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Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) vs Apple iPhone 12 Pro

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Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) vs Apple iPhone 12 Pro

74 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
VS
68 out of 100
Apple iPhone 12 Pro
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro

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 12 Pro, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 3 years before. 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)
  • Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
  • Comes with 1685 mAh larger battery capacity: 4500 vs 2815 mAh
  • Modern USB Type-C port
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
  • The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
  • Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
  • Delivers 23% higher peak brightness (992 against 807 nits)
  • The phone is 3 years newer
  • Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
  • Has 2 SIM card slots
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 Pro
  • 14% higher pixel density (460 vs 403 PPI)
  • 25% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1941 and 1549 points
  • Better grip in hands – the body is 5 mm narrower
  • Weighs 20 grams less

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) and Apple iPhone 12 Pro 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 12 Pro

Display

TypeDynamic AMOLEDOLED
Size6.4 inches6.1 inches
Resolution1080 x 2340 pixels1170 x 2532 pixels
Aspect ratio19.5:919.5:9
PPI403 ppi460 ppi
Refresh rate120 Hz60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rateYes (60-120 Hz)No
Max rated brightness1450 nits800 nits
HDR supportYes, HDR10+Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protectionCorning Gorilla Glass 5Ceramic Shield
Screen-to-body ratio83.2%87.1%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
Display tests
RGB color space - 99.6%
PWM - 277 Hz
Response time - 3.6 ms
Contrast - ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)

Design and build

Height158 mm (6.22 inches)146.7 mm (5.78 inches)
Width76.5 mm (3.01 inches)71.5 mm (2.81 inches)
Thickness8.2 mm (0.32 inches)7.4 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight209 g (7.37 oz)189 g (6.67 oz)
WaterproofIP68IP68
Advanced coolingVapor chamber -
Rear materialGlassGlass
Frame materialMetalMetal
ColorsWhite, Black, Green, PurpleSilver, Gold, Gray, Blue
Fingerprint scannerYes, in-displayNo
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) and Apple iPhone 12 Pro in the benchmarks
SoC
ChipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1Apple A14 Bionic
Max clock3000 MHz3100 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 1.8 GHz: Icestorm
- 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm
L3 cache6 MB -
ManufacturingSamsungTSMC
Lithography process4 nanometers5 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU)HexagonApple Neural Engine
GraphicsAdreno 730Apple A14 GPU
GPU shading units1024256
GPU clock818 MHz1278 MHz
FLOPS~1675.3 GFLOPS~654.3 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
CPU337597262691
GPU448766387783
Memory183031169306
UX234446285964
Total score12038401105744
Samples[2 tests][16 tests]
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature - 38.1 °C
Stability - 76%
Graphics test - 44 FPS
Graphics score - 7431

Memory

RAM
RAM size8 GB6 GB
Memory typeLPDDR5LPDDR4X
Memory clock3200 MHz -
Channels42
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 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 18.2)
ROMOne UI 6.1 -
OS size - 14 GB

Battery

Capacity4500 mAh2815 mAh
Max charge power25 W20 W
Battery typeLi-IonLi-Ion
ReplaceableNoNo
Wireless chargingYes Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse chargingYes, (wireless)No
Fast chargingYes (58% in 30 min)Yes (59% in 30 min)
Full charging time1:10 hr1:30 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing07:09 hr07:12 hr
Watching video10:02 hr12:00 hr
Gaming04:27 hr04:33 hr
Standby118 hr101 hr
General battery life

Main camera

Matrix50 megapixels12 megapixels
Image resolution8160 x 61204032 x 3024
ZoomOptical, 3xOptical, 2x
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: 12 MP
2) Telephoto: 12 MP
3) Ultrawide: 12 MP
4) Depth
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Standard lens
Image resolution50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung S5KGN3Sony IMX372
Sensor size1/1.57"1/3.4"
Pixel size1 micron1.4 micron
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto lens
Image resolution8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.0
Focal length76 mm52 mm
SensorHynix Hi847 -
Sensor size1/4.4"1/3.4"
Pixel size1 micron1 micron
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.4
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3L6 -
Sensor size1/3"1/3.6"
Pixel size1.12 micron -
StabilizationDigitalDigital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
Bokeh5070
Preview6777
Zoom123111
SamplesPhoto samples of Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) from DxOMarkPhoto samples of Apple iPhone 12 Pro from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels10 megapixels12 megapixels
Image resolution3648 x 27364290 x 2800
Aperturef/2.4f/2.2
Focal length26 mm23 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3J1Sony IMX514
Sensor size1/3" -
Pixel size1.22 micron -
AutofocusNoNo
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Video resolution2160p (4K) at 60 FPS2160p (4K) at 60 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D)NoYes
DxOMark front camera
Photo - 127
Video - 140

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standardWi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
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
Bluetooth featuresLELE, A2DP
USB typeUSB Type-CNo
USB version3.2 -
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
DisplayPortYes -
GPSGPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSSGPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
NFC*YesYes
Infrared portNoNo
Network
Number of SIM*21
Type of SIM cardNanoNano
Multi SIM modeStandby -
eSIM support*YesYes
Hybrid slotNoNo
LTE Cat*2018
5G supportYesYes

Sound

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

Other

CategoryFlagshipFlagship
AnnouncedOctober 2023October 2020
Release dateOctober 2023October 2020
Launch price$599$1000
SAR (head)0.76 W/kg0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)1.04 W/kg0.99 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint		 - Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
Bundled chargerNot 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).
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
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