Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Which should you buy?

The Galaxy S22 is the base variant of Samsung’s new flagship lineup. It brings several improvements and upgrades over its predecessor. Still, compared to the S22 Ultra, its watered-down specs make it the perfect contender to compete against the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, an excellent foldable phone that offers top-tier performance. So which is the better phone for you when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S22 vs the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3?

See also: The best Samsung phones you can buy

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

Design and display

The Samsung Galaxy S22 features a 6.1-inch Super AMOLED display with a center punch hole and rounded edges. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 gives you a larger, 6.7-inch bendy Dynamic AMOLED screen. Both phones get a 120Hz refresh rate and look sharp and colorful. The only thing you might not appreciate about the Z Flip 3 is that its outer layer is very reflective and can lead to glare issues.

Design-wise, the Samsung Galaxy S22 gets a glass back this time around. Samsung has ditched the plastic body of the Galaxy S21, perhaps to lend the phone a more premium look and feel. Its frame is made of Armour Aluminum, just like the more expensive S22 Ultra.

See also: A history of the Samsung Galaxy S series

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 also adopts Armor Aluminum and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, making it a rugged phone for regular use. However, the new S series flagship gets extra points for using the latest Gorilla Glass Victus Plus and a lighter body.

The major difference comes in the overall footprint of both devices. The Galaxy Z Fold can shrink into a compact, highly pocketable form. Its hinge also makes it foldable at multiple angles, which can be useful for video calls or shooting photos. But you would have to live with a crease in the middle of the screen, even if it doesn’t distract from the overall experience too much.

See also: Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus hands-on — Next-gen flagships for everyone

Both the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 come with water protection. The former is rated IP68 for protection from dust, dirt, and submersion up to a maximum depth of 1.5m underwater for up to thirty minutes. Samsung’s flip phone gets an IPX8 rating which doesn’t protect it against dust but promises the same level of water protection as the Galaxy S22.

Hardware and cameras

Being a 2022 flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S22 gains obvious hardware upgrades. It gets the speedier 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, which promises to be 20% faster and 30% more power-efficient than the Snapdragon 888 powering the Galaxy Z Flip. The latter is still a great chipset, though. We didn’t have any complaints about it during our review of the flip phone.

While the performance of the Galaxy Z Flip is impressive, its cameras aren’t all that exciting. It has two 12MP shooters, including a standard lens with Dual Pixels and OIS and an ultrawide lens. In comparison, the Galaxy S22 adds a much higher resolution 50MP camera, a 12MP ultrawide shooter, and a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and 30x Space Zoom.

Clearly, you get more camera features and better imaging skills with the S22. Even though we haven’t tested the phone, its camera configuration is already more exciting on paper than the Galaxy Z Flip 3. The new phone offers a 40MP snapper for selfies on the front, while the clamshell does the job with a 10MP unit.

Video capture is another area where the Galaxy Z Flip 3 lags behind. It goes up to 4K resolution at 60fps, while the S22 can record 8K videos at 24fps.

Other hardware differences between the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 include varying battery and charging capacities. The S22 features a 3,700mAh power source, while the Z Flip 3’s battery is a tad smaller at 3,300mAh. The latter also tops out at 15W charging instead of 25W on the S series phone.

Also read: The best camera phones you can buy

Price and colors

The Samsung Galaxy S22 will be available starting February 25 on Samsung.com, as well as third-party retailers and Samsung’s carrier partners. The phone comes in four colors: Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, and Pink Gold. There are two configurations of the phone — 8GB of RAM + 128GB of internal storage priced at $799, 8GB of RAM + 256GB of storage at $849.

The price of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is pretty attractive when you consider other foldable phones that could bleed you dry. It costs $999.99 for the 8GB RAM + 128GB variant and $1,049 for the 256GB version with the same amount of RAM. As far as colorways go, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 comes in Phantom Black, Green, Cream, and Lavender options.

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Which should you buy?

It’s tough to choose between the Samsung Galaxy S22 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3.

If a bendy phone is what you want, you can’t go wrong with the Z Flip 3. It’s Samsung’s best, most value-for-money foldable phone. The Snapdragon 888 processor hasn’t aged at all, and the easy-to-pocket design of the phone makes it stand out in a crowd of similar-looking slab-like devices. You will have to compromise on cameras, though. In our review of the phone, we noted that “the camera does a good enough job, though it falls short of being excellent. That’s a bummer if you consider that the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a $1,000 phone.”

Check out: The best Samsung Galaxy deals

Coming to the Galaxy S22, you’re getting every spec upgraded at a much lower price. However, it’s not as striking as the Galaxy Z Flip 3. You also don’t get many advantages in the battery, RAM, or storage departments. But the latest processor and stronger cameras should more than make up for those lacking areas.

So which one should you buy? At $200 cheaper, the Samsung Galaxy S22 would make all the sense to buy over the Galaxy Z Flip 3. However, if you have the cash to splurge and are okay to make a few compromises for a phone that looks cool, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 won’t disappoint.