Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos) and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos) vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

70 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
VS
n/a out 100
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos) Manufactured in October, 2023, with display 6.4 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2200, vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max, Manufactured in September, 2025with chipsetApple A19 Pro. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
  • Lighter design: 209g vs 221g
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 458ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 4729mAh vs 4500mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5.3

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB		 - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos) and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
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
Smartphones:
Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
vs
iPhone 17 Pro Max

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED OLED
Size 6.4 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1320x2868 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 458 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1450 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 83.2 % 92.6 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
904 nits
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
sRGB gamut99.4 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)120 Hzn/a
Response time1 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 158 mm (6.22 in) 163 mm (6.42 in)
Width 76.5 mm (3.01 in) 77.4 mm (3.05 in)
Thickness 8.2 mm (0.32 in) 8.2 mm (0.32 in)
Weight 209 g (7.37 oz) 221 g (7.8 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Green
- Purple		 - White
- Black
- Silver
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
83.2 %
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
92.6 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos) and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2200 Apple A19 Pro
Max Frequency 2800 MHz 4300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) n/a
Architecture - 4/1.82 (Cortex-A510)
- 3/2.52 (Cortex-A710)
- 1/2.8 (Cortex-X2)		 n/a
Process Samsung n/a
Transistor Size 4 nm n/a
Neural Processor Yes n/a
Graphics Samsung Xclipse 920 n/a
GPU Cores 768 n/a
GPU Frequency 1306 MHz n/a
FLOPS 2006.2 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
1599
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
3780
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
3909
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
10772
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)15993780
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)390910772
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
1170970
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
2112459
CPU325994510033
GPU440398791934
Memory174869367847
UX229709442645
NanoReview Score11709702112459
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
8315
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Max Surface Temp.50.2 °Cn/a
Stability61 %n/a
Graphics Test49 fpsn/a
Graphics Score8315n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
13449
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Writing score16564n/a
Web score11835n/a
Video editing7387n/a
Data manipulation12600n/a
NanoReview Score13449n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz n/a
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14) iOS 26
OS Size 21 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 6.1 n/a

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4729 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes
Fast Charging Yes (58% in 30 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 1:10 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
17:40
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Web Browsing06:25 hn/a
Video Playback10:03 hn/a
Games03:27 hn/a
Standby Mode96 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 5x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Up to 24FPS No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Telephoto: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Depth
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length23 mmn/a
SensorSamsung GN3n/a
Sensor size1/1.571/1.28
Pixel size1 μm1.22 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix8 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.8
Focal length76 mm120 mm
SensorHynix Hi847n/a
Sensor size1/4.4n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3L6n/a
Sensor size1/3.1n/a
Pixel size1.12 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 24 MP
Photo resolution 3648x2736 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.4 f/1.9
Focal length 26 mm n/a
Sensor Samsung S5K3J1 n/a
Sensor size 1/2.65 n/a
Pixel size 1.22 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Optical
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No Yes

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
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 5.4
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
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*2n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900n/a
3G BandsUMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4 (AWS), B5 (850), B8 (900)n/a
LTE Bands*LTE (B/B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B20/B26/B28/B66)n/a
LTE category20n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos)
88.8 dB
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced October, 2023 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date October, 2023 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 599 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 1199
Sensors - Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included No No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Exynos) the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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