Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Comparison

The high-end smartphone market is an ever-evolving place, with companies pushing forward new and exciting features in order to stay ahead of the competition. This year, two of the biggest names in the industry, Apple and Samsung, are set to bring us two of the most advanced smartphones yet - the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max is a premium device from Apple that is set to be released in September 2023. It features a 6.70 inch OLED screen with a resolution of 1290x2796 (QHD), a 1000 cd/m² (typ) brightness and a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio. The device also has stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos audio and a noise-cancelling microphone. It’s made of Corning Gorilla Glass, Titanium and glass which makes it highly durable. The usable surface is 87.8%.

The hardware of the device includes the Apple A17 Bionic (3nm) processor, 8GB RAM (LPDDR5X), 256GB, 512GB and 1TB of internal storage (NVMe). Its AnTuTu benchmark score (v10) comes in at 1641883. The camera setup consists of a triple camera configuration with the main sensor being a Sony IMX803, 48.0Mpx sensor with an f/1.78 aperture. The wide angle + macro lens is 12.0Mpx with an f/2.2 aperture and the telephoto lens is 12.0Mpx with an f/2.8 aperture. The selfie camera is 12.0Mpx with an f/1.9 aperture. Optical Stabilization (OIS), 4K video support, 5x optical zoom, ultra wide angle lens 120º and digital zoom 25x are some of the other features of the camera.

In terms of connectivity, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max has Bluetooth 5.3, Dual SIM, USB Host 3.0, NFC, WiFi 6 (802.11ax), GPS (L1+L5) and eSIM support. It also has a 4441mAh battery with 27.0W fast charging support and wireless charging.

Samsung are releasing the Galaxy S23 Ultra in February 2023 and it’s already gaining plenty of attention. It features a 6.80 inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1440x3088 (WQHD+), a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a maximum brightness of 1200 cd/m². The device also has stereo speakers, Hi-Res Audio and a noise-cancelling microphone. Its materials include aluminium, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and glass for superior durability. The usable surface is 89.1%.

Under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen2 (3,36 GHz) (4nm) processor with 8GB or 12GB RAM (LPDDR5X). It has 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of internal storage (UFS Storage 4.0). Its AnTuTu benchmark score (v10) comes in at 1521862. The device has a quadruple camera setup with the main sensor being a Samsung ISOCELL HP2, 200.0Mpx, f/1.7 sensor. The wide angle lens is a Sony IMX564, 12.2Mpx sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. The telephoto + portrait lens is a 10.0Mpx sensor with an f/2.4 aperture while the telephoto lens is a 10.0Mpx, f/4.9 aperture. The selfie camera is a Samsung S5K3LU, 12.0Mpx, f/2.2 sensor. Optical Stabilization (OIS), 4K and 8K video support, 3x and 10x zoom with OIS, 100x digital zoom and HDR10+ are some of the other features of the camera.

On the connectivity front, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra supports Bluetooth 5.3, Dual SIM, NFC, WiFi 6 (802.11ax), GPS (L1+L5) and eSIM. It also has a 5000mAh battery with 45.0W fast charging support and wireless charging.

Both the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra are powerful devices which promise to offer users a cutting edge experience. The former offers a triple camera setup with Optical Stabilization (OIS) and 4K video support and the latter has a quadruple camera array with OIS, 4K and 8K video support and HDR10+. Both devices will have a competitive price tag when they launch and are sure to give their rivals a run for their money.