Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Apple iPhone XS - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Apple iPhone XS

81 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
VS
52 out 100
Apple iPhone XS
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Apple iPhone XS

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2023, with display 6.8 with chipsetSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, vs Apple iPhone XS, Manufactured in September, 2018 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic. 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 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher pixel density: 500ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 2658mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XS
  • Lighter design: 177g vs 233g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Apple iPhone XS
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 Ultra
vs
Apple iPhone XS

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED OLED
Size 6.8 in 5.8 in
Resolution 1440x3088 pixels 1125x2436 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.3:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 500 ppi 458 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 850 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz 120 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 89.5 % 81.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
1269 nits
Apple iPhone XS
635 nits
sRGB gamut96.9 %98.8 %
PWM (Flicker)240 Hz240 Hz
Response time2 ms4.4 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra], [Apple iPhone XS]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.4 mm (6.43 in) 143.6 mm (5.65 in)
Width 78.1 mm (3.07 in) 70.9 mm (2.79 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 7.7 mm (0.3 in)
Weight 233 g (8.22 oz) 177 g (6.24 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Gray
- Blue
- Green
- Red
- Purple		 - Silver
- Gold
- Gray
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
89.5 %
Apple iPhone XS
81.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Apple iPhone XS In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy Apple A12 Bionic
Max Frequency 3360 MHz 2490 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 3/2 (Cortex-A510)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A710)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A715)
- 1/3.2 (Cortex-X3)		 - 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Neural Engine
Graphics Adreno 740 Apple A12 GPU
GPU Cores 1536 256
GPU Frequency 719 MHz 1100 MHz
FLOPS 2089 GFLOPS 576 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
1976
Apple iPhone XS
1307
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
5221
Apple iPhone XS
3447
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)19761307
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)52213447
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
1541246
Apple iPhone XS
733639
CPU371084202576
GPU600732217548
Memory299004146853
UX270462166662
NanoReview Score1541246733639
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
12160
Apple iPhone XS
5698
Max Surface Temp.34.8 °C44.8 °C
Stability64 %63 %
Graphics Test72 fps34 fps
Graphics Score121605698
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra], [Apple iPhone XS]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
16130
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Writing score19799n/a
Web score16101n/a
Video editing7815n/a
Data manipulation13142n/a
NanoReview Score16130n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB		 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 4200 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB		- 64 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14) iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size 39.9 GB 11.8 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.1 n/a

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 2658 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes Qi (10 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (68% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 60 min)
Full Charge Time 0:59 h 2:40 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
26:01
Apple iPhone XS
16:06
Web Browsing09:57 h05:44 h
Video Playback15:38 h09:44 h
Games06:22 h03:54 h
Standby Mode130 h84 h

Main camera

Matrix 200 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 16320x12240 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 10x Optical, 2x
Flash LED Quad LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix200 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.7f/1.8
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung ISOCELL HP2Apple iSight X
Sensor size1/1.31/2.55
Pixel size0.64 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MP12 MP
Aperturef/4.9f/2.4
Focal length230 mm52 mm
SensorSony IMX754n/a
Sensor size1/3.521/3.4
Pixel size1.12 μm1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX564n/a
Sensor size1/2.55n/a
Pixel size1.4 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
139
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
137
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
140
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview73n/a
Zoom141n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra]

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 7 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 3088x2316 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 32 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3LU CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.24 n/a
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
139
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
145
Apple iPhone XS
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
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
Bluetooth features LE SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes DP 1.2 n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G Bandsn/aGSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G Bandsn/aHSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*n/aLTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)
LTE category2016
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
91.8 dB
Apple iPhone XS
87.3 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced February, 2023 yr September, 2018 yr
Release Date February, 2023 yr September, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 1199 1000
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included No n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

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