Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 battery life — the results are in
We've put both phones to the test for our Galaxy Z Fold 7 review as well as our Galaxy Z Flip 7 review. And for those two burning questions, we can only offer that most frustrating of answers — yes and no.
The good news: both the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 posted better numbers than the previous versions of Samsung's foldables on our battery test, where phones surf the web over cellular until they run out of power. But despite that improvement, neither the Fold nor the Flip delivered the kind of battery life you'd expect from such premium phones. They're not even the longest-lasting foldables we've tested.
Foldable phones face a longevity challenge. They've got larger screens to keep powered up, but only so much space inside for a battery. That limits a phone maker's reliance on battery size to improve staying power, forcing them to rely on other features like the power management capabilities of whatever silicon is powering the phone.
Both the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 have larger screens than their predecessors — both inside and outside the phones. And yet, only the new Flip has a larger battery than its predecessor, sporting a 4,300 mAh power pack to the 4,000 mAh cell inside the Galaxy Z Flip 6. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has the same 4,400 mAh battery as the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
So how well did these new Samsung phones overcome these limitations to improve on battery life? We're going to run additional tests, but the preliminary results are in.
We ran our battery test on the 8-inch main display of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 with the screen set to its default adaptive refresh rate. That means the refresh rate would adjust dynamic as the phone surfed the web in our testing.
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
Phone
Battery size (mAh)
Tested battery life (Hrs:Mins)
Galaxy Z Fold 7
4,400
10:55
Galaxy Z Fold 6
4,400
10:35
OnePlus Open
4,805
11:45
Pixel 9 Pro Fold
4,650
11:36
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 posted an initial result of 10 hours and 55 minutes. That's a slight improvement on the Galaxy Z Fold 6's time of 10:35.
Considering that both phones have the same 4,400 mAh battery, we figure that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 benefitted from the power efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset it uses, particularly since it's got a larger screen than its predecessor.
The modest gain in battery life means the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is only slightly ahead of the average time posted by smartphones we tested. More significantly, the time isn't as long as other book-style foldables that share the Galaxy Z Fold 7's design.
Both the OnePlus Open and Pixel 9 Pro Fold open up to reveal larger interior panels like the Galaxy Z Fold 7 does. And both those phones lasted a little bit longer on a charge, with both posting averages greater than 11:5 hours on our test.
The OnePlus Open's result is particularly noteworthy in that the phone came out two years ago and still lasts longer than Samsung's latest foldables. That's after Samsung has had multiple attempts to try and produce a longer lasting fold.
OnePlus has already said it won't release a OnePlus Open 2 this year, though we're expecting to see a Pixel 10 Pro Fold when Google holds its next hardware event on August 20. Depending on how much longer that phone lasts on a charge, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 could find itself falling further behind the competition.
The news is a little better for the Galaxy Z Flip 7, as it saw a more substantial gain in our battery life test over the previous Samsung flip phone. That said, some of Motorola's foldable flip phones continue to outlast Samsung's offerings.
Phone
Battery size (mAh)
Battery life (Hrs:mins)
Galaxy Z Flip 7
4,300
12:24
Galaxy Z Flip 6
4,000
11:01
Motorola Razr Ultra (2025)
4,700
15:42
Motorola Razr Plus (2025)
4,000
11:08
Motorola Razr (2025)
4,500
13:45
The Galaxy Z Flip's time of 12 hours and 24 minutes at its adaptive setting is a big improvement over the 11:01 time posted by the Galaxy Z Flip 6. More important, the better battery time — aided by the larger power pack and upgraded Exynos 2500 chipset in the Z Flip 7 — puts more distance between Samsung's smartphone and the average device's time on our test.
Still, this is not the longest lasting flip phone you can buy. That would be the Motorola Razr Ultra (2025), which holds out for 15:42 on our battery test — a very impressive time. While that phone costs more than the $1,099 Galaxy Z Flip 7 at $1,299, it's worth noting that the $699 Razr (2025) also posts a better time at 13:45. Only the $999 Motorola Razr Plus trails the Galaxy Z Flip 7 in terms of battery life.
Samsung deserves credit for the steps taken to improve battery life on both of its new foldables. But in the case of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, those gains are marginal at best.
And it's not an insignificant issue — long battery life is one of the big factors people consider when looking for a new phone. If Samsung wants shoppers to adopt foldable phones in greater numbers, it's going to have to make bigger gains in future versions.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNET
40 minutes ago
- CNET
Should You Buy an iPhone 16 or Wait for the iPhone 17?
So you're ready to purchase your next iPhone. You can take one of two routes: Buy an iPhone 16 right now, or wait a little longer and get Apple's next version, which is expected to make its debut in just over a month. What's the better choice? With the anticipated launch of the iPhone 17 in September, it could be a good idea to hang tight and either purchase the new phone or get the iPhone 16 at a discounted price. Apple still hasn't confirmed the existence of the iPhone 17, and we don't have any official specs or features, but here's how it could compare to the iPhone 16, according to rumors and speculation. iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 17: Key rumored specs compared We still don't have any confirmed details about the iPhone 17, but that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning and purported leaks from making the rounds. Speculation extends across the entire iPhone 17 lineup, from the Pro models to what could be a thinner "Air" version (which may be Apple's answer to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge). But I'm going to focus on the baseline iPhone 17. Screen differences One of the most highly anticipated changes could be that the iPhone 17 adds a 120Hz display, which would be very welcome. Currently, only the iPhone Pro models have that higher refresh rate, while the baseline and Plus models are stuck with a 60Hz display. Bumping that refresh rate could also prompt Apple to bring the always-on display to the baseline model, making it easier to quickly glance at the time and your notifications without waking your display. There's been some back-and-forth on whether the iPhone 17 will have a scratch-resistant, antireflective display. But the most recent reports suggest that feature will only be available on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, not the baseline iPhone 17 (or the Air). So there may not be major discrepancies between the iPhone 16 and 17 on that front. Camera differences It's possible the iPhone 17's selfie camera will get a bump to 24 megapixels, instead of the current 12 megapixels found in the iPhone 16's front-facing shooter. Megapixels aren't the only determining factor for good-quality photos, but if it is an upgrade, that could make taking selfies or shooting videos for social media on the front-facing camera less of a compromise. There's also been some conversation about the camera bump on Apple's upcoming iPhone lineup. It's likely that only the Pro models' cameras will be nestled in a new, larger panel that stretches horizontally across the back of the phone (perhaps evoking the "Geordi Visor" on the Google Pixel 9) and that the baseline will maintain a similar camera arrangement to the iPhone 16. Only time will tell. Design differences Rumors suggest that like the iPhone 16, the iPhone 17 will have an aluminum frame. (In fact, it's possible that'll be the case for the entire lineup, apart from the iPhone 17 Air, which could have a titanium frame to make it lighter.) There have also been reports that the iPhone 17 will use a new compact "metalens" technology for the proximity sensor, which could reduce the size of the Face ID sensor and the Dynamic Island. That could give slightly more real estate to the top of the 17's display. Processor and RAM One key element that could remain unchanged across both phones is the processor. The iPhone 17 is rumored to pack an A18 chip, just like the iPhone 16. With Apple's plans to expand its Apple Intelligence suite of AI capabilities, it's possible the iPhone 17 lineup could come with 12GB of RAM, instead of the current 8GB -- or at least part of it could. In April, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the iPhone 17 Air and Pro models would sport 12GB of RAM but that Apple was still deciding whether to equip the baseline model with that higher amount too. In May, analyst Jeff Pu noted the baseline would remain at 8GB. We'll have to wait to see what Apple ultimately decides. Speaking of Apple Intelligence, a new AI-powered Adaptive Power feature arriving with iOS 26 can help conserve battery by making "small performance adjustments," like "allowing some activities to take a little longer," according to Apple. The next iPhone is expected to arrive with the upcoming operating system onboard, but you'll also be able to download iOS 26 on the iPhone 16, as well as some older iPhones, once it becomes available publicly. That should help to stretch your battery life on either device. Color options What's on the inside may be most important, but people also want to know what fun colors the iPhone 17 could sport. Rumors suggest the upcoming device could come in black, blue, silver, purple and green. For comparison, the iPhone 16 is available in black, white, pink, teal and ultramarine. Everything we think we know about the iPhone 17 is still just speculation, so we'll have to see what Apple unveils this fall. Should you buy an iPhone 16 now or wait for the iPhone 17? If you're in desperate need of a new phone and can't wait any longer, who am I to stop you? But if you can hang tight until September, when Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 17, you can either score the flashy new device or get a discount on the iPhone 16. (In previous years, the company dropped the price on older models by around $100.) It's likely the changes between the iPhone 16 and 17 will be relatively modest. Apple tends to debut newer features on its Pro models before eventually rolling them out across the full lineup, like it did with the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max and the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. So any shiny new capabilities will likely land on its more premium phones first, such as the rumored antireflective display and redesigned cameras on the iPhone 17 Pro models. But perhaps the biggest changes could arrive next year with the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, for which Apple is reportedly "preparing a major shake-up" of the phone's design, according to Bloomberg. That includes a (long-rumored) foldable version and a "bold new Pro model that makes more extensive use of glass." The iPhone 17 may not even be announced yet, but it's never too early to be looking even further ahead.
TechCrunch
40 minutes ago
- TechCrunch
Samsung backs a video AI startup that can analyze thousands of hours of footage
Many AI tools can look at a video today and summarize what is going on, but things become a bit tricky when you ask models questions about multiple videos and footage spanning many hours. This is a big limitation for security companies that want to use AI to scrub through thousands of hours of footage from different cameras, as well as marketing companies that want to study different video campaigns and product shoots. wants to tackle that problem with its AI platform that can process up to 10 million hours of video. For companies with a lot of video to analyze, the startup wants to provide a contextual layer, complete with searchable indexing, tagging, segments and aggregation. Its co-founder Dr. Shawn Shen was a research scientist at Meta's Reality Labs while he was pursuing his PhD, and his counterpart Enmin (Ben) Zhou worked at Meta as a machine learning engineer. 'All top AI companies, such as Google, OpenAI and Meta, are focused on producing end-to-end models. Those capabilities are good, but these models often have limitations around understanding video context beyond one or two hours,' Shen told TechCrunch. 'But when humans use visual memory, we sift through a large context of data. We were inspired by this and wanted to build a solution to understand video across many hours better,' he said. Image Credits: Towards that goal, the company has now raised $8 million in a seed funding round led by Susa Ventures, and with participation from Samsung Next, Fusion Fund, Crane Ventures, Seedcamp, and Creator Ventures. Shen said the company initially aimed to raise $4 million, but ended up with an oversubscribed round because of investor interest. Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW 'Shen is a highly technical founder, and he is obsessed with pushing boundaries of video understanding and intelligence,' said Misha Gordon-Rowe, a partner at Susa Ventures. ' can unlock a lot of first-party visual intelligence data with its solution. We felt that there was a gap in the market for long context visual intelligence, which attracted us to invest in the company,' he added. Samsung Next had a slightly different thesis: the investment arm of Samsung sees solution being useful for consumers. 'One thing we liked about is that it could do a lot of on-device computing. That means you don't necessarily need to store video data in the cloud. This can unlock better security applications for people who are apprehensive of putting security cameras in their house because of privacy concerns,' said Sam Campbell, a partner at Samsung Next. says it uses its own tech stack and models to perform analyses. First, it removes noise from videos and passes the output through a compression layer to only store important data. Then there is an indexing layer, which makes the video data searchable (using natural-language queries) with segmentation and tags. There is also an aggregation layer that summarizes data from the index, helping create reports. Currently, the startup caters to two kinds of companies: marketing and security. Marketing companies can use the startup's tools to look up trends related to their brands on social media, and identify what kind of video they want to make. also provides tools for marketers to create those videos. The company is also working with security companies to help them analyze security footage to determine potentially dangerous actions by people in the videos by reasoning through patterns. Image Credits: Screenshot by TechCrunch Currently, companies working with need to upload their video library to the platform to have it analyze clips. But Shen said that in the future, his clients will be able to create a shared drive and sync content more easily. The plan is to enable customers to ask questions like: 'Tell me all about people I interviewed in the last week.' Shen envisions an AI assistant that can gain context on a user's life via their photos or when they activate smart glasses. He also sees the technology playing a role in training humanoid robots to do complex tasks or helping self-driving cars remember different routes. The company currently employs 15 people, and it plans to use the fund to augment its team and improve its search. is going up against similar startups, like mem0 and Letta, which are working on providing a memory layer for AI models, though they offer limited video support at the moment. It also has to contend with companies like TwelveLabs and Google, which have been working on helping AI models understand videos. Shen, however, feels his company's solution is more horizontal, which would let it work with different video models as well.
Gizmodo
2 hours ago
- Gizmodo
Cheaper Than the Previous Model, the New Galaxy Z Fold7 Is at a Record Low Pre-Order Price
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 is available for pre-order, but this opportunity is over tonight at midnight. Starting tomorrow, the phone will be available for purchase by everyone at regular prices. But today, Amazon is still offering an unbeatable pre-order deal: the 512GB version is priced at the same price as the 256GB variant, and you also receive a $300 gift card on top of that. That puts the launch price of $2,119 to $1,999, and when adding the gift card, the out-of-pocket expense of this new foldable phone is $1,699. That is more than $400 less than the flagship foldable phone on the market today. There is an identical Amazon offer on the Galaxy Z Flip7 with a gift card worth $200 included. See at Amazon AI Powered Foldable Phone The Galaxy Z Fold7 is Samsung's high-end foldable phone with an incredible massive main display that folds neatly to fit in your pocket. The design provides tablet-like usability in open mode which is perfect for multitasking. The phone is run by Android and is unlocked, which allows you to use it with whatever carrier you prefer in the United States. The foldable structure also increases productivity by means of split-screen multitasking and an optimized user interface that adapts while the phone is open or closed. This allows you to be able to operate two programs at the same time or switch between the two seamlessly which is an amazing advantage for people who need efficient mobile computing. The Galaxy Z Fold7 uses the best of AI technologies including AI photo editing that makes it easy to take and enhance photos and is more intuitive. Aside from the screen and the AI features, the phone also boasts a battery that lasts longer and supports extended use throughout the day without continuous recharging. The upgrade gives users the assurance that they can use the phone extensively for heavy usage. If you're looking to experience the most advanced foldable phone available without paying a full premium price, today's Amazon pre-order is a rare (and your last) chance to do so. If you are looking for a vertical fold style, the Galaxy Z Flip7 can also be purchased on Amazon with a $200 gift card offer. See at Amazon
