Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro Max – Specs, Differences, and Price
Comparing Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra with iPhone 14 Pro Max using their specifications.
Table of Contents
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro Max
| DESIGN AND DISPLAY | Samsung S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| Screen Size | 6.8-inches | 6.7-inches |
| Display Type | Dynamic AMOLED 2X | LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED |
| High Refresh Rate | 120Hz | 120Hz |
| Screen Resolution | 3088 x 1440 pixels | 2796 x 1290 pixels |
| Pixel Density | 500 PPI | 460 PPI |
| Brightness | 1750 nits | 2000 nits |
| Weight | 234 grams | 240 grams |
| Height | 163.4 mm | 160.7 mm |
| Width | 78.1 mm | 77.6 mm |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm | 7.9 mm |
| Front Material | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | Ceramic Shield Glass |
| Side Material | Armor Aluminum | Stainless Steel |
| Back Material | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | Ceramic Shield Glass |
| Water Resistant | IP68 | IP68 |
| Stylus Pen | Yes | No |
| Available Color | Phantom Black, Red, Sky Blue, Cream, Lime, Green, Lavender, Graphite | Gold, Space Black, Silver, Deep Purple |
| NETWORK | Samsung S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| 2G | Yes | Yes |
| 3G | Yes | Yes |
| 4G | Yes | Yes |
| 5G | Yes | Yes |
| Sim Type | Nano and eSIM | Nano and eSIM |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Samsung S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| OS Version | One UI 5.1, Based on Android 13 | iOS 16, Upgradable to iOS 16.4.1 |
| PROCESSOR/CHIPSET | Samsung S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| Processor Type | 4nm, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | 4nm, Apple A15 Bionic |
| Processor Speed | Octa-core, 1 (3.36 GHz Cortex-X3), 2 (2.80 GHz Cortex-A715), 2 (2.80 GHz Cortex-A710), and 3 (2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) | Hexa-core, 2 (3.46 GHz Everest) and 4 (2.02 GHz Sawtooth) |
| Graphics Processor | Adreno 740 | Apple GPU (5-core graphics) |
| REAR CAMERA | Samsung S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| Main (wide) | 200 MP, f/1.7 with OIS, Laser AF, and multi-directional PDAF | 48 MP, f/1.8 with sensor-shift OIS and dual pixel PDAF |
| Ultrawide | 12 MP, f/2.2 | 12 MP, f/2.2 |
| Telephoto | 10 MP, f/2.4 with OIS and 3x Optical Zoom | 12 MP, f/2.8 with OIS and 3x Optical Zoom |
| Periscope Telephoto | 10 MP, f/4.9 with OIS and 10x Optical Zoom | No |
| Macro | No | No |
| Depth | No | TOF 3D LiDAR Scanner |
| Video Recording | 8K @24/30fps, 4K @30/60fps, 1080P @30/60/240fps, 1080P @960fps, HDR10+, Stereo Sound Recording, gyro-EIS | 4K @24/25/30/60fps, 1080P @25/30/60/120/240fps, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), 10-bit HDR, ProRes, Cinematic mode (4K @30fps), Stereo sound recording |
| FRONT CAMERA | Samsung S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| Wide | 12 MP, f/2.2 | 12 MP, f/1.9, SL 3D (depth/biometrics sensor) |
| Ultrawide | No | No |
| Video Recording | 4K @30/60fps, 1080P @30fps | 4K @24/25/30/60fps, 1080P @25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS |
| MEMORY | Samsung S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| RAM | 8GB, 12GB | 6GB |
| Internal Storage | 256GB – UFS 4.0, 512GB – UFS 4.0, 1TB – UFS 4.0 | 128GB – NVMe, 256GB – NVMe, 512GB – NVMe, 1TB – NVMe, |
| microSD Card | No | No |
| BATTERY | Samsung S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| Type | Li-Ion Non-removable | Li-Ion Non-removable |
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 4323 mAh |
| Wired Charging | 45 Watts, PD 3.0 | 27 Watts, PD 2.0 |
| Wireless Charging | 15 Watts, Qi/PMA | 15 Watts – Magsafe, 7.5 Watts – Qi |
| Reverse Wireless Charging | 4.5 Watts | No |
| SENSORS | Samsung S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes |
| Proximity | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | Yes | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes |
| Barometer | Yes | Yes |
| Fingerprint | Under Display, Ultrasonic | No |
| Face Unlock/Face ID | Yes | Yes |
| CONNECTIVITY | Samsung S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| Bluetooth | v5.3, A2DP, LE | v5.3, A2DP, LE |
| USB | Type-C 3.2 | Lightning, USB 2.0 |
| GPS | GPS, BDS, GLONASS, GALILEO | GPS (L1 + L5), BDS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS |
| WiFi | 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 |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| MULTIMEDIA | Samsung S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| Loudspeaker | Yes, Stereo Speakers | Yes, Stereo Speakers |
| FM Radio | No | No |
| 3.5mm Headphone Jack | No | No |
| AVAILABILITY | Samsung S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| Released Date | 17th of February 2023 | 16th of September 2022 |
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: Differences
1.) Camera
For the first time in a very long time, the Samsung flagship is in close competition with the iPhone flagship is not just the picture quality but also the video quality and not just on the rear-facing camera but also on the front-facing camera.
In my testing, Samsung S23 Ultra takes better natural light pictures with its selfie camera than the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The iPhone on the other hand returned the favor when it comes to video quality, especially regarding skin tone and hair.
Unlike before, it was very hard to choose between the two when it comes to video quality thanks to the new 12MP selfie camera on the S23 Ultra with better Dual Pixel Autofocus. I was impressed with the S23 Ultra’s front-facing camera.
Thanks to both the new and better software-based stabilization, 2x better hardware-based Optical Image Stabilization, and a better speaker, video quality from the 200MP rear camera of the S23 Ultra saw a massive and impressive jump compared to the S22 Ultra.
Unfortunately, it is still behind the quality I was able to get on the iPhone 14 Pro Max. But like on the front-facing camera, it is not a huge gap like it used to be.
I think they might not only catch up next year, but they might also actually have a better overall camera system than the iPhone and I am rooting for them.
Samsung’s new 200MP main camera is not just good for video, it is also great for pictures. It amazingly takes better pictures than the iPhone 14 Pro Max in both natural light and low-light conditions.
S23 Ultra’s ultrawide camera takes great and amazing pictures like the rest of the rear cameras and the pictures coming out of the ultrawide camera has a little bit more details than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Let’s talk about telephoto cameras. Remember it has a telephoto and a periscope telephoto camera which have 3x and 10x optical zoom. It has improved over the previous year but immensely.
Oh, the S23 Ultra beat the iPhone in Zoom photography especially at above 10x zoom. Don’t even mention the astrophotography capabilities because it was not close at all.
It is also worth mentioning that Samsung S23 Ultra can shoot 8K videos at 24fps and 30fps while the iPhone 14 Pro Max can only shoot up to 4K videos.
Portrait mode is better on the Samsung S23 Ultra regardless of the lighting conditions on both the selfie and rear cameras. As for Macro mode, it is better on the iPhone 14 Pro Max as you can get closer and it is sharper. They both take similar Slow Mo videos.
2.) Design
There is little to no change in design between the S22 Ultra and the S23 Ultra regardless of if you are looking from the back or the front.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max does not have a notch like the iPhone 13 Pro Max but it has what Apple called Dynamic Island which is a cut-out at the top of the display that housed the selfie camera and some sensors for the Face ID technology.
Samsung S23 Ultra on the other hand uses a punch-hole display that housed the selfie camera in a cut-out at the top of the display.
Above the cut-out on both devices resides the front-facing speaker which forms stereo sounds with the bottom speakers.
Both devices have IP68 dust and water-resistant. While the S23 Ultra’s display and back are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s display and back are protected by Ceramic Shield Glass.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max has round edges and sides while the S23 Ultra has flat edges and sides.
At the back, the Samsung S23 Ultra is equipped with a Quad camera set up with each sensor standing on its own while the iPhone 14 Pro Max is equipped with a triple camera set up which is held together in a module.
At the top, the S23 Ultra has a single microphone while the iPhone 14 Pro Max has nothing there.
On the right-hand side of the S23 Ultra resides the power and volume buttons while the left-hand side is plain. On the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the power button is on the right-hand side, and on the left-hand side are the volume up and down buttons, the sim card slot, and the mute switch.
At the bottom of the S23 Ultra are the S Pen slot, Speaker, two microphones, and SD card slot while at the bottom of the iPhone 14 Pro Max resides the Lightning port, microphone, and speaker.
3.) Display
Samsung S23 Ultra is a 6.8 inches Dynamic AMOLED display smartphone with a 3088 x 1440 pixels screen resolution, a 120Hz high refresh rate, and 1750 nits of peak brightness.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max on the other hand is a 6.7 inches Super Retina XDR OLED display smartphone with a 120Hz high refresh rate, 2796 x 1290 pixels screen resolution, and a 2000 nits peak brightness.
Both displays are great for surfing the internet, watching movies, and playing games. However, while the S23 Ultra is sharper and has better color reproduction, the iPhone is brighter and more usable under direct sunlight.
4.) Performance – OS, SoC, and Battery
Since Apple announced its first iPhone with its custom chipset, they have continuously launched iPhones that are faster and more powerful than Android phones until now.
Samsung S23 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen for Galaxy chipset with Adreno 740 GPU while the iPhone 14 Pro Max is powered by Apple’s A16 Bionic chipset with a 5-Core Apple GPU.
The new Snapdragon 8 Gen for Galaxy is one of the highlights of the S23 series which includes the S23 Ultra and it noticeably outperforms the S22 Ultra and also the iPhone 14 Pro Max on most occasions.
Samsung S23 Ultra is faster than iPhone 14 Pro Max in opening most apps including games and they are both great for multitasking.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s processor is efficient and great for battery management just like the A16 Bionic chip on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Both the S23 Ultra is available in 8GB and 12GB RAM with the options to choose between 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB internal storage options. While the iPhone 14 Pro Max is available in only 6GB RAM with the options to choose between 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.
Samsung S23 Ultra runs on One UI 5.1 based on Android 13 out of the box while the iPhone 14 Pro Max runs on iOS 16 at launch.
The S23 Ultra is equipped with a 5000 mAh battery and supports 45 watts of fast wired charging while the iPhone 14 Pro Max is packed with a 4323 mAh battery with 27 watts of fast wired charging.
It takes about an hour to get the S23 Ultra to 100% from 0%. Both the Samsung S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max can last more than a day easily on a single charge.
Samsung S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: Price in Nigeria
Samsung S23 Ultra starts at NGN 946,000 for 8GB/256GB.
iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at NGN 1,055,000 for 6GB/256GB.
You may also be interested in the comparison between Samsung Galaxy S23 and iPhone 14.
