Yesterday was Samsung day. The South Korean company presented the new flagship of its range of mobiles, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and our Xataka colleagues already consider it a success that for once they have chosen to stop changes and innovations and reinforce a mobile that already captured attention.
This Galaxy S23 Ultra becomes the new direct rival of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, so it is worth studying its specifications and putting them side by side with those of the best Apple iPhone. You have to assess these raw data, although you also have to take other things into account.
Comparison of specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the iPhone 14 Pro Max
| SAMSUNG GALAXY S23 ULTRA | iphone 14 pro max | |
|---|---|---|
| dimensions and weight | 163.3 x 78.1 x 8.9 millimeters
233 grams |
160.7 x 77.6 x 7.85 mm 240 grams |
| SCREEN | 6.8-inch AMOLED
QHD+ resolution at 3,080 x 1,440 Adaptive refresh from 1 to 120Hz 100% DCI-P3 Perforated panel Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
Super Retina XDR 6.7 inches True Tone, HDR ProMotion 120Hz 2,778 x 1,284 px, 458 dpi 2,000 nits, contrast 2,000,000:1 Always-on screen dynamic island |
| chip | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Aderno 740 | A16 Bionic |
| RAM | 8 or 12GB | 6GB |
| storage | 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB of internal memory | 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB of internal memory |
| REAR CAMERAS | Main: 200 megapixels f / 1.7 OIS
Angular: 12 megapixels f/.22 120º 13mm Zoom: 10 megapixel f/2.4 OIS 3X 69mm Zoom: 10 megapixel f/4.9 OIS 10X 230mm |
Main: 48 megapixels f / 1.78, second generation shift sensor
Ultra Wide: 12 megapixel f/2.2 13mm Zoom: 12 megapixel f/2.8 OIS 77mm OIS |
| FRONT CAMERA | 12 megapixel f/2.2 25mm | 12 megapixel f/1.9, autofocus |
| battery | 5,000mAh
45W fast charge 15W wireless charging |
4,323mAh 20W fast charge 15W wireless charging |
| OS | Android 13
One UI 5.1 |
iOS 16 |
| connectivity | 5G (2xNano + eSIM)
Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.3 GPS nfc uwb usb type c |
5G (sub-6GHz)
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax with 2×2 MIMO) GPS uwb lightning cable |
| others | IP68
Compatible with Samsung DeX S-Pen with 2.8ms latency No satellite calls |
IP68 Stereo sound FaceID Emergency satellite call service |
| price | From 1,409 euros | From 1,469 euros (1,421 euros on Amazon) |
A lot of power, but you have to control it
The key moves Samsung has made here are the move to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip which should see an increase in performance, and a sensor of an impressive 200 megapixels for the main lens of your camera.
The difference in RAM memory is also obvious: the 12 GB possible in the best models of the Galaxy S23 Ultra double the 6 GB of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. And one last subtle but important difference: although it was rumored, finally the Galaxy S23 Ultra they do not have satellite call service for emergencies. TM Roh, head of Samsung’s mobile division, believes that the infrastructure dedicated to it is still too limited to offer it.
Overcoming the optimization and efficiency that Apple achieves with iOS and its iPhones is a challenge that cannot be solved with more memory or more megapixels.
Seeing that other characteristics are already very similar, what we see is that the components of this Galaxy S23 Ultra bet on quantity: 200 megapixels, 12 GB of RAM memory… and it is very easy to conclude that the iPhone 14 Pro Max will perform in worse conditions for this: It’s good to have all this potential but you have to control it.
I am sure that the analyzes of the Galaxy S23 will draw very good conclusions: the camera will take spectacular photos and the general performance of Android will not be slow at all. But overcoming the optimization and efficiency that Apple achieves with iOS and its iPhone is already a greater challenge.
On the one hand, we will be able to see this better as soon as the complete analyzes are published (our colleagues from Xataka are already working on it), the final performance of mobile phones can be compared in a certain way with tests such as Geekbench. It will be there adding the sensation and final experience of the user with the system, when we see if there is a real difference in behavior between both terminals.
It’s going to be an interesting few months to see if there’s anything to make this move by Samsung stand out. And I say months, because these Galaxy S23 Ultra only have until September to stand out until Apple presents its iPhone 15 in September.