Samsung and Apple are two companies who can never stop competing and with the latest Galaxy S23 Ultra launch, Samsung is taking jabs at all the flagships around the world, including Apple’s. In India at least, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is a stiff competition to the iPhone 14 Pro, not only in terms of firepower but also in terms of price. With a starting price of Rs 1,24,999 for Galaxy S23 Ultra and Rs 1,29,999 for iPhone 14 Pro, which one is a better purchase and what are the key differences between the two? Let’s have a look.
Galaxy S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro: Display
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x curved panel with up to 120Hz Refresh Rate support, 240Hz touch sampling rate, Eye comfort shield, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, and up to 1750 nits of peak brightness. Further, there’s an in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects it.
The iPhone 14 Pro on the other hand, has a 6.1-inch 120Hz panel. It has support for HDR, TruTone, and up to 2000 nits of peak HDR brightness. Now, the S23 Ultra gets you a much bigger display for providing you with a more immersive experience. While both the panel are bright, accurate with colours and punchy enough, it is the size that matters here. It depends on you whether you prefer a smaller phone or a bigger one.
Galaxy S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro: Software & Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra runs on Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy SoC and comes with 12GB LPDDR5x RAM with 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage. As for the software, the device runs on OneUI 5.1 based on Android 13. Further, S23 Ultra will receive 4 major Android OS upgrades and 5 years of security updates.
Under the hood, the iPhone 14 Pro is powered by the company’s A16 Bionic Chipset which promises improved overall performance. On software side of things, the device gets iOS 16 out of the box.
While there would be no issues with either of the phones when it comes to power and how smoothly they can handle demanding tasks including gaming, it is the software which is the deciding factor. Again, software is subjective as to which UI you prefer and which one fits your working style.
Read More: Samsung Galaxy S23 Series announced: Things to know
While Android offers you more freedom in terms of customisation and app support, iOS offers slightly more stability. If you want to see how the two operating systems differ from each other, you can take a look at our Android 13 vs iOS 16 article.
Galaxy S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro: Battery & Charging Speeds
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra packs a 5000mAh battery which supports 45W wired charging, 15W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging as well. As for the iPhone 14 Pro, it gets a 3,200mAh battery per reports as Apple doesn’t reveal battery capacity officially. Moreover, the phone supports close to 25W charging speeds and has wireless charging support.
On-paper, the Galaxy S23 Ultra wins this round by miles but again, Apple’s software and hardware combo allows the iPhone 14 Pro to perform as close to S23 Ultra’s battery performance.
Read More: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Review: Pro Enough?
Galaxy S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro: Cameras
The Galaxy S23 Ultra will get a quad-camera setup at the rear, including a 200 MP ISOCELL HP2 primary wide camera with dual Pixel AF, f/1.8 aperture, a 12MP ultra-wide camera with 120-degree FoV, f/2.2 aperture, a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x Optical Zoom support, f/2.4 Aperture and another 10MP telephoto sensor with 10x optical zoom support and f/4.9 aperture. In addition, there’s a 12MP front sensor with an f/2.2 aperture for selfies and video calls.
The Apple iPhone 14 Pro packs a triple rear camera setup featuring a 48-megapixel primary camera, 12MP ultra-wide angle sensor and a 12MP telephoto sensor. It sports a TrueDepth 12MP front facing sensor.
Once again on-paper, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is a winner as it not only offers an additional sensor for zoom capabilities, it also seems to have a better primary sensor. We call Galaxy S23 Ultra the winner on the basis of specifications on paper, however, actual real-life photos may tell a different story. To declare the true winner in this segment, we will have to compare both phones side-by-side.
To summarise, both the phones are extremely good at what they do but at the end, it boils down to what the end user prefers. If you prefer iOS and are rooted into Apple’s ecosystem, the iPhone 14 Pro is a better choice but if you prefer Android and think you need features like an S-Pen, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of the best choices you have out there.
