Galaxy Z Flip 5: The first Samsung foldable that has the power to convert iPhone users - worth it?

Sure, the whopping price of $1,000 might be a psychological barrier for me, but regardless, I just can’t talk myself into paying a (high) full price for an iPhone that barely brings anything (really) new to the table.

And don’t get me started on the design of the iPhone, which has looked more or less identical for the past four years now. Of course, the unbiased truth is that the same applies to phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Pixel 7 Pro, which barely look any different than their predecessors. But it is what it is, I guess.

If Apple wants my very hard-earned $1000 (some chief editors might disagree with some parts of this statement), here’s my ransom note, Tim: Until I get what I want, you don’t get your $1,000, and I keep buying second-hand iPhones from eBay. I bet you’ll be so… affected!

Apple must make a "Galaxy Z Flip 5 that runs iOS" because this would be the first iPhone since the original that feels “completely new”; it’s easy for Apple to pull off; and because Apple would probably get it right from the first try

• As an iPhone 13 mini user who likes being able to use his phone with one hand at all times, I don’t just want, but I need a smaller display, which is why an outer screen just like the one in the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is my dream solution to the problem with large iPhone displays

• Make a foldable iPhone and glue an Apple Watch to the back of it, Apple (a larger Apple Watch); that’s right - treating the rear display of a foldable phone like a smartwatch might be the smartest and most straightforward way to make this display truly useful and justify its existence; of course, I also wouldn’t mind running full-screen apps on this display but I think I like the idea of better-optimized apps more

• From a technical perspective, given that the tech is now certainly “there” (whatever that’s supposed to mean), it should be relatively easy for Apple to make a truly great clamshell folding iPhone; Samsung, Huawei, and a number of other Android phone-makers already paved the way for foldable phones, which means Apple can easily turn up late and steal the show - that happens more often than you’d know

Galaxy Z Flip 5 - the first foldable phone by Samsung that has the power to convert an iPhone user?

Now, some of you might ask: “Martin, why wouldn’t you just buy a Galaxy Z Flip 5, instead of asking for a foldable iPhone that might never get made?”, and the answer is… I might. In fact, Samsung flagships tend to lose their resale value pretty quickly, which actually works in my favor - again, I like to get my devices at bargain prices.

The main roadblock for me might be that Samsung’s new Galaxy Flip won’t be running iOS. And I know that’s just another way of saying “it won’t be an iPhone”, but the emphasis here is on the ecosystem I’ve found myself “locked” in, which happens to be held together by iOS - not by the iPhone’s stainless steel frame and the glue around it.

Of course, none of this is Samsung’s fault. In fact, I generally prefer using Android over iOS but I happen to use a MacBook as my work laptop (thanks to it being the best laptop on the market for the type of work I do), which makes having an iPhone as my main device that much easier. AirDrop and stuff.



So, who knows… Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 5 might finally convert me! The humongous Galaxy S23 Ultra certainly failed to do so, but that’s because it’s flawed by design (for me). I just like smaller phones.

Of course, that’s if the outer display of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is just “right”, Samsung! You’ll read about this in detail in a different piece about the Galaxy Z Flip 5 but I’m pretty much asking for as much functionality as possible. We’re talking an outer display that allows me to use any/almost any app I can run on the larger inner screen. Or at least widgets that make the same thing possible.