iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Galaxy S23 Ultra comparison

Samsung has recently held its special event Unpacked 2023 in which it has presented its new Galaxy S23 line with its Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23 Ultra models, along with other novelties such as its Galaxy Book3 Ultra laptop. Will Samsung’s new flagships be able to surpass the performance of Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro Max?

The presentation of the Galaxy S23 Ultra focused mainly on the quality of its cameras, placing greater emphasis on photography and video shooting in low light conditions. But, in addition, Samsung’s flagship comes to the market with a series of very advanced features to compete with Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro Max. Below we will tell you all the differences in an extensive comparison between iPhone 14 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra.

1. Design

We will start by talking about the design of the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Galaxy S23 Ultra. While Apple’s smartphone completely redesigned the appearance of its screen with the implementation of the Dynamic Island and other minor tweaks, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has followed the same path as its predecessor with a continuous design with minor differences in some details of the phone.

Samsung has decided to rely on a design that already worked with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, with more respect for the environment and sustainability in its manufacturing materials. The Galaxy S23 Ultra features a sleek and premium look in the perfect rectangle shape with less curvature at its side edges. Its back has a module of four camera lenses arranged in a linear order. Not much has changed here either. The Galaxy S23 and the Galaxy S23+ have removed the protrusion that housed the camera module to receive a much more minimalist look, but this is not the case with the Ultra model, since its predecessor did not have this protrusion.

For its part, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has many differences from the design of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It gives the sensation of being a much more “rounded” smartphone despite having completely flat edges, due to the existing curves in its four corners. As for its rear camera module, its lenses are arranged in the shape of a triangle and take up much less space than in the case of the Galaxy S23 Ultra, it is one of the big differences that gives the iPhone 14 Pro Max more cohesion in its design.

As it could not be otherwise, the superiority of the design will depend on the preferences of each consumer. Some users identify more with the design of the Galaxy S23 Ultra and others will do so with the design of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. We, without a doubt, are left with the Apple smartphone. Although we really like the elegance of the appearance of the Galaxy S23 Ultra, with the exception of its camera module that seems excessively overloaded to us.

2. Screen

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a Super Retina XDR screen with OLED technology and dimensions of 6.7 inches. On the other hand, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has arrived on the market with a Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with a slightly larger size, a diagonal of 6.8 inches.

The superiority of Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra screen over the iPhone 14 Pro Max screen is undeniable. This is much more advanced technology and therefore basically unbeatable. Especially for a device relative to a previous generation such as the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

With the Galaxy S23 Ultra, a screen with a resolution of 3,080 x 1,440 pixels has been incorporated, with a density of 500 pixels per inch and a maximum brightness of 1,750 nits. On the other side of the ring we have the iPhone 14 Pro Max with a resolution of 2,796 x 1,290 pixels, 460 pixels per inch and a peak brightness of 1,600 nits (2,000 nits outdoors). Both devices offer a refresh rate of 1-120 Hz.

Samsung has gone all out in this regard. In addition to having slightly larger dimensions and AMOLED technology, your Galaxy S23 Ultra has a higher resolution, higher pixel density per inch, and higher indoor brightness.

AMOLED panels offer some advantages over OLED panels. They consume much less power as they only illuminate each pixel when it is electronically activated, thus contributing to longer battery life. They are thinner, more flexible, and display more vibrant colors.

However, AMOLED screens are more expensive than OLED screens and provide less visibility in sunlight. The iPhone 14 Pro Max can reach 2,000 nits outdoors, which gives it a small advantage over the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

3. Processor

The second generation of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 processor provides an 8-core CPU and an Adreno 740 GPU with ray-tracing to improve lighting and shadow effects, reaching up to 240 Hz refresh rate in gaming.

Qualcomm’s camera processor supports 8K video and up to 200-megapixel photo capture. Its photography computational processing is similar to that of the A16 Bionic processor in the iPhone 14 Pro Max with noise reduction, sharpening, and color correction.

Samsung has also implemented Bokeh Engine 2 technology to more precisely adjust blur and its intensity in portrait photos and videos.

For its part, the A16 Bionic chip of the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 6-core CPU, a 5-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine capable of performing 17 trillion operations per second.

Benchmark tests show that the performance of the A16 Bionic processor is higher than that provided by the second generation Snapdragon 8 chip. Although not tested with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, results from a December 2022 Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Benchmark indicate a big difference, with a single-core test score of 1,491 and a score of 5,180. in multi-core.

For its part, the Benchmark of the iPhone 14 Pro Max and its A16 Bionic chip gave results of a score of 1,882 single-core and a score of 5,584 in multi-core. These results give victory to the Apple processor, although we will be able to obtain a more precise conclusion in this comparison with a test in the real use of the two smartphones.

Finally, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor of the Galaxy S23 Ultra is accompanied by versions of 8 GB and 12 GB of RAM, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max only has 6 GB RAM. Another point in favor of Samsung.

4. Battery

The Galaxy S23 Ultra battery has a capacity of 5,000 mAh, a very noticeable difference compared to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which has a 4,323 mAh capacity battery. Both terminals have support for wireless charging and fast charging, with both reaching 50% battery in just 30 minutes of charging.

In theory, the battery of the Galaxy S23 Ultra should offer greater autonomy with many differences compared to the iPhone 14 Pro Max in this comparison. However, even if the Samsung flagship has a higher capacity battery, we should not rely solely on its technical specifications since Apple processors tend to offer higher performance than Snapdragon processors, including better energy efficiency.

5. Cameras

In the camera category the Galaxy S23 Ultra is an intractable smartphone. It has, without a doubt, the best camera system on the market with a quad camera with 200 MP (main), 12 MP (ultra-wide), 10 MP (telephoto) and 10 MP (telephoto) lenses.

For its part, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a triple camera module with 48 MP (main), 12 MP (ultra-wide angle) and 12 MP (telephoto) lenses. Just because the Galaxy S23 Ultra already has one more camera should already be enough to surpass the image quality of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. But, in addition, its main camera has many more megapixels, giving a great leap in quality and increasing the differences with respect to Apple’s iPhone.

As for their front cameras, both flagships have a 12-megapixel lens, although the Galaxy S23 Ultra has an f/2.2 aperture and the iPhone 14 Pro Max has an f/1.9 aperture.

6. Technical specifications

Below we attach a table with all the technical hardware specifications, differences, and other features of Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro compared to Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra.

What is new in iPhone 14 Pro Max

• Design with Dynamic Island.
• ProMotion technology with Always-On.
• A16 Bionic chip.
• 48 megapixel main camera.
• Satellite Connectivity.
• Accident detection.
• 4,323 mAh battery.

What is new in Galaxy S23 Ultra

• Infinity-O Edge-Display technology.
• Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.
• 200 megapixel main camera.
• Multitasking continuity.
• Astronomical Hyperlapse mode.
• 5,000 mAh battery.

7. Price and availability

The starting price of the iPhone 14 Pro Max after its arrival on the market at the end of 2022 is 1,469 euros, while the starting price is 1,409 euros.

The availability of the Galaxy S23 Ultra is imminent, it is currently in the reservation period and its official launch date has been set for February 16, 2023. For its part, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is available on the market from day September 16, 2022.

Samsung has launched its Galaxy S23 Ultra product line with a base price of 1,409 euros, although the cost increases depending on its storage options. With the passage of time, its price will go down after being on the market for a few months.

• Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max: €1,529
• Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: €1.409

8. Conclusion: which is better?

The comparison between Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro Max and Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra pits the two most beastly smartphones of today in an epic battle. All the differences between the two smartphones clearly reflect a great superiority of the Galaxy S23 Ultra in many aspects such as battery, cameras, screen and other technical specifications. It has more RAM memory, higher screen brightness, greater autonomy…

However, the iPhone 14 Pro Max wins the game in terms of performance as its A16 Bionic processor is significantly faster than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor implemented in the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Something that has a lot of merit considering that Samsung’s flagship should be compared to the iPhone 15 of 2023. In addition, the stability and design of its software (iOS 16) will always be better than Android for many users.

Despite the fact that these are two different generations of smartphones, the battle between the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Galaxy S23 Ultra has been very close, which really means a small victory for Apple, although the winner is clear and has a name and last name: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.