iPhone 13 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: The Ultimate Showdown
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🏆 Quick Verdict
The Galaxy S23 Ultra edges out the iPhone 13 Pro Max with its brighter display, faster charging, and more versatile camera system. However, the iPhone's seamless iOS ecosystem and consistently smooth performance remain compelling. Ultimately, the choice depends on your preferred operating system and desired features.
| PHONES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Phone Names | Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| 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, LTE (up to 7CA), 5G |
| 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, 7, 28, 41, 66, 71, 78, 258, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - USA | |
| Launch | ||
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2021, September 14 | 2023, February 01 |
| Status | Available. Released 2021, September 24 | Available. Released 2023, February 17 |
| Body | ||
|---|---|---|
| Build | Glass front, glass back, stainless steel frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame |
| Dimensions | 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.7 mm (6.33 x 3.07 x 0.30 in) | 163.4 x 78.1 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) | 234 g (8.25 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 (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro) | |
| Display | ||
|---|---|---|
| Protection | Ceramic Shield glass | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
| 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 (~89.9% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Type | Super Retina XDR OLED, 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (HBM), 1200 nits (peak) | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1200 nits (HBM), 1750 nits (peak) |
| - | Always-on display | |
| Platform | ||
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Hexa-core (2x3.23 GHz Avalanche + 4x1.82 GHz Blizzard) | Octa-core (1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) |
| Chipset | Apple A15 Bionic (5 nm) | Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm) |
| GPU | Apple GPU (5-core graphics) | Adreno 740 |
| OS | iOS 15, upgradable to iOS 26.1 | Android 13, 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 | 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM |
| NVMe | UFS 4.0 | |
| Main Camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama) | Laser AF, LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama |
| Quad | - | 200 MP, f/1.7, 24mm (wide), 1/1.3", 0.6µm, multi-directional 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) | 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), Dual Pixel PDAF |
| 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@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS |
| Selfie camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | HDR | HDR, HDR10+ |
| Single | 12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6", 1.0µm SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor) | 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.12µm, dual pixel 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 | 5.3, A2DP, LE |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS | GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, BDS, QZSS |
| 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, tri-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, 65% in 30 min 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, Green, Cream, Lavender, Graphite, Sky Blue, Lime, Red, BMW M Edition |
| Models | A2643, A2484, A2641, A2644, A2645, iphone14,3 | SM-S918B, SM-S918B/DS, SM-S918U, SM-S918U1, SM-S918W, SM-S918N, SM-S9180, SM-S918E, SM-S918E/DS |
| Price | € 423.38 / $ 394.86 / £ 355.00 | € 549.90 / $ 454.99 / £ 433.00 |
| SAR | 1.18 W/kg (head) 1.20 W/kg (body) | 1.12 W/kg (head) 0.92 W/kg (body) |
| SAR EU | 0.99 W/kg (head) 0.98 W/kg (body) | 0.96 W/kg (head) 1.40 W/kg (body) |
| Tests | ||
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | Endurance rating 121h | Endurance rating 126h |
| Camera | Photo / Video | Photo / Video |
| Display | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) |
| Loudspeaker | -24.0 LUFS (Very good) | -25.6 LUFS (Very good) |
| Performance | AnTuTu: 801691 (v9) GeekBench: 4706 (v5.1) GFXBench: 60fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) | AnTuTu: 1241531 (v9) GeekBench: 4927 (v5.1) GFXBench: 67fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) |
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
- Seamless iOS ecosystem
- Excellent video recording
- Smooth and consistent performance
- Premium build quality
- Slower charging speeds
- Less versatile camera system
- Limited customization options
- No reverse wireless charging
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Brighter and more vibrant display
- More versatile camera system with impressive zoom
- Faster charging speeds
- Reverse wireless charging
- S Pen functionality
- Android can be less intuitive for some
- Software updates can be slower
- Larger and heavier design
Display Comparison
The Galaxy S23 Ultra boasts a significantly brighter display (1274 nits vs 1050 nits), making it easier to view in direct sunlight. Both offer excellent color accuracy and infinite contrast ratios, but Samsung's Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel provides a slightly more vibrant and immersive experience. The iPhone's display is still excellent, but the S23 Ultra takes the lead in brightness.
Camera Comparison
The Galaxy S23 Ultra's camera system is more versatile, featuring a 200MP main sensor, offering incredible detail and zoom capabilities. The iPhone 13 Pro Max excels in video recording, known for its cinematic mode and overall video quality. Both produce excellent photos, but the S23 Ultra's zoom and low-light performance give it an advantage.
Performance
The A15 Bionic in the iPhone 13 Pro Max remains incredibly powerful, offering smooth performance for virtually any task. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the S23 Ultra is a formidable competitor, delivering impressive speed and efficiency. While benchmarks might favor the Snapdragon, real-world performance is remarkably similar on both devices. The S23 Ultra's chip benefits from improved thermal management.
Battery Life
Both phones offer excellent battery life, with endurance ratings around 126 hours. The S23 Ultra charges significantly faster with 45W wired charging (65% in 30 minutes) compared to the iPhone's 15W wired charging. The S23 Ultra also includes reverse wireless charging, a feature absent on the iPhone.
Buying Guide
Who should buy the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max? Users deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem, prioritizing ease of use, and valuing a consistently polished software experience. Who should buy the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra? Android enthusiasts seeking a feature-rich device with a stunning display, powerful camera, and S Pen functionality.