I loved the Galaxy Z Flip 7’s cover screen until the software ruined it

I love flip phone foldables. More specifically, I love flip phones with big cover screens. Being able to comfortably reply to texts, check notifications, and use apps on a large, high-quality cover screen is one of my favorite things about the flip phone form factor — and it’s why I was so excited to get my hands on the Galaxy Z Flip 7.

For the last couple of years, Samsung’s cover screen tech has paled in comparison to its competitors, namely Motorola in the US. For all Samsung has gotten right with the Z Flip series, its small, low-resolution, and low-refresh-rate cover displays have always lagged behind the competition. But not so this year.

I’ve had the Galaxy Z Flip 7 for just about a day, and I’ve spent most of my time playing with the new cover screen. It’s a massive improvement over Samsung’s previous attempts and by far the best we’ve seen on a Z Flip yet. But as much as I love the hardware, Samsung’s software greatly holds everything back.

I want to start by talking about what Samsung got right, which, admittedly, is a lot. The most obvious upgrade over the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is the display size, which has increased from 3.4 inches to 4.1 inches. That new full-screen design, combined with impressively thin bezels, is a truly impressive sight to behold.

Apps, like Telegram and Slack, are easy to navigate and don’t feel cramped in the slightest. I can see a long list of notifications without scrolling, and typing on the cover screen’s keyboard is far more comfortable than it was on the Flip 6. An extra 0.7 inches may not sound like much, but in practice, it’s a night-and-day difference.

And as much as I’ve enjoyed the cover screen’s extra real estate, that’s not the only hardware upgrade I’ve been thrilled with. The resolution jump from 720 x 748 to 948 x 1048 is immediately noticeable. Where the Flip 6’s cover screen looked grainy and fuzzy to my eyes, the Flip 7’s is as sharp as a tack.

The upgrade from a 60Hz refresh rate to 120Hz is even more apparent, making the cover screen feel fluid and responsive in a way no Z Flip cover screen has felt previously. Additionally, the brightness increase (from 1600 nits up to a staggering 2600 nits) has been immensely helpful when using the Flip 7 in direct sunlight.

I’ve been waiting for the day that Samsung finally released a Z Flip with a cover screen that didn’t feel stuck in the past. Having now used the Z Flip 7, I can confidently say that day has finally come. At least, it has from a hardware perspective.

Unfortunately, it’s a different conversation we need to have about the cover screen software. In Samsung’s efforts to springboard the Flip 7’s cover screen hardware into the modern era, the software was largely left behind. Samsung created a big, bright, and sharp display I want to interact with, but numerous roadblocks create a lot of unnecessary friction.

The most obvious complaint is that of using apps on the cover screen. Samsung still requires you to jump through extra hoops and use Good Lock if you want to use anything other than Google Maps, Messages, Netflix, or YouTube. It is annoying, though Samsung has slightly simplified the process this year, and it’s only something you have to do once. However, this perfectly highlights a far bigger issue.

Once the Good Lock widget is on your cover screen, you see all of the apps you’ve chosen, along with a + icon to add more. Presumably, tapping that icon would allow you to add more apps directly from the cover screen. But no. Instead, it displays an “Open phone to continue” pop-up, forcing you to open the Flip 7 to proceed. Unfortunately, this is something you see a lot of.

Want to customize your current clock face? You need to open the Flip 7. Want to add a new clock design? Open the Flip 7. Want to edit widgets on one of your home screens? Time to open the Flip 7! Even some app notifications refuse to display the notification content on the cover screen, instead telling you to “Open the phone and check the notification panel for details.”

There are other issues, too. You can’t customize the quick settings panel on the cover screen, and the toggles that are present are extremely limited compared to the main display (such as only being able to toggle Wi-Fi on/off and not being able to select a specific Wi-Fi network). Also, while you can reply to texts and emails, you have to use the terrible, horrible Samsung Keyboard even if you’ve set something like Gboard as your default keyboard.

I just have one question for Samsung: Why? Why create such a high-quality and capable cover screen yet withhold such basic functionality from it? These are limitations carried over from previous Z Flips, and it feels lazy on Samsung’s part not to fix them for the Flip 7’s upgraded cover screen.

Sometimes while using the Galaxy Z Flip 7, I’m thrilled with the phone’s cover screen. The bigger size is terrific, the resolution and refresh rate upgrades are fantastic, and every interaction is better than one on the Z Flip 6’s cover screen.

But when I see that “Open phone to continue” pop-up or am forced to type a typo-ridden message with Samsung Keyboard, the magic fizzles. Samsung finally has a cover screen that’s just as good as the competition, and it’s a damn shame it’s still held back by frustrating software like this.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 easily has the best cover screen of any Z Flip to date, and I wish I could thoroughly love it. But considering how much more it could have been, I’m left feeling a bit disappointed.