Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, S22 Ultra, iPhone 14 Pro Max: How Do They Compare?

Speaker 1: The Samsung Galaxy S 23 Ultra has arrived. But how does it differ from last year's S 22 Ultra? And if you're thinking of making the switch from Android to Apple or vice versa, I'm sure you're wondering how does it compare to another top of the line phone, the iPhone 14 Pro Max? Let's see how these phones stack up and remember that these are only the on paper specs, so be sure to subscribe to CNET to see our full review of this phone once we have it in hand. Now that the S 23 ultras out, we can expect to find the S 22 Ultra [00:00:30] for less, but both the S 22 and S 23 Ultra technically start at $1,200 while the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1,100. Speaker 1: The S 23 Ultra has the newest Snap Dragon eight Gen two processor, and the S 22 Ultra has the Snapdragon eight Gen one processor or EXOS 2200 chip, depending on where you live. The iPhone 14 Pro Max, on the other hand, features apple's latest A [00:01:00] 16 bionic chip. The S 22 and S 23 Ultra have different RAM and storage options based on where you live and what chip you have. For the S 22 Ultra, the storage options start out at 128 gigabytes with eight gigabytes of ram. After that, you can get 256 and 512 gigabytes, as well as one terabyte of internal storage, all of which have 12 gigabytes of ram. For the S 23 Ultra, the storage options start out at 256 gigabytes with eight gigabytes of ram. After that, you can get 512 gigabytes [00:01:30] or one terabyte of storage, both of which have 12 gigabytes of ram. Speaker 1: So Samsung is doubling the amount of storage on the base S 23 Ultra model without raising the price. That's pretty sweet. And while the S 23 Ultra has nixed the 128 storage option, the newest iPhone has not. The 14 Pro Max comes in a hundred twenty eight, two hundred fifty six, and 512 gigabyte, as well as one terabyte storage options. Now I think that any phone that costs a thousand dollars or more in 2023 should start at 256 gigabytes [00:02:00] of storage. So I really don't feel like that 128 gigabyte option is necessary from Apple. It's also worth noting that while the starting price of the 14 Pro Max is a hundred dollars less than that of the S 22 and S 23 Ultra, A 14 Pro Max with 256 gigabytes of storage is $1,200, which is the same price as an S 23 Ultra with 256 gigabytes of storage. So that price difference disappears once you get into the equivalent storage options for the 14 Pro Max and S 23 Ultra. [00:02:30] And unfortunately neither the S 22 or S 23 Ultra nor the 14 Pro Max have expandable storage. Speaker 1: The S 22 and S 23 Ultra both have that signature integrated spen, which differentiates them from earlier models and makes them feel closer to a note series phone. The 14 Pro Max, on the other hand, doesn't have a stylist. While Apple sells first and second gen Apple pencils, neither of them work with an iPhone, which I think is a missed opportunity or better yet, how cool [00:03:00] would an iPhone specific Apple Pencil mini be a girl can dream? The S 22 and S 23 Ultra have a 6.8 inch dynamic ammo LED display, and both phones have a thirty eighty eight by 1440 pixel resolution at 500 PPI and 120 hertz refresh rate that adjusts based on how you're using your phone. So if what you're doing doesn't require a lot of screen movement, like say reading the news, this refresh rate will be low. But if what you're doing takes up a lot of movement like playing a video game, the refresh rate will go up. The [00:03:30] iPhone 14 Pro Max has a slightly smaller 6.7 inch ole display with a 27 96 by 1290 pixel resolution at four 60 ppi. And it also has a refresh rate of up to 120 hertz. The S 22 S 23 Ultra have an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the screen to unlock the phone. The 14 Pro Max unlocks with face Id Speaker 1: Ask for how these phones will feel. The S 22 S 23 Ultra are both 8.9 [00:04:00] millimeters thick, while the 14 Pro Max is 7.85 millimeters thick. So a little bit slimmer. The S 22 ULTRA is 8.04 ounces while the S 23 Ultra is 8.25 ounces. And the 14 Pro Max is 8.47 ounces. All of these phones are rated IP 68, so they're water resistant. Speaker 1: There are a few differences between the S 22 and S 23 Ultra cameras, but they're largely the same. Both phones have that signature. For camera system, [00:04:30] there is a 12 megapixel ultra wide camera with an F 2.2 lens, a 10 megapixel telephoto camera with an F 4.9 lens and another 10 megapixel telephoto camera with an F 2.4 lens with one telephoto camera offering three times optical zoom and the other offering 10 times optical zoom. But when it comes to that fourth camera, the S 22 Ultra has 108 megapixel sensor with an F 1.8 wide angle lens. While the S 23 Ultra has a 200 megapixel sensor with an F 1.7 [00:05:00] aperture wide angle lens, so the S 23 Ultra wide angle lens has more megapixels than that of the S 22 Ultra. Both phones also have a Space Zoom feature with up to 100 times digital Zoom capability. Speaker 1: Ask for your selfies. The S 22 Ultra has a 40 megapixel front camera with an F 2.2 lens. While the S 23 Ultra has a 12 megapixel front camera with an F 2.2 lens, so the new selfie camera has less megapixels. But it's important to note that not all megapixels are equal and more doesn't necessarily [00:05:30] mean better. So all we know is the resolution for now. But stay tuned for our S 23 Ultra Camera Test to see exactly how this new selfie camera performs. The 14 Pro Max on the other hand has a three camera system. There's a 48 megapixel main camera with an F1 0.78 lens, a 12 megapixel ultra wide camera with an F 2.2 lens, and a 12 megapixel three times telephoto camera with an F 2.8 lens. There's also a 12 megapixel front camera with an F1 0.9 lens. I know some of the [00:06:00] megapixels are higher on the S 22 and S 23 Ultra versus the 14 Pro Max, but remember that like I said, more megapixels doesn't necessarily equate to better image quality. Speaker 1: Now, when it comes to video, the S 22 Ultra supports eight K video at 24 frames per second. While the S 23 Ultra supports eight K recording at 30 frames per second, both phones also support 4K 60 recording on the front and back cameras. The 14 Pro Max on the other hand can record up [00:06:30] to 4K video at 24, 25, 30, or 60 frames per second on the front and back cameras. We'll see how the new Samsung video camera performs on the S 23 ultra. But video quality from the iPhone has always been a step ahead from that of the Samsung phones. That being said, who knows what this new video camera will bring. Like this video, if you wanna see a 14 Pro Max versus S 23 Ultra camera comparison, Speaker 1: Let's talk batteries. Both the S 22 and S 23 Ultra [00:07:00] have a 5,000 milli AER battery. Our CNET review of the S 22 Ultra found that battery to last for about a day and a half of everyday use. But you know we'll be doing an S 23 Ultra battery test. Apple doesn't disclose battery capacity, but it claims the 14 Pro Max offers up to 29 hours of video playback. I fix it in their teardown of the iPhone 14. Pro Max found that it has a 4,323 milliamp beer battery. iPhones have traditionally had smaller batteries in their phones. However, apple has been able to optimize its [00:07:30] OS and Aeries chips to be more efficient. In C Net's review, we found the 14 Promax battery to also last for a day and a half on a single charge. The S 22 Ultra S 23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max also all support wireless charging with the S 22 and S 23 Ultra. Also supporting reverse wireless charging to top up other devices from the back of the phone. Speaker 1: And finally, let's go over another very important distinction colors. The S 22 [00:08:00] Ultra comes in burgundy green, phantom white, and phantom black. The S 23 ultra swaps, burgundy and phantom white with cream and lavender. And the 14 pro max comes in deep purple, gold, silver, and space black. Those are all of the specs to help you understand how the S 22 and S 23 Ultra as well as the 14 pro Max stack up against each other. Remember, specs don't tell the whole story, so subscribe to Cena to stay tuned for our hands on with the S 23 Ultra.