Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Manufactured in September, 2024, with display 6.9 with chipsetApple A18 Pro, vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Manufactured in February, 2023with chipsetSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Lighter design: 227g vs 233g
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
  • Higher pixel density: 500ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4685mAh
  • Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 8/1024 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S23 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 6.9 in 6.8 in
Resolution 1320x2868 pixels 1440x3088 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.3:9
Pixel density 458 ppi 500 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 2000 nits 850 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 92.3 % 89.5 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
1813 nits
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
1269 nits
sRGB gamut99.6 %96.9 %
PWM (Flicker)240 Hz240 Hz
Response time1 ms2 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163 mm (6.42 in) 163.4 mm (6.43 in)
Width 77.6 mm (3.06 in) 78.1 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 8.25 mm (0.32 in) 8.9 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 227 g (8.01 oz) 233 g (8.22 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Silver
- Gold
- White
- Black
- Gray
- Blue
- Green
- Red
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor No Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
92.3 %
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
89.5 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A18 Pro Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy
Max Frequency 4040 MHz 3360 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3)
Architecture - 4/2.42 (Sawtooth)
- 2/4.05 (Everest)
- 3/2 (Cortex-A510)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A710)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A715)
- 1/3.2 (Cortex-X3)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 3 nm 4 nm
Neural Processor Neural Engine Hexagon
Graphics Apple A18 Pro GPU Adreno 740
GPU Cores 768 1536
GPU Frequency 1490 MHz 719 MHz
FLOPS 2289 GFLOPS 2089 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
3564
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
1976
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
8880
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
5221
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)35641976
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)88805221
Geekbench Compute (GPU)33019n/a
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
1813449
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
1541246
CPU465726371084
GPU721738600732
Memory250875299004
UX375110270462
NanoReview Score18134491541246
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
12160
Max Surface Temp.n/a34.8 °C
Stabilityn/a64 %
Graphics Testn/a72 fps
Graphics Scoren/a12160
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
16130
Writing scoren/a19799
Web scoren/a16101
Video editingn/a7815
Data manipulationn/a13142
NanoReview Scoren/a16130

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB - 8 GB
- 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency n/a 4200 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity256 GB- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 4.0
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 18 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.5) Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 18 GB 39.9 GB
UI Skin n/a One UI 6.1

Battery

Volume 4685 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 30 W 45 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (46% in 30 min) Yes (68% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:57 h 0:59 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
35:01
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
26:01
Web Browsing14:34 h09:57 h
Video Playback22:01 h15:38 h
Games07:12 h06:22 h
Standby Mode163 h130 h

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 200 MP
Photo resolution 8064x6048 pixels 16320x12240 pixels
Zoom 142 Optical, 10x
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Yes (Up to 30 fps)
4K Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 960 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Depth
Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix48 MP200 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.7
Focal length24 mm23 mm
SensorSony IMX803Samsung ISOCELL HP2
Sensor size1/1.281/1.3
Pixel size1.22 μm0.64 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Laser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP10 MP
Aperturef/2.8f/4.9
Focal length120 mm230 mm
SensorSony IMX913Sony IMX754
Sensor size1/3.061/3.52
Pixel size1.12 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix48 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX972Sony IMX564
Sensor size1/2.551/2.55
Pixel size0.7 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
157
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
139
Video quality
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
159
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
137
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
157
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
140
Bokeh8070
Preview9373
Zoomn/a141

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/1.9 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX714 Samsung S5K3LU
Sensor size 1/3.6 1/3.24
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Optical Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor Yes No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
139
Video quality
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
145

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 6E (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 MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5.3
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes Yes DP 1.2
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*n/a1
SIM TypeeSIMNano
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)n/a
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)n/a
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/B53/B66/B71)n/a
LTE categoryn/a20
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 16 Pro Max
92.6 dB
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
91.8 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2024 yr February, 2023 yr
Release Date September, 2024 yr February, 2023 yr
Launch Price ($) n/a 1199
MSRP ($) 1199 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 No

Note

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max:

The US version of the smartphone exclusively supports eSIM, while the international model features both a physical SIM slot and eSIM capability. In China, the device is available with dual physical SIM card slots only.

* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
3 (50%)
3 (50%)
Total Votes: 6

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