Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra / Apple iPhone 13 mini

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Galaxy S23 Ultra (2023): 8 GB + 256 GB, 12 GB + 512 GB or 12 GB + 1 TB. Every market uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. The Galaxy S23 and S23+ and the later S24 Ultra are separate models.

Apple iPhone 13 mini: iPhone 13 mini (2021); 128, 256 and 512 GB. The iPhone 13, 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max are separate models.

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy S23 UltraApple iPhone 13 mini
Release year20232021
Display6.8-inch QHD+ Edge Dynamic AMOLED 2X; 1–120 Hz adaptive refresh; 1750 nits; 240 Hz touch sampling in Game Mode

Adaptive refresh drops to as low as 1 Hz when content is static to save power and rises to 120 Hz when scrolling and gaming. Vision Booster adjusts colour and contrast in bright conditions across three lighting levels; the edge curve is reduced compared with the S22 Ultra.

Samsung		5.4-inch Super Retina XDR OLED; 2340 × 1080 pixels, 476 ppi; HDR, True Tone, wide colour (P3)

Typical maximum brightness is 800 nits, 1200 nits peak for HDR content; typical contrast 2,000,000:1. There is no ProMotion; that is only on the 13 Pro models. Because the corners are rounded, the visible area is slightly smaller than the 5.42-inch rectangle.

Apple
Front and back glassCorning Gorilla Glass Victus 2; Armor Aluminum frame

According to Samsung, the S23 series was the first S series to use Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

Samsung		—
ProcessorSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy

Samsung says the vapour chamber is larger on every S23-series model.

Samsung		—
Memory and storage8 GB + 256 GB, 12 GB + 512 GB or 12 GB + 1 TB

Memory depends on the storage option; usable space is lower because of preloaded software. There is no memory card slot.

Samsung		—
Rear cameras200 MP Wide (F1.7, 85°), 12 MP Ultra Wide (F2.2, 120°), 10 MP 3x telephoto (F2.4, 36°), 10 MP 10x telephoto (F4.9, 11°)

The 200 MP sensor outputs 200, 50 or 12 MP images through pixel binning. 100x Space Zoom combines 10x optical with 10x AI-assisted digital zoom; image quality may deteriorate beyond 10x. The optical stabilisation angle was doubled compared with the S22 Ultra.

Samsung		Dual 12 MP: Main (ƒ/1.6, sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, 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 refers to switching from the main to the ultra-wide camera. Night mode, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 4 and Photographic Styles are included; macro photography and ProRAW are only on the Pro models.

Apple
VideoUp to 8K at 30 fps

The Expert RAW app (downloaded separately from the Galaxy Store) offers RAW capture at up to 50 MP.

Samsung		4K at 24/25/30/60 fps; Dolby Vision HDR up to 4K 60 fps; Cinematic mode 1080p at 30 fps; 1080p slo-mo at 120/240 fps

Recording formats are HEVC and H.264; ProRes recording is only on the Pro models.

Apple
Front camera12 MP, F2.2, 80°

On the S23 series the front camera gets fast autofocus and 60 fps Super HDR.

Samsung		—
Battery and charging5000 mAh (typical; rated minimum 4855 mAh); 45 W wired charging; Fast Wireless Charging 2.0; Wireless PowerShare

45 W requires a separately sold 45 W adapter and a 5 A USB-C cable; wired charging is compatible with QC2.0 and AFC. Wireless PowerShare charges Qi-compatible devices from the back of the phone when the battery is above 30%.

Samsung		Up to 17 hours video (13 hours streamed), up to 55 hours audio; built-in lithium-ion battery; MagSafe wireless charging up to 15 W, Qi 7.5 W; up to 50% in 30 minutes with a 20 W or higher adapter

According to Apple’s MagSafe charger page, the iPhone 13 mini charges at up to 12 W on a MagSafe Charger with an adapter of at least 9V/2.03A. No adapter is in the box.

Apple
Software and updatesLaunched with Android 13 and One UI 5.1; four Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates

Update timing can vary by model and market.

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

Using Wi‑Fi 6E’s 6 GHz band needs a Wi‑Fi 6E router and market availability.

Samsung		—
SecuritySamsung Knox, Knox Vault

Knox Vault keeps critical data in separate hardware isolated from the operating system.

Samsung		—
Water resistanceIP68 (up to 30 minutes at 1.5 metres in fresh water)

Samsung does not recommend beach or pool use.

Samsung		—
Size and weight78.1 × 163.4 × 8.9 mm; 234 g Samsung131.5 × 64.2 × 7.65 mm; 140 g Apple
Body—Ceramic Shield front, glass back, aluminium frame; fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating Apple
Water and dust resistance—IP68 (IEC 60529; up to 6 metres for 30 minutes)

Apple notes that liquid damage is not covered by warranty and that resistance may decrease with normal wear.

Apple
Chip—A15 Bionic: 6-core CPU (2 performance + 4 efficiency), 4-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

The A15 in the iPhone 13 Pro has a 5-core GPU; the mini and standard iPhone 13 have 4 cores.

Apple
Storage—128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB

Capacity is chosen at purchase; there is no memory card slot.

Apple
Front camera and Face ID—12 MP TrueDepth, ƒ/2.2; Face ID

The front camera also supports 4K Dolby Vision video and Cinematic mode.

Apple
Cellular and wireless—5G (sub-6 GHz, 4x4 MIMO), Gigabit LTE (4x4 MIMO, LAA), Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax) 2x2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0, Ultra Wideband chip, NFC with reader mode

The models on the UK page list no mmWave 5G. Ultra Wideband availability varies by region.

Apple
SIM—Dual SIM (nano-SIM + eSIM) or dual eSIM Apple
Port and video output—Lightning; up to 1080p video via the Lightning Digital AV Adapter; up to 4K HDR via AirPlay

Adapters are sold separately.

Apple
Audio and video formats—AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Atmos; Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG for HDR video Apple
Sensors—Face ID, barometer, three-axis gyro, accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor Apple