Apple has stolen the limelight with the release of four new iPhone 15 models, but can they all stack up to what Samsung has to offer?
The Apple Wonderlust event graced us with four new iPhones, including the base iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. These handsets are currently available for pre-order, with shipping commencing on 29th September in the UK.
If you’ve been considering updating your handset to a newer model, you may want to consider other alternatives, such as the 4.5-star (out of 5) Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
We’re going to be running through all the vital differences between the iPhone 15 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra; it’s worth noting that we haven’t yet reviewed the iPhone 15 Plus, but we can glean a lot of information from its specs to keep you informed on which device shows the most promise.
Pre-order the new iPhone 15 range at Box
The complete iPhone 15 range is now available to pre-order sim free at Box from just £799. Includes iPhone 15/15 Plus and Pro/Pro Max
- Box
- All colours! All variations!
- from £799 – £1,599
120Hz refresh rate on the Galaxy S23 Ultra
One of the premium screen features that Apple has kept exclusive to the Pro and Pro Max range of iPhones is Apple ProMotion. Apple ProMotion is an adaptive refresh rate technology, allowing the screen to jump from 10Hz to 120Hz. This gives a lot of wiggle room in terms of screen performance and preserving battery life. The iPhone 15 Plus isn’t lucky enough to come with this feature, however, sporting a simple 60Hz refresh rate.
Samsung kitted out the Galaxy S23 Ultra with a 120Hz refresh rate with LTPO support. This allows it to drop down to as low as 1Hz to preserve battery life while allowing for a 120Hz experience when scrolling through apps or watching video content. This gives the Galaxy S23 Ultra an edge when it comes to its display.
48-megapixel main sensor on the iPhone 15 Plus
Similarly to ProMotion technology, Apple has saved the best cameras for the Pro and Pro Max models. The iPhone 15 Plus comes with a 48-megapixel main sensor, alongside a 12MP ultrawide sensor and 12MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom capabilities.
Samsung went all out on its flagship device; the Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with an impressive 200-megapixel main sensor, alongside a 12MP ultrawide and dual 10MP telephoto lens with 3x and 10x optical zoom, respectively. We found that the 200MP snapper truly surpassed expectations, delivering some of the best results our reviewer has seen from a smartphone to date.
A16 Bionic vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
The iPhone 15 comes with the Apple Silicon A16 Bionic chipset. This chip can also be found on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max devices, but has since made its way onto this latest generation. It is built on a 4nm process node that Apple managed to cram 16 billion transistors into. It comes with a 6-core CPU – made up of 2 high-performance cores and 4 high-efficiency cores – alongside a 5-core GPU.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. It is also built on a 4nm process and comes with 16 billion transistors for a faster performance compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. We found that the Galaxy S23 Ultra offered a top-notch performance, being more than capable of gaming and graphical workloads.
If you want to learn even more about the differences between the A16 Bionic and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, then check out our dedicated versus for a more thorough deep-dive into the specs.
More colourways on the Galaxy S23 Ultra
It’s not just the internals of a handset that are important, as you also want to make sure that the overall aesthetics are to your liking. Samsung clearly considered this when developing the Galaxy S23 Ultra, since it can be found in a whopping eight colourways.
The Samsung selection includes Green, Phantom Black, Lavender, Cream, Lime, Sky Blue, Graphite and Red. It is worth noting that certain colour availability may vary on your region and mobile carrier – with some being online exclusives.
Apple has kitted out the iPhone 15 Plus with a couple of colourways, including Black, Blue, Pink, Green and Yellow. These colours are muted and pastel in nature, with no loud and saturated options.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
