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Every fall, the new iPhones launch, and every fall, the must-do comparison is between them and Samsung’s Galaxy S series. They’re the two highest-profile flagship phone series on the market with the widest global availability, and for most people who walk into a store looking for a new flagship phone, the two options will be the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
And with smartphone cameras getting better and better — and arguably the biggest reason people go for these Ultra/Pro Max devices — it’s only natural we take a real close look at the camera systems of these two high-end devices.
iPhone 15 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Pricing, availability, specs
Both phones are available now worldwide at virtually every retailer that sells mobile devices and every carrier. Both also start at $1,199 for 256GB of storage. The Galaxy S23 Ultra maxes out at 512GB storage for $1,379, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max goes up to 1TB, which is priced at $1,599.
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Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra SoC Apple A17 Pro Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Display 6.7-inch OLED Super Retina XDR 6.8-inch QHD+ Edge, Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display, Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate (1-120Hz), 240Hz touch sampling rate in gaming mode RAM 8GB 8GB, 12GB Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB UFS 4.0 Battery 4,422mAh 5,000mAh Operating System iOS 17 Android 13 / One UI 5.1 Connectivity USB 3.0, 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, Thread 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 Dimensions 6.29 x 3.01 x 0.32 inches (159.9 x 76.7 x 8.25mm) 6.43 x 3.07 x 0.35 inches (163.3 x 77.9 x 8.89mm) Colors Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium, White Titanium, Black Titanium Cream, Green, Lavender, Phantom Black, Samsung exclusive colors (Lime, Graphite, Sky Blue, and Red) Camera 48MP f/1.78 main, 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide, & 12MP f/2.8 telephoto with 5x optical zoom; 12MP TrueDepth camera 200MP f/1.7 wide angle, 10MP f/2.4 2x zoom, 10MP f/4.9 10x zoom, 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, 12MP f/2.2 front camera Weight 7.8 ounces (221g) 8.25 ounces (233.8g) Charge speed 20W wired, 15W MagSafe wireless 45W IP Rating IP68 IP68 Price $1,100 Starts at $1,200
Main camera
The iPhone 15 Pro Max brings back the same Sony IMX803 sensor from the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but it gets a new ISP and image processing pipeline. While still a 48MP camera, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will now snap two photos every time you hit the shutter: a full resolution 48MP shot and a pixel-binned 12MP photo, and then combine the two images for 24MP output. This process is quite different from other phones, including the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which either shoots in full resolution or binned format. For the S23 Ultra’s camera, Samsung introduced a self-developed 200MP image sensor that mostly shoots 9-in-1 binned photos.
Both image sensor sizes are almost identical, at 1/1.28-inch for the iPhone and 1/1.3-inch for Samsung, but the S23 Ultra has a faster f/1.7 aperture compared to the iPhone’s f/1.8. Let’s look at our first sample image.
Main camera, iPhone 15 Pro Max (left), S23 Ultra (right)
The two images show the difference in color science between Apple and Samsung, which dates back years. The iPhone 15 Pro Max image is warmer, and renders my friend’s skin tones a bit more realistically. Particularly if we zoom into the person in the foreground’s face, the texture of his skin just looks a bit more “real” than Samsung’s shot. You’ll also notice the lights are better exposed in the iPhone shot than in Samsung’s shot.
Main camera, 100% crops, iPhone 15 Pro Max (left); Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)
The above are 100% crops. The iPhone image is larger due to the 24MP output to Samsung’s 12MP image. If we examine other parts of the frame, the iPhone image is slightly sharper and exhibits stronger bokeh in the background.
Main camera, 100% crops, iPhone 15 Pro Max (left); Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Samsung’s shot — it still looks good — but the iPhone image is just slightly better in all the little areas that matter.
Now, let’s move to a more challenging lighting condition: shooting against backlight with lots of shadows.
Main camera, iPhone 15 Pro Max (left); Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)
Both shots did a good job of handling dynamic range, exposing the scene near the window without blowing out the lights, and keeping the shadowed part of the room about the right level of dark. Again, the iPhone image is a better reflection of the real-life lighting, and if we crop in and look out the window, we can see the iPhone image exposes the building across slightly better, too.
Main camera, cropped, iPhone 15 Pro Max (left); Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)
Moving to low-light images, it’s the same story: the iPhone image just has slightly better exposure than the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s image. However, the S23 Ultra image is a tad sharper and less noisy, likely due to having more pixels to produce the binned photo.
Looking at one more sample, again, the iPhone exposure is clearly superior to the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which has a tendency to capture a bit too much light.
Main camera, iPhone 15 Pro Max (left), S23 Ultra (right)
This is the first time in my many years of testing cameras where the iPhone main camera just outdoes the Galaxy S main camera in almost every area. This is a testament to the iPhone’s advancements and Samsung’s complacency in recent years — the latter is something I’ve called out in most of my recent Samsung reviews.
Zoom lens(es)
This category would not be a contest in years past, as the Galaxy S Ultra phones have had the most versatile zoom system over the last three years while the iPhone zoom cameras have been average at best. But the iPhone 15 Pro Max gains a new 5X zoom lens that uses technology similar to a periscope lens. However, it still won’t be the most direct comparison because the new iPhone only has one 5X lens, while Samsung has a 3X and 10X combo.
5X iPhone 15 Pro Max (left); 10X Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)
This first set of images, of a photographer holding an actual telephoto lens, utilizes the iPhone’s new 5X against Samsung’s 10X zoom, hence why the latter has a tighter framing. We can see the iPhone’s 5X zoom is a big improvement over previous iPhone zoom shots, producing a bit of natural bokeh, but it’s still no match for the S23 Ultra’s 10X lens. If we dial in to actual size, we can see clearly that Samsung’s 10X shot is still sharper than Apple’s 5X shot.
Cropped, 5X iPhone 15 Pro Max (left); 10X Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)
In the next set, I wanted to get similar framing, so I took 10X zoom shots, with the iPhone effectively doing a digital zoom against Samsung’s optical zoom. The results are about as you’d expect, with a clear win in favor of the S23 Ultra.
Now we move on to the reverse test, with a Samsung digital zoom going against an iPhone optical zoom. Below is a 5X zoom image. The iPhone obviously captured it with its native 5X lens, but the S23 Ultra has to use digital crop from its 3X tele lens. Considering the circumstances, the S23 Ultra shot is not bad, but the iPhone image is clearly the winner.
Basically, it’s impossible to do a “fair” direct zoom test because the phones have different optical zoom ranges. But the S23 Ultra having two optical lenses for 3X and 10X gives it more versatility, and ultimately, the S23 Ultra will likely win every zoom comparison except the 5X.
Portraits
One of the problems with the iPhone 15 Pro Max going with a single 5X zoom lens is that its 120mm focal length is too long for portrait mode photos, so for the first time in years, the iPhone’s portrait mode is captured with the main camera, with an in-sensor crop. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, meanwhile, can use its native 3X tele lens for portraits.
Portrait shot, iPhone 15 Pro Max (left); Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)
Edge detection (the fake bokeh created around the subject) is a tad better on the iPhone — if you look closely, you can see that the S23 Ultra makes small errors around my friend’s hair. But because the S23 Ultra is shooting with a dedicated lens, it has sharper details than the iPhone, which is doing significant digital zoom/crop here.
Portrait shot, cropped, iPhone 15 Pro Max (left); Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)portrait mark cro
There’s also better background compression in the Samsung shot because it is a real telephoto lens doing the capture instead of the iPhone, which is digitally cropped into a wide lens. Samsung takes this round. Apple’s next move to really put together a well-rounded camera system, is to put four cameras into the next phone (perhaps the rumored Ultra?) with a short and long zoom.
Ultrawide
The iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra made no changes to their ultrawide cameras, bringing back the same hardware from the past couple of generations. But Apple’s much-improved image processing is showing in all the samples below, with noticeably better exposure.
Ultra-wide, iPhone 15 Pro Max (left); Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)
Although the hardware is similar here, the iPhone’s ultrawide is also a tad less noisy.
Ultra-wide, cropped, iPhone 15 Pro Max (left); Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)
And in low-light conditions, the iPhone’s decision to keep the shot darker instead of Samsung trying to artificially pump in light resulted in drastically different photos. While the Galaxy S23 Ultra image may be more Instagram-ready at first glance, the iPhone image maintains much more details if you examine them closely.
This one is the closest category so far, but I’m giving it to the iPhone also.
Selfie camera
The iPhone’s selfie camera mops the floor with Samsung here, producing better colors, dynamic range, and skin tones.
Selfie camera, iPhone 15 Pro Max (left); Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)
Samsung’s selfie cameras have notoriously tried too hard to add beauty filters, and while the South Korean tech giant has toned it down, old habits die hard. Anybody who watches Korean dramas or K-pop videos, or has been to Seoul, knows how much Koreans value pale, smooth, baby-faced skin. It makes sense that Samsung engineers wouldn’t go against that cultural bias, but for everybody else, particularly in the West, those tunings are a bit much.
Selfie camera, iPhone 15 Pro Max (left); Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)
Video
Below are video footage captured by both phones, in both normal mode and portrait video mode. It’s a clear win for the iPhone, which has been the video camera king for a decade and still holds the crown. The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s video capabilities are very good, and among the best in Android, but Apple’s combination of stabilization and real-time adjustment for lighting and exposure is unmatched in the mobile space.
Which phone has a better camera system?
The Galaxy S23 Ultra only wins two niche categories clearly: portrait and zoom photos. Otherwise, the iPhone 15 Pro Max wins in every area, including all the mainstream modes like main camera, selfies, and video. I am very surprised by this result because I have been a vocal critic of the iPhone camera system for the last two years, but I’m coming around on this flagship in more areas than just the camera. But the new 24MP processing and zoom lens combine to take the camera systems a few levels up.
Source: Apple
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
The iPhone 15 Pro Max introduces an all-new, customizable Action button, a titanium chassis with round edges, and a USB Type-C port. It exclusively offers up to 5x optical zoom, too.
Samsung’s camera system is still very capable, but the iPhone 15 Pro Max is just ahead. The silver lining is that the Galaxy S23 Ultra is almost Samsung’s last-gen flagship, as the S24 Ultra is just a rumored two months away. We shall see if Samsung can catch up, or surpass, the iPhone 15 Pro Max then.
Source: Samsung
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
$1000 $1200 Save $200
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is nearly a year old but its camera system is still highly versatile and one of the best shooters around.
