Samsung Galaxy S23+ vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: The Ultimate Showdown
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🏆 Quick Verdict
The iPhone 14 Pro Max edges out the S23+ with slightly better battery life and a brighter display. However, the S23+ offers faster charging and a more versatile Android experience. Ultimately, the best choice depends on your preferred operating system and ecosystem.
| PHONES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Phone Names | Samsung Galaxy S23+ | Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| Network | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (Dual SIM model only) | 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, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66 - International | 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 - A2894, A2896 |
| 5G bands | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 75, 77, 78 SA/NSA/Sub6 - International | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 66, 70, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A2894, A2896 |
| Speed | HSPA, LTE-A (up to 7CA), 5G | HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps |
| Technology | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G |
| 1, 7, 28, 41, 66, 71, 78, 258, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - USA | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 66, 70, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A2895 | |
| Launch | ||
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2023, February 01 | 2022, September 07 |
| Status | Available. Released 2023, February 17 | Available. Released 2022, September 16 |
| Body | ||
|---|---|---|
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame | Glass front, glass back, stainless steel frame |
| Dimensions | 157.8 x 76.2 x 7.6 mm (6.21 x 3.00 x 0.30 in) | 160.7 x 77.6 x 7.9 mm (6.33 x 3.06 x 0.31 in) |
| SIM | Nano-SIM and eSIM or Dual SIM (2 Nano-SIMs and eSIM, dual stand-by) | · Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time; International)· eSIM + eSIM (8 or more, max 2 at a time; USA)· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM (China) |
| Weight | 196 g (6.91 oz) | 240 g (8.47 oz) |
| IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) Armor aluminum frame with tougher drop and scratch resistance (advertised) | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 min) Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified) | |
| Display | ||
|---|---|---|
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | Ceramic Shield glass |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~393 ppi density) | 1290 x 2796 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density) |
| Size | 6.6 inches, 105.3 cm2 (~87.6% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.7 inches, 110.2 cm2 (~88.3% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1200 nits (HBM), 1750 nits (peak) | LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED, 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (typ), 2000 nits (HBM) |
| Always-on display | Always-On display | |
| Platform | ||
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Octa-core (1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) | Hexa-core (2x3.46 GHz Everest + 4x2.02 GHz Sawtooth) |
| Chipset | Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm) | Apple A16 Bionic (4 nm) |
| GPU | Adreno 740 | Apple GPU (5-core graphics) |
| OS | Android 13, One UI 5.1 | iOS 16, upgradable to iOS 26.1 |
| Memory | ||
|---|---|---|
| Card slot | No | No |
| Internal | 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM | 128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 6GB RAM, 512GB 6GB RAM, 1TB 6GB RAM |
| UFS 4.0 | NVMe | |
| Main Camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama) |
| Single | - | 12 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6", PDAF, OIS (unconfirmed) SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor) |
| Triple | 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.56", 1.0µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.94", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55" 1.4µm, Super Steady video | 48 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.28", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS 12 MP, f/2.8, 77mm (telephoto), 1/3.5", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF TOF 3D LiDAR scanner (depth) |
| Video | 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 1080p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS | 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, 10-bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), ProRes, stereo sound rec. |
| Selfie camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | Dual video call, Auto-HDR, HDR10+ | HDR |
| Single | 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), Dual Pixel PDAF | 12 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor) |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps | 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS |
| Sound | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3.5mm jack | No | No |
| 35mm jack | - | No |
| Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers | Yes, with stereo speakers |
| 32-bit/384kHz audio Tuned by AKG | - | |
| Comms | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE | 5.3, A2DP, LE |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO | GPS (L1+L5), GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS |
| Radio | No | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG | Lightning, USB 2.0 |
| WLAN | 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 |
| Features | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sensors | Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer | Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
| Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) Bixby natural language commands and dictation Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) Ultra Wideband (UWB) support | Ultra Wideband (UWB) support Emergency SOS via satellite (SMS sending/receiving) | |
| Battery | ||
|---|---|---|
| Charging | 45W wired, PD3.0, 65% in 30 min (advertised) 15W wireless (Qi/PMA) 4.5W reverse wireless | Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min 15W wireless (MagSafe) 15W wireless (Qi2) - requires iOS 17.2 update |
| Type | Li-Ion 4700 mAh, non-removable | Li-Ion 4323 mAh (16.68 Wh) |
| Misc | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colors | Phantom Black, Cream, Green, Lavender, Graphite, Lime | Space Black, Silver, Gold, Deep Purple |
| Models | SM-S916B, SM-S916B/DS, SM-S916U, SM-S916U1, SM-S916W, SM-S916N, SM-S9160, SM-S916E, SM-S916E/DS | A2894, A2651, A2893, A2895, A2896, iphone15,3 |
| Price | $ 780.00 / C$ 1,399.99 / £ 919.08 / € 1,185.89 / ₹ 94,999 | € 530.79 / $ 489.81 / £ 446.75 |
| SAR | 0.95 W/kg (head) 1.04 W/kg (body) | 1.15 W/kg (head) 1.07 W/kg (body) |
| SAR EU | 0.77 W/kg (head) 1.45 W/kg (body) | 0.99 W/kg (head) 0.98 W/kg (body) |
| Tests | ||
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | Endurance rating 111h | Endurance rating 121h |
| Camera | Photo / Video | Photo / Video |
| Display | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) |
| Loudspeaker | -26.5 LUFS (Good) | -24.3 LUFS (Very good) |
| Performance | AnTuTu: 1234077 (v9) GeekBench: 5073 (v5.1) GFXBench: 110fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) | AnTuTu: 955884 (v9) GeekBench: 5423 (v5.1) GFXBench: 54fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) |
Samsung Galaxy S23+
- Faster Charging (45W)
- More Customizable Android OS
- Versatile Camera Zoom
- Excellent Performance
- Slightly Lower Battery Life than iPhone
- Display not as bright as iPhone
- No telephoto lens on base model
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
- Brighter Display (1760 nits)
- Excellent Video Recording
- Strong Ecosystem Integration
- Slightly Better Battery Life
- Slower Charging (20W)
- Less Customizable iOS
- MagSafe charging can be slow
- Repair costs can be high
Display Comparison
The iPhone 14 Pro Max boasts a significantly brighter display (1760 nits peak) compared to the S23+, offering better visibility in direct sunlight. Both phones feature excellent color accuracy and infinite contrast ratios (nominal). The S23+ has a slightly smaller screen, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max offers a larger, more immersive experience.
Camera Comparison
Both phones offer exceptional camera systems. The iPhone 14 Pro Max excels in video recording and computational photography, producing consistently excellent results. The S23+ provides more versatility with its zoom capabilities and offers a more customizable camera experience. Low-light performance is excellent on both devices.
Performance
Both phones deliver blazing-fast performance thanks to their respective chipsets – the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and the A16 Bionic. The A16 Bionic generally holds a slight edge in raw processing power, particularly in graphics-intensive tasks. However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is incredibly efficient and provides a smooth, responsive experience for everyday use.
Battery Life
The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a slight advantage in battery life, offering a marginally longer endurance rating (121h vs 111h). However, the S23+ charges significantly faster with its 45W wired charging, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max is limited to 20W wired charging.
Buying Guide
Who should buy the Samsung Galaxy S23+? Android enthusiasts, those seeking faster charging speeds, and users who appreciate customization options. Who should buy the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max? iOS loyalists, users prioritizing a consistently bright display, and those deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem.