Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
91
out of 100
VS
89
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy) that was released on February 1, 2023, against the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is powered by Apple A17 Pro and came out 8 months after. 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 S23 Ultra
- The rear camera has a 10x optical zoom
- Fingerprint scanner
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Comes with 578 mAh larger battery capacity: 5000 vs 4422 mAh
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- Supports higher wattage charging (45W versus 30W)
- CPU with a higher amount of cores (+2)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
- Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
- 65% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 3281 and 1990 points
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
Scores with a red asterisk (
*
) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.8 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3088 pixels | 1290 x 2796 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.3:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 500 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | Yes |
| Max rated brightness | 850 nits | 2000 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1750 nits | 1600 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | Ceramic Shield |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 89.5% | 89.8% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 96.9% | - |
| PWM | 240 Hz | - |
| Response time | 2 ms | - |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | - |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 163.4 mm (6.43 inches) | 159.9 mm (6.3 inches) |
| Width | 78.1 mm (3.07 inches) | 76.7 mm (3.02 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 8.25 mm (0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 233 g (8.22 oz) | 221 g (7.8 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | - |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Gray, Blue, Green, Red, Purple | White, Black, Silver, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy | Apple A17 Pro |
| Max clock | 3360 MHz | 3780 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 3 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A510
- 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A710 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A715 - 1 core at 3.2 GHz: Cortex-X3 |
- 4 cores at 2.02 GHz:
- 2 cores at 3.78 GHz: |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | - |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 3 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 740 | Apple A17 GPU |
| GPU shading units | 2560 | 768 |
| GPU clock | 719 MHz | 1398 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~3481.6 GFLOPS | ~2147.2 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 377304 | 420892 |
| GPU | 596398 | 553020 |
| Memory | 271911 | 219823 |
| UX | 261336 | 328863 |
| Total score | 1517214 | 1530820 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 34.8 °C | - |
| Stability | 64% | - |
| Graphics test | 72 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 12154 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 15596 | - |
| Video editing | 7791 | - |
| Photo editing | 33958 | - |
| Data manipulation | 12948 | - |
| Writing score | 19802 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 8, 12 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5 |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 256, 512, 1024 GB | 256, 512, 1024 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 4.0 | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 13 | iOS 17 |
| ROM | One UI 5.1 | - |
| OS size | 39.9 GB | - |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 4422 mAh |
| Max charge power | 45 W | 30 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | Yes |
| Fast charging | Yes (68% in 30 min) | Yes (50% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 0:59 hr | - |
| Web browsing | 14:50 hr | - |
| Watching video | 19:27 hr | - |
| Gaming | 06:21 hr | - |
| Standby | 123 hr | - |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 200 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 16320 x 12240 | 8000 x 6000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 10x | Optical, 5x |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 30FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 4 (200 MP + 10 MP + 10 MP + 12 MP) | 4 (48 MP + 12.7 MP + 13.4 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 200 MP
- Aperture: f/1.7 - Focal length: 23 mm - Pixel size: 0.64 micron - Sensor: 1/1.3", Samsung ISOCELL HP2 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Laser autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- 48 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 24 mm - Sensor: 1/1.28", Sony IMX803 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens |
- 10 MP
- Aperture: f/4.9 - Focal length: 230 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/3.52", Sony IMX754 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12.7 MP
- Aperture: f/2.8 - Focal length: 85 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/1.9" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX564 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
- 13.4 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55" - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Depth lens | - | Yes |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra from DxOMark | - |
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/1.9 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 23 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.12 microns | - |
| Sensor type | ISOCELL CMOS | - |
| Sensor size | 1/3.24" | 1/3.6" |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6E (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 version | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC |
| NFC * | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM * | 2 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support * | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 20 | 20 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | February 2023 | September 2023 |
| Release date | February 2023 | September 2023 |
| SAR (head) | 0.96 W/kg | - |
| SAR (body) | 1.4 W/kg | - |
| Sensors |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the battery life and connectivity are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra . But if the performance and software are more of a priority – go for the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max .
