Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

Comparing the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max across performance, display, camera, battery, storage, expert reviews and user rating to help determine the better smartphone.

Here is the summary of the results:

Performance: Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max scores higher on the Geekbench Multi-Core test with 9,921, while Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G scores 4,901, making Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max the better performer.

Display: Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max offers a screen size of 6.9 inches, while Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G offers 6.8 inches, making Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max the larger display of the two. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G features a Dynamic AMOLED 2x display compared to Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max's Super Retina XDR OLED, making Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G the better display of the two.

Rear Camera: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G offers a higher rear camera resolution with 200 MP, while Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max offers 48 MP, making Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G better for rear camera photography.

Front Camera: Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max offers a higher front camera resolution with 18 MP, while Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G offers 12 MP, making Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max better for front camera photography.

Battery: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G offers a higher battery capacity with 5000 mAh, while Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max offers 4832 mAh, making Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G better for longer battery life.

Storage: Both Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max offer the same internal storage of 256 GB.

Expert Review: Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max receives a higher expert rating of 8.6 from the editorial team, while Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G is rated 8.5.

User Rating: Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max receives a higher user rating of 4.7, while Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G has a rating of 4.5.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G

₹79,999

@ Amazon

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

₹149,900

@ Flipkart

Summary

Release Date

02 2023

09 2025

03 2025

Performance


Snapdragon 8 Gen 2	Apple A19 Pro	Snapdragon 8 Elite
Octa Core (upto 3.36 GHz)	Hexa Core (upto 4.26 GHz)	Octa Core (upto 4.47 GHz)
12 GB RAM	12 GB RAM	12 GB RAM

Display


6.8 inches (17.27 cm)	6.9 inches (17.53 cm)	6.2 inches (15.75 cm)
Dynamic AMOLED 2x	Super Retina XDR OLED	Dynamic AMOLED 2x
1440x3088 px (QHD+)	1320x2868 px (FHD+)	1080x2340 px (FHD+)
120 Hz Refresh Rate	120 Hz Refresh Rate	120 Hz Refresh Rate

Rear Camera


200 MP Wide Angle Primary Camera	48 MP Wide Angle Primary Camera	50 MP Wide Angle Primary Camera
12 MP Ultra-Wide Angle Camera	48 MP Ultra-Wide Angle Camera	12 MP Ultra-Wide Angle Camera
10 MP Telephoto Camera (upto 3x Optical Zoom)	48 MP Telephoto Camera (upto 4x Optical Zoom)	10 MP Telephoto Camera (upto 3x Optical Zoom)
10 MP Camera (upto 10x Optical Zoom)	N/A	N/A

Front Camera


12 MP Wide Angle Lens	18 MP Wide Angle Lens	12 MP Wide Angle Lens

Battery


5000 mAh	4832 mAh	4000 mAh
45W Fast Charging	40W Fast Charging	25W Fast Charging
Wireless Charging	Wireless Charging	Wireless Charging

Storage

256 GB	256 GB	128 GB
UFS 4.0	NVMe	UFS 4.0

Expert Review

8.5/10

Read Expert Review

8.6/10

Read Expert Review

8.0/10

Pros

Lovely display
Excellent cameras
Solid performance & battery life
S Pen is still unmatched

Vapour chamber for sustained performance
Upgraded telephoto & selfie cameras
Refreshed design
Solid battery life & faster charging

Premium & compact design
Excellent performance
Reliable cameras
New & improved AI features

Cons

Pricey
Large and heavy

Digital zoom still lacking
Apple Intelligence needs improvement
Thicker & heavier
Pricey

Slow charging speeds
Battery life could have been better

User Ratings

4.5/5

(9,227 ratings)

4.7/5

(3,145 ratings)

4.6/5

(7,688 ratings)

Compare Prices

₹79,999

@ Amazon

₹149,900

@ Flipkart

₹57,999

@ Flipkart

Video

7 More Videos

2 More Videos

3 More Videos

User Feedback

General

Launch Date

February 2, 2023

(Official)

September 19, 2025

(Official)

March 18, 2025

(Official)

Operating System

Android v13.0

iOS v26

Android v15

OS Updates

4 Years

N/A

7 Years

Security Updates

5 Years

N/A

7 Years

Custom UI

Samsung One UI

N/A

Samsung One UI

Performance

Performance Rating

Very Good

Excellent

Chipset

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

Apple A19 Pro

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

Processor

Octa core

3.36 GHz, Single core, Cortex X3 2.8 GHz, Quad core, Cortex A715 2 GHz, Tri core, Cortex A510

Hexa Core

4.26 GHz, Dual core Quad core

Octa core

4.47 GHz, Dual core, Oryon 3.5 GHz, Hexa Core, Oryon

Architecture (The higher, the better)

64 bit

Fabrication (The lower, the better)

4 nm

3 nm

Graphics (GPU)

Adreno 740

Apple GPU (six-core graphics)

Adreno 830

RAM

12 GB

RAM Type

LPDDR5X

Cooling Technology

Vapor Chamber

Performance Test Results

AnTuTu Score (The higher, the better) AnTuTu benchmark measures overall performance of a phone by stress-testing CPU, GPU, RAM, etc.

1,226,598

2,521,699

N/A

Bootup Time (The lower, the better)

18.0 s

17.0 s

N/A

Gaming Test Results

Battery Drain* (The lower, the better)

4.0 %

3.0 %

N/A

Heating* (The lower, the better)

6.3 %

15.6 %

N/A

* after 30 mins of gaming

Display

Display Rating

Excellent

Display Type

Dynamic AMOLED 2x (Curved Display)

Super Retina XDR OLED

Dynamic AMOLED 2x

Screen Size

6.8 inches (17.27 cm)

6.9 inches (17.53 cm)

6.2 inches (15.75 cm)

Resolution

1440x3088 px (QHD+)

1320x2868 px (FHD+)

1080x2340 px (FHD+)

Peak Brightness

1750 nits

3000 nits

2600 nits

HBM Brightness

N/A

1600 nits

N/A

Refresh Rate

120 Hz

Touch Sampling Rate

240 Hz

N/A

Aspect Ratio

19.3:9

19.5:9

Pixel Density

501 ppi

460 ppi

416 ppi

Screen to Body Ratio (calculated)

89.99 %

91.5 %

90.92 %

Screen Protection

Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2

Yes

Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2

Bezel-less Display

Yes with punch-hole display

HDR 10 / HDR+ Support

Yes HDR 10+

Yes

Yes HDR 10+

Design

Height

163.4 mm

146.9 mm

Width

78.1 mm

78 mm

70.5 mm

Thickness

8.9 mm

8.75 mm

7.2 mm

Weight

233 grams

231 grams

162 grams

Build Material

Back: Gorilla Glass Victus 2

Back: Ceramic Shield 2

Back: Gorilla Glass Victus 2

Water Resistance

Yes Water resistant IP68 (up to 30 minutes in a depth of 1.5 meter)

Yes Water resistant IP68 (up to 30 minutes in a depth of 6 meter)

Yes Water resistant IP68 (up to 30 minutes in a depth of 1.5 meter)

Ruggedness

Dust proof

Rear Camera

Rear Camera Rating

Excellent

Resolution

200 MP
Primary Cameraf/1.7 Wide Angle24 mm focal length 1/1.31" sensor size S5KHP2 ISO-CELL 0.6µm pixel size

48 MP
Primary Cameraf/1.78 Wide Angle24 mm focal length 1/1.28" sensor size Sensor-shift Image Stabilization 1.22µm pixel size

50 MP
Primary Cameraf/1.8 Wide Angle 85° field-of-view24 mm focal length 1/1.56" sensor size S5KGN3 ISO-CELL 1µm pixel size

12 MP
f/2.2 Ultra-Wide Angle Camera13 mm focal length 1/2.55" sensor size 1.4µm pixel size

48 MP
f/2.2 Ultra-Wide Angle Camera13 mm focal length 0.7µm pixel size

12 MP
f/2.2 Ultra-Wide Angle Camera13 mm focal length 1/2.55" sensor size 1.4µm pixel size

10 MP
f/2.4 Telephoto Camera70 mm focal length 1/3.52" sensor size 1.12µm pixel size

48 MP
f/2.8 Telephoto Camera100 mm focal length 0.7µm pixel size

10 MP
f/2.4 Telephoto Camera67 mm focal length 1/3.94" sensor size 1µm pixel size

10 MP
f/4.9230 mm focal length 1/3.52" sensor size 1.12µm pixel size

N/A

Autofocus

Yes Phase Detection Autofocus Laser Autofocus

Yes

Yes Dual Pixel Phase Detection Autofocus

OIS

Yes

Flash

Yes LED Flash

Yes Dual-color LED Flash

Yes LED Flash

Image Resolution

14500 x 13650 Pixels

8000 x 6000 Pixels

8150 x 6150 Pixels

Settings

Exposure compensation ISO control

Exposure compensation

Exposure compensation ISO control

Shooting Modes

Continuous Shooting
High Dynamic Range mode (HDR)
SuperMoon

Continuous Shooting
High Dynamic Range mode (HDR)
Burst mode

Continuous Shooting
High Dynamic Range mode (HDR)

Camera Features

Digital Zoom
Auto Flash
Face detection
Touch to focus

Digital Zoom
Apple ProRAW
Auto Flash
Face detection
Touch to focus

Digital Zoom
Auto Flash
Face detection
Filters
Touch to focus

Video Recording

8k @30 fps
4k @60 fps
Full HD @240 fps

4k @24/25/30/60/100/120 fps
Full HD @25/30/60/120/240 fps
HD @30 fps

8k @30 fps
4k @60 fps
Full HD @240 fps

Video Recording Features

Slow Motion
Ultra Steady Video
Video HDR
Bokeh portrait video
Video Pro Mode
Stereo recording

Optical Image stabilization
Dual Video Recording
Slow Motion
Video HDR
Night Time-Lapse
Macro Video
Action Mode
ProRes Video
Audio Zoom
Stereo recording

Dual Video Recording
Slow Motion
Video HDR
Bokeh portrait video
Video Pro Mode
Stereo recording

Front Camera

Front Camera Rating

Excellent

Best In Class

Excellent

Resolution

12 MP
f/2.2 Wide Angle Primary Camera26 mm focal length 1/3.2" sensor size

18 MP
f/1.9 Wide Angle Primary Camera

12 MP
f/2.2 Wide Angle Primary Camera26 mm focal length 1/3.2" sensor size 1.12µm pixel size

Autofocus

Yes Phase Detection Autofocus

Yes Dual Pixel Phase Detection Autofocus

Flash

N/A

Yes Retina Flash

N/A

Camera Features

N/A

Wide Angle Selfie

N/A

Video Recording

4k @30 fps
Full HD @30 fps

4k @30/60 fps
Full HD @30/60 fps

4k @60 fps
Full HD @30 fps

Battery

Battery Rating

Very Good

Excellent

Very Good

Capacity

5000 mAh

4832 mAh

4000 mAh

Battery Type

Li-ion

TalkTime

Up to 49 Hours(4G)

N/A

Quick Charging

Yes 45W Fast Charging 65% in 30 minutes

Yes 40W Fast Charging 50% in 20 minutes

Yes 25W Fast Charging 50% in 30 minutes

Wireless Charging

Yes 15W Wireless Charging

Yes 30W Wireless Charging 50% in 30 minutes

Yes 15W Wireless Charging

Reverse Charging

N/A

Yes

N/A

Wireless Reverse Charging

Yes 4.5W Wireless Reverse Charging

N/A

Yes 4.5W Wireless Reverse Charging

Battery Test Results

Battery Life (PC Mark) (The higher, the better) PCMark Battery benchmark measures battery life of a phone with various activities such as web browsing, photo editing, writing, video editing, etc.

13h 52m

N/A

Charging Time (20% to 100%) (The lower, the better)

54m 42s

1h 17m

N/A

Storage

Internal Storage

256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB

256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB / 2 TB

128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB

Storage Type

UFS 4.0

NVMe

UFS 4.0

Expandable Storage

Network & Connectivity

SIM Slot(s)

Dual SIM

SIM Type

SIM1: Nano SIM2: Nano

SIM1: Nano SIM2: eSIM

Network Support

5G 4G

VoLTE

Yes

SIM 1

5G Bands:

FDD N1 / N2 / N3 / N5 / N7 / N8 / N12 / N20 / N25 / N28
TDD N38 / N40 / N41 / N77 / N78

5G Bands:

FDD N1 / N2 / N3 / N5 / N7 / N8 / N12 / N20 / N25 / N26 / N28 / N30 / N66
TDD N38 / N40 / N41 / N48 / N53 / N77 / N78 / N79

5G Bands:

FDD N1 / N2 / N3 / N5 / N7 / N8 / N12 / N20 / N25 / N26 / N28 / N66
TDD N38 / N40 / N41 / N77 / N78

4G Bands:

TD-LTE 2600(band 38) / 2300(band 40) / 2500(band 41) / 1900(band 39)
FD-LTE 2100(band 1) / 1800(band 3) / 2600(band 7) / 900(band 8) / 700(band 28) / 1900(band 2) / 1700(band 4) / 850(band 5) / 700(band 13) / 700(band 17) / 850(band 18) / 850(band 19) / 800(band 20) / 1900(band 25) / 850(band 26)

4G Bands:

TD-LTE 3500(band 48) / 2600(band 38) / 2300(band 40) / 2500(band 41) / 2100(band 34) / 1900(band 39) / 3500(band 42)
FD-LTE 1700(band 66) / 2100(band 1) / 1500(band 32) / 1800(band 3) / 2600(band 7) / 900(band 8) / 700(band 28) / 1900(band 2) / 1700(band 4) / 850(band 5) / 700(band 13) / 700(band 17) / 850(band 18) / 850(band 19) / 800(band 20) / 1900(band 25) / 850(band 26) / 2300(band 30) / 700 (band 12)

4G Bands:

SIM 2

5G Bands:

FDD N1 / N2 / N3 / N5 / N7 / N8 / N12 / N20 / N25 / N28
TDD N38 / N40 / N41 / N77 / N78

5G Bands:

FDD N1 / N2 / N3 / N5 / N7 / N8 / N12 / N20 / N25 / N26 / N28 / N30 / N66
TDD N38 / N40 / N41 / N48 / N53 / N77 / N78 / N79

5G Bands:

FDD N1 / N2 / N3 / N5 / N7 / N8 / N12 / N20 / N25 / N26 / N28 / N66
TDD N38 / N40 / N41 / N77 / N78

4G Bands:

TD-LTE 2600(band 38) / 2300(band 40) / 2500(band 41) / 2100(band 34) / 1900(band 39) / 3500(band 42) / 3500(band 48)
FD-LTE 2100(band 1) / 1800(band 3) / 2600(band 7) / 900(band 8) / 700(band 28) / 1900(band 2) / 1700(band 4) / 850(band 5) / 1500(band 32) / 700(band 13) / 700(band 17) / 850(band 18) / 850(band 19) / 800(band 20) / 1900(band 25) / 850(band 26) / 2300(band 30) / 1700(band 66) / 700 (band 12)

4G Bands: