Samsung Galaxy S23 / Apple iPhone 12

Samsung Galaxy S23: Galaxy S23 (2023); 8 GB RAM, 128 or 256 GB (options vary by market). The Galaxy S23+, S23 Ultra and S23 FE are separate models.

Apple iPhone 12: iPhone 12; 64, 128 and 256 GB. Apple’s UK spec page lists model A2403; bands depend on the model number. The iPhone 12 mini, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max are separate models.

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy S23Apple iPhone 12
Release year20232020
Display6.1-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X; 48–120 Hz Super Smooth refresh; 1750 nits; 240 Hz touch sampling in Game Mode

The refresh rate varies between 48 and 120 Hz depending on content. Vision Booster adjusts the picture to stay readable in bright light. The size is measured as a full rectangle; the visible area is smaller.

Samsung		6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED; 2532 × 1170 at 460 ppi; HDR display, True Tone, Wide colour (P3), Haptic Touch

The display is 60 Hz; Apple does not list ProMotion for this model. Because of the rounded corners the rectangle measures 6.06 inches and the actual viewable area is slightly less. True Tone adjusts white balance to ambient light.

Apple
Cover glassCorning Gorilla Glass Victus 2

According to Samsung, the S23 series is the first S series to use Victus 2 glass.

Samsung		—
ProcessorSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy

Samsung introduced this version as a Snapdragon optimised for Galaxy and exclusive to the S23 series at launch.

Samsung		—
Memory and storage8 GB RAM; 128 GB or 256 GB

Usable space is lower because of preloaded software.

Samsung		—
Rear cameras50 MP Wide (F1.8, 85°), 12 MP Ultra Wide (F2.2, 120°), 10 MP Telephoto (3x optical, F2.4, 36°)

The telephoto gives 3x optical zoom; zoom beyond that is digital.

Samsung		Dual 12MP: Main (ƒ/1.6, OIS, seven-element lens, 100% Focus Pixels) and Ultra Wide (ƒ/2.4, 120°); 2x optical zoom out, digital zoom up to 5x

There is no telephoto camera; 2x optical zoom out means switching to the ultrawide. Night mode and Deep Fusion merge several frames in low light to reduce noise. Smart HDR 3 and Portrait mode with six Portrait Lighting effects are supported.

Apple
Front camera12 MP (F2.2, 80°) Samsung—
Battery3900 mAh (typical); rated minimum 3785 mAh

The typical value is the average from third-party lab tests; the rated value is the minimum capacity across battery samples.

Samsung		—
ChargingWired: about 50% in around 30 minutes with a 25 W adapter and 3 A USB‑C cable; Fast Wireless Charging 2.0; Wireless PowerShare

The adapter is sold separately. Wired charging is compatible with QC2.0 and AFC. PowerShare needs the battery above 30% to charge another device.

Samsung		—
Operating systemAndroid 13 with One UI 5.1 at launch

Samsung promised four Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates for the S23 series; timing varies by model and market.

Samsung		—
Connectivity5G, LTE, Wi‑Fi 6E, Wi‑Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5.3

Wi‑Fi 6E needs a router with 6 GHz support; availability varies by market and provider.

Samsung		—
Water resistanceIP68 (up to 1.5 m of fresh water for up to 30 minutes)

Samsung does not advise beach or pool use.

Samsung		—
SecuritySamsung Knox and Knox Vault Samsung—
Size and weight70.9 × 146.3 × 7.6 mm; 168 g Samsung146.7 × 71.5 × 7.4 mm; 162 g Apple
Brightness and contrast—625 nits max brightness (typical); 1,200 nits max brightness (HDR); 2,000,000:1 contrast

1,200 nits applies only to HDR video and photos; the normal interface tops out at 625 nits. The 2,000-nit outdoor mode of newer iPhones is not on this model.

Apple
Design and materials—Ceramic Shield front, glass back and aluminium design; fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating Apple
Chip—A14 Bionic chip; 6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores, 4-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

The Neural Engine speeds up photo processing such as Deep Fusion and Night mode and other on-device machine-learning tasks.

Apple
Storage—64 GB, 128 GB or 256 GB

There is no memory card slot; formatted capacity is lower.

Apple
Video—HDR video with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 30 fps; 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps; 1080p slo-mo at 120/240 fps; cinematic stabilisation; HEVC and H.264

Dolby Vision recording is limited to 30 fps at 4K; 4K at 60 fps does not use Dolby Vision HDR. 8 MP stills can be taken while recording 4K.

Apple
Front camera and Face ID—12MP TrueDepth (ƒ/2.2); Dolby Vision HDR up to 4K at 30 fps; Face ID Apple
Wireless—5G (sub-6 GHz) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE; Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMO; Bluetooth 5.0; Ultra Wideband chip; NFC with reader mode

The UK page lists model A2403; bands depend on the model number and this page has no mmWave. Express Cards with Power Reserve keep some transit cards usable for a few hours after the battery runs out.

Apple
Battery and charging—Up to 17 hours video, 11 hours streamed, 65 hours audio; built-in rechargeable lithium-ion; up to 50% in 30 minutes with a 20W or higher adapter; MagSafe up to 15W, Qi up to 7.5W

No power adapter is included; the box contains only a USB-C to Lightning cable and documentation. MagSafe uses a magnet array on the back to align chargers and accessories.

Apple
Port—Lightning connector

It is not USB-C. Wired video out through the Lightning Digital AV Adapter is limited to 1080p; AirPlay to Apple TV mirrors up to 4K HDR.

Apple
SIM—Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM)

eSIM use depends on carrier support.

Apple
Durability—IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes, IEC 60529) Apple
Operating conditions—Ambient temperature 0–35 °C; relative humidity 5–95% non-condensing; tested up to 3,000 m altitude Apple
Colours—Black, White, (PRODUCT)RED, Green, Blue, Purple Apple
Service programme—Free service programme for receiver (earpiece) no-sound issues; iPhone 12 and 12 Pro made between October 2020 and April 2021

Apple says a very small percentage of devices may have a failing component in the receiver module, so no sound is heard on calls. The programme covered units for 3 years after first retail sale and does not extend the warranty; other damage such as a cracked screen may need fixing first. The iPhone 12 mini and 12 Pro Max are not included.

Apple