Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Apple iPhone 12

85 out of 100

71 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.1-inch Samsung Galaxy S23 (with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy) that was released on February 1, 2023, against the Apple iPhone 12, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 28 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S23

The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
Comes with 1085 mAh larger battery capacity: 3900 vs 2815 mAh
Delivers 87% higher peak brightness (1209 against 646 nits)
Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
Modern USB Type-C port
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
Fingerprint scanner
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
28% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1362K versus 1061K)
The phone is 2-years and 4-months newer
Has 2 SIM card slots

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12

Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S23 and Apple iPhone 12 crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	OLED
Size	6.1 inches	6.1 inches
Resolution	1080 x 2340 pixels	1170 x 2532 pixels
Aspect ratio	19.5:9	19.5:9
PPI	425 ppi	460 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	Yes	No
Max rated brightness	800 nits	625 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR	1750 nits	-
HDR support	Yes, HDR10+	Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass Victus 2	Ceramic Shield
Screen-to-body ratio	88.1%	86%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3

RGB color space	98.9%	99.4%
PWM	240 Hz	226 Hz
Response time	1 ms	16 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	146.3 mm (5.76 inches)	146.7 mm (5.78 inches)
Width	70.9 mm (2.79 inches)	71.5 mm (2.81 inches)
Thickness	7.6 mm (0.3 inches)	7.4 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight	168 g (5.93 oz)	164 g (5.78 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Advanced cooling	Vapor chamber	-
Rear material	Glass	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	White, Black, Gray, Green, Purple, Yellow	White, Black, Blue, Green, Red
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	No

Chipset	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy	Apple A14 Bionic
Max clock	3360 MHz	3100 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 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm
L3 cache	8 MB	-
Lithography process	4 nanometers	5 nanometers
Graphics	Adreno 740	Apple A14 GPU
GPU shading units	2560	256
GPU clock	719 MHz	1278 MHz
FLOPS	~3481.6 GFLOPS	~654.3 GFLOPS

CPU	366724	221376
GPU	551228	336882
Memory	192220	136582
UX	247673	363783
Total score	1362358	1061696

Max surface temperature	34.3 °C	41.2 °C
Stability	60%	77%
Graphics test	72 FPS	45 FPS
Graphics score	12033	7603

Web score	13647	-
Video editing	7797	-
Photo editing	34238	-
Data manipulation	12529	-
Writing score	19579	-

Storage size	128, 256, 512 GB	64, 128, 256 GB
Storage type	UFS 4.0	NVMe
Memory card	No	No

Operating system	Android 13	iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
ROM	One UI 5.1	-
OS size	29.7 GB	7 GB

Capacity	3900 mAh	2815 mAh
Max charge power	25 W	18 W
Battery type	Li-Po	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (10 W)	Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging	Yes, (wireless)	No
Fast charging	Yes (57% in 30 min)	Yes (58% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:16 hr	1:30 hr

RAM
RAM size	8 GB	4 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5X	LPDDR4X
Channels	4	2

Battery life tests
Web browsing	12:15 hr	11:23 hr
Watching video	15:00 hr	12:11 hr
Gaming	05:56 hr	05:05 hr
Standby	111 hr	119 hr

Main camera
Matrix	50 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	8160 x 6120	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Optical, 3x	Digital
Flash	LED	Quad 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	3 (50 MP + 10 MP + 12 MP)	2 (12 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 50 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 23 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/1.57", Samsung S5KGN3 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens	- 10 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 70 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.94", Samsung S5K3K1 (Exmor-RS 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)	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Sensor: 1/3.6" (CMOS)
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S23 from DxOMark	Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	4000 x 3000	4032 x 3024
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	26 mm	23 mm
Pixel size	1.12 microns	-
Sensor type	ISOCELL CMOS	BSI CMOS
Sensor size	1/3.24"	-
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-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 version	5.3	5
Bluetooth features	LE	LE, A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	No
USB version	3.2	-
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
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	18
5G support	Yes	Yes

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	February 2023	October 2020
Release date	February 2023	October 2020
SAR (head)	0.96 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.3 W/kg	0.99 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	-

Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Apple iPhone 12

Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Apple iPhone 12

Key differences

Review

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Display

Design and build

Performance

Benchmarks

Memory

Software

Battery

Camera

DxOMark camera tests

Connectivity

Sound

Other

Conclusion