Apple iPhone 16 / Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Apple says the A18, built on second-generation 3 nm technology, is up to 30% faster in CPU and 40% in GPU than the A16 Bionic and supports hardware ray tracing. The A18 Pro in iPhone 16 Pro is a different chip.

Typical brightness is 1000 nits, 1600 nits HDR and 2000 nits peak outdoors, with a 1-nit minimum. 2,000,000:1 contrast, P3 wide colour and True Tone. Apple does not list a refresh rate; ProMotion and always-on display are on the Pro models.

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.

Apple says it is 50% tougher than the first-generation Ceramic Shield. The back is colour-infused glass and the frame is aluminium.

The 2× view comes from the centre of the 48 MP sensor rather than a separate lens. There is a 4× optical zoom range and up to 10× digital zoom; the ultra-wide camera can shoot macro.

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.

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

Apple says Camera Control combines a tactile switch for clicks, a force sensor for light presses and a capacitive sensor for swipes. It opens the camera, takes photos and starts video recording.

Ultra Wideband availability varies by region. Emergency SOS and Roadside Assistance via satellite are supported, with service duration and country coverage set by Apple.

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

SIM layout may vary by country model.

Wired data transfer is limited to USB 2 speed, so moving large video files by cable is slower than on the Pro models.

Reaching 50% in 30 minutes over MagSafe needs a 30 W or higher adapter. There is no adapter in the box, only a USB-C cable.

Measured under Apple’s test conditions; real results vary with use and settings. Apple does not publish the capacity in mAh.

Splash, water and dust resistance is not permanent and may decrease over time; liquid damage is not covered by warranty.

The high-g accelerometer is used for Crash Detection.

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

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

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

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

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%.

Update timing can vary by model and market.

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

Samsung does not recommend beach or pool use.