Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra / Apple iPhone 13 Pro

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: iPhone 13 Pro, 6.1-inch; 128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB. Regional model numbers A2483, A2636, A2638, A2639, A2640; band support varies by model. The larger iPhone 13 Pro Max and the 60 Hz iPhone 13 are separate models.

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy S23 UltraApple iPhone 13 Pro
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
6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED with ProMotion (adaptive up to 120 Hz); 2532 × 1170 pixels, 460 ppi; HDR, True Tone, wide colour (P3)

ProMotion changes the refresh rate with content: it rises to 120 Hz for scrolling and supported games for smoother motion and drops for static content to save battery. Typical maximum brightness is 1000 nits, with 1200 nits peak for HDR; typical contrast is 2,000,000:1. With the rounded corners the rectangle measures 6.06 inches and the viewable area is slightly less.

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
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ProcessorSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy

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

Samsung
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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
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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
12 MP Telephoto (ƒ/2.8), 12 MP Wide (ƒ/1.5, sensor-shift OIS, 100% Focus Pixels) and 12 MP Ultra Wide (ƒ/1.8, 120°); 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out, up to 15x digital; LiDAR Scanner

The telephoto gives a 6x optical zoom range in total. The ultra-wide camera handles macro photos and video. The LiDAR Scanner measures depth to help low-light focus and Night mode portraits. Apple ProRAW is a photo format that keeps raw data for editing.

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
Dolby Vision HDR up to 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps; ProRes up to 4K at 30 fps; Cinematic mode 1080p at 30 fps; 1080p slo-mo at 120/240 fps; macro video

ProRes is a professional video format with lighter compression for editing; files are very large. Cinematic mode blurs the background and can shift focus between people.

Apple
Front camera12 MP, F2.2, 80°

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

Samsung
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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 22 hours video (20 hours streamed), up to 75 hours audio; built-in lithium-ion battery; 15 W MagSafe and 7.5 W Qi wireless charging; about 50% in 30 minutes with a 20 W or higher adapter

The fast-charge figure comes from Apple’s test with a 20 W adapter, sold separately. MagSafe uses a magnet array on 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
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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
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SecuritySamsung Knox, Knox Vault

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

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

Samsung does not recommend beach or pool use.

Samsung
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Size and weight78.1 × 163.4 × 8.9 mm; 234 g Samsung146.7 × 71.5 × 7.65 mm; 204 g Apple
Build—Ceramic Shield front, textured matte glass back, stainless steel band Apple
Water and dust resistance—IP68 (IEC 60529; maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes)

Apple notes this resistance is not permanent and may decrease with normal wear; liquid damage is not covered by warranty.

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 has a 4-core GPU; the Pro version has one more 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 at 30 fps.

Apple
Front camera and Face ID—12 MP TrueDepth, ƒ/2.2; Face ID

The front camera also records 4K Dolby Vision, ProRes and Cinematic mode.

Apple
Cellular and wireless—5G (sub-6 GHz; mmWave as well on the US model), Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO, Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax) 2x2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0, Ultra Wideband chip, NFC with reader mode

Model numbers vary by region: A2483 (US), A2636 (Canada, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia), A2639 (China mainland, Hong Kong, Macao), A2640 and A2638 (other countries). Band support differs by model number.

Apple
SIM—Nano-SIM + eSIM (physical SIM tray on these models)

Apple says the SIM tray is on the left side and the IMEI is etched on it.

Apple
Location—GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou; digital compass; iBeacon Apple
Port and video out—Lightning; up to 1080p video via Lightning Digital AV Adapter; up to 4K HDR over AirPlay

Adapters are sold separately.

Apple
Audio formats—AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Atmos; spatial audio playback Apple
Sensors—Face ID, LiDAR Scanner, barometer, three-axis gyro, accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor Apple
Operating system—iOS 15 at launch Apple