Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Comparison and Differences
Smartphone 1
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Smartphone 2
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Smartphone 3
Differences between Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra - Which to Choose?
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max:
- Exclusive iOS 17 operating system with a seamless ecosystem integration including other Apple devices.
- Apple A17 Pro chipset known for its market-leading performance and optimization.
- Sophisticated camera system with a triple lens setup including a LiDAR scanner for depth sensing and advanced AR capabilities.
- Ceramic Shield glass offers exceptional durability against drops and scratches.
- Consistent software updates and support for a longer period compared to Android devices.
- Titanium frame noted for its strength and premium feel.
- Slightly higher pixel density screen at 460 PPI compared to Samsung's 500 PPI, offering crisp image quality.
- iOS benefits from a wide range of high-quality apps designed specifically for the platform.
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra:
- A massive 200MP primary camera sensor for superior photo resolution.
- Higher battery capacity at 5000mAh which may result in longer battery life.
- Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen technology, acclaimed for vibrant colors and deep blacks.
- A diverse range of color options to match personal style preferences.
- An integrated S-Pen stylus for note-taking, drawing and precise screen interaction.
- Support for faster 45W wired charging to quickly replenish the battery.
- Larger screen size at 6.8 inches compared to the iPhone's 6.7 inches.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset offers robust performance and is well-regarded, especially in gaming performance.
Choosing the "better" device largely depends on personal needs and preferences, such as the operating system ecosystem, camera performance, screen technology, and specific features like the need for a stylus or preferential brand design philosophy.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max or Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Specs Comparison
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Common specs
| Brand and model | Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra | |
| Rating | (+4) | (+4) | |
| Release date | 2023, September 12 | 2023, February 01 | |
| Dimensions (HxWxD) | 159.9 x 76.7 x 8.3 mm | 6.3 x 6.3 x 3.02 in | 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9 mm | 6.43 x 6.43 x 3.07 in | |
| Weight | 221 g | 7.8 oz | 234 g | 8.25 oz | |
| Body Build | Glass front (Corning-made glass), glass back (Corning-made glass), titanium frame (grade 5) | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame | |
| Case | buy from Amazon | buy from Amazon | |
| Colors | Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, Natural Titanium | Phantom Black, Green, Cream, Lavender, Graphite, Sky Blue, Lime, Red, BMW M Edition | |
| Battery | 4441 mAh, Li-Ion, non-removable | 5000 mAh, Li-Ion, non-removable | |
| Approximate price | € 984.9 | 1400 EUR | |
| Check price | from Amazon | from Amazon |
Screen
| Technology | LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED | Dynamic AMOLED 2X | |
| Touchscreen | capacitive touchscreen | capacitive touchscreen | |
| Display colors | 16M | 16M | |
| Screen size | 6.7" in | 6.8" in | |
| Screen area | 110.2 cm2 | 114.7 cm2 | |
| Screen format | 19.5:9 (height:width) | ||
| Screen to body ratio | 89.8% | 89.9% | |
| Screen resolution | 1290 x 2796 px | 1440 x 3088 px | |
| Screen PPI /points per inch/ | 460 PPI | 500 PPI | |
| Screen protection | Ceramic Shield glass | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | |
| Other specs | - 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (typ), 2000 nits (HBM) -Always-On display |
- 120Hz -HDR10+ -1750 nits (peak) -1200 nits (HBM) -Always-on display |
|
| Screen protector | buy from Amazon | buy from Amazon |
Camera and Video
| Rear camera, main | 48 MP, Triple | 200 MP, Quad | |
| Camera specs | -48 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.28", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS -12 MP, f/2.8, 120mm (periscope telephoto), 1/3.06", 1.12µm, dual pixel PDAF, 3D sensor‑shift OIS, 5x optical zoom -12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF -TOF 3D LiDAR scanner (depth) |
-200 MP, f/1.7, 24mm (wide), 1/1.3", 0.6µm, multi-directional PDAF, Laser AF, OIS -10 MP, f/4.9, 230mm (periscope telephoto), 1/3.52", 1.12µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom -10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.52", 1.12µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom -12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Super Steady video |
|
| Functions | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama) | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama | |
| Video | 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, 10-bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), ProRes, 3D (spatial) video, stereo sound rec. | 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 1080p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS | |
| DxOMark Main Score | 154 | 140 | |
| DxOMark Photo | 153 | 139 | |
| DxOMark Video | 158 | 137 | |
| Front camera, selfie | 12 MP, Single | 12 MP, Single | |
| Specifications | 12 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6", PDAF, OIS SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor) |
12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), Dual Pixel PDAF | |
| Functions | HDR, Dolby Vision HDR | Dual video call, Auto-HDR, HDR10+ | |
| Video | 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps | |
| DxOMark Selfie Score | 149 | 141 | |
| DxOMark Photo | 145 | 139 | |
| DxOMark Video | 156 | 145 |
Performance
| Operating system - OS | iOS 17, upgradable to iOS 18.1 | Android 13, One UI 5.1 | |
| Chipset | - Apple A17 Pro (3 nm) | - Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm) | |
| CPU | - Hexa-core (2x3.78 GHz + 4x2.11 GHz) | - Octa-core (1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) | |
| GPU | Apple GPU (6-core graphics) | Adreno 740 | |
| External memory | No | No | |
| Internal memory | 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM, 1TB 8GB RAM | 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM |
Benchmark
| Antutu 10 Total | 1500939 | 1530695 | |
| Antutu 10 CPU | 380375 | 377291 | |
| Antutu 10 GPU | 518600 | 595608 | |
| Antutu 10 Mem | 260964 | 286984 | |
| Antutu 10 UX | 380375 | 377291 | |
| Antutu 9 Total | 1287951 | ||
| GeekBench 6 Single Core | 2891 | 1883 | |
| GeekBench 6 Multi Core | 7180 | 4993 | |
| GeekBench 6 OpenCL | 8807 | ||
| GeekBench 6 Vulkan | 5815 | ||
| GeekBench 6 Metal | 26996 | ||
| GeekBench 5 Single Core | 2878 | 1396 | |
| GeekBench 5 Multi-Core | 7118 | 4882 |
Communication and Connectivity
| SIM card | Nano-SIM and eSIM - International Dual eSIM with multiple numbers - USA Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) - China |
Nano-SIM and eSIMDual SIM (2 Nano-SIMs and eSIM, dual stand-by) | |
| Network | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G | |
| Bands | -2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (dual-SIM) CDMA 800 / 1900 -3G - HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO -4G - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 53, 66 - A3106 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 53, 66, 71 - A2849 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 53, 66, 71 - A3105 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66 - A3108 -5G - 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3106 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 71, 77, 78, 79, 258, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - A2849 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 71, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3105 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 66, 70, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3108 |
-2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (Dual SIM model only) CDMA 800 / 1900 & TD-SCDMA -3G - HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO -4G - LTE -5G - SA/NSA/Sub6 - International |
|
| Speed | HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps | HSPA, LTE-A (CA), 5G | |
| GPRS | Yes | Yes | |
| Edge | Yes | Yes | |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, tri-band, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct | |
| GPS | GPS (L1+L5), GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS, NavIC | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO | |
| NFC | Yes | Yes | |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2, DisplayPort | USB Type-C 3.2, USB On-The-Go | |
| Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE | 5.3, A2DP, LE | |
| Harmful irradiation |
SAR - 1.07 W/kg (head) 1.11 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.98 W/kg (head) 0.98 W/kg (body) |
SAR - 1.12 W/kg (head) 0.92 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.96 W/kg (head) 1.40 W/kg (body) |
Music and Audio
| Radio | No | No | |
| Headphone jack | No | No | |
| Others | - 32-bit/384kHz audio -Tuned by AKG |
Other features
| Sensors | - Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer | - Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer | |
| Other extras |
- Ultra Wideband (UWB) support (gen2 chip) -Emergency SOS, Messages and Find My via satellite - Fast charging, Power Delivery 2.0, 50% in 30 min -15W Wireless charging (MagSafe) -15W Wireless charging (Qi2) - requires iOS 17.2 update -4.5W Reverse charging - IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 min) -Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified) |
- Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) -Bixby natural language commands and dictation -Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) -Ultra Wideband (UWB) support - Fast charging 45W, 65% in 30 min -Power Delivery 3.0 -Wireless charging 15W (Qi/PMA) -Reverse wireless charging 4.5W - IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) -Stylus (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro) |
|
| Versions |
- Versions: A3106 (International); A2849 (USA); A3105 (Canada, Japan); A3108 (China, Hong Kong) |
Reviews and Opinions on Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
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