Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max Comparison and Differences
Smartphone 1
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Smartphone 2
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Smartphone 3
Differences between Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max - Which to Choose?
In the world of mobile phones there are two main competing brands, Samsung and Apple. And these two companies are touting their latest smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max. But which is better? Which is better for you?
Let's take a look at the specs of the two devices to see how they compare.
Let's start with the display of both phones. Both devices offer an OLED screen, but the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with a larger 6.8-inch display compared to the iPhone 13 Pro Max's 6.7-inch display. Although the two devices have a similar resolution, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a higher screen refresh rate that can go up to 120 Hz. This makes videos on the S23 Ultra smoother and more enjoyable to watch.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 13 Pro Max are equipped with powerful chipsets - Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Samsung and Apple A15 Bionic for iPhone. Despite being very powerful, common tasks like browsing, video watching and gaming will work seamlessly on either device, but the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a larger expandable memory option, which can be useful for people who need more capacity on their device.
As for the cameras, both devices have innovative features, but are a little different. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 200-megapixel camera sensor that can capture extremely clear and detailed photos. This is due to the multi-directional PDAF and Laser AF, combined with OIS. And lest we forget - you can shoot video in 8K! But the iPhone 13 Pro Max doesn't sit back either, flaunting ProRes and HDR10 Dolby Vision technology for recording videos that will give you an incredibly pleasing view. It also has the latest camera sensor technology that can capture a large number of details in a single frame. The advantage of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is that it has a special facial recognition feature - Face ID, which is not offered by the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. This makes the iPhone 13 Pro Max more useful for the security of your device.
But which phone is better? That's hard to say. Both phones offer amazing features and functions, but choosing a specific device depends on your needs and wants. Only you can decide if you're a bigger fan of iOS or Android, and if you need Samsung's larger camera to earn unique memories on your mobile device's screen. Finally, when it comes to price, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is more expensive than the iPhone 13 Pro Max. However, if you need more memory, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra may intrigue you because its memory can be modified with both an easily expandable card and a larger original memory capacity built-in by default. So, which one to choose - the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or the iPhone 13 Pro Max? There is no single right answer. It all depends on your personal choice and needs to be satisfied.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max Specs Comparison
Common specs
| Brand and model | Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra | Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | |
| Rating | (+4) | (+4) | |
| Release date | 2023, February 01 | 2021, September 14 | |
| Dimensions (HxWxD) | 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9 mm | 6.43 x 6.43 x 3.07 in | 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.7 mm | 6.33 x 6.33 x 3.07 in | |
| Weight | 234 g | 8.25 oz | 240 g | 8.47 oz | |
| Body Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass), glass back (Gorilla Glass), stainless steel frame | |
| Case | buy from Amazon | buy from Amazon | |
| Colors | Phantom Black, Green, Cream, Lavender, Graphite, Sky Blue, Lime, Red, BMW M Edition | Graphite, Gold, Silver, Sierra Blue | |
| Battery | 5000 mAh, Li-Ion, non-removable | 4352 mAh, Li-Ion, non-removable | |
| Battery life |
Stand by time - Up to 28 h (multimedia) Music play - Up to 95 h |
||
| Approximate price | 1400 EUR | 1250 EUR | |
| Check price | from Amazon | from Amazon |
Screen
| Technology | Dynamic AMOLED 2X | Super Retina XDR OLED | |
| Touchscreen | capacitive touchscreen | capacitive touchscreen | |
| Display colors | 16M | 16M | |
| Screen size | 6.8" in | 6.7" in | |
| Screen area | 114.7 cm2 | 109.8 cm2 | |
| Screen format | 19.5:9 (height:width) | ||
| Screen to body ratio | 89.9% | 87.4% | |
| Screen resolution | 1440 x 3088 px | 1284 x 2778 px | |
| Screen PPI /points per inch/ | 500 PPI | 458 PPI | |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | Scratch-resistant ceramic glass, oleophobic coating | |
| Other specs | - 120Hz -HDR10+ -1750 nits (peak) -1200 nits (HBM) -Always-on display |
- Wide color gamut -True-tone -120Hz -HDR10 -Dolby Vision -1000 nits (HBM) -1200 nits (peak) |
|
| Screen protector | buy from Amazon | buy from Amazon |
Camera and Video
| Rear camera, main | 200 MP, Quad | 12 MP, Quad | |
| Camera specs | -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 |
-12 MP, f/1.5, 26mm (wide), 1.9µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS -12 MP, f/2.8, 77mm (telephoto), PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom -12 MP, f/1.8, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), PDAF -TOF 3D LiDAR scanner (depth) |
|
| Functions | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama) | |
| Video | 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 1080p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS | 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 10‑bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), ProRes, Cinematic mode, stereo sound rec. | |
| DxOMark Main Score | 140 | 137 | |
| DxOMark Photo | 139 | 144 | |
| DxOMark Video | 137 | 119 | |
| Front camera, selfie | 12 MP, Single | 12 MP, Dual | |
| Specifications | 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), Dual Pixel PDAF | 12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6'' SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor) |
|
| Functions | Dual video call, Auto-HDR, HDR10+ | HDR | |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps | 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS | |
| DxOMark Selfie Score | 141 | 134 | |
| DxOMark Photo | 139 | 128 | |
| DxOMark Video | 145 | 143 |
Performance
| Operating system - OS | Android 13, One UI 5.1 | iOS 15 | |
| Chipset | - Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm) | - Apple A15 Bionic (5 nm) | |
| CPU | - Octa-core (1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) | - Hexa-core (2x3.22 GHz Avalanche + 4xX.X GHz Blizzard) | |
| GPU | Adreno 740 | Apple GPU (5-core graphics) | |
| External memory | No | No | |
| Internal memory | 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM | 128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 6GB RAM, 512GB 6GB RAM, 1TB 6GB RAM |
Benchmark
| Antutu 10 Total | 1530695 | 1310010 | |
| Antutu 10 CPU | 377291 | 323794 | |
| Antutu 10 GPU | 595608 | 432981 | |
| Antutu 10 Mem | 286984 | 234550 | |
| Antutu 10 UX | 377291 | 323794 | |
| Antutu 9 Total | 1287951 | 843813 | |
| GeekBench 6 Single Core | 1883 | 2290 | |
| GeekBench 6 Multi Core | 4993 | 5551 | |
| GeekBench 6 OpenCL | 8807 | ||
| GeekBench 6 Vulkan | 5815 | ||
| GeekBench 6 Metal | 20040 | ||
| GeekBench 5 Single Core | 1396 | 1716 | |
| GeekBench 5 Multi-Core | 4882 | 4533 |
Communication and Connectivity
| SIM card | Nano-SIM and eSIMDual SIM (2 Nano-SIMs and eSIM, dual stand-by) | Single SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM)Dual SIM (Nano-SIM/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 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 |
-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 - LTE -5G - Sub6/mmWave |
|
| Speed | HSPA, LTE-A (CA), 5G | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps | |
| GPRS | Yes | Yes | |
| Edge | Yes | Yes | |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot | |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS | |
| NFC | Yes | Yes | |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.2, USB On-The-Go | Lightning, USB 2.0 | |
| Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE | 5.0, A2DP, LE | |
| Harmful irradiation |
SAR - 1.12 W/kg (head) 0.92 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.96 W/kg (head) 1.40 W/kg (body) |
SAR - 1.18 W/kg (head) 1.20 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.99 W/kg (head) 0.98 W/kg (body) |
Music and Audio
| Radio | No | No | |
| Headphone jack | No | No | |
| Others | - 32-bit/384kHz audio -Tuned by AKG |
Other features
| Sensors | - Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer | - Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer | |
| Other extras |
- 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) |
- Siri natural language commands and dictation -Ultra Wideband (UWB) support - Fast charging 27W, 50% in 30 min -USB Power Delivery 2.0 -MagSafe wireless charging 15W -Qi magnetic fast wireless charging 7.5W - IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 mins) -Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified) |