Apple iPhone 15 vs Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 15 Manufactured in September, 2023, with display 6.1 with chipsetApple A16 Bionic, vs Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, Manufactured in March, 2020with 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 220g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 511ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 3349mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.1 vs 2
  • Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 6/512 GB
- 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 16/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 15 and Samsung Galaxy S20 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 1440x3200 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 460 ppi 511 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 2000 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 86.4 % 90.6 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 15
1646 nits
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
886 nits
sRGB gamut99.6 %99.2 %
PWM (Flicker)306 Hz240 Hz
Response time2 ms6.2 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 147.6 mm (5.81 in) 166.9 mm (6.57 in)
Width 71.6 mm (2.82 in) 76 mm (2.99 in)
Thickness 7.8 mm (0.31 in) 8.8 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 171 g (6.03 oz) 220 g (7.76 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Green
- Pink
- Yellow
- Black
- Gray
Fingerprint sensor No Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 15
86.4 %
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
90.6 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 15 and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A16 Bionic Samsung Exynos 990
Max Frequency 3460 MHz 3020 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 S20 Ultra
1159
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 15
6545
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
3158
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)25991159
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)65453158
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 15
1415281
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
760316
CPU378046220525
GPU449766225011
Memory261642146451
UX325827168329
NanoReview Score1415281760316
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 15
9632
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
4320
Max Surface Temp.44.3 °C38.6 °C
Stability81 %53 %
Graphics Test59 fps25 fps
Graphics Score96324320
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Apple iPhone 15
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
11163
Writing scoren/a13391
Web scoren/a8714
Video editingn/a6104
Data manipulationn/a9006
NanoReview Scoren/a11163

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 6 GB - 12 GB
- 16 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 3200 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB- 128 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 3.0
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS iOS 17 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.5) Android 10.0 (Upgradeable to Android 13)
OS Size 18 GB 23.7 GB
UI Skin n/a One UI 5.1

Battery

Volume 3349 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 20 W 45 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
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 (100% in 80 min)
Full Charge Time 1:50 h 1:20 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 15
25:31
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
18:01
Web Browsing10:47 h06:27 h
Video Playback16:55 h11:23 h
Games05:36 h04:23 h
Standby Mode112 h91 h

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 108 MP
Photo resolution 8064x6048 pixels 12032x9204 pixels
Zoom 114 Optical, 4x
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 60 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: 48 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)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a48 MP
Aperturen/af/3.5
Focal lengthn/a103 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX586
Sensor sizen/a1/2
Pixel sizen/a0.8 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX633Samsung S5K2LA
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 S20 Ultra
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 15
153
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
n/a
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 15
145
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
n/a
Bokeh80n/a
Preview84n/a

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 40 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 7864x5200 pixels
Aperture f/1.9 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX714 Samsung S5KGH1
Sensor size 1/3.6 1/2.65
Pixel size 1.12 μm 0.7 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 b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.1
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
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 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
LTE Bands*LTE ()LTE (B850/B900/B1700/B1900/B2100)
LTE category1822
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers n/a Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 15
81.6 dB
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
84.4 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2023 yr February, 2020 yr
Release Date September, 2023 yr March, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) n/a 1400
MSRP ($) 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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