We intend to compare the two flagship phones, iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra. Which one of these two phones is the best flagship phone of 2023? It is not surprising that as soon as the new generation of Apple or Samsung flagships is unveiled, many experts immediately start comparing them to their rival flagships. Each new generation of iPhone or Galaxy S quickly becomes a benchmark for flagship phone design worldwide and can experience exceptional global sales.
We intend to continue with a comprehensive comparison of the two phones, the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra, and examine their features, specifications, and other details. If you are curious to know which product is the best flagship phone of 2023, stay with Buytronics until the end.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Differences
- Display: iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 6.7-inch screen, while Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 6.8-inch screen.
- Chipset: iPhone 15 Pro Max features the 3nm A17 Pro chip, while Galaxy S23 Ultra uses the 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 overclocked chip.
- Main Camera: iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 48-megapixel main sensor, while Galaxy S23 Ultra boasts a 200-megapixel main sensor.
- Optical Zoom: iPhone 15 Pro Max offers 5x optical zoom, while Galaxy S23 Ultra provides 10x optical zoom.
- S Pen Support: Galaxy S23 Ultra supports the S Pen stylus.
- Battery: The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max is expected to have a 4422mAh battery, while Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 5000mAh battery.
- Charging: iPhone 15 Pro Max supports 20W charging, while Galaxy S23 Ultra supports 45W charging.
- Biometric Authentication: iPhone 15 Pro Max features Face ID, while Galaxy S23 Ultra has an under-display fingerprint sensor.
Design and Display: iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra
In recent generations, Apple has made efforts to reduce the weight of its flagship iPhones. The iPhone 15 Pro Max weighs 221 grams, which is lighter than the 234 grams of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. For comparison, it’s worth noting that last year, the iPhone 14 Pro Max was released with a weight of 240 grams.
On the other hand, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is a larger and heavier device compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, making it less suitable for one-handed use. However, the Galaxy S23 Ultra excels in terms of engineering design and is considered an exceptional product. Nevertheless, it lacks some of the design finesse found in the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Samsung has compensated for this by offering attractive color options for their flagship.
In the midst of this, it’s important not to overlook the stylus, the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s winning feature, which has been a staple of the Galaxy Note series and Galaxy S Ultra. Many Samsung users have found these styluses to be essential tools for tasks such as note-taking, signing documents, and taking advantage of the Camera’s attractive features.
The Samsung stylus, known as the S Pen, is also included with the phone and does not require any additional expense to purchase.
Apple continues to use the same 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display in its new flagship generation. They have successfully reduced the bezels slightly, allowing for a slightly smaller device size. This display also offers a maximum brightness of 2000 nits, providing users with the ability to view the screen even in bright lighting conditions.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera vs. Galaxy S23 Ultra Camera
The iPhone 15 Pro Max still uses the same 48-megapixel Camera as the iPhone 14 Pro Max as its main Camera. However, with some advancements and optimizations, the 2023 model has become a more suitable product for photography. Among these capabilities, it includes the ability to choose the desired focal length, the ability to capture images with a resolution of 24 megapixels, and a periscope camera with a 5x optical zoom capability, which has recently been added to the iPhone.
A new version of Apple’s photonics engine, along with improved HDR quality, has made the current generation of iPhones slightly ahead of their previous generation in terms of photography. In the meantime, the portrait photography capability of the new Apple phone has also been enhanced, allowing for depth information to be captured even when taking regular photos. This means that at any time, any of the captured images can be transformed into a portrait image.
Furthermore, as expected, the higher quality of images captured in low light conditions is another feature that will be available to iPhone 15 Pro Max users.
However, the combination of these new features alone is not enough to surpass the Galaxy S23 Ultra from Samsung, as this phone excels in the camera department. The main Camera of the S23 Ultra features a 200-megapixel ISOCELL HP2 sensor with a 1/1.3-inch size and delivers impressive performance.
This Camera, under favorable lighting conditions, utilizes pixel binning technology and achieves highly detailed images. The periscope camera of the Galaxy S23 Ultra, on the other hand, is positioned at a much higher level and allows for a significant level of digital zoom, which is truly impressive!
It’s worth noting that the resolution of the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s selfie camera has decreased from 40 megapixels in the previous generation to 12 megapixels. However, this does not necessarily result in a decrease in image quality; in fact, it can even enhance the overall image quality.
On the other hand, it is still unclear whether the FaceTime camera in the iPhone 15 Pro Max will utilize a new sensor or continue to use the 12-megapixel sensor from the previous generation.
In terms of video recording capabilities, the iPhone is still capable of recording videos with a maximum resolution of 4K and a frame rate of 60 frames per second. However, the new and exciting camera features of this phone will provide a more enjoyable experience for users. For example, the replacement of the Lightning port in previous iPhones with a USB-C port enables the transfer of 48-megapixel ProRAW images from the iPhone to a Mac in the fastest possible time.
Furthermore, the ability to directly record videos onto internal storage is another new and exciting feature exclusive to the Pro and Pro Max models of the iPhone 15.
In this regard, it is important to mention that the Galaxy S23 Ultra is capable of recording videos with an impressive resolution of 8K and frame rates of 24 and 30 frames per second.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max specs vs S23 Ultra specs
Apple has used the new A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models. This chip is manufactured using a 3-nanometer process and, as a result, has billions of transistors more than the previous A16 Bionic chip. On the other hand, the graphics processor used in the A17 Pro chip will also be significantly more powerful than last year.
These two factors have resulted in improved performance and more efficient energy consumption in the new generation, making it an unrivaled product. In this regard, Apple claims that the processing and graphics capabilities of the A17 Pro chips have increased by 20% compared to the previous generation.
On the other hand, Samsung has decided to use Qualcomm chips instead of Exynos chips in its flagship Galaxy S series phones for the first time this year. The Galaxy S23 series utilizes the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, which is manufactured using a 4-nanometer process and offers the best performance among all the chips used in Android phones.
Samsung has specifically used an exclusive version of this chip in its flagship devices, which is overclocked and faster than other devices using the Snapdragon 8 Gen. 2. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is also likely to have 8GB of RAM, which is the same as the base model of the S23 Ultra. However, iOS has always been known for its highly optimized performance and efficient use of RAM and memory. Therefore, a higher RAM capacity in Samsung flagships is unlikely to create any significant advantage for them.
On the other hand, if we compare models of Samsung and Apple flagships with the same RAM capacity, the iPhone is likely to be capable of opening more background tabs. Overall, it can be expected that the Galaxy S23 Ultra with 12GB of RAM will offer the best current multitasking performance. The table below showcases the benchmark scores achieved by the recent generations of Apple flagships in single-core and multi-core tests, comparing them to the S23 Ultra and Google Pixel 7 Pro.
Furthermore, it will come equipped with the iOS 17 operating system by default and will receive software updates and security patches for a minimum of five years. This means that you can expect this phone to be fully supported by Apple’s software until at least 2028.
The software support for the Galaxy S23 Ultra will also continue for another four years, until 2027, with Samsung guaranteeing security updates for this phone until 2028 as well.
The iOS 17 operating system introduces significant changes in influential areas such as the Phone, Messages, and FaceTime sections, as well as improvements in other parts like Maps and Siri.
In this operating system, we witness the introduction of a new application called Journal, which allows users to plan their daily tasks and a new StandBy mode that displays useful information such as the time, weather, and more on the Always-On Display (AOD) even when the phone screen is off. In this operating system, you can easily and hassle-free transfer your contacts to other iPhone users and personalize the iOS lock screen with more customization options.
The Battery
Taking into account that the iPhone 14 Pro Max managed to outperform the Galaxy S23 Ultra in battery performance tests, it can be expected that the situation will continue in the same vein in the new generation, with Apple gaining an advantage in this regard!
However, Apple typically does not disclose the battery capacity during its unveiling events. Therefore, it is difficult to provide an exact opinion on the battery capacity of this phone. However, some sources have described the battery capacity of this flagship device as 4422mAh.
In the conducted tests, the iPhone 14 Pro Max achieved a battery life of 13 hours and 9 minutes, placing it at the top of the list of mobile phones with the highest battery life in the world. This happened while the battery life of the Samsung Galaxy S23, under conditions where the display refresh rate was set at 60Hz, was 13 hours and 39 minutes.
Based on the history we have from Apple, it can be expected that the battery life of the iPhone 15 Pro Max will improve compared to its predecessor. However, as mentioned, there is no precise information available regarding the battery capacity or exact battery life. Nevertheless, Apple claims that the battery life of its new flagship device will be at least on par with the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
However, in terms of charging speed, the scale tilts towards Samsung, as the device supports ultra-fast 45-watt charging, while Apple continues to support only 20-watt charging, similar to its mobile phones five years ago. Even the replacement of Lightning ports with USB-C ports has not been able to increase the charging speed of iPhones, as the iPhone 15 Pro Max will not exceed 20 watts of charging power.
Comparison of Sound Quality, Apple and Samsung Flagships 2023
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is equipped with stereo speakers. One of these speakers is located at the bottom of the device, while the other will be present at the top, serving as a dedicated speaker for phone calls.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max already offered one of the highest sound qualities among all flagship devices in 2023. Therefore, expectations are very high for the new generation of Apple flagships. This holds for the Galaxy S23 Ultra as well, as this device will provide one of the best sound qualities among all products in the market.
On the other hand, in terms of haptic feedback for buttons and body response, few companies can compete with Apple’s high-precision Taptic Engine. However, this does not mean that the vibrations and responses of the Galaxy S23 Ultra have low quality. Samsung has also succeeded in providing excellent performance in this area, offering one of the best haptic feedback experiences among flagship devices.
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