Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Galaxy S23: which one should you go for?

There is no microSD card slot on either phone, but that's hardly a surprise.

With Android 13 and One UI 5 on board, these phones look and feel pretty much the same in terms of software. Both get the same 4 year OS update commitment from Sasmung, which is more than on other Android phones, so that's great.

With a flip phone consisting of two thin and small halves, you don't have much space and one consequence is the Galaxy Z Flip 5 only has two main cameras, while the Galaxy S23 has three cameras, the third one being a zoom lens which is missing on the Flip.

The S23 also has a larger, 50-megapixel main camera sensor which comes improved low-light performance compared to the Flip 5.

But by far, the 3X zoom camera is the major difference and advantage that the S23 has. Digital zoom on the Flip 5 just cannot match the quality out of a native zoom lens, so at 3X and beyond, the S23 captures cleaner photos with a lot more detail.

Main Camera - Day

As you can see, during the day, the Flip 5 and Galaxy S23 looks nearly identical. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a slightly narrower field of view and we also noticed that detail is much sharper on it. Look at the umbrella on the right side of the shot, and you can definitely see how it's very sharp on the Flip 5, while on the Galaxy S23 detail is a bit softer.

Main Camera - Low-light

In low light, images again look similar, but interestingly the Galaxy Z Flip 5 captures a bit more light in the shadows. That's the main and probably the only difference.

Zoom Quality

While Samsung has improved the digital zoom quality on the Flip 5, the quality is still nowhere near that of the native 3X zoom lens on the Galaxy S23. You can see the S23 captures just more detail and a cleaner shot at 3X and the disparity is even more noticeable when you zoom further.

Ultra-wide Camera

Quality out of the ultra-wide camera on both phones is extremely similar, and you really have to pixel peep to find even the smallest of differences.

Selfies

The Flip 5 makes it easy to take selfies using the main 1X camera and you can see that it does a better job at it than the selfie camera on the main screen. Thanks to the larger sensor on the main camera, you have a lot more detail and a good amount of natural bokeh, which makes for very pleasing selfies. You can also take selfies using the main camera on the S23, but you have to compose your shot in the blind, so the selfie round definitely goes to the Flip 5.

Video Quality

At 4K30, footage from the main camera looks practically identical on both phones when you record during the day. However, at night time, the Galaxy S23 definitely looks better: it can get more light, there is less noise, and recordings look cleaner overall.

Video stabilization is similarly good on both phones and the color science too, so we have parity there. The Galaxy S23 also does have the advantage of its 3X zoom camera, so when you zoom to that level or further, you have a much cleaner picture on the S23.

Another challenge with a flip phone is that you have less space for the battery: after all you have a hinge in the middle and you have to split the battery in two parts, one for each half of the phone.

That's the reason why flip phones typically have smaller battery sizes than a non-flip phone, and the Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a 3,700mAh battery, slightly smaller than the 3,900mAh battery on the Galaxy S23.

But does this mean you get longer battery out of the S23?

Well, that one is tricky! If you use the Cover Screen on the Flip 5 more, you will actually end up saving a lot of power and you might actually get longer battery life on the Flip 5. But if you just rely on the main screen most of the time, the Galaxy S23 should last you more.