Apple iPhone 15 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 15 Manufactured in September, 2023, with display 6.1 with chipsetApple A16 Bionic, vs Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Manufactured in August, 2020 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 990. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 15
  • Lighter design: 171g vs 208g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5.1
  • Supports DisplayPort
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 496ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 3349mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 6/512 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 15 and Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.1 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1179x2556 pixels 1440x3088 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 460 ppi 496 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (10-120 Hz)
Max brightness 2000 nits 600 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 86.4 % 91.8 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 15
1646 nits
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
1020 nits
sRGB gamut99.6 %96.9 %
PWM (Flicker)306 Hz245 Hz
Response time2 ms6 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 147.6 mm (5.81 in) 164.8 mm (6.49 in)
Width 71.6 mm (2.82 in) 77.2 mm (3.04 in)
Thickness 7.8 mm (0.31 in) 8.1 mm (0.32 in)
Weight 171 g (6.03 oz) 208 g (7.34 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Green
- Pink
- Yellow
- White
- Black
- Brown
Fingerprint sensor No Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 15
86.4 %
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
91.8 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 15 and Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A16 Bionic Samsung Exynos 990
Max Frequency 3460 MHz 2730 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 8 (2 + 2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2.02 (Sawtooth)
- 2/3.46 (Everest)
- 4/2 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2.5 (Cortex-A76)
- 2/2.73 (Exynos M5)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 4 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Yes
Graphics Apple A16 GPU Mali-G77 MP11
GPU Cores 640 704
GPU Frequency 1398 MHz 800 MHz
FLOPS 1789.4 GFLOPS 1126 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 15
2599
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
1173
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 15
6545
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
3168
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)25991173
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)65453168
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 15
1415281
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
765381
CPU378046207699
GPU449766247886
Memory261642144292
UX325827165504
NanoReview Score1415281765381
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 15
9632
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
4250
Max Surface Temp.44.3 °C37.3 °C
Stability81 %49 %
Graphics Test59 fps25 fps
Graphics Score96324250
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Apple iPhone 15
n/a
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
10807
Writing scoren/a12145
Web scoren/a8848
Video editingn/a6906
Data manipulationn/a8762
NanoReview Scoren/a10807

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 6 GB - 8 GB
- 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 4 n/a
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 3.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS iOS 17 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.5) Android 10 (Upgradeable to Android 13)
OS Size 18 GB 34.7 GB
UI Skin n/a One UI 5.0

Battery

Volume 3349 mAh 4500 mAh
Max Charging Power 20 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (58% in 30 min) Yes (43% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:50 h 1:20 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 15
25:31
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
18:32
Web Browsing10:47 h07:27 h
Video Playback16:55 h12:33 h
Games05:36 h05:16 h
Standby Mode112 h81 h

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 108 MP
Photo resolution 8064x6048 pixels 12000x9000 pixels
Zoom 114 Optical, 5x
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Up to 24FPS
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 240 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 108 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Depth: 0.3 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix48 MP108 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.8
Focal length26 mm26 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung Bright S5KHM1
Sensor size1/1.51/1.33
Pixel size1 μm0.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Laser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/3.0
Focal lengthn/a103 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung S5K3M5
Sensor sizen/a1/3.4
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX633Samsung S5K2L3
Sensor size1/2.551/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 15
147
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
122
Video quality
Apple iPhone 15
153
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
106
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 15
145
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
120
Bokeh80n/a
Preview84n/a

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/1.9 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX714 Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3.6 1/3.2
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor Yes No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5.1
Bluetooth features LE PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*n/a2
SIM TypeeSIMNano
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoYes
2G BandsGSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)GSM 700 / 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 / 2000 / 2300 / 2500
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)UMTS 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
LTE Bands*LTE ()LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2000/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)
LTE category1820
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers n/a Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No Yes
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 15
81.6 dB
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
88.8 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2023 yr August, 2020 yr
Release Date September, 2023 yr August, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) n/a 1299
MSRP ($) 799 n/a
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
- Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 15 the clear winner in this comparison.

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