Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S23 and Apple iPhone 17 - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Apple iPhone 17

75 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S23
VS
92 out 100
Apple iPhone 17
Samsung Galaxy S23
Apple iPhone 17

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S23 Manufactured in February, 2023, with display 6.1 with chipsetSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, vs Apple iPhone 17, Manufactured in September, 2025with chipsetApple A19. 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
  • Lighter design: 168g vs 177g
  • Higher battery capacity: 3900mAh vs 3692mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17
  • Larger display: 6.3in
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.3

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 and Apple iPhone 17
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:
Samsung Galaxy S23
vs
Apple iPhone 17

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED OLED
Size 6.1 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1206x2622 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 425 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (24-120 Hz) Yes
Max brightness 800 nits 3000 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 91.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S23
1197 nits
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
sRGB gamut98.9 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time1 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S23]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 146.3 mm (5.76 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 70.9 mm (2.79 in) 71.5 mm (2.81 in)
Thickness 7.6 mm (0.3 in) 8 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 168 g (5.93 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
- Green
- Purple
- Yellow		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S23
88 %
Apple iPhone 17
91.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 and Apple iPhone 17 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy Apple A19
Max Frequency 3360 MHz 4100 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) n/a
Architecture - 3/2 (Cortex-A510)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A710)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A715)
- 1/3.2 (Cortex-X3)		 n/a
Process TSMC n/a
Transistor Size 4 nm n/a
Neural Processor Hexagon n/a
Graphics Adreno 740 n/a
GPU Cores 1536 n/a
GPU Frequency 719 MHz n/a
FLOPS 2089 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23
1831
Apple iPhone 17
3720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23
4914
Apple iPhone 17
10589
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)18313720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)491410589
Geekbench Compute (GPU)9422n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy S23]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S23
1522811
Apple iPhone 17
2116678
CPU380535510193
GPU598896792974
Memory273271367866
UX270109445645
NanoReview Score15228112116678
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S23
12039
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Max Surface Temp.34.3 °Cn/a
Stability60 %n/a
Graphics Test72 fpsn/a
Graphics Score12039n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S23]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S23
15602
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Writing score19330n/a
Web score14262n/a
Video editing7840n/a
Data manipulation12674n/a
NanoReview Score15602n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14) iOS 26
OS Size 29.7 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 6.1 n/a

Battery

Volume 3900 mAh 3692 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (10 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes
Fast Charging Yes (57% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:16 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S23
22:02
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Web Browsing08:12 hn/a
Video Playback13:41 hn/a
Games05:20 hn/a
Standby Mode109 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Digital
Flash LED Dual 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 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung S5KGN3n/a
Sensor size1/1.571/1.56
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.4n/a
Focal length70 mmn/a
SensorSamsung S5K3K1n/a
Sensor size1/3.94n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX564n/a
Sensor size1/2.551/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S23
129
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23
137
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S23
133
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview72n/a
Zoom126n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S23]

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 18 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length 26 mm 23 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3LU n/a
Sensor size 1/3.24 n/a
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) 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 6.0
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes DP 1.2 Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*1n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850/1700/1900/2100Mhzn/a
3G BandsUMTS 6/5/8/34UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*LTE (B/B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B16/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B27/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)
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
91.5 dB
Apple iPhone 17
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced February, 2023 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date February, 2023 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 799 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 799
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 No

Note

Samsung Galaxy S23:

The 128GB version uses slower UFS 3.1 memory, while the 256GB and 512GB models have UFS 4.0.

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

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 17 the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
3 (60%)
2 (40%)
Total Votes: 5

User comments

Share your opinion or ask questions below