IPhone 15 Pro Max Vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Which Flagship Phone Wins?
In this iPhone 15 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra comparison, it's a battle between two of the best phones money can buy. Using our in-depth photography and lab tests, I spent several days testing the two phones side-by-side to pick a winner.
As you'll see in our iPhone 15 Pro Max review, Apple's $1,199 flagship has a lot to offer, including a rugged titanium design, a lighter and more compact design, a new Smart Action button, and an innovative A17 Pro chip. There are some camera improvements and (finally) USB-C charging capability on board.
On the other hand, our Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review shows why it's our best camera phone champion and the best Android phone overall. It offers a large 200MP camera, two telephoto lenses, a great display and an integrated S Pen if you want it.
What is the best phone overall? This iPhone 15 Pro Max vs Galaxy S23 review will pick the winner and help you choose the best model for your money.
iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra. Specifications:
iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra. Price and value
Both the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Galaxy S23 Ultra are among the most expensive phones on the market. Apple's iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at $1,199 for 256GB of storage. If you want more, you can get 512GB for $1,399 and 1TB for $1,599.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra went on sale in February starting at $1,199 for 256GB of storage. You can upgrade to 512GB for $1,379 or 1TB for $1,619.
Check out our iPhone 15 Pro Max deals page and our Galaxy S23 deals page for the latest deals.
Winner: Random drawing
iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra: design
The iPhone 15 Pro Max starts with a clear advantage with its new titanium design. It replaces the stainless steel band on the iPhone 14 Pro Max and is stronger and lighter than the S23 Ultra's aluminum.
Apple has also reduced the bezels on the iPhone 15 Pro Max display, and the design is now slimmer. rounded edges are convenient to hold.
At 6.29 x 3.02 x 0.32 inches and 7.8 ounces, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is more compact and lighter than the S23 Ultra, which measures 6.4 x 3.0 x 0.35 inches. and are 8.2 oz. To be fair, the S23 Ultra has a slightly larger screen and an integrated S Pen.
Personally, I'm not a fan of the S23 Ultra's curved screen edges, which can sometimes lead to accidental touches on the screen. But Samsung's screen hole is smaller than iPhone 15 Pro Max's Dynamic Island.
Winner: iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra: Display
Both the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Galaxy S23 Ultra offer incredible OLED displays. The iPhone 15 Pro Max's 6.7-inch panel is slightly smaller than the Galaxy S23 Ultra's 6.8-inch display, but both offer vivid colors and sharp images, as well as excellent frame rates. The refresh rate is 120 Hz.
In comparison, I found the iPhone 15 Pro Max's display to be slightly brighter overall, which our test confirms. When displaying HDR content in our labs, the Pro Max achieved 1,500 nits, compared to the S23 Ultra's 1,444 nits. Indoors, the 15 Pro Max looked brighter, but Samsung's adaptive brightness had an advantage in direct sunlight.
In terms of color reproduction, the Galaxy S23 Ultra performed better in the sRGB test and in the DCI-P3 color space, but as you can see in the results, the colors of the iPhone 15 Pro Max were more accurate in our Delta. E test. .
I like that Samsung gives you a choice of color profiles, but when viewing content, the iPhone 15 Pro Max's screen looked a little better with higher contrast and larger objects, like in the Barbie movie trailer above.
Winner: Random drawing
iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra: Camera
You won't find phones with more powerful cameras. iPhone 15 Pro Max offers a 48MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a new 12MP tetraprism zoom lens with 5x optical zoom and 25x digital zoom. The front camera remains at 12 MP.
Besides zoom, the biggest improvements to the iPhone 15 Pro Max camera include portraits without switching to portrait mode, improved Smart HDR for better colors and lights, and an improved night mode.
In this photo of the Bryant Park fountain, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has more of a shine, but looks washed out. The iPhone 15 Pro Max features water that looks fresh from a fountain and better details in the fountain itself.
In this portrait shot, the Galaxy S23 Ultra produces a brighter photo, and my face stands out a little more because the Samsung camera handles shadows a little better. But you can see more details on my face and shirt in the iPhone 15 Pro Max photo. I'd probably share the Samsung photo despite the flatness of my face.
I drove past this building in Manhattan to test the zoom on both phones. Stone images are sharp enough on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra, but when you zoom in, I'd give the Pro Max a slight edge in overall sharpness. It also offers a warmer tone that some may prefer.
Tables are returned here at 25x digital zoom. This is the upper limit of what the iPhone 15 Pro Max can do, and quite a bit of noise is visible in the photo. The S23 Ultra's image is noticeably sharper, especially when it comes to fonts.
On the way back I took this photo of a stack of red wine barrels at City Winery. The iPhone 15 Pro Max shows more realistic shadows, but thanks to Samsung, the text on the case is easier to read. This is a draw for me.
iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra shine in night mode. In this product decor photo, Samsung is the brightest of the bunch. I like that the grass and flowers are sharper. The image on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is good, and the scarecrow in the middle is a more realistic orange.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max barely manages this comparison when hitting a volleyball in front of the pool in night mode. The bullet itself is sharper and more vibrant than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. But the concrete on the left has more definition thanks to the Samsung.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max masters this selfie trick with ease. My face and hair are more detailed and my eyes are brighter. At first glance, the image of the S23 Ultra certainly looks brighter and more attractive.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra does its best here, capturing the yellow flowers of grassy conifers and pumpkins. The flower petals are more detailed and the rest of the photo is sharp. The iPhone 15 Pro Max applies bokeh to everything but the flowers, which gives a sense of depth, but I still prefer the Samsung photo.
However, the Galaxy S23 Ultra wins in this close-up photo of the fruitcake. The batter itself has more defined edges and the strawberries and blueberries seem fresher. Colors look more natural on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, as Samsung tends to over-saturate things.
Both shots with ultra-wide-angle cameras in macro mode are mesmerizing in their own right. The center of the flower is sharper in the Samsung photo, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max photo has a bit more depth.
And what about ultra-wide-angle shots? This picture is very close between iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra. I like that the wood piles in the water in the foreground are brighter in the iPhone photo, but the building on the right is too warm. The Samsung image has a more even effect but less contrast.
While the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra can record in 4K and 60fps, I shot these clips at 30fps so I could take advantage of all the zoom levels. Samsung lets you change the zoom from 1x to 3x and 10x and more when shooting in 30fps mode.
Overall, I prefer the iPhone 15 Pro Max video because it has more contrast in the water and more gradient in the blue sky. And the transition between zoom levels is smoother than on the faster Samsung S23 Ultra. However, at 3x and 10x zoom, the Samsung's images look more detailed.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra. Performance:
The iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra are both fast phones, but Apple leads with its A17 Pro chip. This is the world's first 3nm processor for phones that integrates more transistors.
On Geekbench, which measures overall performance, the iPhone 15 Pro Max scored 2,700 and 6,900 in single-core and multi-core modes, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra was half as fast in single-core mode and half as fast in single-core mode. . .mode was 34% slower.
In terms of graphics performance, the comparison was closer, with the iPhone 15 Pro Max scoring 92fps in 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited, compared to the Samsung's 87fps. But Apple extended its lead in our video editing test, taking just 24.5 seconds to convert 4K video to 1080p. That's 15 seconds faster than the S23 Ultra.
Winner: iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra. Specifications:
The biggest feature of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the S Pen, which you can use to take notes, draw and edit beautiful photos. This can be a very valuable tool. Another useful feature is Multi-Window, which allows you to run two programs on the screen at the same time. This is useful for multitasking.
One UI 5.1 firmware for Galaxy S23 Ultra offers some interesting features. For example, with Bixby Text Call, Samsung Assistant can answer incoming calls for you, and you can send messages using text to speech or voice input.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max definitely has better specs. For example, the new action button lets you set as many shortcuts as you want, including stopping calls, as well as launching the camera, flashlight, voice recorder, and magnifier. With the Shortcuts app, you can customize thousands of options.
Another unique feature that the S23 Ultra can't compete with is the Dynamic Island. This section displays live notifications and activities to save you time. For example, I can see my Uber status at a glance while using other apps or quickly switch between songs on Spotify. As other developers figure it out, it will become more and more useful.
iOS 17 also has many interesting features. Sleep mode turns your iPhone into an alarm clock and a mini smart screen. And even if you need another iPhone with iOS 17 to do it, it's easier than ever to share contact information with NameDrop.
Winner: iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra. battery life and charging
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is simply one of the longest-lasting phones we've tested. The new Pro lasted 14 hours and 2 minutes in our battery tests, which included continuous web surfing over 5G.
For comparison, let's note that the Galaxy S23 Ultra screen worked for 13 hours and 9 minutes in 60 Hz mode, and 12:22 in adaptive mode. iPhone 15 Pro Max is the default adapter and you cannot change it.
On the plus side, the Galaxy S23 Ultra charges faster with its 45W charger, reaching 57% in 30 minutes. The iPhone 15 Pro Max managed only 41% with a 20W charger during the same period. We will conduct further tests to see how fast the iPhone can be with the 30W charger.
Winner: iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra: Verdict
The iPhone 15 Pro Max wins this very close contest for best phone overall. It delivers a stunning display with a stronger, lighter titanium design and offers higher performance and longer battery life than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
However, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra remains a standout phone and wins slightly in the camera department thanks to its brighter, sharper images and more powerful zoom.
We gave more points in the camera phase, and here the iPhone 15 Pro Max held its ground with several wins. It delivers more detailed portraits and selfies, and night mode performance and HDR video recording are excellent.
The deciding factor was actually battery life, as it's hard to argue with up to 2 hours longer battery life when the displays are in adaptive mode (1-120Hz). Therefore, the iPhone 15 Pro Max wins this very close competition, but the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra can definitely win the debut.
