iPhone 13 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: The Ultimate Flagship Showdown

The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra represent the pinnacle of smartphone technology. Both boast stunning displays, powerful processors, and impressive camera systems, but cater to different user preferences. This comprehensive comparison will break down their strengths and weaknesses to help you decide which device is right for you.

Phones Images

🏆 Quick Verdict

The iPhone 13 Pro Max offers exceptional battery life and a consistently smooth user experience thanks to the A15 Bionic chip. The Galaxy S22 Ultra shines with its brighter display, versatile camera system (especially zoom capabilities), and integrated S Pen. Ultimately, the choice depends on your ecosystem preference and desired features.

PHONES
Phone Names	Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max	Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G

Network
2G bands	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G bands	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
4G bands	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66 - A2643, A2644, A2645	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66 - International
5G bands	1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 66, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A2643, A2644	1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 75, 77, 78 SA/NSA/Sub6 - International
Speed	HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE (7CA) Cat20 2000/200 Mbps, 5G (5+ Gbps DL)
Technology	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
	1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 66, 71, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A2641	1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 41, 66, 71, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - USA

Launch
Announced	2021, September 14	2022, February 09
Status	Available. Released 2021, September 24	Available. Released 2022, February 25

Body
Build	Glass front, glass back, stainless steel frame	Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus+), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus+), aluminum frame
Dimensions	160.8 x 78.1 x 7.7 mm (6.33 x 3.07 x 0.30 in)	163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9 mm (6.43 x 3.07 x 0.35 in)
SIM	· Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM	· Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time)
Weight	240 g (8.47 oz)	228 g / 229 g (mmWave) (8.04 oz)
	IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 min) Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified)	IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) Armor aluminum frame with tougher drop and scratch resistance (advertised) Stylus, 2.8ms latency (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro)

Display
Protection	Ceramic Shield glass	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+
Resolution	1284 x 2778 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~458 ppi density)	1440 x 3088 pixels, 19.3:9 ratio (~500 ppi density)
Size	6.7 inches, 109.8 cm2 (~87.4% screen-to-body ratio)	6.8 inches, 114.7 cm2 (~90.2% screen-to-body ratio)
Type	Super Retina XDR OLED, 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (HBM), 1200 nits (peak)	Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1750 nits (peak)
	-	Always-on display

Platform
CPU	Hexa-core (2x3.23 GHz Avalanche + 4x1.82 GHz Blizzard)	Octa-core (1x2.8 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3x2.50 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A510) - EuropeOcta-core (1x3.00 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3x2.50 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A510) - ROW
Chipset	Apple A15 Bionic (5 nm)	Exynos 2200 (4 nm) - EuropeQualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (4 nm) - ROW
GPU	Apple GPU (5-core graphics)	Xclipse 920 - EuropeAdreno 730 - ROW
OS	iOS 15, upgradable to iOS 26.1	Android 12, up to 4 major Android upgrades, One UI 8

Memory
Card slot	No	No
Internal	128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 6GB RAM, 512GB 6GB RAM, 1TB 6GB RAM	128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM
	NVMe	UFS 3.1

Main Camera
Features	Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama)	Laser AF, LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama
Quad	-	108 MP, f/1.8, 23mm (wide), 1/1.33", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.52", 1.12µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 10 MP, f/4.9, 230mm (periscope telephoto), 1/3.52", 1.12µm, PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, Super Steady video
Single	12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6" SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)	-
Triple	12 MP, f/1.5, 26mm (wide), 1/1.7", 1.9µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS 12 MP, f/2.8, 77mm (telephoto), PDAF, 1/3.4", 1.0µm, OIS, 3x optical zoom 12 MP, f/1.8, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/3.4", 1.0µm, PDAF TOF 3D LiDAR scanner (depth)	-
Video	4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, 10-bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), ProRes, stereo sound rec.	8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS

Selfie camera
Features	HDR	HDR
Single	12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6", 1.0µm SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)	40 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.82", 0.7µm, PDAF
Video	4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS	4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps

Sound
3.5mm jack	No	No
35mm jack	No	No
Loudspeaker	Yes, with stereo speakers	Yes, with stereo speakers
	-	32-bit/384kHz audio Tuned by AKG

Comms
Bluetooth	5.0, A2DP, LE	5.2, A2DP, LE
NFC	Yes	Yes
Positioning	GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS	GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
Radio	No	No
USB	Lightning, USB 2.0	USB Type-C 3.2, OTG
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct

Features
Sensors	Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer	Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
	Ultra Wideband (UWB) support	Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) Bixby natural language commands and dictation Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) Ultra Wideband (UWB) support

Battery
Charging	Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min 15W wireless (MagSafe) 15W wireless (Qi2) - requires iOS 17.2 update	45W wired, PD3.0 15W wireless (Qi) 4.5W reverse wireless
Type	Li-Ion 4352 mAh (16.75 Wh)	Li-Ion 5000 mAh

Misc
Colors	Graphite, Gold, Silver, Sierra Blue, Alpine Green	Phantom Black, White, Burgundy, Green, Graphite, Red, Sky Blue, Bora Purple
Models	A2643, A2484, A2641, A2644, A2645, iphone14,3	SM-S908B, SM-S908B/DS, SM-S908U, SM-S908U1, SM-S908W, SM-S908N, SM-S9080, SM-S908E, SM-S908E/DS
Price	€ 423.38 / $ 394.86 / £ 355.00	€ 397.07 / $ 269.98 / £ 304.99 / ₹ 63,899
SAR	1.18 W/kg (head) 1.20 W/kg (body)	1.18 W/kg (head) 0.98 W/kg (body)
SAR EU	0.99 W/kg (head) 0.98 W/kg (body)	1.05 W/kg (head) 1.58 W/kg (body)

Tests
Battery life	Endurance rating 121h	Endurance rating 108h
Camera	Photo / Video	Photo / Video
Display	Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal)	Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal)
Loudspeaker	-24.0 LUFS (Very good)	-27.3 LUFS (Good)
Performance	AnTuTu: 801691 (v9) GeekBench: 4706 (v5.1) GFXBench: 60fps (ES 3.1 onscreen)	AnTuTu: 968359 (v9) GeekBench: 3657 (v5.1) GFXBench: 37fps (ES 3.1 onscreen)

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Exceptional battery life
Smooth and consistent performance (A15 Bionic)
Excellent video recording
Seamless iOS ecosystem integration
Premium build quality

Slower charging speeds
Less versatile camera zoom
Limited customization options compared to Android

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G

Brighter display
Versatile camera system with excellent zoom
Integrated S Pen stylus
Faster charging (45W)
More customization options (Android)

Slightly shorter battery life
Performance can vary depending on chipset (Exynos vs Snapdragon)
Software updates can be slower than iOS

Display Comparison

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra takes the display crown with a measured peak brightness of 1266 nits compared to the iPhone 13 Pro Max's 1050 nits. Both offer excellent contrast ratios (effectively infinite) and vibrant colors, but the S22 Ultra's higher brightness makes it more visible in direct sunlight. The S22 Ultra also features a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, while the iPhone 13 Pro Max also has a 120Hz ProMotion display.

Camera Comparison

Both phones offer exceptional camera systems. The Galaxy S22 Ultra excels in zoom capabilities with its 10x optical zoom lens, while the iPhone 13 Pro Max delivers excellent video recording quality and natural-looking photos. The S22 Ultra's camera is more versatile, offering more shooting modes and customization options. The iPhone 13 Pro Max's computational photography is generally considered more consistent.

Performance

The iPhone 13 Pro Max's A15 Bionic chip remains incredibly powerful, delivering consistently smooth performance across all tasks. The Galaxy S22 Ultra's performance varies depending on the chipset (Exynos or Snapdragon). The Snapdragon variant generally outperforms the Exynos, but both are capable of handling demanding games and applications. The A15 Bionic's efficiency often translates to better sustained performance.

Battery Life

The iPhone 13 Pro Max boasts superior battery life, achieving an endurance rating of 121 hours, significantly outperforming the Galaxy S22 Ultra's 108 hours. While the S22 Ultra supports 45W wired charging (compared to the iPhone's 20W), the iPhone's longer battery life often negates the need for frequent charging.

Buying Guide

Who should buy the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max? Users deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem, prioritizing battery life and seamless performance. Who should buy the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra? Android enthusiasts seeking a versatile camera, a vibrant display, and the added functionality of the S Pen.

Frequently Asked Questions

❓ Which phone has better video quality?

The iPhone 13 Pro Max is generally considered to have slightly better video quality due to its excellent stabilization and natural color reproduction.

❓ Is the S Pen worth it?

If you enjoy taking notes, sketching, or precise navigation, the S Pen is a valuable addition. Otherwise, it might be an underutilized feature.