We really wanted to compare the latest iPhone 15 Pro Max with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. It's not a common choice for most people, but we were very curious to see how they match up.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max stands out because it now uses a USB-C port and has a cool new zoom camera. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in Dubai, on the other hand, is famous for its powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, its great set of cameras, and the handy S-Pen.
Size
Let's simplify and compare the sizes of the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in an easy-to-understand way:
Weight: 221 grams.
Size: About 160 mm tall, 77 mm wide, and 8.3 mm thick. That's like being 6.30 inches tall, 3.02 inches wide, and 0.33 inches thick.
Weight: 234 grams.
Size: Roughly 163 mm tall, 78 mm wide, and 8.9 mm thick. In inches, it's about 6.43 inches tall, 3.07 inches wide, and 0.35 inches thick.
Comparison:
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is slightly smaller in every way – it's shorter, less wide, and thinner than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It's also lighter.
The smaller size of the iPhone might be because it has a bit of a smaller screen compared to the Galaxy.
The design of these two phones is very different. The iPhone has straight edges and a big camera bump. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, on the other hand, has curved edges on the sides, flat top and bottom, and the cameras almost blend into the back without sticking out much.
The iPhone has a special Ceramic Glass Shield on its screen, made with the help of Corning. It also has a titanium frame, but this might not seem very different from other phones.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra uses the newest Gorilla Glass 2 Victus on both sides, which is really strong and used in top Android phones. Its frame is made of Samsung's own tough aluminum, which is good at resisting drops and scratches. The front is also protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
Both phones can resist dust and water, with an IP68 rating. The iPhone can handle water up to 6 meters deep, but the Galaxy can only go up to 1.5 meters.
Camera
Comparing the cameras in the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Galaxy phone is a bit complex. The iPhone has 2x and 5x zoom, while the Galaxy offers 3x and 10x zoom with special zoom cameras. Both phones are good for taking pictures, but they have their own unique styles.
Both phones can take great photos and videos with good sharpness, detail, and color. However, Samsung and Apple have their own ways of processing images.
The ultrawide camera pictures from both phones are similar, but the Galaxy's photos have a little more detail.
The iPhone's main camera is better for two reasons: it captures more detail with less artificial sharpening and has a more natural look and color. The 2x zoom on the iPhone is also better because it doesn't over-sharpen the image. In terms of detail, both phones are pretty similar at this zoom level.
Charging Speed
iPhone 15 Pro Max:
- Can charge quickly using a wire at 20W, sometimes reaching 27W.
- Wireless charging is possible at a maximum of 15W with special MagSafe chargers.
Galaxy S23 Ultra:
- Charges even faster with a wire at up to 45W.
- Wireless charging is also available up to 15W.
- It has a feature to charge other devices wirelessly, which the iPhone doesn't have.
Charging Speed Comparison:
Galaxy S23 Ultra charges much quicker. It goes from empty to 40% in 15 minutes, 68% in 30 minutes, and fully charges in 59 minutes. The iPhone 15 Pro Max charges slower, reaching 23% in 15 minutes, 46% in 30 minutes, and takes 1 hour and 49 minutes to fully charge.
Battery Life:
The iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Galaxy S23 Ultra are both smartphones with strong batteries, but they have different capacities and performance. The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 4,441 mAh battery, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a slightly bigger 5,000mAh battery. However, the actual battery life depends on many things like the screen type and how efficient the phone's processor is.
In terms of overall battery life, the iPhone 15 Pro Max lasts about 118 hours, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra lasts a bit longer at 126 hours. When it comes to specific tasks, the iPhone 15 Pro Max provides longer times for browsing the internet and watching videos – it can surf the web for 3 hours more and play videos for 40 minutes more than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. On the other side, the Galaxy S23 Ultra excels in talk time, lasting 14 hours more than the iPhone when used for 3G calls.
Display:
Here's a simpler comparison between the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra:
- Screen Size and Quality: The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 6.7-inch OLED screen, while the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a slightly larger 6.8-inch OLED screen. Both have a high refresh rate of 120Hz. The iPhone's screen resolution is 1290x2796 pixels with 460 pixels per inch (ppi), and the Galaxy's is a bit sharper at 1440x3088 pixels with 500 ppi.
- Brightness and Visibility: The iPhone's screen can get brighter – up to 1787 nits in Auto mode and 846 nits manually, compared to the Galaxy's 1274 nits (Auto) and 831 nits (Manual). However, the difference in screen resolution (460ppi vs. 500ppi) is not easily noticeable. The iPhone has a larger display cutout, while the Galaxy has a smaller camera hole.
- Color Accuracy: Both phones have very accurate colors on their screens.
- Refresh Rate: Both the iPhone and the Galaxy have adaptable refresh rates for their screens. It's not clear how well Apple's version works as it hasn't been tested extensively, but it's assumed to be comparable to Samsung's.
- HDR Support: The iPhone supports both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision for streaming, giving it a bit of an edge, as the Galaxy S23 Ultra only supports HDR10+.
Speaker
Both the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra have special stereo speakers. They have a main speaker at the bottom and use the earpiece for the other sound channel. The sound switches based on how you hold the phone, and when you hold it upright, the earpiece plays the left sound.
The iPhone continues to have really good sound, with clear middle and high tones and some low tones too. The Galaxy's sound is almost as good as the iPhone's, but its bass and middle tones are a bit weaker, though it's hard to tell. Overall, both phones have great speakers. Both phones are equally loud in our tests.
Performance
The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra are two of the most advanced smartphones available. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is powered by Apple's best chip, the A17 Pro, which is built using a 3 nm process. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in its basic model. On the other hand, the Galaxy S23 Ultra features Qualcomm's most powerful chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, which is a specially enhanced version built using a 4 nm process and also comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage as its base configuration.
Both these smartphones are equipped with top-level hardware and can easily handle any app available in their respective app stores. In terms of everyday use, it's hard to tell which one is better because they both offer excellent performance. They are also similar in their stability during high stress, with about 80% CPU and 70% GPU stability.
In benchmark tests, the iPhone 15 Pro Max scored 1,487,203 in AnTuTu 10 and achieved 2,926 in single-core and 7,237 in multi-core tests in Geekbench 6. The Galaxy S23 Ultra scored slightly lower in AnTuTu 10 with 1,472,142, and in Geekbench 6, it scored 1,913 in single-core and 5,077 in multi-core tests.
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