Why Samsung’s Latest Clamshell Fails to Impress Me

With the Flip 7, Samsung has improved nearly every aspect of its flip-style foldable smartphone, bridging the gap that existed between the Flip 6 and Motorola’s latest Razr Ultra (2025). However, does the Flip 7 have what it takes to outperform the Razr? Let’s find out.

Price & Availability

The Flip 7 is available for $1,099.99 for the 256GB variant. For a limited time, Samsung is offering a free storage upgrade to the 512GB storage without any additional cost (which otherwise costs $1,219.99).

Motorola’s official website currently lists the Razr Ultra’s 1TB variant for $1,299.99 ($200 less than its marked price). The 512GB variant isn’t available at the moment.

Flip 7 Catches Up Well With Upgraded Design

While the overall design and form factor of the Flip 7 remain the same as its predecessor, the cover screen is as big as the one on the Razr Ultra (although not quite as impressive in terms of specs). As a result, both phones look futuristic, especially since the cover screen encapsulates the camera sensors and the flash module.

While the Razr Ultra is slightly longer (due to its larger screen), the Flip 7 is noticeably thinner, both when folded (6.5 mm vs. 7.2 mm) and unfolded (14.1 mm vs. 15.7 mm). Samsung’s flip-style foldable is also the lightest among the two (188 grams vs. 199 grams). In my Flip 6 vs. Razr Ultra comparison, I wrote that Samsung needs to catch up in terms of design, and the Flip 7 has certainly done so.

Regarding materials, the Flip 7 features Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back, while the Razr Ultra features Gorilla Glass Ceramic for the cover screen. Although both foldables feature an aluminum frame, the Razr doesn’t have a glass back like the Flip 7.

Instead, it uses unique materials with a suede-like finish for the Scarab colorway, a vegan leather back on the Cabaret, and a wooden back on the Mountain Trail variant. The Flip 7, on the other hand, is available in new colors like Blue Shadow (similar to the Fold 7), Coral-red, Mint, and Jet Black.

Last but not least, both the Flip 7 and the Razr Ultra come with an IP48 dust and water resistance rating, which protects the phone against dust particles (with a diameter greater than 1mm) and immersion in freshwater up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.

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Both Phones Offer Massive Cover Screens

First, let’s talk about the cover screens, as that’s an aspect where the Flip 7 truly redeems itself. The clamshell boasts a 4.1-inch cover screen, which uses a Super AMOLED panel (with support for a 120Hz refresh rate and 2,600 nits of peak brightness). Then there’s a 6.9-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2x foldable screen with similar specifications.

On the other hand, the Razr Ultra features a 4-inch LTPO AMOLED cover screen that supports a refresh rate of up to 165Hz and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, making it both smoother and brighter than the Flip 7’s cover screen. Furthermore, you get a 7.0-inch LTPO AMOLED foldable primary screen with a similar refresh rate, but higher peak brightness (up to 4,500 nits).

Both the screens on the Razr Ultra are sharper than those on the Flip 7 and support Dolby Vision content (in addition to HDR10+). So, while Samsung has managed to catch up in terms of the external screen size on the Razr, the overall specifications of the panel, which determine its quality, could still use some improvement.

Exynos 2500 vs. Snapdragon 8 Elite

Although Samsung upgraded the cover screen on the Flip 7, it didn’t quite match the one on the Razr Ultra. A similar trend can be seen in the clamshell’s processor. After years of using Qualcomm’s flagship chips to power its latest foldables, Samsung has equipped the Flip 7 with its in-house Exynos 2500 (3nm) processor.

The chipset features a 3.3GHz prime core, the Xclipse 950 GPU (based on AMD’s RDNA 3 architecture), a new NPU, and runs alongside 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. It should also make the Flip 7 feel noticeably more responsive and snappier than the Flip 6.

However, despite the updates to its CPU and GPU, the Exynos chip lags behind the Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm) on the Razr Ultra.

The chipset features two 4.32 GHz prime cores, the Adreno 830 GPU (with hardware-accelerated ray tracing for high-end video games), and Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU for on-device AI processing. You also get 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM (higher than the Flip 6) and either 512GB or 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage.

While the specifications may sound similar, the Snapdragon 8 Elite scores approximately 24% higher on the AnTuTu 10 benchmark and 23% higher on the Geekbench 6 single-core CPU test, suggesting that Qualcomm’s chip still has an upper hand in terms of raw processing power.

Ultimately, you can expect both phones to offer top-class performance. Whether it’s multitasking, loading heavy apps, playing demanding video games at the highest settings, or editing 4K videos on the go, the Flip 7 and the Razr Ultra should be able to handle them all without a hitch. At the same time, I can tell you that the Snapdragon 8 Elite should be able to do everything faster.

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One UI 8 vs. Hello UI

Out of the box, Samsung’s Flip 7 runs on One UI 8.0 (based on Android 16). While the new user interface doesn’t include many visual changes, it adds new features to several system apps and features. For instance, the My Files app now features app-based filters, while Quick Share has dedicated sections for sending and receiving files.

Samsung has also improved the Now Bar, which now utilizes Android 16’s Live Updates feature. With improvements to existing AI features, such as Audio Eraser and Object Eraser, One UI 8.0 also offers a new Galaxy AI feature that helps the Flip 7’s camera recognize what it’s looking at and respond accordingly (based on the user’s query).

Like other Samsung flagships, the Flip 7 will get seven years of software and security updates (till 2032).

In contrast, the Razr Ultra runs on Motorola’s Hello UI, which is as close as a custom user interface can get to stock Android as possible. While retaining the clean and sophisticated look, Hello UI provides useful features like Moto Gestures.

On the AI side of things, the user interface includes Moto AI Assistant, which combines the best abilities of tools like Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, Llama AI, and Google Gemini to perform day-to-day tasks such as text processing (writing, summarization, etc.), notification summarization, and image creation.

While the Razr Ultra can recognize the content on the screen and provide more information about it, it offers several unique features, such as “Remember This” for saving information and viewing it later, “Pay Attention,” your audio recorder and transcriber, and “Catch Me Up,” a feature that shrinks elaborate notifications into summaries.

What doesn’t bode well for me is that the Razr Ultra comes with a three-year software support window, along with an additional year of security fixes.

Similar Camera Setup, Different Resolution

Both the Flip 7 and the Razr Ultra have a dual-rear-facing camera setup. However, it is the sensors’ resolution that sets them apart.

Samsung’s Flip, for instance, has a 50MP (f/1.8, OIS) primary sensor with 2x in-sensor crop and a 12MP (f/2.2, 123°) ultrawide camera. On the front, you get a 10MP (f/2.2) selfie shooter.

While all the sensors can record 4K videos at up to 60 fps, you also get access to the exhaustive Galaxy AI editing features, such as Generative Edit, Portrait Studio, Live Effect, and Audio Eraser, among others.

In comparison, Motorola’s flip phone features a 50MP (f/1.8, OIS) primary sensor, which also provides 2x in-sensor zoom, a 50MP (f/2.0, 122°) ultrawide sensor, and a 50MP (f/2.0) selfie shooter.

While all the cameras can record 4K videos in up to 60 fps, the primary sensor can also shoot 8K videos at 30 fps. The foldable also features AI-based editing capabilities, including Google’s Magic Editor and Magic Eraser.

Even though both phones have a dedicated Pro Mode that allows for manual adjustment of settings like ISO, aperture, and exposure, I’d pick the Razr Ultra over the Flip 7, primarily for the additional resolution.

Razr Ultra Lasts Longer Between Charges

Although the Flip 7’s 4,300 mAh battery represents a significant improvement over the Flip 6, it still supports 25W wired, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging in 2025, which is slightly disappointing.

Even with a bigger battery than its predecessor, the Flip 7 is no match for the Razr Ultra, which boasts a 4,700 mAh battery that supports 68W wired, 30W wireless, and 5W reverse wireless charging.

In a nutshell, the battery on the Razr is not only bigger but also charges faster than the one on the Flip 7, adding more convenience to your day-to-day life.

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What About Connectivity Options?

While the Flip 7 provides access to both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G networks, the Razr Ultra is limited to sub-6GHz. Samsung’s latest flip phone can also send and receive text messages via low-Earth satellites, thanks to the Snapdragon Satellite.

Otherwise, both phones support Wi-Fi 7 (with compatible routers), Bluetooth v5.4, GPS, GLONASS, and NFC. While the Flip 7 has a faster USB Type-C 3.2 port, the Razr Ultra offers an outdated USB Type-C 2.0 port (with a slower data transfer rate).

Which Flip Phone Is Right for You?

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is a worthwhile upgrade over the Flip 6. It offers a larger cover screen, a more powerful and efficient chipset, and a larger battery; all of these are quality-of-life improvements that should really enhance your experience with the handset. Furthermore, Motorola hasn’t yet been able to match Samsung’s software support policy.

If you already own a couple of Samsung devices (such as a notebook, smartwatch, or tablet) or you’re on the market for the thinnest flip phone available in the United States, the Flip 7 is the right phone for you.

However, there are certain aspects where the Moto Razr Ultra still reigns superior (yes, it still does). For instance, it features a smoother and brighter cover screen, a more powerful processor, and a larger battery with the added convenience of wireless charging. If you already own the Razr Ultra (2025), I’d recommend you stay put.

• 

  Brand

  Samsung

  RAM

  12GB

  Storage

  256 or 512GB

  Battery

  4,300mAh Dual Battery

  Operating System

  One UI 8

  Front camera

  10MP

  A wider shape and a new edge-to-edge FlexWindow make this the most usable Flip yet. It’s compact, customizable, and packed with smart AI tools right on the cover screen.

  
  

I’ve also compiled a couple of other comparisons between the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Fold 6, Z Flip 7 vs. Z Flip 7 FE, and the Galaxy Watch 8 vs. the Galaxy Watch Ultra, if you want more details about any of these decuces,