Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra / Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Galaxy S23 Ultra (2023): 8 GB + 256 GB, 12 GB + 512 GB or 12 GB + 1 TB. Every market uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. The Galaxy S23 and S23+ and the later S24 Ultra are separate models.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: iPhone 13 Pro Max (2021); 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB. Apple’s spec page lists model codes A2483 and A2484; band support varies by country model. The iPhone 13 Pro (6.1-inch), iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 Pro Max are separate models.

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy S23 UltraApple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Release year20232021
Display6.8-inch QHD+ Edge Dynamic AMOLED 2X; 1–120 Hz adaptive refresh; 1750 nits; 240 Hz touch sampling in Game Mode

Adaptive refresh drops to as low as 1 Hz when content is static to save power and rises to 120 Hz when scrolling and gaming. Vision Booster adjusts colour and contrast in bright conditions across three lighting levels; the edge curve is reduced compared with the S22 Ultra.

Samsung		6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED with ProMotion; 2778 × 1284 pixels, 458 ppi; adaptive refresh up to 120 Hz; HDR, True Tone, wide colour (P3); typical 1000 nits, 1200 nits HDR; 2,000,000:1 contrast

ProMotion lowers the refresh rate for static content and raises it to 120 Hz for scrolling and animations, for both smoothness and battery savings. Because of the rounded corners, the diagonal measured as a rectangle is 6.68 inches.

Apple
Front and back glassCorning Gorilla Glass Victus 2; Armor Aluminum frame

According to Samsung, the S23 series was the first S series to use Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

Samsung		—
ProcessorSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy

Samsung says the vapour chamber is larger on every S23-series model.

Samsung		—
Memory and storage8 GB + 256 GB, 12 GB + 512 GB or 12 GB + 1 TB

Memory depends on the storage option; usable space is lower because of preloaded software. There is no memory card slot.

Samsung		—
Rear cameras200 MP Wide (F1.7, 85°), 12 MP Ultra Wide (F2.2, 120°), 10 MP 3x telephoto (F2.4, 36°), 10 MP 10x telephoto (F4.9, 11°)

The 200 MP sensor outputs 200, 50 or 12 MP images through pixel binning. 100x Space Zoom combines 10x optical with 10x AI-assisted digital zoom; image quality may deteriorate beyond 10x. The optical stabilisation angle was doubled compared with the S22 Ultra.

Samsung		Triple 12 MP: Telephoto (ƒ/2.8, 3x optical zoom), Wide (ƒ/1.5, sensor-shift OIS), Ultra Wide (ƒ/1.8, 120°); 6x optical zoom range, up to 15x digital; LiDAR Scanner; Apple ProRAW

Macro photography works by switching to the Ultra Wide camera when you get close to a subject. The LiDAR Scanner speeds up focusing in the dark and enables Night mode portraits.

Apple
VideoUp to 8K at 30 fps

The Expert RAW app (downloaded separately from the Galaxy Store) offers RAW capture at up to 50 MP.

Samsung		Up to 4K 60 fps with Dolby Vision HDR; ProRes up to 4K 30 fps (1080p 30 fps on 128 GB); Cinematic mode 1080p 30 fps; macro video; 1080p 120/240 fps slow motion

ProRes is a professional video format that edits with little loss in editing software; its files are much larger than HEVC.

Apple
Front camera12 MP, F2.2, 80°

On the S23 series the front camera gets fast autofocus and 60 fps Super HDR.

Samsung		—
Battery and charging5000 mAh (typical; rated minimum 4855 mAh); 45 W wired charging; Fast Wireless Charging 2.0; Wireless PowerShare

45 W requires a separately sold 45 W adapter and a 5 A USB-C cable; wired charging is compatible with QC2.0 and AFC. Wireless PowerShare charges Qi-compatible devices from the back of the phone when the battery is above 30%.

Samsung		Up to 28 hours video (25 hours streamed), up to 95 hours audio; built-in lithium-ion battery; 15 W MagSafe, 7.5 W Qi wireless; about 50% in 30 minutes with a 20 W or higher adapter

The adapter is not included and is sold separately. MagSafe uses a magnet array in the back to align chargers and accessories.

Apple
Software and updatesLaunched with Android 13 and One UI 5.1; four Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates

Update timing can vary by model and market.

Samsung		—
Connectivity5G, LTE, Wi‑Fi 6E, Wi‑Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5.3

Using Wi‑Fi 6E’s 6 GHz band needs a Wi‑Fi 6E router and market availability.

Samsung		—
SecuritySamsung Knox, Knox Vault

Knox Vault keeps critical data in separate hardware isolated from the operating system.

Samsung		—
Water resistanceIP68 (up to 30 minutes at 1.5 metres in fresh water)

Samsung does not recommend beach or pool use.

Samsung		—
Size and weight78.1 × 163.4 × 8.9 mm; 234 g Samsung160.8 × 78.1 × 7.65 mm; 240 g Apple
Body—Ceramic Shield front, textured matte glass back, stainless-steel frame; Graphite, Gold, Silver, Sierra Blue, Alpine Green Apple
Water and dust resistance—IP68 (IEC 60529; up to 6 metres for 30 minutes) Apple
Chip—A15 Bionic: 6-core CPU (2 performance + 4 efficiency), 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

The A15 Bionic in the iPhone 13 and 13 mini has a 4-core GPU; the Pro models have one more GPU core.

Apple
Storage—128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB

Capacity is chosen at purchase; there is no memory card slot. On the 128 GB model ProRes video is limited to 1080p 30 fps instead of 4K.

Apple
Front camera and Face ID—12 MP TrueDepth, ƒ/2.2; Face ID Apple
Cellular and wireless—5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave) with 4x4 MIMO, Gigabit LTE, Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax) 2x2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0, Ultra Wideband chip, NFC with reader mode

5G and LTE bands vary by model number and carrier; Apple advises checking with your carrier.

Apple
SIM—Nano-SIM + eSIM or dual eSIM

eSIM is not supported in all regions; micro-SIM cards are not compatible.

Apple
Port and video output—Lightning; up to 1080p via Lightning Digital AV Adapter; up to 4K HDR via AirPlay Apple
Audio formats—AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Atmos; spatial audio playback Apple
Software—Launched with iOS 15 Apple