Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

10 October 2023
We compare the iPhone 15 Pro Max to the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • 0%R
  • 11 Oct 2023

In terms of brightness/ readibility the S23 Ultra wins. Yes, the iPhone is brighter on paper, but Vision Booster makes the S23 Ultra more readable in bright sunlight. Also, the iPhone has the same issue as always, the max brightness does not last long and after a short while the screen dims heavily. On the S23 Ultra, no such issue.

    p0rk, 11 Oct 2023Oversharpening is an easy fix for Samsung by getting camera... moreNo, not that easy. This option is basically blurring details, not undoing sharpening. I have tested that over and over with my S23U and GCAM gets so much better results. Processing in the Samsung is just bad.

      p0rk, 11 Oct 2023Oversharpening is an easy fix for Samsung by getting camera... more'Unless their purpose was just to show default options'

      Well duh, that's kind of obvious.

      If they were going to include details on methods you can use to improve image output in this review, it would make War and Peace look like a post-it note!

      I can simply use Varlens and its AI de-sharpening feature to get more natural shots on an iPhone as just one of countless examples for instance. Though Apple have dialed the sharpening down themselves this year.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • spw
        • 11 Oct 2023

        Samsung is absolute dog-crap in low light, photo and video, and is barely better in very good light at 10x.

          Yes bro pay 500EUR more for "better water resistance" and dolby vision ☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️

            Anonymous, 11 Oct 2023I can keep going, because the difference is massive. If you... moreHere are the crops from the 1x shot from both phones to make my points clear: https://imgur.com/a/PfEvzFX

            Crop 1: Diagonal lines on the roofs of the building in the middle, as well as windows of a distant glass building are more visible on iPhone. On Samsung, they are all mushed together.

            Crop 2: Highlights on the tree branch are extremely stark and create a very unnatural separation from the rest of the foliage (which also looks oversharpened and oil painting-like) on Samsung. iPhone has none of these issues.

            Crop 3: Electricity cables look equally visible on both phones, but the rest of the crop shows, again, severe ringing around all edges on Samsung. Samsung's shot is making the foliage look more like broccoli. A clear proof that an insane amount of sharpening on Samsung's shot isn't really helping it define more details over the iPhone's more neutral-looking, higher-resolution shot.

            Crop 4: Sharpening on Samsung's shot is discolouring the red on the "no parking" sign.

            Crop 5: Noise reduction is smudging all the vertical lines on the red roof and any real textures in the clouds above.

            It's a cardinal sin of smartphone manufacturers who have kept employing offensive processing even after the sensors grew larger and it was no longer necessary for them to do so - There are still so many techie people who have only kept track of many of those low-quality "smartphone photo comparisons" on YouTube then have been tricked into thinking "more sharpening = more details". It's not 2017 or 2018 anymore, we're in 2023 where most manufacturers use type 1/1.3 - 1 sensors for their main cameras. We don't need our phones to cook photos badly when we already have good sensors to begin with.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • mFd
              • 11 Oct 2023

              Anonymous, 11 Oct 2023I recognise That YouTube channel only want Samsung to win. How?
              His test was literally same on both devices but you just can't get in terms that an android phone performs better than an iPhone

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • spw
                • 11 Oct 2023

                If you're already in the Android bubble there's no contest...

                But Apple has so many things going for them, it's never just about the phones.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • 0cB
                  • 11 Oct 2023

                  Without reading and watching anything would take Samsung any day and night with closed eyes and without any second thought.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • Fek
                    • 11 Oct 2023

                    Anonymous, 11 Oct 2023Hmm...1000 EUR vs 1500 EUR...which one to get. If we count samsung beggin for sales then you are right.

                    Samsung makes some great products but it's silly that on day one with member sales and carrier sales you could get a S23U day one under 1000 euro.

                    THEN JUST MAKE IT 1000 EURO FOR EVERYONE WITHOUT SILLY DISCOUNTS (because not everyone is eligible to use them)

                    Anyhow without member exclusive discounts Samsung is now 20 euro less than the iphone in my country.

                      • p
                      • p0rk
                      • n5y
                      • 11 Oct 2023

                      Oversharpening is an easy fix for Samsung by getting camera assistant app, and there you have 3 levels of sharpening. And trust me, i would look much better than actuall iphone. Im just sad they did not included it on tests. Unless their purpose was just to show default options.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • tu2
                        • 11 Oct 2023

                        Viv, 10 Oct 2023I saw a video on YouTube where this 15 was lagging playing ... moreI recognise That YouTube channel only want Samsung to win.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • spw
                          • 11 Oct 2023

                          Anonymous, 11 Oct 2023Apple 3nm A17 pro chip is a half baked processor made by TS... moreYou have absolutely no idea what you're talking about...

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • nCH
                            • 11 Oct 2023

                            Both are the best of different world.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • nCH
                              • 11 Oct 2023

                              Anonymous, 11 Oct 2023Unnecessary comparison. S23 has Android - that's victo... moreLol.

                                Apple nailed it with the weight this year, first time you pick the phone you are very surprised by the weight, you just don't except that and that is one main thing which will sell tens of millions of these, it's the first impression from the very first moment.

                                For the users like me who like their phones to be small and compact and light, this was surprisingly easy switch to bigger model when in fact it feels as light in hands as the old smaller Pro. Well done Apple.

                                  • V
                                  • Vishal
                                  • Hkw
                                  • 11 Oct 2023

                                  iPhone doesn't have fingerprint sensor

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 05g
                                    • 11 Oct 2023

                                    Hanif Fikri, 11 Oct 2023"Both the iPhone and the Galaxy displays can be very c... moreIf you want oversaturated colours on a Samsung you enable one of the oversaturated display modes. If you like colours reproduced accurately, you don't. You apparently also have to stay way clear of brands like Xiaomi and Apple.

                                    Thanks for the heads up!

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • vGN
                                      • 11 Oct 2023

                                      Unnecessary comparison. S23 has Android - that's victory by default against the device with pathetic iOS.

                                      All other differences are minor, by comparison.

                                        "Both the iPhone and the Galaxy displays can be very color-accurate, so these two are on par here" Samsung display color washed out compared to any other brands..iphone and xiaomi did best calibrating display color saturation and most accurate color results..I can't understand why majority people can't see how bad samsung producing accurate colors despite the difference is like morning and night when compared to iphone and xiaomi :/

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