Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S23 and Huawei Nova 15 Max - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Huawei Nova 15 Max

75 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S23
VS
69 out 100
Huawei Nova 15 Max
Samsung Galaxy S23
Huawei Nova 15 Max

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S23 Manufactured in February, 2023, with display 6.1 with chipsetSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, vs Huawei Nova 15 Max, Manufactured in May, 2026 with chipsetHiSilicon Kirin 8000. 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 232g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5.2
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Huawei Nova 15 Max
  • Larger display: 6.84in
  • Higher pixel density: 444ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 8500mAh vs 3900mAh
  • Infrared port

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 and Huawei Nova 15 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:
Samsung Galaxy S23
vs
Huawei Nova 15 Max

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED OLED
Size 6.1 in 6.84 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1272x2756 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 425 ppi 444 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (24-120 Hz) Yes (60-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 300 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 90.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S23
1197 nits
Huawei Nova 15 Max
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) 163.3 mm (6.43 in)
Width 70.9 mm (2.79 in) 78 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 7.6 mm (0.3 in) 7.98 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 168 g (5.93 oz) 232 g (8.18 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP65
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Plastic
Colors - White
- Black
- Gray
- Green
- Purple
- Yellow		 - Black
- Gold
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Button
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S23
88 %
Huawei Nova 15 Max
90.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 and Huawei Nova 15 Max In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy HiSilicon Kirin 8000
Max Frequency 3360 MHz 2400 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 3/2 (Cortex-A510)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A710)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A715)
- 1/3.2 (Cortex-X3)		 - 4/1.84 (A55)
- 3/2.19 (1xA77 L)
- 1/2.4 (1xA77 H)
Process TSMC SMIC
Transistor Size 4 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Yes
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
Huawei Nova 15 Max
960
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23
4914
Huawei Nova 15 Max
2601
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1831960
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)49142601
Geekbench Compute (GPU)9422n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy S23]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S23
1522811
Huawei Nova 15 Max
808133
CPU380535302738
GPU598896104021
Memory273271191983
UX270109209391
NanoReview Score1522811808133
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S23
12039
Huawei Nova 15 Max
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
Huawei Nova 15 Max
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 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency n/a 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0n/a
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 12
OS Size 29.7 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 6.1 14.2

Battery

Volume 3900 mAh 8500 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 40 W
Battery Type Li-ion Silicon Carbon (Si/C)
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (10 W) No
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes
Fast Charging Yes (57% in 30 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 1:16 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S23
22:02
Huawei Nova 15 Max
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 50 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 8192x6144 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Digital
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (1080p) n/a
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 50 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix50 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.9
Focal length23 mm23 mm
SensorSamsung S5KGN3n/a
Sensor size1/1.571/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size1 μmn/a
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalDigital
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
Huawei Nova 15 Max
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23
137
Huawei Nova 15 Max
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S23
133
Huawei Nova 15 Max
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview72n/a
Zoom126n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S23]

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 3264x2448 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 26 mm n/a
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 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

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 Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5.2
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 No
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No Yes
Connectivity
SIM Count*12
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850/1700/1900/2100Mhzn/a
3G BandsUMTS 6/5/8/34n/a
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)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 No
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S23
91.5 dB
Huawei Nova 15 Max
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced February, 2023 yr May, 2026 yr
Release Date February, 2023 yr May, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 799 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 499
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint 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

No clear favorite identified yet; updates may follow as new data arrives.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
0 (0%)
0 (0%)
Total Votes: 0

User comments

Share your opinion or ask questions below