Comparing the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S23, Both are great phones but should you pay more for less? Here we discuss in al aspect from design build, display, performance to battery life, camera and so on. And Hopefully this article helps you make a good decision!
I thought comparing these two Samsung Smartphones was a good idea, because these phones are different in a lot of ways, One’s cheaper and one’s more expensive. And I think it’s a very good life lesson because you’re spending more to get less in a lot of ways.
Design and Build
Whereas the Galaxy S23 is less than $900 for the 256GB model that gives you more. Now the Galaxy Z Flip 5, idea of the flip is to take a big screen, flip it down into a compact size so that it’s easier to carry in your pocket. It’s a great form factor, especially now with the hinge being perfectly flat. But it’s a heavier phone you know like we’re talking about 180grams compared to 160grams S23, and when I look at Z flip5 phone, I never once felt that this was heavy.
None of these phones are super heavy, but when holding both of them in your hand, you can feel the weight difference between these two devices, the Galaxy S23 does feel much lighter. And the idea of the flip is to have cover screen to basically cover yourself in certain situations, quickly check notifications, quickly send off a text message. The idea of flipping it open and taking a selfie of yourself using the rear camera is much nicer than using the front camera on a typical candy bar phone, and it has its benefits.
Fingerprint Scanner
The idea of having a flip phone is they can’t really put an in-display fingerprint sensor on that, and I’m totally okay with this. The physical button on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 right-hand side is so much better than an in-display fingerprint scanner. And the one on the Galaxy S23 is fast enough it’s in a good position, and I don’t have any major complaints, But having a physical one just works so much better.
Display and Speakers
The displays on both of phones share some similarities. They’re obviously OLED, they’re AMOLED, they get really bright. In fact they share the exact same peak brightness of 1750 units, but if you have both of these phones directly in front of you the Galaxy S23 looks better. And the reason being is if you have a proper panel of glass on it and have you ever looked at a laptop where you had a matte display and a regular glass panel.
That glass panel always looks more contrasty, the colors just look more vibrant, and that’s the same sort of idea here. Not that the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a matte display, but because they have a screen protector over it and it’s not like a hundred percent glass, you can tell that the colors just look a little bit better on the Galaxy S23. Both phones have stereo speakers but I did find the Z flip 5 to get a tiny bit louder like maybe like 1.5 decibels louder but overall they’re fairly similar.
Read Also: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review
Usability and Longevity
When Galaxy Z Flip5 VS Galaxy S23 both phones are open, they are obviously you know very easy to hold. They’re not super wide or anything, but obviously the Galaxy S23 is a lot more one-handable. The display is not that tall so you don’t have to travel too far up with your thumb if you want to reach the notification menu or respond to a text message. Not that Z Flip 5 is long too, I could do it with my long fingers, but it’s obviously more comfortable over.
Now, the downfall to buying a Z flip5 for his longevity, Like you’re buying a device that has more moving parts. There’s a hinge it’s not dust resistant and It’s only IPX8; it’s water-resistant, but it’s not rated for dust, whereas the S23, you get both. If you’re holding onto these phones for four to five years, I’d put my money on the S23 lasting longer.
Performance
Both phones have the same Snapdragon A Gen 2 processor made for Galaxy, which is basically an overclocked version of it, and they both perform very well. I didn’t find a difference in terms of overall performance between Galaxy Z Fip5 and S23 they’re both very smooth.
But the software experience is a tiny bit different and that’s because you could actually use Samsung Dex with the Galaxy S23, whereas you can’t use on the Z Flip 5. It’s basically the only phone in the entire S lineup that doesn’t support Dex. So if being able to connect your phone to let’s say, a monitor to have a full desktop experience is important to you, then the S23 is obviously the choice to go for.
Battery Life
Now battery life is interesting because they do share some similarities, same wired charging speed, and same wireless charging speed, and reverse wireless charging speed. The difference comes down to battery capacity 3900 milliamp hours on the Galaxy S23 compared to 3700 on Z Flip 5.
Now as I said in my Galaxy Z Flip5 review, the efficiencies made by this new Snapdragon processor are much better. I can easily get through the entire day and not feel like I have battery anxiety like I did with the Galaxy Z Flip 4. But I do get slightly better battery life with the S23, if I was staying up late and I was going to a party, the S23 is more likely to get me through it compared to the Z Flip 5.
Camera
The selfie cameras are a bit different, we’re talking about a 12-megapixel webcam on the Galaxy S23 compared to 10 megapixels on the Galaxy Z Flip 5. And I did notice a difference taking a selfie with the S23 did produce more pleasing results, The images were a bit more vibrant and a tiny bit sharper.
But the big advantage of going with the cheaper S23 is the camera system. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 only has two 12-megapixel cameras one’s a wide lens, one’s ultra-wide. Whereas on the Galaxy S23 you have a bigger megapixel count on the wide lens, 50 megapixels and then you have a 10-megapixel telephoto lens and then a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens.
The photos on both of these phones are good, but this is where the differences really occur. Far the S23 because you have that bigger sensor, It can pull in more light, and I did find images to look a little bit more contrasty. There was a bit more sharpness and detail, not all the time, but usually there was when you’re comparing them side by side. And that’s important for some people, Maybe you want just a better camera overall.
But the benefit of the Galaxy S23 is having that proper optical zoom lens, you can zoom up to three times, which in some situations can come in handy, but you can also digital zoom up to 30x times. Whereas with the Z Flip 5 there’s no optical lens you can only digital zoom up to 10x times.
Camera Video
But the weird thing though was that the video was pretty much identical. I didn’t find the 4K video on either of these devices to be any different they both looked really good, pretty much identical. But nighttime photography was slightly better on the Galaxy S23, It was just able to take the photo faster. For example if it took six seconds with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 on night mode, it took five or four on the S23. And with that, I got more detail in the shadows.
The images again just like the daytime photos, looked a little bit sharper, a little bit more detail. But again you have to really be pixel peeping the Z Flip 5 is holding up, but you can tell these cameras are just not high-end cameras like some of these newer devices that are currently on the market. The cool thing is both of these phones can do steady shot at QHD 30 fps, but weirdly, I found that the Z Flip 5 was a tiny bit more stable.
Final thought
So these are both awesome phones, but if you’re struggling for money and you know you need to buy a new phone, maybe you’re on a plan where you have a good trade-in value or whatever it is, you’re obviously going to save more money with the Galaxy S23, and you’re going to be getting more bang for the buck. In fact, you can probably get an S23 Plus for the exact same price as a Galaxy Z Flip 5 and get a bigger display.
if you’re carrying this phone for the next four to five years okay, don’t go for the Z Flip 5, It just makes a lot more sense to go for the S23. It’s more durable, it has dust resistance, there’s just less moving parts, and I think the person who wants the Z Flip 5 kind of has already made up their mind.
They want this form factor; they think it’s cool, they take a lot of selfies, they like the idea of opening and closing a phone, maybe it brings back some nostalgia from the early days of the Motorola Razors. But if we’re being real the S23, at the end of the day, is hands down the better phone and obviously the better deal.
