I still have one big concern about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7

Samsung’s next folding phones will be here before you know it, and the last few days have given us a much better idea of what they’ll look like. A couple of weeks ago, we saw leaked renders of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7. This year’s Fold looks particularly impressive, touting significantly larger displays and a much thinner design. But the new Flip model left a lot to be desired.

The first Flip 7 renders showed a phone that looked eerily similar to the Galaxy Z Flip 6. Besides a slightly bigger cover screen, it seemed almost identical to last year’s phone. However, more significant changes are apparently in store. Updated renders of the Flip 7 have surfaced, this time showing a Motorola Razr-like cover screen that takes over the entire front of the phone. It’s a much better design and the type of hardware change I hoped to see.

However, there’s still something I’m concerned about. As good as this new cover screen is, it’ll only matter if Samsung finally gets its software in shape.

Since Samsung enlarged the Z Flip’s cover screen with the Galaxy Z Flip 5, the company’s approach to its cover screen software has been … interesting.

On the one hand, parts of it work quite well. There’s a decent selection of first-party widgets you can add to your home screens, and they’re all well-designed and have good customization options. I also love how customizable the various clock faces are, and there’s easy access to your notifications and Quick Settings. If all of this is good, what’s there to complain about?

While the Z Flip’s cover screen is great for checking the weather or looking at your calendar, things quickly fall apart the second you want to use an app. It’s technically possible, but Samsung makes it an infuriating experience.

The Z Flip 5 and Flip 6 technically support apps on the cover screen out of the box, but only after you dig deep into the “Advanced features” section of the Settings app and enable it. And even then, only a select handful are compatible — including Google Maps, Messages, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Netflix. That’s it.

If you want to use any apps beyond these, you have to jump through an absurd number of hoops. Samsung requires you to download its Good Lock app, install the MultiStar module, and tap a half-dozen more toggles before you can run other apps on the cover screen.

Unless you know exactly where to look for these things, there’s no way you’d be able to find them on your own. Samsung never explains how this works or that it’s even an option. It took me forever to figure out how to set up MulitStar on the Galaxy Z Flip 5, and while recently setting up a Z Flip 6 for my mom, I had to look up a tutorial to remind myself of the exact steps. And I’ve been writing about phones for over a decade! For the average user, this option is as good as nonexistent.

And even when you do have MultiStar up and running, you can tell that Samsung’s software isn’t properly optimized to run cover screen apps. You can’t add new apps or reorder their layout from the cover screen; you have to open the phone to do so. There’s also no such thing as multitasking from the cover screen. Want to quickly switch between a couple of apps? You have to go home, go back to the MultiStar widget, and then select the app you want. Every. Single. Time.

Everything about this experience is bad. It’s not well-explained, there are way too many steps involved, and — even when you do get everything working — the end result doesn’t feel good. Samsung drastically improving its cover screen hardware is an excellent step in the right direction, but if the company puts us through the same software hell for another year, what’s the point?

Making things all the more frustrating is that we know it doesn’t have to be like this. How so? Motorola has proven for the last several years that cover screen software doesn’t need to be this complicated.

Take the Motorola Razr (2024) as an example. It can also run apps on its cover screen, and they’re ready to use without any additional setup required. Just go to the Apps widget on the cover screen and choose the app you want. You can also add new apps and arrange their order without ever opening the phone.

Want to multitask on the cover screen? Have at it! You can multitask on the cover screen and quickly swap between apps as you would on the inner display. Motorola treats its cover screen more like a miniature Android phone, whereas Samsung’s cover screen feels like a smartwatch interface you can hack to run Android apps.

There’s clearly a better way to approach cover screen apps. Motorola’s Razr phones are proof of that, and I don’t understand why Samsung has stuck with its half-baked approach for the last two years when more intuitive options exist.

Assuming this larger and redesigned cover screen for the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is real, it would give Samsung a perfect opportunity to make this the year it addresses its software shortcomings. If Samsung is going to give us more cover screen real estate — and one of the bigger Z Flip redesigns yet — there’s no reason for it not to accommodate its improved cover screen hardware with the software it deserves.

Is that the only change I want to see? No. I hope Samsung’s bigger cover screen also comes with a higher resolution, more brightness, and a faster refresh rate — areas where Motorola’s Razr phones have had an advantage for the last two years. However, fixing the software experience is at the top of my wish list, and it should be at the top of Samsung’s to-do list, too.