every time you need to do something complicated—the cover screen can only do so much. So, at the end of the day, it's whether you're okay with folding and unfolding your phone tens of times a day or you prefer a "permanently unfolded" device, albeit a bit larger.
On the other hand, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 becomes this tiny square when folded, but it's a bit thicker, and you also have to unfold it every time you need to do something complicated—the cover screen can only do so much. So, at the end of the day, it's whether you're okay with folding and unfolding your phone tens of times a day or you prefer a "permanently unfolded" device, albeit a bit larger.
We already have some Galaxy Z Flip 7 renders, and as you can see above, the design hasn't changed all that much but now the phone is thinner and the cover screen goes edge-to-edge around the dual camera system.
| Galaxy Z Flip 7* | Galaxy S25 |
|---|---|
| Thickness Unfolded: 6.9 mm Folded: N/A | Thickness 7.2 mm |
| Dimensions Unfolded: 166.6 x 75.2 | Dimensions 146.9 x 70.5 |
| Weight N/A | Weight 162 grams |
In terms of materials, things are pretty similar—we have the same glass and metal sandwich design, but because the Galaxy Z Flip 7 has to bend in half (physics!), the display is just softer. There's a coating to prevent scratches and scuffs, but it's nothing like the Gorilla Glass on top of the Galaxy S25's screen. So, this has to be taken into consideration.
The color situation is still a mystery when it comes to the Galaxy Z Flip 7, but we do have some rumors about the potential hues of the Galaxy Z Flip 7. The Galaxy S25 colors have been around for some time now. You can see a quick comparison below.
| Galaxy Z Flip 7* | Galaxy S25 |
|---|---|
| White/Cream | Blue Black |
| Gray/Silver | Silver Shadow |
| Blue Shadow | Navy |
| - | Icy Blue |
| Green | Mint |
| Jet Black | Pink Gold |
| Coral Red | Coral Red |
*rumored
Display Differences
Two versus one
We're back at the folding debate. Actually, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is expected to have a pretty big 6.85-inch main screen, which is an advantage over the 6.2-inch conventional screen of the Galaxy S25. There's, of course, a secondary cover screen, so you don't have to open the phone every time you need to do something quick. This time around it's a 4" AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate, so Samsung has upped its game with the Galaxy Z Flip 7.
| Galaxy Z Flip 7* | Galaxy S25 |
|---|---|
| Size Main screen: 6.85" Cover screen: 4" | Size Main screen: 6.2" |
| Brightness 2600 nits (peak) | Brightness 2600 nits (peak) |
In terms of brightness, the Galaxy Z Flip is expected to mimic the peak brightness of the Galaxy S25 coming in at 2600 nits but we have to test these claims in the lab. Speaking of which, the Galaxy S25 managed to output almost 2400 nits at 20% APL (and around 1300 nits at 100% APL). Pretty impressive!
We expect both screens on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 to get the 120 Hz refresh rate treatment, but the main one is believed to be an LTPO covering 1-120 Hz, while the cover will most likely have a fixed 120 Hz refresh rate. The Galaxy S25, of course, uses the same LTPO tech and is able to go between 1 and 120Hz with everything in between.
We expect both screens on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 to get the 120 Hz refresh rate treatment, but the main one is believed to be an LTPO covering 1-120 Hz, while the cover will most likely have a fixed 120 Hz refresh rate. The Galaxy S25, of course, uses the same LTPO tech and is able to go between 1 and 120Hz with everything in between.
Performance and Software
Snapdragon Elite club
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is rumored to have the newest Qualcomm chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Due to the Samsung Z Flip series' release schedule, the models will miss out on the next flagship Qualcomm processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, but the original is pretty powerful nonetheless.
The Galaxy S25 is part of the latest flagship family and thus comes with the same Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which has been specially tuned "for Galaxy." This means a slight overclock of the performance cores.
The Galaxy S25 managed around 3000 and 9000 points in the Geekbench single- and multi-core tests, which is a normal result for a Snapdragon 8 Elite phone. We have to see how this silicon performs inside a flip phone, so stay tuned for real-life benchmarks soon.
The Galaxy S25 managed around 3000 and 9000 points in the Geekbench single- and multi-core tests, which is a normal result for a Snapdragon 8 Elite phone. We have to see how this silicon performs inside a flip phone, so stay tuned for real-life benchmarks soon.
| Galaxy Z Flip 7* | Galaxy S25 |
|---|---|
| Chip Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite | Chip Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite |
| Process 3nm | Process 3nm |
| RAM 12GB | RAM 12GB |
The hardware situation is actually identical, because the RAM on board is 12GB on both phones, and the storage options are also the same—starting at 128GB and going up to 512GB.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is expected to launch with OneUI 8 out of the box over Android 15. Both the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the Galaxy S25 will be supported for seven long years and will receive all the AI goodness that's inevitably "to come" in the future. So, it's more or less a tie in this section.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is expected to launch with OneUI 8 out of the box over Android 15. Both the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the Galaxy S25 will be supported for seven long years and will receive all the AI goodness that's inevitably "to come" in the future. So, it's more or less a tie in this section.
Camera
How badly do you need that telephoto?
Another area where these two phones are very, very similar. They both have 50MP main cameras with similar aperture and sensor size. The ultrawide cameras on both are also almost identical, with just a tiny difference in the FOV (probably the positioning of the lenses).
The biggest difference, of course, is the presence of a dedicated telephoto camera on the Galaxy S25. This will inevitably result in a higher camera score for the S25 when compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 7.
| Galaxy Z Flip 7* | Galaxy S25 |
|---|---|
| Main 50 MP f/1.8 23 mm (wide) 1/1.57" | Main 50 MP f/1.8 24 mm (wide) 1/1.56" |
| Ultrawide 12 MP f/2.2 13 mm (ultrawide) 123 FOV | Ultrawide 12 MP f/2.2 13 mm (ultrawide) 120 FOV |
| N/A | Telephoto 10 MP f/2.4 67mm 3x optical zoom |
Speaking of camera scores, the Galaxy S25 managed an overall score of 147 (out of 158), which is a pretty decent result! We don't expect the Galaxy Z Flip 7 to be able to match that, but, as always, we will snap some comparison samples and see what the real-life differences are.
Battery Life and Charging
A slight advantage for the flip?
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is expected to sport a slightly larger battery compared to its predecessor, with a capacity of 4,174 mAh. In contrast, the Galaxy S25 comes equipped with a 4,000 mAh cell, which is a bit on the lower side nowadays.
We have to bear in mind the fact that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 has two displays, so it potentially needs more power, but we need to run our battery tests to evaluate how much more exactly (if any). The Galaxy S25 scored 7h 6m overall in our battery test, which ranks it #60 among all phones tested in the past 2 years. Not great, not terrible—just a good average score.
We have to bear in mind the fact that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 has two displays, so it potentially needs more power, but we need to run our battery tests to evaluate how much more exactly (if any). The Galaxy S25 scored 7h 6m overall in our battery test, which ranks it #60 among all phones tested in the past 2 years. Not great, not terrible—just a good average score.
| Galaxy Z Flip 7* | Galaxy S25 |
|---|---|
| Battery capacity 4174 mAh | Battery capacity 4000 mAh |
Charging speeds 25W wired 15W wireless charging USB-C | Charging speeds 25W wired 15W wireless charging USB-C |
*rumored
Charging speeds continue to be pretty slow on most Samsung devices, and the Galaxy S25 is no exception. 25W wired charging and 15W wireless are anything but fast, but it is what it is. Sadly, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 seems to adhere to these speeds, at least when it comes to wired charging, and won't be setting any records either.
There's a rumor that Samsung is preparing Qi2 wireless charging support for the Galaxy Z Flip 7, which, if true, will give an edge to the foldable over it's conventional candy bar cousin.
Specs Comparison
Here's a quick specs comparison between the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5:
| Galaxy Z Flip 7* | Galaxy S25 |
|---|---|
| Size, weight 166.6 x 75.2 x 6.9 mm TBA | Size, weight 146.9 x 70.5 x 7.2 mm 162 g |
| Screen Main: 6.85" AMOLED 1-120Hz 2600 nits peak Cover: 4" 120Hz | Screen Main: 6.2" AMOLED 1-120Hz 2600 nits peak |
| Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 3nm | Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 3nm |
| Versions: 12/128GB 12/256GB 12/512GB LPDDR5 | Versions: 12/128GB 12/256GB 12/512GB LPDDR5 |
| Cameras: 50MP main 12MP ultrawide 10MP front | Cameras: 50MP main 12MP ultrawide 10MP telephoto 10MP front |
| Battery: 4174 mAh | Battery: 4,000 mAh |
| Charging: USB-C 25W wired 15W wireless charging | Charging: USB-C 25W wired 15W wireless charging |
*rumored
Summary
And here we are! These two are very similar in so many areas that the question unsurprisingly boils down to the same "do you need a foldable device" mantra. There are, some differences to help you made up your mind, though.
The Galaxy S25 is cheaper, it has one additional telephoto camera, and it's more compact than the unfolded Z Flip 7. But on the other hand, you can't reproduce the experience of having a flip phone that folds in half, and those minor advantages we mention might be irrelevant, if you've decided to go for it.
And if we're to believe the latest leaks about the Galaxy Z Flip 7 price, the model won't be cheaper than it's predecessor with a potential price hike even. This might play a negative role in this comparison, but it's all a bit preliminary at this point.
We will update this comparison will all the benchmarks once we get the Galaxy Z Flip 7, so stay tuned.
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