What do you do when there’s a budget of Rs 1.35 lakh to spend on your next smartphone? Unlike the midrange segments where options are dime-a-dozen, the premium segment celebrates an air of rarity and exclusivity with limited options. The recently launched Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 enters this space with its foldable charm, taking on the segment favourite – the Apple iPhone 17 Pro.
The base variants of these two phones cost almost the exact same, and hence, the buying decision demands more attention from you as a buyer on these parameters:
– personal lifestyle
– everyday priorities
– functional utility
Unless you have your priorities set, we are here to help you make the most out of your precious budget and get the phone that serves your needs better.
Samsung’s Flip 8 vs iPhone 17 Pro: Variant-by-variant India pricing
Both Samsung and Apple position these premium phones in the exact same price bracket, especially when the base variant is concerned. Take a look:
256GB base variant:
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8: Rs 1,34,999 (12GB RAM)
- iPhone 17 Pro: Rs 1,34,900 (8GB RAM)
- Takeaway: If you are considering the base variants of either of these, you pay the same money.
512GB variant:
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8: Rs 1,54,999
- iPhone 17 Pro: Rs 1,54,900
- Takeaway: Moving up to 512GB, you see a difference of approximately Rs 20,000 in the prices.
Everyday experience:
With the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8, your money buys a device that changes how you carry and interact with a phone. When folded in half, it fits into small pockets or small bags without a bulge. The 4.1-inch outer display handles quick replies, navigation, and music playback, which means you open your phone less often throughout the day. When unfolded, it offers an expansive 6.9-inch main display.
As for the iPhone 17 Pro, your investment buys you high-end industrial engineering in a fixed form factor. Built with a new aluminium unibody frame for fast thermal dissipation and Ceramic Shield 2, it is built to survive accidental drops and harsh environments better than any dynamic hinge mechanism. Its 6.3-inch display panel features an anti-reflective coating and hits 3,000 nits of peak brightness for effortless outdoor visibility. And the main display ends up showing all the information you need, and there’s no need to open a phone for every single task.
Photography
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 8 gives you built-in tripod versatility that no conventional phone can give out of the box. Using FlexMode, you can set the phone down at any angle on a table or flat surface to capture group photos, long exposures, or hands-free video reels. Taking selfies using the high-resolution 50MP primary cameras with the cover screen as a mirror completely surpasses standard front-facing cameras.
The iPhone 17 Pro isn’t as flexible as the Flip 8, but your money goes into pure optical versatility. The iPhone 17 Pro features a triple 48MP camera setup, including a dedicated tetraprism telephoto lens capable of crisp 8x optical zoom. For high-end video recording, hardware-level support for ProRes RAW and Dual Capture makes it a far superior tool for dedicated vloggers and film professionals. In fact, the iPhone 17 Pro captures video like no other smartphone today – it’s the best in the industry. No wonder it’s bigger sibling, the iPhone 17 Pro Max, went around the Moon for a photo shoot vacation onboard NASA’s Artemis 2 space mission and captured beautiful space landscapes.
Performance and Battery
Based on flagship Qualcomm chip and 12GB of RAM, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 effortlessly runs heavy apps and multi-window multitasking in its regular-sized main display. Its 4,300 mAh battery promises to make it through a full workday. However, powering two displays (inner and outer) means heavy gamers and battery-intensive users will drain it faster than traditional slabs.
As for the iPhone 17 Pro, it is powered by the A19 Pro chip combined with vapour chamber cooling. The iPhone 17 Pro is optimised for sustained high performance under continuous loads. Apple’s hardware-software co-design yields maximum power efficiency, giving heavy users noticeable buffer room at the end of the day compared to dual-screen foldables.
Our verdict: Which phone should you spend Rs 1.35 lakh on?
Because price is not a factor in this decision, the choice is pure utility and desire. Hence, I will leave you with two schools of thought, considering both of these are my favourite smartphones on sale today.
Spend it on the Galaxy Z Flip 8 if you want to break free from rigid glass slabs and want a fun phone. It delivers great pocketability, built-in tripod camera angles, a fun cover screen convenience, and a futuristic design that standard phones simply cannot offer.
Spend it on the iPhone 17 Pro if you want maximum long-term durability, class-leading video capabilities, an extended telephoto zoom lens, and sustained battery life for heavy daily performance. If you want practicality without compromises, the iPhone 17 Pro is your best bet.