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

Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Apple iPhone XS

75 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S23
VS
52 out 100
Apple iPhone XS
Samsung Galaxy S23
Apple iPhone XS

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 XS, Manufactured in September, 2018with 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
  • Larger display: 6.1in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 168g vs 177g
  • Higher battery capacity: 3900mAh 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
  • Higher pixel density: 458ppi

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 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:
Samsung Galaxy S23
vs
Apple iPhone XS

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED OLED
Size 6.1 in 5.8 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1125x2436 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 425 ppi 458 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
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 120 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 81.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S23
1197 nits
Apple iPhone XS
635 nits
sRGB gamut98.9 %98.8 %
PWM (Flicker)240 Hz240 Hz
Response time1 ms4.4 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S23], [Apple iPhone XS]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 146.3 mm (5.76 in) 143.6 mm (5.65 in)
Width 70.9 mm (2.79 in) 70.9 mm (2.79 in)
Thickness 7.6 mm (0.3 in) 7.7 mm (0.3 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		 - Silver
- Gold
- Gray
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S23
88 %
Apple iPhone XS
81.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 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
1831
Apple iPhone XS
1307
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23
4914
Apple iPhone XS
3447
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)18311307
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)49143447
Geekbench Compute (GPU)9422n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy S23]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S23
1522811
Apple iPhone XS
733639
CPU380535202576
GPU598896217548
Memory273271146853
UX270109166662
NanoReview Score1522811733639
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S23
12039
Apple iPhone XS
5698
Max Surface Temp.34.3 °C44.8 °C
Stability60 %63 %
Graphics Test72 fps34 fps
Graphics Score120395698
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S23], [Apple iPhone XS]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S23
15602
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Writing score19330n/a
Web score14262n/a
Video editing7840n/a
Data manipulation12674n/a
NanoReview Score15602n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 4 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
- 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 29.7 GB 11.8 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.1 n/a

Battery

Volume 3900 mAh 2658 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 60 min)
Full Charge Time 1:16 h 2:40 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S23
22:02
Apple iPhone XS
16:06
Web Browsing08:12 h05:44 h
Video Playback13:41 h09:44 h
Games05:20 h03:54 h
Standby Mode109 h84 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x 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: 50 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
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 (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.4
Focal length70 mm52 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3K1n/a
Sensor size1/3.941/3.4
Pixel size1 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
129
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23
137
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S23
133
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview72n/a
Zoom126n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S23]

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 (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 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 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 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 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
91.5 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 ($) 799 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

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.

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