iPhone 16 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

iPhone 16 Plus

Apple

8.1

Big-battery value, held back by 60Hz

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

Samsung

8.1

Iterative refresh with the long-awaited gapless hinge

iPhone 16 Plus

What Reviewers Agree On

It has the best battery life of the entire iPhone 16 line — owners report ~9 hours screen-on-time and it beats even the 16 Pro Max for some.
'Pro features at a mainstream price' — the Action Button, Camera Control, A18 and same 8GB RAM as the Pro at the non-Pro price.
The redesigned 48MP 'Fusion' camera and enhanced ultrawide with macro are a real upgrade over the iPhone 15 Plus.
The big 6.7-inch screen plus strong performance make it excellent value versus the much pricier 16 Pro Max.
It's a huge, worthwhile leap for anyone upgrading from an iPhone 11/12/13-era phone.

Deal Breakers

Pros & Cons

iPhone 16 Plus

Pros

It has the best battery life of the entire iPhone 16 line — owners report ~9 hours screen-on-time and it beats even the 16 Pro Max for some.
'Pro features at a mainstream price' — the Action Button, Camera Control, A18 and same 8GB RAM as the Pro at the non-Pro price.
The redesigned 48MP 'Fusion' camera and enhanced ultrawide with macro are a real upgrade over the iPhone 15 Plus.
The big 6.7-inch screen plus strong performance make it excellent value versus the much pricier 16 Pro Max.
It's a huge, worthwhile leap for anyone upgrading from an iPhone 11/12/13-era phone.

Detailed Comparison

Performance

iPhone 16 Plus

The A18 with 8GB RAM — the same RAM as the Pro this year — delivers strong, future-proof performance, especially as an upgrade from older iPhones.

The A18 provides enhanced performance and supports Apple Intelligence — 'Pro features at a mainstream price.'
Optimisations from the new A18 chip clearly improved efficiency over the iPhone 15.
Your tired old iPhone may run iOS 18, but the iPhone 16 runs it exponentially better — the iterative criticism misses the point for upgraders.
Owners report great performance and photos, with the powerful chip making the upgrade worthwhile coming from an iPhone 13.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

Bespoke Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy (3.36GHz) with 12GB RAM — the same chip as the S23 family. Flagship-grade performance with much better efficiency than the Fold 4's 8+ Gen 1.

TechTalkTown may earn a commission from purchases made through links below. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not influence our reviews. Learn more.

Buy iPhone 16 Plus

Buy Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

People Also Compare

iPhone 16 Plus vs Motorola Razr Fold Motorola Razr Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 iPhone 16 Plus vs Oppo Find X9 Ultra Oppo Find X9 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Google Pixel 10a vs iPhone 16 Plus Google Pixel 10a vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 iPhone 16 Plus vs Vivo X300 Ultra Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs Vivo X300 Ultra iPhone 16 Plus vs Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Nothing Phone (4a) Pro vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

Browse all reviews

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

What Reviewers Agree On

New waterdrop hinge finally folds flat with no gap — the most-praised design change after four years of evolution
Same bespoke Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip as the S23 family — flagship-grade performance, more efficient than the Fold 4's 8+ Gen 1
1750-nit peak on both cover and main displays — a huge step up from the Fold 4's 1000 nits, finally usable in bright sunlight
Base storage doubled to 256GB at the same $1,799 starting price as the Fold 4
4 OS upgrades + 5 years of security — same industry-leading policy as the S23 family, through Android 17
Excellent foldable software: split-screen, taskbar, app continuity — best multitasking experience in any foldable

Deal Breakers

4,400mAh battery unchanged for five consecutive Fold generations — real-world SOT lands at 4-5 hours, behind cheaper slab flagships
Slow 25W wired charging (1h-1.5h to full) — Plus and Ultra S23 siblings get 45W, OnePlus 11 gets 80W
IPX8 only — no dust rating, a real concern for a hinge-and-fabric phone
S Pen still needs a separate purchase + bulky case, no built-in silo despite four years of owner requests
Cameras lag the S23 Ultra significantly — 10x periscope is Ultra-exclusive, no 200MP main; the camera bump also sticks out further on the Fold 5
Crease in the main display is still visible and tactile — Samsung hasn't fundamentally improved it

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

Pros

New waterdrop hinge finally folds flat with no gap — the most-praised design change after four years of evolution
Same bespoke Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip as the S23 family — flagship-grade performance, more efficient than the Fold 4's 8+ Gen 1
1750-nit peak on both cover and main displays — a huge step up from the Fold 4's 1000 nits, finally usable in bright sunlight
Base storage doubled to 256GB at the same $1,799 starting price as the Fold 4
4 OS upgrades + 5 years of security — same industry-leading policy as the S23 family, through Android 17
Excellent foldable software: split-screen, taskbar, app continuity — best multitasking experience in any foldable

Cons

4,400mAh battery unchanged for five consecutive Fold generations — real-world SOT lands at 4-5 hours, behind cheaper slab flagships
Slow 25W wired charging (1h-1.5h to full) — Plus and Ultra S23 siblings get 45W, OnePlus 11 gets 80W
IPX8 only — no dust rating, a real concern for a hinge-and-fabric phone
S Pen still needs a separate purchase + bulky case, no built-in silo despite four years of owner requests
Cameras lag the S23 Ultra significantly — 10x periscope is Ultra-exclusive, no 200MP main; the camera bump also sticks out further on the Fold 5

Battery & Charging

iPhone 16 Plus

The Plus's headline strength: the best battery life in the entire iPhone 16 line — undercut by slow charging.

It's claimed to last up to 27 hours of video playback and up to 100 hours of audio playback.
The battery on the 16 Plus has been significantly better than the 16 Pro Max for some owners — ~9 hours screen-on-time on a single charge with excellent standby.
Battery life is excellent, a key reason to pick the Plus and a huge step for those used to a 12 Pro Max.
Proper fast-charging technology has yet to reach Apple's labs.
iOS 18 adds an 80–100% charge-limit option and visible cycle count to extend long-term battery health.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

4,400mAh — unchanged for five consecutive Fold generations. 8 Gen 2 efficiency stretches it to 4-5h of inner-screen SOT, but 25W charging is slow (~1.5h to full) and 4,400mAh is now well behind 2026 foldable rivals.

4,400mAh battery unchanged from the Fold 4 — and Samsung kept the same cell through the Fold 7 (a five-generation stretch).
Real-world SOT on inner display: ~4 hours typical (one long-term owner). Power-save mode stretches to 2 full days for lighter users.
Cross-generation drain shootout: Fold 5 finished 3rd at 4h32m17s — beaten by both the Fold 6 and Fold 7 thanks to chip-efficiency gains.
25W wired charging: ~1h-1.5h to full — slow next to the OnePlus 11's 80W or even the S23+'s 45W.
15W Qi wireless and reverse wireless supported — handy for topping up Galaxy Buds while traveling with the foldable.