iPhone 15 Pro vs. Galaxy S23 Ultra: Which phone is best for you?

This article is part of our series Battle of the Brands, in which we compare category-leading products to their counterparts to determine which are actually worth your money.

It’s time for a battle of the big beefy phones, as we look at the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra, the titans of the smartphone world. Neither is cheap, but still both draw a huge crowd when they take the stage. That’s because they both aim to be the best of the best when it comes to smartphones today.

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are the new competitors on the block, packing not only the snazzy new Action button and Apple’s latest speedy CPU but also an improved telephoto lens with optical zoom. Meanwhile, the S23 Ultra comfortably holds the title of best high-end Android phone out there, thanks to its own impressive zoom, excellent battery life and built-in S Pen stylus.

But which of these $1,000-plus champions deserves space in your pockets and bags? Let’s compare the differences between them.

iPhone 15 Pro vs. Galaxy S23 Ultra at a glance

Quick comparison

The Galaxy S23 Ultra is possibly too big and too pricey, while the iPhone 15 Pro gives you options

If you handed me Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra a few months ago, I would have looked at you quizzically and exclaimed, “Where is the 8-foot giant whose hands are big enough to comfortably hold this thing?” Even though I’ve spent years enjoying the 6.7-inch Pro Max iPhones, the slightly larger 6.8-inch Galaxy S23 Ultra feels a step too far.

Recently, though, I’ve become familiar with the PopSocket, the seemingly ubiquitous phone accessory that makes it easier to hold and use smartphones — especially the ones that are too large for one hand. With a PopSocket, I could understand how mere mortals could make do with the S23 Ultra. Of course, Galactic phone users could just downsize to the 6.6-inch Galaxy S23 Plus or the 6.1-inch Galaxy S23, but that downgrades your cameras.

Meanwhile, over in Apple’s Pro tier, you have the option to get a 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro or the slightly larger 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Pro Max. The two phones are nearly identical aside from their size disparity, with the Pro Max having the edge in telephoto zoom and battery.

There’s something about the curves and edges of the Galaxy S23 Ultra that makes it harder for me to comfortably hold in one hand. Those design choices give it a slightly slippery nature that will probably be fixed by most cases. The slightly curved edges of the iPhone 15 Pro (as opposed to the iPhone 14 Pro) make for an easier experience.

Oh, and the S23 Ultra starts out $200 more expensive, while you can get the iPhone 15 Pro for a grand. You get a little more, though, as it packs 256GB of storage compared to the $999 iPhone 15 Pro’s 128GB. Apple’s extra options, though, are always nice to see. Even those who want to splurge love the choice of a slightly less pricey phone.

TL;DR: The iPhone 15 Pro comes in more sizes and a lower starting price, but you get what you pay for with the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max have predictably different displays

Watching the “John Wick: Chapter 4” trailers on both the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra at the same time, I got an eerie sense of déjà vu. Keanu Reeves’ gunslinging hero and his many villains all looked crisp and accurate on both phones, and I spent much of the first half of the trailer thinking of that “They’re the same picture” meme from “The Office.”

Then, when Reeves rode a horse across the desert, I noticed the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s rendering of the blue sky pale slightly in comparison to the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s. As you may know from previous iPhone versus Galaxy face-offs, Samsung loves to deliver oversaturated color. And while the brighter blues on the Galaxy S23 Ultra looked bolder, I can’t say for sure that I’d rather live with that filter on my screens.

That’s because I’m the kind of person who chooses Filmmaker mode when offered on my LG C2 OLED TV. I want the most realistic image, to see things as intended. If you’d rather view movies, shows and games in the juiciest colors, though, be my guest and go with the S23 Ultra.

If refresh rate matters to you, know that the iPhone 15 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra don’t differ here. Both hit up to 120Hz (meaning scrolling through websites and photos will feel super smooth either way) and offer always-on display panels that let you see things like the time and weather even when your phone’s screen is off.

TL;DR: The S23 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro have similar screens, but you get stronger (oversaturated) colors if you choose Samsung.

The S23 Ultra’s cameras handily beat the iPhone 15 Pro Max on zoom

There are two kinds of zoom on high-end smartphones: the iPhone 15 Pro’s capable and decent zoom, and the Galaxy S23’s“What witchcraft is this?”zoom. Samsung offers 100x digital zoom on its phones, which is great for anyone with a tripod and mount or stable enough hands — in the field, I have neither. So for this comparison, I’m only talking about optical zoom, since it gets you clearer photos and is what most people should be using for casual photography.

I experienced the power of the S23 Ultra’s 10x optical zoom for myself when capturing images of some of my favorite pro wrestlers performing at All Elite Wrestling’s recent show at Arthur Ashe Stadium. My seats were good but not great, and I required a bit of zoom to capture the match. The iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 5x optical zoom got a decent wide shot of Eddie Kingston about to chop Claudio Castagnoli, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 10x camera got a much tighter shot of the Best Friends team.

I got similar results when I brought the cameras with me to Madison Square Garden to see the bands Boygenius and Muna. The results here feel like the difference between OK seats and great seats, especially as you move down to the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x lens from the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s new 5x telephoto lens.

While I’ll note the S23 Ultra’s zoom is a bit blurrier than the others, both bands have a hard time standing still, and getting the same shot from each phone is nigh impossible. This was more meant to be illustrative of how close the optical zoom gets you on each camera.

TL;DR: The Galaxy S23 Ultra gets you closer to the action, but pick the iPhone 15 Pro Max over the regular Pro if you’re choosing between iPhones.

Photos on the S23 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max are a closer battle

The S23 Ultra is the clear king of zoom, but what about something much easier? I tested the main cameras of the S23 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max on my slightly customized AirPods Max and a reusable bag. I wanted to break down how they capture the reds and blues of the headphones and the blue of the bag.

Samsung’s S23 Ultra uses far stronger processing on its photos, delivering a very bright blue for the bag and bolder red for the headphone covers. More crucially, though, the Pro Max captured a more accurate (albeit darker) black for the AirPods Max’s overhead band.

Then I took the S23 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max on the ultimate test: a Friday night out. The S23 Ultra took the narrowest of edges with macro photography of some buffalo chicken wings, which look slightly sharper and more vibrant. But it’s not a difference that I notice without a little focus. And, again, this might just be Samsung leaning on saturation in its image processing.

The most radical difference came with how each phone’s cameras picked up the lighting of an awning, where there was a lot more noise in the S23 Ultra’s photo. The iPhone 15 Pro Max won another round when I happened upon a pink party hat left on a tree, where I found a slight yellowing in the Samsung camera’s photo.

TL;DR: The iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra take similar photos, though the S23 Ultra repeatedly delivers photos with stronger and less natural-looking color.

Apple has an Action-packed feature that Samsung doesn’t

No matter if you get the iPhone 15 Pro or the iPhone 15 Pro Max, you get one thing Samsung won’t give you: an Action button. This little clicker, placed right above the volume-up button (where it replaces the mute switch), defaults to the same “silence” function as before. But open up the Settings app and tap on Action Button, and you’ll find a trove of other options.

For example, I’ve got it set to open Halide, my favorite third-party camera app — which I pulled off with the Shortcuts option that lets you open whatever app you want. If you prefer the regular Apple camera app, you get the added perk of a second Action button click functioning as a shutter button for capturing a moment immediately. The Action button can also toggle a Focus mode, such as Do Not Disturb; turn on your iPhone’s flashlight; or even start recording a voice memo.

Samsung? Well, it tried this once with the S8’s customizable Bixby button, but it was later discontinued. We hope the Action button has a longer shelf life.

TL;DR: The iPhone 15 Pro’s Action button enables tinkering that Samsung can’t quite match.

The iPhone 15 Pro still can’t style on the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s stylus

Apple continues to keep its Pencil styluses in the iPad lane, and Samsung knows it’ll have to pry the S Pen from the S23 Ultra crowd’s cold, dead hands. And I understand why. I try to bring a pen and pad everywhere, and the S Pen offers the closest thing to that, which was handy when I went to the barber and forgot my favorite notepad and pen but still wanted to take notes about my barber’s recommendations.

That said, I wouldn’t trade my Field Notes pens and pads for the S Pen, which doesn’t spark as much joy for me. Sure, it’s functional in a pinch, and it’s nice to have on hand. But the barrel is too thin to feel comfortable using. Also, unlike my favorite handwriting-based device in the ReMarkable 2, the S Pen doesn’t feel natural writing on the S23 Ultra glass. It’s too smooth and slippery.

TL;DR: Samsung still beats Apple on stylus support, thanks to the S23 Ultra’s included S Pen.

The iPhone 15 Pro’s in a league of its own on performance

Both the iPhone 15 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra are super-fast phones, and my day-to-day usage of each was smoother than the waters of a calm brook. That said, this year’s iteration of Apple and Samsung’s performance gains show a continuing disparity.

On paper, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max pretty much dog-walked the Galaxy S23 Ultra. As you’ll see in the below chart, Apple’s proprietary A17 Pro silicon torched the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on the Geekbench 6 multi-core and single-core benchmark tests for general performance. Apple’s scores are 31% higher on the multi-core test and 41% higher on the single-core test, and the latter matters more for day-to-day stuff.

To see how they hold up with graphics, I pulled up the ultra-popular Genshin Impact adventure game. After each took a while to pull in mammoth downloads, both the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra ran the game smoothly, with no flaws. I was hacking and slashing around whimsical plains as monsters of different shapes and sorts attacked.

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, though, look to be a cut above the field when it comes to mobile gaming. Apple’s A17 Pro chips are so mighty that they will run console-quality games like Resident Evil Village (coming Oct. 30), Death Stranding Director’s Cut (later this year) and Assassin’s Creed Mirage (in 2024). I’ve tested out Resident Evil Village and was impressed that the iPhone ran a direct port of the gorgeous 2021 game, though I did see some frame-rate lag when protagonist Ethan Winters was swarmed by enemies.

TL;DR: The iPhone 15 Pro is a beast on performance, dominating the still-speedy S23 Ultra.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra outlasts the iPhone 15 Pro Max on battery life

While we’re currently tinkering on our formal battery benchmark, I can tell you that my own personal iPhone 15 Pro Max usage has been somewhere in the “one charge per day” range, give or take a little battery life. Contrast that with our own S23 Ultra review’s battery testing, which delivered “all day with plenty of room to spare” confidence.

Look around the tech review landscape and you’ll see very strong battery life test numbers from the iPhone but little lived, real-life talk. Hopefully this is something Apple can adjust or catch up on. I’m going to try turning my always-on display completely off to see if that changes anything.

Oh, and the S23 Ultra wins twice in this round, as it’s got faster charging speeds with up to 45W versus the iPhone’s 20W charging speeds.

TL;DR: The Galaxy S23 Ultra is our endurance pick of the two, letting you stop worrying about battery life.

Bottom line

So, who makes the best premium smartphone? That depends on your needs. While Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra is the default top dog for Android users, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max make a mighty claim for the throne no matter what platform you prefer.

We’re shocked, for example, that Apple’s entered the tinkerer space with the Action button. While Apple’s wins in raw performance are not exactly new, we’re also impressed to see the iPhone establish a new ceiling for mobile gaming with the console-quality titles coming this fall and next year.

Also, I don’t know if we need to relitigate the Android versus iOS war, but I’ve really loved some of the new features in iOS 17. Name Drop makes exchanging info as simple as holding your phones close, but my favorite is the live stickers you make out of Live Photos, so I can decorate the group chat with a moving photo of my friend’s ambling pup. That’s not to say the S23 Ultra is light on unique superpowers. DeX mode lets you use the S23 Ultra as a laptop replacement with an external monitor, and a partnership with Adobe means that Lightroom is baked into the camera app.

Powerful zoom and stylus tricks, combined with flat-out impressive battery life, make the Galaxy S23 Ultra a phone you’ll absolutely love — provided you can handle its size. Both are worthy of their high prices, but I’m personally leaning toward the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Admittedly, though, I wish it had the Ultra’s endurance so I didn’t have to think about packing a portable charger.