It's that time of year again, folks, with Samsung gearing up to launch its latest foldable and flippable Android devices. Thanks to a steady stream of leaks, rumors, and industry whispers, we've already got a pretty good idea about everything there is to know about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7. However, a new report pointing to the Z Flip 7's Geekbench testing might have put a slight dampener on the big reveal for any avid mobile gamers.
For those who don't know, last year's Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 packed the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip as some of 2024's best gaming phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and RedMagic 9S Pro, offering top-tier performance. This year, things are a little different, with all the rumors pointing to Samsung equipping the Z Flip 7 with its own Exynos 2500 processor. While we'd hoped that this chip might be a contender to the Snapdragon 8 Elite CPU, the current industry-leading chip, the early test scores suggest that it's closer to last year's 8 Gen 3 in terms of CPU performance.
The latest Geekbench CPU testing for the Z Flip 7, courtesy of Notebookcheck, sees respective scores of 2,313 and 7,965 for single-core and multi-core performance, almost perfectly matching the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. With CPU performance tied to gaming capabilities, that means this year's flippable flagship might not offer much of an upgrade from the 2024 model. Admittedly, the Z Flip 6 is no gaming slouch, so you should still be able to run all of your favorites from our guide to the best Android games with few issues, but it's still a little disappointing that it looks like we're not going to get much of a performance boost in games such as Honkai Star Rail and PUBG Mobile.
It's not all bad news for the Z Flip 7 on the Geekbench testing front, though. A new Geekbench OpenCL test seems to suggest that the Exynos 2500 is comparable to the Snapdragon 8 Elite inside the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, that assessment is more about general performance, which likely ties into day-to-day use and Samsung's AI features, so we still have some concerns about whether to expect any noticeable difference for mobile gamers between the Z Flip 7 and Z Flip 6. Fortunately, the Z Fold 7 does seem to pack the Snapdragon 8 Elite, so if you're looking for a new phone with a funky form factor and a gaming performance upgrade, that might be the one to go for.
Of course, we'll have to wait until we get our hands on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 to see just how it performs, as testing scores aren't always representative of the gaming experience. Fortunately, we shouldn't have long to wait, with the phone launching on July 9. For more of the latest tech, be sure to check out our guides to the best gaming tablets and the best handheld consoles. Or, if you're looking for something new to play, see our list of the best mobile games.