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Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) vs Apple iPhone 16

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Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) vs Apple iPhone 16

74 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
VS
88 out of 100
Apple iPhone 16
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
Apple iPhone 16

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.4-inch Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1) that was released on October 4, 2023, against the Apple iPhone 16, which is powered by Apple A18 and came out 11 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
  • The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
  • Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
  • Comes with 939 mAh larger battery capacity: 4500 vs 3561 mAh
  • Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
  • CPU with a higher amount of cores (+2)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 16
  • Shows 47% longer battery life (29:45 vs 20:15 hours)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Delivers 73% higher peak brightness (1720 against 992 nits)
  • 39% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1673K versus 1203K)
  • The phone is 11 months newer
  • Compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
  • 14% higher pixel density (460 vs 403 PPI)
  • 2.1x faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 3283 and 1549 points
  • Weighs 39 grams less

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) and Apple iPhone 16 crucial features
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
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
Choose the importance of each parameter to more accurately identify the smartphone that best meets your particular needs.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
vs
iPhone 16

Display

TypeDynamic AMOLEDOLED
Size6.4 inches6.1 inches
Resolution1080 x 2340 pixels1179 x 2556 pixels
Aspect ratio19.5:919.5:9
PPI403 ppi460 ppi
Refresh rate120 Hz60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rateYes (60-120 Hz)No
Max rated brightness1450 nits2000 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR - 1600 nits
HDR supportYes, HDR10+Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protectionCorning Gorilla Glass 5Ceramic Shield
Screen-to-body ratio83.2%86.4%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
Display tests
RGB color space - 99.7%
PWM - 60 Hz
Response time - 3 ms
Contrast - ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)

Design and build

Height158 mm (6.22 inches)147.6 mm (5.81 inches)
Width76.5 mm (3.01 inches)71.6 mm (2.82 inches)
Thickness8.2 mm (0.32 inches)7.8 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight209 g (7.37 oz)170 g (6 oz)
WaterproofIP68IP68
Advanced coolingVapor chamber -
Rear materialGlassGlass
Frame materialMetalMetal
ColorsWhite, Black, Green, PurpleWhite, Black, Blue, Green, Pink
Fingerprint scannerYes, in-displayNo
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) and Apple iPhone 16 in the benchmarks
SoC
ChipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1Apple A18
Max clock3000 MHz4040 MHz
CPU cores8 (1 + 3 + 4)6 (2 + 4)
Architecture- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A510
- 3 cores at 2.5 GHz: Cortex-A710
- 1 core at 3 GHz: Cortex-X2		- 4 cores at 2.42 GHz: Sawtooth
- 2 cores at 4.05 GHz: Everest
L3 cache6 MB -
ManufacturingSamsungTSMC
Lithography process4 nanometers3 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU)HexagonNeural Engine
GraphicsAdreno 730Apple A18 GPU
GPU shading units1024640
GPU clock818 MHz1490 MHz
FLOPS~1675.3 GFLOPS~1907 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
CPU337597441992
GPU448766699959
Memory183031173158
UX234446358704
Total score12038401673813
Samples[2 tests][2 tests]

Memory

RAM
RAM size8 GB8 GB
Memory typeLPDDR5LPDDR5X
Memory clock3200 MHz -
Channels44
Storage
Storage size128, 256 GB128, 256, 512 GB
Storage typeUFS 3.1NVMe
Memory cardNoNo

Software

Operating systemAndroid 13 (Can be upgraded to Android 14)iOS 18 (Can be upgraded to iOS 18.2)
ROMOne UI 6.1 -
OS size - 16 GB

Battery

Capacity4500 mAh3561 mAh
Max charge power25 W30 W
Battery typeLi-IonLi-Ion
ReplaceableNoNo
Wireless chargingYes Yes (15 W)
Reverse chargingYes, (wireless)Yes
Fast chargingYes (58% in 30 min)Yes (59% in 30 min)
Full charging time1:10 hr1:42 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing07:09 hr13:44 hr
Watching video10:02 hr18:09 hr
Gaming04:27 hr05:56 hr
Standby118 hr130 hr
General battery life

Main camera

Matrix50 megapixels48 megapixels
Image resolution8160 x 61208000 x 6000
ZoomOptical, 3xDigital
FlashLEDDual LED
StabilizationOpticalOptical
8K video recordingUp to 24FPSNo
4K video recordingUp to 60FPSUp to 60FPS
1080p video recordingUp to 60FPSUp to 60FPS
Slow motion960 FPS (720p)240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens123°120°
Lenses1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Telephoto: 8 MP
3) Ultrawide: 12 MP
1) Standard: 48 MP
2) Ultrawide: 12 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
Standard lens
Image resolution50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung S5KGN3 -
Sensor size1/1.57"1/1.56"
Pixel size1 micron1 micron
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto lens
Image resolution8 MP -
Aperturef/2.4 -
Focal length76 mm -
SensorHynix Hi847 -
Sensor size1/4.4" -
Pixel size1 micron -
StabilizationDigital -
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3L6 -
Sensor size1/3" -
Pixel size1.12 micron0.7 micron
StabilizationDigitalDigital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
Bokeh5080
Preview6784
Zoom123116
SamplesPhoto samples of Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) from DxOMarkPhoto samples of Apple iPhone 16 from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels10 megapixels12 megapixels
Image resolution3648 x 27364032 x 3024
Aperturef/2.4f/1.9
Focal length26 mm23 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3J1CMOS
Sensor size1/3"1/3.6"
Pixel size1.22 micron1.12 micron
AutofocusNoPhase autofocus
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Video resolution2160p (4K) at 60 FPS2160p (4K) at 60 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D)NoYes

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standardWi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version5.35.3
Bluetooth featuresLELE
USB typeUSB Type-CUSB Type-C
USB version3.22
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
DisplayPortYesYes
GPSGPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSSGPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC*YesYes
Infrared portNoNo
Network
Number of SIM*2 -
Type of SIM cardNanoNano
Multi SIM modeStandby -
eSIM support*YesYes
Hybrid slotNoNo
LTE Cat*20 -
5G supportYesYes

Sound

SpeakersStereoStereo
Headphone audio jackNoNo
FM radioNoNo
Dolby AtmosYesYes
Speakers test
Max loudness

Other

CategoryFlagshipFlagship
AnnouncedOctober 2023September 2024
Release dateOctober 2023September 2024
Launch price$599$799
SAR (head)0.76 W/kg1.24 W/kg
SAR (body)1.04 W/kg1.41 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint		 - Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
Bundled chargerNot includedNot included
Further details
Notes on Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon):
    - The Galaxy S23 FE is available in the USA with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, whereas other countries receive a version with the Exynos 2200.
    - The base (128 GB) storage utilizes a UFS 3.1 memory type, whereas the higher-tier 256 GB variant is equipped with UFS 4.0.
    - Models are available with a single SIM card, dual SIMs, or dual SIMs plus eSIM (depending on the market).
Notes on iPhone 16:
    - The US model is eSIM-only, while the international version offers both a physical SIM slot and eSIM support.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
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