The iPhone 15 Pro is the latest and greatest phone from Apple, and it comes with quite a few nifty improvements over its predecessor, which introduced the Dynamic Island and changed the face of the iPhone.
It’s available at the same $999 price as the Galaxy Z Flip 5, Samsung’s fifth-generation flip phone that, aside from being a head-turner, is practical for its own reasons. Let’s compare the two and see which one you should buy.
Design and Durability
The iPhone 15 Pro is shorter, narrower, and thicker than the Galaxy Z Flip 5, but since the latter can fold in half, it’s far more portable in comparison—and can stand on its own at various angles. The iPhone comes with anIP68 rating for water and dust resistancewhile its rival has an IPX8 rating, meaning it lacks dust resistance.
The highlight feature of the iPhone 15 Pro is its new titanium body which is both lighter and stronger than stainless steel used on former iPhone models. The aluminum on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 isn’t weak per se, but when put against titanium, it’s not a match.
Of course, the iPhone’s display still has its Ceramic Shield, while the Flip 5 uses fragile ultra-thin glass protected by a thin layer of plastic on its main display and Gorilla Glass Victus+ on its cover display (aka Flex Window). Regardless, the iPhone 15 Pro should easily survive for longer than the Flip 5.
The iPhone 15 Pro (along with the rest of the iPhone 15 lineup) finally switches to USB-C after using Lightning ports since the launch of the iPhone 5 in 2012. In case you didn’t already know,USB-C is better than Lightning portsin pretty much every single way, so this is definitely a welcome change.
Also, don’t forget that the iPhone is e-SIM only for buyers in the US; the Flip 5 has a physical SIM card slot.
If it’s a bigger display you want, the 6.7-inch main screen of the Flip 5 will serve you better than the 6.1-inch screen of the iPhone. And if you’re among those who are actively trying to limit their smartphone use, the Flip’s 1.9-inch cover screen can be a delight to use.
Both devices have an LTPO panel and can dial down the refresh rate from 120Hz to 1Hz depending on your usage to save battery life. That said, the iPhone can get brighter at 2000 nits which is more helpful for outdoor use.
Camera Quality
The iPhone 15 Pro shares the same camera system as its predecessor—it’s the $1199 Pro Max model that has gotten a new periscope telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom, not the Pro model.
That means all the camera differences we saw whencomparing the iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy Z Flip 5still apply. The iPhone 15 Pro has a 48MP main sensor, so it can take higher-resolution shots, and it also has a 12MP telephoto lens for portrait shots which the Flip 5 lacks.
That said, the Flip 5 is capable of taking higher-quality selfies if you fold the phone and use the main camera as your selfie camera. When doing this, the cover screen doubles as your viewfinder.
you may learn about thecamera differences between iPhones and Samsung phonesif you’re curious to know how each one processes your images and their unique color profiles.
The A17 Pro chip on the iPhone 15 Pro has once again set the bar for how powerful smartphones can be, so much so that Apple plans to get console games on iPhones soon—bringing thefuture of mobile gamingto life.
Although the bespoke Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is not as fast, it packs more power than most people will ever need.
However, do note that the A17 Pro is made using 3nm fabrication which means it’s going to be more power efficient than the 4nm chip on the Flip 5. Pair that with the iPhone’s highly optimized software, and you’re looking at a device that can easily last you more than a day.
RAM and Storage
Both devices come with 8GB of RAM, but because iPhones have excellent RAM management, the 8GB RAM on the iPhone 15 Pro will be able to keep more apps in memory for longer without closing them. This means you can quickly switch between different apps without waiting for them to load again.
The iPhone 15 Pro starts with 128GB of internal storage and goes all the way to 1TB. For the Flip 5, you only get two storage variants: 256GB and 512GB. You can check outhow much storage you needif you’re not sure.
Battery and Charging
Thanks to the highly optimized software and the 3nm A17 Pro chip on the iPhone 15 Pro, its smaller 3274mAh cell will still deliver significantly better battery life than the bigger 3700mAh cell on the Galaxy Z Flip 5.
However, if you end up using the cover screen on the Flip 5 more often than the main screen, this gap in battery life will be smaller since the cover screen uses less power. Still, if you want your phone to last longer, you should absolutely pick the iPhone 15 Pro.
The only saving grace for the Flip 5 in the battery department is that it has reverse wireless charging which you can use you charge your earbuds or smartwatch via your phone.
Forget the Flip, Get the iPhone
Given everything we know about the two phones, our recommendation is clear: pick the iPhone 15 Pro. Although the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is an excellent foldable phone under $1000, it fails at too many categories to be worth recommending over the iPhone.
The iPhone 15 Pro has a better camera system, a stronger body, a brighter display, longer battery life, and more power—everything that the average smartphone user cares about.
