The biggest controversy still surrounding Samsung's next big foldable devices with only a couple of months left to an official announcement may have finally been settled once and for all, yet again invalidating what we thought we knew just a few days ago.
Of course, nothing will technically be etched in stone until the actual Galaxy Unpacked event takes place sometime in July, but the inside information provided in a new Korean media report (translated here) today seems a little too detailed and, well, logical to prove inaccurate.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 could mark a historical first
If Chosun Biz's unnamed "industry" sources will indeed prove reliable, Samsung's main 2025 Android-powered flip phone will not only bring a key change to the table compared to its 2024 predecessor, doing something that no previous Galaxy foldable has done.
That's right, we're back to expecting the Z Flip 7 to pack a Samsung-made Exynos 2500 processor instead of the recently rumored Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. This would be the first Exynos chipset used on a Galaxy Flip or Fold handset, (slightly) reducing Samsung's reliance on the aforementioned manufacturer of those massively popular Snapdragon processors.
The Z Flip 7 will be faster than the Z Flip 6, but possibly not by a lot.
From a business standpoint, this decision obviously makes a lot of sense, potentially trimming down the production costs of the Galaxy Z Flip 7 while possibly pressuring Qualcomm to cut the price of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 SoC that's still widely expected to power (at least some variants of) the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra early next year.
But Exynos chips don't exactly have the greatest reputation among everyday mobile consumers, and the 2500 is an especially worrying product. That's because Samsung reportedly planned to use this bad boy on the Galaxy S25 family at first, most likely giving up on that due to yield issues.
While the processor's production has purportedly "stabilized to some extent" recently, I can totally understand if some prospective Galaxy Z Flip 7 buyers would be put off by the Exynos 2500's rumored early troubles, finding it hard to trust that everything will ultimately work just fine on the next-gen clamshell.
Perhaps even more importantly, the Exynos 2500 is unlikely to match the Snapdragon 8 Elite in pure speed, so unless the Z Flip 7 will be cheaper than its predecessor (which I highly doubt), that could be judged as an unforgivably modest upgrade over last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC by other potential buyers.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 will play things safe... and blazing fast
If you're worried that Samsung's cost-cutting measures could extend to the other big foldable tipped for a July launch, well, don't be. That's because virtually all the Galaxy Z Fold 7 rumors from the last few months have pointed in the Snapdragon 8 Elite direction, and so does this latest Korean media report.
The Z Fold 7 is therefore pretty much guaranteed to go up against all the best Android phones available today (Galaxy S25 roster included) in terms of processing power, although that's likely to make things even more awkward for the Z Flip 7.
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The Galaxy Z Fold 7 will almost certainly pack the same state-of-the-art processor as the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Both the Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7 are expected to go into production next month, and for starters, Samsung will reportedly try to make 200,000 copies of the former by June. That's... not a very impressive number, but of course, the company can rapidly boost it if global demand will require that and no further problems will arise with the Exynos 2500 SoC or other key components.
Curiously enough, Chosun Biz's inside sources seem to have no valuable information to share on the third Samsung foldable expected out this year, which might suggest that the affordable Galaxy Z Flip FE, aka Z Flip 7 FE, aka Z Flip Xe will actually see daylight a little later than the Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7 after all.
Naturally, that's only an assumption on my part, which is not what I can say about the Exynos 2400e processor recently rumored (on more than one occasion) to power this first-of-a-kind device.
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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