Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Apple iPhone XR

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 XR, Manufactured in October, 2018 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S23
  • Higher pixel density: 425ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 168g vs 194g
  • Higher battery capacity: 3900mAh vs 2942mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XR

    Versions

    Available versions and configurations
    Memory Options - 8/128 GB
    - 8/256 GB
    - 8/512 GB
    - 3/64 GB
    - 3/128 GB
    - 3/256 GB

    Review

    Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 and Apple iPhone XR
    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 Dynamic AMOLED IPS LCD
    Size 6.1 in 6.1 in
    Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 828x1792 pixels
    Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
    Pixel density 425 ppi 326 ppi
    Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
    Adaptive refresh rate Yes (24-120 Hz) No
    Max brightness 800 nits 625 nits
    HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
    Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 79.9 %
    Features - DCI-P3
    - Always-On Display
    n/a
    Display test
    Peak brightness (auto)
    Samsung Galaxy S23
    1197 nits
    Apple iPhone XR
    635 nits
    sRGB gamut98.9 %100 %
    PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
    Response time1 ms32.8 ms
    Contrast∞ Infinite1920:1

    Design & Build

    Design and ergonomics comparison
    Height 146.3 mm (5.76 in) 150.9 mm (5.94 in)
    Width 70.9 mm (2.79 in) 75.7 mm (2.98 in)
    Thickness 7.6 mm (0.3 in) 8.3 mm (0.33 in)
    Weight 168 g (5.93 oz) 194 g (6.84 oz)
    Water resistance IP68 IP67
    Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
    Back panel Glass Glass
    Frame Metal Metal
    Colors - White
    - Black
    - Gray
    - Green
    - Purple
    - Yellow
    - White
    - Black
    - Blue
    - Red
    - Orange
    - Yellow
    Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
    Screen-to-body ratio
    Samsung Galaxy S23
    88 %
    Apple iPhone XR
    79.9 %

    Performance

    Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 and Apple iPhone XR 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
    1831
    Apple iPhone XR
    1167
    Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
    Samsung Galaxy S23
    4914
    Apple iPhone XR
    3020
    Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)18311167
    Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)49143020
    Geekbench Compute (GPU)9422n/a
    AnTuTu 10
    AnTuTu 10
    Samsung Galaxy S23
    1522811
    Apple iPhone XR
    656253
    CPU380535203013
    GPU598896155478
    Memory273271134836
    UX270109162926
    NanoReview Score1522811656253
    3DMark Wild Life
    3DMark Wild Life
    Samsung Galaxy S23
    12039
    Apple iPhone XR
    5205
    Max Surface Temp.34.3 °C42.6 °C
    Stability60 %69 %
    Graphics Test72 fps31 fps
    Graphics Score120395205
    PCMark 3.0
    PCMark 3.0
    Samsung Galaxy S23
    15602
    Apple iPhone XR
    n/a
    Writing score19330n/a
    Web score14262n/a
    Video editing7840n/a
    Data manipulation12674n/a
    NanoReview Score15602n/a

    Memory

    RAM
    RAM Size 8 GB 3 GB
    Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR4X
    Memory Frequency n/a 2133 MHz
    Channels 4 2
    Storage
    Storage Capacity- 128 GB
    - 256 GB
    - 512 GB
    - 64 GB
    - 128 GB
    - 256 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 29.7 GB 11.1 GB
    UI Skin One UI 6.1 n/a

    Battery

    Volume 3900 mAh 2942 mAh
    Max Charging Power 25 W 15 W
    Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
    Removable No No
    Wireless Charging Yes (10 W) Yes Qi (10 W)
    Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
    Fast Charging Yes (57% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
    Full Charge Time 1:16 h 1:43 h
    Battery Life Test
    Battery Life
    Samsung Galaxy S23
    22:02
    Apple iPhone XR
    20:45
    Web Browsing08:12 h08:01 h
    Video Playback13:41 h11:59 h
    Games05:20 h04:34 h
    Standby Mode109 h106 h

    Main camera

    Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
    Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
    Zoom Optical, 3x Digital
    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: 50 MP
    Telephoto: 10 MP
    Ultra-wide: 12 MP
    Standard: 12 MP
    Features - Bokeh effect
    - Pro mode
    - RAW support
    - Bokeh effect
    - RAW support
    Main lens
    Matrix50 MP12 MP
    Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
    Focal length23 mm26 mm
    SensorSamsung S5KGN3Apple iSight X
    Sensor size1/1.571/2.55
    Pixel size1 μm1.4 μm
    AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus
    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 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
    129
    Apple iPhone XR
    103
    Video quality
    Samsung Galaxy S23
    137
    Apple iPhone XR
    96
    Overall camera score
    Samsung Galaxy S23
    133
    Apple iPhone XR
    101
    Bokeh70n/a
    Preview72n/a
    Zoom126n/a

    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 n/a
    Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) No
    Stabilization Digital Digital
    Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps
    TOF 3D sensor No No

    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 Hotspot
    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
    - 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 BandsGSM 850/1700/1900/2100MhzGSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
    3G BandsUMTS 6/5/8/34HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
    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 (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)
    LTE category2012
    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
    91.5 dB
    Apple iPhone XR
    87.3 dB

    Other

    Class Flagship Flagship
    Announced February, 2023 yr September, 2018 yr
    Release Date February, 2023 yr October, 2018 yr
    Launch Price ($) 799 750
    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

    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 Samsung Galaxy S23 the clear winner in this comparison.

    Survey

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