Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
TL;DR The new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 has ultra-wideband (UWB) support, but the feature is exclusive to the South Korean model.
UWB is a wireless technology that enables highly precise location tracking for features like digital car keys and Google’s Find Hub.
It’s unclear why UWB is limited to the Korean model, but it may be due to regional demand or the cost of regulatory certification in other countries.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip lineup offers most of the features seen in the company’s other flagship devices, including a top-tier chipset, the latest version of One UI, and Galaxy AI. However, the series traditionally misses out on some features due to its compact form factor or for strategic reasons. For example, every device in the Z Flip lineup, including the new Galaxy Z Flip 7, was thought to lack support for ultra-wideband (UWB). As it turns out, that’s not entirely true. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 does support UWB, but only if you buy it in Samsung’s home market of South Korea.
UWB is a short-range wireless communication technology similar to Bluetooth, but it excels at highly precise location tracking, offering centimeter-level accuracy. In practice, this allows Android’s digital car key feature to locate and unlock your car as you approach it. Google’s Find Hub also uses UWB to pinpoint the exact location of item trackers. While both features benefit greatly from UWB’s precision, very few devices on the market actually support the technology, forcing them to fall back to less precise tracking methods.
According to the Google Play Console’s device catalog, which developers use to check device compatibility with their apps, fewer than 90 models currently support UWB. Samsung accounts for more than half of those, having first shipped UWB in the Galaxy Note 20 back in 2020. The company has since equipped its flagship Galaxy S (Plus and Ultra models only) and Galaxy Z Fold lineups with UWB, but it has consistently omitted the feature from the Galaxy Z Flip lineup — until now.
In most countries, including the U.S., the Galaxy Z Flip 7 doesn’t have UWB. However, the feature appears to be supported on the Korean model. Reddit user FragmentedChicken noticed that Samsung’s spec sheet for the Korean Galaxy Z Flip 7 lists UWB as a supported technology. This wasn’t a mistake, as the device also appears in the Google Play Console’s list of phones that support UWB. Furthermore, a Korean unit we tested via Samsung’s Remote Test Lab shows an “Ultra-wideband (UWB)” toggle under Settings > Connections, just like other UWB-equipped Samsung phones.
Korean Galaxy Z Flip 7 details UWB toggle on the Korean Galaxy Z Flip 7
It’s not clear why UWB is exclusive to the Korean Galaxy Z Flip 7, but it may be due to regional demand. Perhaps UWB has grown so popular in South Korea that Samsung felt compelled to include it to prevent customers from switching brands. Alternatively, the decision could come down to the costs of regulatory and compliance certification in each country where the phone is sold. We’re not sure if the UWB radio is present on global units and simply disabled in software, so we’ll have to wait for a hardware teardown to confirm.
In the meantime, if you live outside of Korea and want a Samsung phone with UWB, you’ll need to get either a Plus or Ultra model from the Galaxy S25 series or the new Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at [email protected] . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.