It’s always hard to choose between two great phones, especially when they’re as good as the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. In the US, both devices start at the same price as their predecessors: respective prices of $1199 and $1099.
Outside of the United States, both devices are more expensive than they were the previous time possibly as a result of higher manufacturing costs and inflation. Regardless, if you’re looking for the best, this guide will help you choose between the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is still taller, broader, thicker, and lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro Max despite having a nearly identical design to its predecessor. It has a frame made of aluminum, whereas the iPhone has a frame made of stainless steel, which is stronger but heavier and more susceptible to scratches.
The Galaxy has flat corners and slightly curved edges, whereas the iPhone has curved corners and flat edges. The IP68 rating for water and dust resistance is shared by both phones.
For US customers, the iPhone 14 series only supports eSIMs; Thankfully, Samsung still has a SIM card slot. The front and back of the S23 Ultra are protected by the brand-new Gorilla Glass Victus 2, whereas the Ceramic Shield coating protects the front glass of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Despite the obvious advantage of USB-C, the iPhone still uses the Lightning port.
Camera
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: 200MP f/1.7 primary, OIS, PDAF, Laser AF, 8K video at 30fps; 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide (120-degree FoV), dual-pixel PDAF, macro photography; 10MP f/2.4 3x optical zoom sensor with OIS; 10MP f/4.9 10x optical zoom with OIS and 100x digital zoom; Front: 12MP f/2.2, PDAF, 4K video at 60fps
- iPhone 14 Pro Max: 48MP f/1.8 primary, sensor-shift OIS, dual-pixel PDAF, 4K video at 60fps; 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide (120-degree FoV), dual-pixel PDAF, macro photography; 12MP f/2.8 telephoto, OIS, 3x digital zoom; Front: 12MP f/1.9, PDAF, 4K video at 60fps.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is still taller, broader, thicker, and lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro Max despite having a nearly identical design to its predecessor. It has a frame made of aluminum, whereas the iPhone has a frame made of stainless steel, which is stronger but heavier and more susceptible to scratches.
The Galaxy has flat corners and slightly curved edges, whereas the iPhone has curved corners and flat edges. The IP68 rating for water and dust resistance is shared by both phones.
For US customers, the iPhone 14 series only supports eSIMs; Thankfully, Samsung still has a SIM card slot. The front and back of the S23 Ultra are protected by the brand-new Gorilla Glass Victus 2, whereas the Ceramic Shield coating protects the front glass of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Despite the obvious advantage of USB-C, the iPhone still uses the Lightning port.
Processor
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2; 4nm fab; Adreno 740
- iPhone 14 Pro Max: A16 Bionic; 4nm process; 5-core GPU.
There is no inferior Exynos variant because the S23 Ultra is equipped worldwide with the most recent Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. “Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy,” an exclusive overclocked version of the chip developed by Samsung and Qualcomm that sounds exciting but isn’t much better than standard SD 8 Gen 2 chips, has also been developed.
The brand-new A16 Bionic chip in the iPhone 14 Pro Max still holds the record for the highest CPU performance of any smartphone. However, the S23 Ultra’s GPU scores are slightly higher than those of the iPhone, indicating that it offers a more enjoyable gaming experience.
Having said that, there won’t be much of a difference in performance between the two phones for the majority of people. Why? Two motives: One is that TSMC, the same company that makes both chips, and two is that benchmark scores no longer matter after a certain point. Both devices have a lot of power, work well, and can run all of the latest games and apps.
Display
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x; 1440 x 3088 resolution; 501 PPI; 1750 nits peak brightness; 120Hz dynamic refresh rate with LTPO 2.0; HDR10+; Gorilla Glass Victus 2; Always-on Display.
- iPhone 14 Pro Max: 6.7-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display; 2796 x 1290 resolution; 460 PPI; 2,000 nits peak brightness; 120Hz ProMotion; HDR10; Ceramic Shield glass protection.
We can’t deny that the Dynamic Island cutout in the shape of a pill is far superior to the notch on older iPhones. However, when watching movies, playing games, scrolling through social media feeds, or performing multitasking, the minimalist punch-hole front camera design makes much more sense.
Brightness is the only area in which the iPhone display is superior to Samsung’s. The former has a peak of 2000 nits, while the latter has a peak of 1750 nits, which is the same as the previous peak.
RAM and Storage
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: 8/12GB LPDDR5X RAM; 256GB/512GB/1TB UFS 4.0 storage
- iPhone 14 Pro Max: 6GB LPDDR5 RAM; 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB NVMe storage
iPhones require less RAM than Android phones because they are better at managing it. This indicates that the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 8GB of RAM will nearly match the iPhone’s 6GB of RAM when it comes to multitasking; When you upgrade to 12GB of RAM, you only notice slight differences.
The fact that the S23 Ultra comes with 256GB of base storage is even more intriguing. This is a huge victory because, even though 128GB is sufficient for the majority of people, big flagships typically consume storage more quickly, so more storage is greatly appreciated. Both devices have a 1TB limit.
Battery
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: 5000mAh battery; 45W fast wired charging; 15W wireless charging; 4.5W reverse wireless charging
- iPhone 14 Pro Max: 4323mAh battery; 15W MagSafe wireless charging support; 7.5W Qi wireless support
The iPhone 14 Pro Max’s smaller 4323mAh cell easily outlives Android phones with 5000mAh cells due to Apple Silicon’s high power efficiency. If you turn off the Always-On Display on your iPhone or hide your wallpaper from the AOD screen, you can save even more battery life.
Despite having the same total capacity of 5000mAh, the S23 Ultra has significantly improved battery life thanks to the more effective Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip manufactured by TSMC. We wouldn’t be shocked if the S23 Ultra’s battery life matches that of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Samsung also has faster 45W charging and can fully charge an iPhone in an hour, whereas Apple’s 20W brick takes almost two hours. The first can also charge your Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Watch in reverse wireless mode, which the iPhone cannot.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is an innovative improvement
With the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Samsung has made a lot of good choices: using the most recent LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage standard, eliminating Exynos, addressing issues with its image processing, and offering 256GB as the base storage. Despite looking very much like its predecessor, the device has been almost entirely redesigned inside.
In addition, the iPhone 14 Pro Max maintains its reputation for having a more dependable camera system, a brighter display, a Dynamic Island cutout, and extensive integration with the Apple ecosystem. The iPhone is a no-brainer if you already own other Apple products, but if you want to switch to the Galaxy, now is a better time than ever.
