Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra / Apple iPhone 14

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 14: iPhone 14 (2022); 128, 256 and 512 GB. UK and European models (e.g. A2882) use nano-SIM plus eSIM; the US model A2649 is eSIM-only and supports mmWave 5G. The iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro are separate models.

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy S23 UltraApple iPhone 14
Release year20232022
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		6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED; 2532 × 1170 pixels, 460 ppi; HDR, True Tone, wide colour (P3)

Typical maximum brightness is 800 nits, with a 1200-nit peak in HDR content; typical contrast is 2,000,000:1. Because the corners are rounded, the visible area is slightly smaller than a 6.06-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		12 MP Main (26 mm, ƒ/1.5, sensor-shift optical stabilisation) and 12 MP Ultra Wide (13 mm, ƒ/2.4, 120°); 2x optical zoom out, digital zoom up to 5x

There is no telephoto camera: the 2x figure means switching from the main to the ultra wide camera. Photos are processed with Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion and Smart HDR 4; Night mode and Portrait mode are available.

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 Dolby Vision HDR at 24/25/30/60 fps; Cinematic mode up to 4K HDR at 30 fps; Action mode up to 2.8K at 60 fps; 1080p slo-mo at 120/240 fps

Recording formats are HEVC and H.264, with stereo audio. 8 MP stills can be taken while recording 4K video.

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 20 hours of video (16 hours streamed), up to 80 hours of audio; built-in lithium-ion battery; 15 W wireless charging with MagSafe, 7.5 W with Qi; about 50% in 30 minutes with a 20 W or higher adapter

The box includes a USB‑C to Lightning cable but no power adapter or EarPods. The fast-charge time comes from Apple’s test with a 20 W adapter.

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 Samsung146.7 × 71.5 × 7.80 mm; 172 g Apple
Build—Ceramic Shield front, glass back, aluminium frame Apple
Water and dust resistance—IP68 (IEC 60529; up to 6 metres for up to 30 minutes) Apple
Chip—A15 Bionic: 6-core CPU (2 performance + 4 efficiency), 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine Apple
Storage—128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB

Capacity is chosen at purchase; the phone has no memory card slot.

Apple
Front camera and Face ID—12 MP TrueDepth, ƒ/1.9, autofocus with Focus Pixels; Face ID

The front camera also records 4K Dolby Vision video; Face ID uses the same TrueDepth camera for facial recognition.

Apple
Cellular and wireless—5G (sub-6 GHz; mmWave too on the US model), Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO, Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax) 2x2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.3, Ultra Wideband chip, NFC with reader mode

Band support depends on the model number. The UK models A2882 and A2886 do not list mmWave bands; the US model A2649 supports n258/n260/n261.

Apple
SIM—UK/Europe: nano-SIM + eSIM or dual eSIM; US: dual eSIM only (no physical SIM support)

Using eSIM requires carrier support. The US model is not compatible with physical SIM cards.

Apple
Satellite and safety features—Emergency SOS via satellite, Crash Detection, Roadside Assistance, Messages and Find My via satellite

According to Apple, Emergency SOS and Roadside Assistance via satellite are free for two years after an iPhone 14 is activated; connection and response times vary with location and site conditions.

Apple
Location—GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou; digital compass; iBeacon Apple
Connector and video output—Lightning; up to 1080p video out with the Lightning Digital AV Adapter; up to 4K HDR via AirPlay

Adapters are sold separately.

Apple
Audio formats—AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Atmos; Spatial Audio playback Apple
Sensors—Face ID, barometer, high dynamic range gyro, high-g accelerometer, proximity sensor, dual ambient light sensors Apple