Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 vs Galaxy Z Flip 5: Is it time to upgrade?

Are two generations enough to justify an upgrade when it comes to flip phones? It's time to find out! This is our Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Galaxy Z Flip 7 comparison.

By Mariyan Slavov

Updated: Jul 09, 2025, 9:54 AM

1comment

Samsung

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Intro

The next big thing in flip phones has just arrived! The official announcement of the Galaxy Z Flip 7, the next flagship flip phone from Samsung is now behind us.

With the Motorola Razr Ultra already making rounds and getting a lot of attention, Samsung needed to bring some upgrades to the table in order to compete. And most importantly, convince its long-time fans to stay inside the ecosystem.

Speaking of which, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 will be two years old soon, and people might already be on the lookout for a replacement. So, should they upgrade to the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 7 or look elsewhere? Let's find out!

$499 ⁹⁹

$1219 ⁹⁹

$720 off (59%)

Pre-order the Galaxy Z Flip 7 at Samsung and save $120 as a free storage upgrade on the 512GB variant. On top of that, you'll save up to $600 with eligible device trade-ins. Alternatively, you can get it with a $150 Samsung Instant Credit.

Pre-order at Samsung

$399 ⁹⁹

$959 ⁹⁹

$560 off (58%)

For the first time, Samsung launched a Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE alongside the flagship flip phone. Pre-order the budget flip phone at the Samsung Store and save up to $500 with eligible trade-ins. On top of that, the 256GB model is $60 off before trade-ins.

Pre-order at Samsung

Galaxy Z Flip 7 vs Galaxy Z Flip 5 differences:

Galaxy Z Flip 7	Galaxy Z Flip 5
Same overall design, slightly bigger footprint	A tad more compact device, potentially lighter
Same camera housing redesigned cover screen	Cover screen doesn't wrap around the cameras
Upgraded 50MP main camera	One 12MP main camera and one 12MP ultrawide
1-120Hz AMOLED main display, 2600 nits brightness	120Hz AMOLED display, 1750 nits peak brightness
Slightly bigger display at 6.9 inches, lower pixel density	6.7-inch display, 1080 x 2640 pixels resolution
Bigger 4.1-inch cover screen with 120Hz refresh rate	3.4-inch cover screen, 60Hz refresh rate
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite platform/Exynos 2500	Two generations older Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset
12GB of RAM	8GB of RAM
Bigger 4,300 potentially better battery life	3,700 mAh battery
The same charging speeds	25W wired, 15W wireless charging

Table of Contents:

Design
Display
Performance
Camera
Battery
Specs
Summary

Design and Size

Slightly bigger dimensions

Тhe Galaxy Z Flip 7 follows in the same footsteps as its predecessors, including the Galaxy Z Flip 5. The listed dimensions suggest that the new model is a tad wider to accommodate the larger main screen. We're talking a couple of millimeters, so nothing drastic.

The design is very similar between generations but the new phone features an edge-to-edge cover screen, similar to what Motorola has been doing for some time now. Overall, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is also thinner, Samsung boasts 6.5 mm thickness unfolded and 13.7 mm folded, making it the thinnest Samsung flip phone to date.

The weight of the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is very similar to that of its predecessors, again Galaxy Z Flip 5 included. You can check the exact dimensions and weights in the table below.

Galaxy Z Flip 7	Galaxy Z Flip 5
Thickness Unfolded: 6.5 mm Folded: 13.7 mm	Thickness Unfolded: 6.9 mm Folded: 15.1 mm
Dimensions Unfolded: 166.7 x 75.2 Folded: 85.5 х 75.2	Dimensions Unfolded: 165.1 x 71.9 Folded: 85.1 x 71.9
Weight 188 grams	Weight 187 grams

In terms of materials, there aren't any radical changes—it's the same glass and metal sandwich design all over again. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 features Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on its back and over its cover screen, just like the Galaxy Z Flip 5. Both phones rely on aluminum frames.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 launched in four hues, one of which is a Samsung store exclusive. There's a new Coral Red color, and the aforementioned exclusive color is Mint. You can see the color comparison with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 below.

Galaxy Z Flip 7	Galaxy Z Flip 5
-	Cream
-	Graphite
-	Blue
Blue Shadow	Yellow
Mint (Samsung.com exclusive)	Mint
Jet Black	Lavender
Coral Red	Gray

Display Differences

Bigger screens all around

Samsung has brought some changes to both displays of the Galaxy Z Flip 7, compared to last generation, and, of course, compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 5. The main flexible screen has grown in size to 6.9 inches, and the cover screen now stretches edge-to-edge coming in at 4.1 inches.

Galaxy Z Flip 7*	Galaxy Z Flip 5
Size Main screen: 6.9" Cover screen: 4.1"	Size Main screen: 6.7" Cover screen: 3.4"
Brightness 2600 nits (peak)	Brightness 1750 nits (peak)

In terms of brightness, the same 2600 nits of peak brightness figures are cited for the Galaxy Z Flip 7, which in turn means an upgrade from the advertised 1750 nits on the Galaxy Z Flip 5.

In our display test, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 managed only 857 nits of brightness at 100% APL, which, by 2025 standards, is average. We can't wait to test the Galaxy Z Flip 7, but if we extrapolate from the previous generation, we should expect something in the ballpark of 1200 nits at 100% APL.

Both screens on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 are able to go up to 120 Hz, but the main one is an LTPO covering 1-120 Hz, while the cover has fixed 60/120 Hz refresh rates. The Galaxy Z Flip 5, on the other hand, can do only 60 Hz on its cover screen but features the same LTPO tech on the main display. Stay tuned for lab tests soon.

Performance and Software

Exynos makes a surprise return

Surprise, surprise! Exynos is back. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 comes with the Exynos 2500 chipset, the latest from Samsung foundries, built on a 3nm node. This is the debut of this specific silicon, so we don't have any idea how it stacks against the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

We expected the Z Flip 7 to actually get the aforementioned Qualcomm chipset, but the surprise was real. We have to run some tests in our lab and see if Samsung has managed to close the gap to the benchmark-setting Snapdragon 8 Elite.

Galaxy Z Flip 7	Galaxy Z Flip 5
Chip Samsung Exynos 2500	Chip Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Process 3nm	Process 4nm
RAM 12GB	RAM 8GB

The RAM situation is in favor of the Galaxy Z Flip 7, the phone mimics the RAM of the previous model coming in at 12GB, which is still more than what the Galaxy Z Flip 5 has to offer, which is just 8GB of RAM.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 launches with OneUI 8 out of the box over Android 16. In contrast, the Galaxy Z Flip 5, which is almost two years old now, was announced with OneUI 5 and Android 13 but was brought up to the latest OS with subsequent updates.

Speaking of updates, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 will get only four years of major OS updates (two are already in the drain), while the Galaxy Z Flip 7 will be supported for seven more years, which is a huge difference in longevity.

Camera

Main wide camera upgrades

Well, there aren't any hardware upgrades to the camera of the Galaxy Z Flip 7, compared to the last generation. Samsung already upgraded the main camera on the Galaxy Z Flip 6, so in practice, we've got a better main camera on the Galaxy Z Flip 7, if we compare it to the Galaxy Z Flip 5.

Galaxy Z Flip 7	Galaxy Z Flip 5
Main 50 MP f/1.8 23 mm (wide) 1/1.57"	Main 12 MP f/1.8 24 mm (wide) 1/1.76"
Ultrawide 12 MP f/2.2 13 mm (ultrawide) 123 FOV	Ultrawide 12 MP f/2.2 13 mm (ultrawide) 123 FOV

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 managed a camera score of 136 overall (the current best is 158) in our test, which is not very far from its direct successor (137 for the Galaxy Z Flip 6), so we can't wait to see how the Galaxy Z Flip 7 will fare in our lab tests.

As always, we have to keep in mind that hardware alone isn't the deciding factor when we talk about smartphone photography, and different post-processing algorithms are in play. So, we'll have to snap some side-by-side photos to see how the Galaxy Z Flip 7 fares against its older sibling in the camera department.

Battery Life and Charging

A substantial increase?

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 comes equipped with a 3700 mAh battery, which even at launch was a bit on the lower side. The phone managed only 5h 11m composite battery score in our test, which currently ranks it #117 in this department.

Now, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 brings a substantial upgrade (at least compared to the Z Flip 5). The battery capacity of the new flip flagship is 4300 mAh, exactly 600 mAh more than the Z Flip 5. This will inevitably lead to better battery life figures but we'll have to test it to see the exact numbers.

Galaxy Z Flip 7	Galaxy Z Flip 5
Battery capacity 4300 mAh	Battery capacity 3700 mAh
Charging speeds 25W wired 15W wireless charging USB-C	Charging speeds 25W wired 15W wireless charging USB-C

Samsung seems so reluctant to upgrade the charging speeds of its phones. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 supports only 25W wired, and the Galaxy Z Flip 7 comes equipped with the same support, even after two long years between these generations.

Specs Comparison

Here's a quick specs comparison between the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5 (for a detailed comparison, follow the link):

Galaxy Z Flip 7*	Galaxy Z Flip 5
Size, weight 166.7 x 75.2 x 6.5 mm 188 g	Size, weight 165.1 x 71.9 x 6.9 mm 187 g
Screen Main: 6.9" AMOLED 1-120Hz 2600 nits peak Cover: 4.1" 120Hz	Screen Main: 6.7" AMOLED 1-120Hz 1750 nits peak Cover: 3.4" 60Hz
Processor Samsung Exynos 2500 3nm	Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 4nm
Versions: 12/256GB 12/512GB LPDDR5	Versions: 8/128GB 8/256GB 8/512GB LPDDR5
Cameras: 50MP main 12MP ultrawide 10MP front	Cameras: 12MP main 12MP ultrawide 10MP front
Battery: 4300 mAh	Battery: 3,700 mAh
Charging: USB-C 25W wired 15W wireless charging	Charging: USB-C 25W wired 15W wireless charging

Summary

Even though the upgrades on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 aren't huge compared to the previous generation, they seem to be just enough to convince people coming from older Z Flip devices to upgrade.

Next to the Galaxy Z Flip 5, the new model offers a better main camera, bigger inner and cover screens, a larger battery and potentially better battery life, new Exynos silicon, and the latest software with seven long years of support.

We will update this comparison with all the tests, benchmarks, camera samples, and display scores once we finish testing the Galaxy Z Flip 7, so stay tuned for the final verdict.

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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.

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