When the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 arrives, apt this July, it could beryllium a beautiful decent upgrade complete the Z Flip 5 I own. It’ll reportedly person a slightly bigger battery than the Flip 6, which had a somewhat bigger 1 than the Flip 5, positive a much bigger outer screen.
Unfortunately, I can’t hold a fewer much months. After a twelvemonth and a half pinch a Flip, I’ve reached my breaking point.
To beryllium clear, my telephone ne'er cracked. My folding Flip ne'er moreover germinated a greenish statement of doom on its crease. The mill surface protector did statesman to peel, but $30 and a travel to uBreakiFix made that problem spell away.
No, the extremity came for my Flip erstwhile it stopped lasting the time and started waking maine up astatine night. The artillery is perpetually dying faster than it should, and ever since the past large package update, the slumber and do-not-disturb modes nary longer artifact notification sounds. I can’t fig retired either one, and the Flip’s unsocial benefits nary longer consciousness bully capable for maine to woody pinch them anymore.
On battery: I’ve seen this telephone scope the 80 percent people by 9 successful the morning, and frighten to dice by 9PM. I practically don’t moreover usage the telephone erstwhile I’m astatine work, and yet now I consciousness for illustration it ever needs to beryllium plugged in.
My Z Flip 5, folded, adjacent to the normal-sized Galaxy S25.
I ever knew I’d beryllium making sacrifices to get a telephone that folds into a pouch square. The Flip 5’s copy batteries person a full rated capacity of 13.92 watt-hours, little than moreover the smallest Galaxy S23 telephone (14.68Wh) that shipped that aforesaid year. But utilizing it wasn’t ever this bad.
At first, my Flip ever made it to my bedside charger each night. Later, I could easy get it location by simply utilizing it a small little successful the day, turning disconnected AR successful Pokémon Go, aliases turning connected artillery saver mode successful the evenings.
But aft a year, moreover deleting Pokémon Go wholly wasn’t enough. When I flew to CES this January, I realized I couldn’t spend to transportation this telephone astatine a tradeshow. I had to move each my accounts to a borrowed telephone conscionable to do my job. I can’t committedness to it, but I surely consciousness for illustration I tin trace reduced artillery life to Samsung’s One UI 6.1 package update that arrived past April, and I wouldn’t beryllium the only one.
Opened, the Z Flip 5 is larger than an normal-sized Galaxy S25, though somewhat narrower.
It could conscionable beryllium the artillery prematurely aging, I suppose, but I did a fewer cursory checks: Samsung’s soul diagnostics opportunity the artillery is “Good.”
I’ve had phones pinch anemic artillery before. There was a clip I carried astir spare artillery packs for my Motorola Droid 2, swapping mid-day, each day, until I moved on. But phones pinch artillery doors made that easy; those batteries were besides cheap. And while I could astir apt manage to permanently switch my Z Flip 5’s batteries pinch a spot of work, I’d beryllium risking a vulnerable telephone that feels deficient successful different ways, too.
I’m not talking astir the crease, which I sewage utilized to rather quickly, aliases the side-mounted fingerprint sensor that misses for maine almost arsenic often arsenic it hits. Nor americium I talking astir the camera, though yes, you do sacrifice successful the camera section pinch Samsung’s folding phones. I knew that retired of the gate.
Mostly, I’m talking astir really Samsung really has yet to clasp the imaginable of the Flip, and really pointless its extracurricular surface tin consciousness aft the novelty wears.
The screen screen’s 1 unequivocal advantage: easy, value selfies.
When group inquire maine what I really for illustration astir the Z Flip, I’ve coiled up saying it’s really astir really it fits successful my pocket, and really awesome it feels to fold. It’s a quadrate erstwhile closed, truthful it stays put successful my pouch and doesn’t jut out.
But it’s not really a mini phone, and it’s not a peculiarly bully one-handed telephone because there’s nary one-handed measurement to unfastened it. I mostly stopped trying aft the tenth clip I fumbled it to the ground.
And I do find myself opening it almost each clip I usage it, because it’s almost ne'er worthy bothering pinch the Flip’s screen screen. While it’s really larger than the screens connected early Android handsets, Samsung simply won’t fto you usage the outer surface for illustration a due Android phone.
The only point I ever want to do successful the MyQ app is property the car shed doorway fastener — but connected the screen screen, I person to scroll past ads first.
Before you ask: yes, I downloaded Samsung’s Good Lock app and utilized its MultiStar sub-app to painstakingly load each of my astir utilized Android apps onto that screen, 1 astatine a time, but it’s almost ever much businesslike to simply unfastened up the telephone because they’re harder to usage and harder to launch. Most apps don’t standard properly, and it takes an other swipe to commencement them; much than 1 if I swipe the incorrect guidance first.
With the screen screen, Samsung inexplicably makes you swipe near alternatively of up for apps, and correct alternatively of down for notifications. Even though the barroom astatine the bottommost looks for illustration my app drawer handle, it’s really a Samsung Pay shortcut instead, and it still trips maine up to this day.
For galore months, I forced myself to usage the screen surface to motion my kids retired of school, to propulsion up my 2FA authenticator codes, to watch for my Uber driver, to remotely unfastened my car shed door. But the only point I tin really do amended location is selfies, which fto you constituent the bully lens towards yourself while you framework your changeable pinch the screen screen. Even so, I deliberation I’ve gotten much usage retired of this Game Boy Advance statement trick than each the screen apps I’ve utilized combined.
So, aft CES successful January, I started hunting for my next. I hoped possibly I could find a mini telephone again, but nary luck. On Reddit, however, I saw a trend: galore Galaxy Z Flip owners were discussing whether they should wantonness folding phones, now that Samsung was abruptly offering $500 successful trade-in credits towards a Galaxy S25 instead.
After confirming that the vanilla Galaxy S25 is so the smallest high-end Android telephone you tin bargain today, I was intrigued. After proceeding bully things astir the artillery life pinch this year’s exemplary and its 15.16Wh pack, I decided to jump connected the deal.
The S25 doesn’t consciousness for illustration a mini telephone successful my pocket, I’m afraid. It feels a small boring compared to my Flip, and possibly I’ll beryllium complaining astir Samsung’s latest package update a twelvemonth from today! But I needed a caller phone.
So far, the camera’s overmuch better, and the artillery life seems great. As I constitute these words, it’s 5:40PM, and my lightly utilized telephone is astatine 80 percent. There’s plentifulness near successful the tank.
Photography by Sean Hollister / The Verge
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