If you know how Samsung typically conducts its yearly product upgrades, you probably didn't have very high expectations from the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 7 in terms of battery life improvements over its 2024 predecessor.
But surprise, surprise, a new report from a very credible source claims that the company's next big Android-powered flip phone will essentially be to the Z Flip 6 what said 2024 model was to 2023's Galaxy Z Flip 5, at least from a battery capacity perspective.
Two substantial upgrades in a row?!
Yes, I am as astounded as you to discuss the very distinct possibility today that the Z Flip 7 could pack a battery size of around 4,300mAh this year. That would be up from 4,000mAh on last year's Z Flip 6, which in turn represented an important enhancement over the 3,700mAh cell capacity of the Z Flip 5 before it.
In contrast, the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Z Fold 5, Z Fold 4, and even the Z Fold 3 all offered the exact same 4,400mAh battery capacity, and believe it or not, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 actually stood at a slightly higher 4,500mAh mark all the way back in 2020. Even if this year's Galaxy Z Fold 7 manages to bump up that figure (which is by no means a guarantee for the time being), it's pretty obvious that Samsung is employing two radically different upgrading strategies for its two distinct foldable families.
The Galaxy Z Flip 6 already offers decent battery life, but of course, there's always room for improvement. | Image Credit -- PhoneArena
Circling back to the Galaxy Z Flip 6, I should point out that the clamshell technically packs two batteries with a combined rated capacity of a little under 3,900mAh. Because that number is officially advertised as a nice and round 4,000mAh, the expectation is that the Z Flip 7's own two batteries with rated capacities of 2,985 and 1,189mAh will yield a "typical" (or advertised) combined figure of 4,300mAh.
Simply put, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is expected (by some folks who are generally right about these types of things) to upgrade the total battery capacity of its predecessor by 7 or 8 percent, which could result in a real-world improvement in endurance times between charges of 7 or 8 percent... or more.
That's because the Z Flip 7 is also expected, nay, virtually guaranteed to replace the Z Flip 6's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with a state-of-the-art new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. That's not only going to enable a big raw power upgrade, also improving the handset's energy efficiency and therefore the battery life too.
Does this mean the Galaxy Z Flip 7 will get bigger?
Not according to those credible leaked renders from last week. The Z Flip 7 is apparently likely to measure 166.6mm in height and 75.2mm in width, adding 1.5mm and 3.3mm respectively to the same dimensions of the Z Flip 6. That's not exactly a radical change, and it could be owed primarily to the expanding of last year's 6.7 and 3.4-inch screens to 6.8 and 3.6 inches respectively.
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What's perhaps even more impressive is that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is tipped to keep its predecessor's 6.9mm profile completely unchanged, but because the weight number is not in just yet, I do expect the extra 300mAh battery capacity to add at least a few grams to Samsung's main flip phone package.
The Z Flip 7 looks very thin for its battery size in these recently leaked renders.
Still, the Z Flip 7 should remain very easy to carry around with you on your business (and pleasure) travels, during which it should be able to avoid hugging a wall for a significantly longer period of time than a Z Flip 6. Our in-depth Galaxy Z Flip 6 review, in case you're wondering, did highlight the battery life as both a key selling point and an aspect that left decent room for improvement.
After the Z Flip 6 crushed the Z Flip 5 but largely fell short of the Motorola Razr Plus (2024) in our trusty battery tests, I'm very curious to see how the Z Flip 7 will perform in comparison with the Z Flip 6 and the fast-approaching Razr Plus (2025) in the same benchmarks.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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