Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G vs Note 9
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G) that was released on August 11, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which is powered by Exynos 9 Octa 9810 and came out 36 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- 81% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (792K versus 437K)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Delivers 41% higher peak brightness (938 against 663 nits)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
- Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
- More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 10
- More energy-efficient CPU – Snapdragon 888 5G
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
- The phone is 3-years newer
- Supports higher wattage charging (25W versus 15W)
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Note 9
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Shows 39% longer battery life (27:58 vs 20:09 hours)
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- Comes with 700 mAh larger battery capacity: 4000 vs 3300 mAh
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 512GB
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- 21% higher pixel density (514 vs 426 PPI)
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | Super AMOLED |
| Size | 6.7 inches | 6.4 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2640 pixels | 1440 x 2960 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 21.9:9 | 18.5:9 |
| PPI | 426 ppi | 514 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | No |
| Max rated brightness | 850 nits | 520 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1200 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10 |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 84.7% | 84.32% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 95.3% | 144.6% |
| PWM | 242 Hz | 227 Hz |
| Response time | 6.5 ms | 8 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 166 mm (6.54 inches) | 161.9 mm (6.37 inches) |
| Width | 72.2 mm (2.84 inches) | 76.4 mm (3.01 inches) |
| Thickness | 6.9 mm (0.27 inches) | 8.8 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 183 g (6.46 oz) | 201 g (7.09 oz) |
| Waterproof | IPX8 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Gray, Green, Pink | Black, Blue, Brown |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, rear |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G | Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810 |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 2700 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (4 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 3 cores at 2.42 GHz: Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78) - 1 core at 2.84 GHz: Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1) |
- 4 cores at 1.9 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 4 cores at 2.9 GHz: Exynos M3 |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | - |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 10 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 660 | Mali-G72 MP18 |
| GPU shading units | 1024 | 324 |
| GPU clock | 840 MHz | 572 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1622 GFLOPS | ~370.6 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 227108 | 135620 |
| GPU | 239255 | 103023 |
| Memory | 147100 | 87524 |
| UX | 175227 | 108426 |
| Total score | 792147 | 437260 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 39.1 °C | 48.7 °C |
| Stability | 71% | 95% |
| Graphics test | 27 FPS | 13 FPS |
| Graphics score | 4597 | 2333 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 12140 | 5059 |
| Video editing | 7704 | 5466 |
| Photo editing | 30191 | 9362 |
| Data manipulation | 10606 | 5812 |
| Writing score | 16498 | 6149 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 6, 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 1794 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 2.1 |
| Memory card | No | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | - | Up to 512 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 8.1 (Can be upgraded to Android 10) |
| ROM | One UI 5.1.1 | One UI 2.5 |
| OS size | 29 GB | 19 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 3300 mAh | 4000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 15 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (10 W) | Yes, Qi/PMA (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (40% in 30 min) | Yes, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (50% in 35 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:30 hr | 1:40 hr |
| Web browsing | 06:58 hr | 09:13 hr |
| Watching video | 09:12 hr | 12:59 hr |
| Gaming | 03:32 hr | 04:40 hr |
| Standby | 64 hr | 93 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 2x |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 960 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | - |
| Lenses | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 27 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX563 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.5 - 2.4 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Samsung SAK2L3 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4" (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 22 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/3.06", Sony IMX258 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
- |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G from DxOMark | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy Note 9 from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 3264 x 2448 |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/1.7 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 25 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.22 microns | 1.22 microns |
| Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | ISOCELL CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.2" | 1/3.6" |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 1440p at 30 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
| Bluetooth version | 5.1 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 3.1 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC * | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM * | 1 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | - | Standby |
| eSIM support * | Yes | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | Yes |
| LTE Cat * | 20 | 18 |
| 5G support | Yes | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | Yes |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | August 2021 | August 2018 |
| Release date | August 2021 | August 2018 |
| SAR (head) | 0.86 W/kg | 0.381 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.58 W/kg | 1.509 W/kg |
| Sensors |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | - |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G is definitely a better buy.