Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 13 Pro.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra, Samsung's latest alpha dog phone, is now available. While we will compare this beast of a phone to all of the top Android flagships, the first comparison must be made with Apple's top offering, the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Because, as much as Google, Xiaomi, OPPO, and others have produced excellent phones, the reality is that when it comes to purchasing a new phone, the majority of the world still chooses between Apple and Samsung.

The good news is that Apple and Samsung are well aware that other brands can produce premium flagships as well, so they have stepped up their game in recent years. There will be no more outdated camera sensors or mediocre battery capacity when compared to Chinese flagships.

Galaxy S22 Ultra vs iPhone 13 Pro Max: Hardware


Both phones are massive, which has advantages such as immersive screens and large batteries, but also disadvantages such as an uncomfortable in-hand feel.
Both phones have stunning and brilliant display panels.
If you want to get technical, Apple's A15 Bionic is more powerful than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor.

Design


The Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 13 Pro Max are both unapologetically large glass and metal slabs that will feel awkward in the hands of most people. The Galaxy S22 Ultra is slightly taller and thicker, but the iPhone 13 Pro Max is heavier and slightly wider, so they are nearly equal in size. However, both devices make design decisions that I disagree with. The Galaxy S22 Ultra has the usual curvy sides that anyone familiar with Android flagships is used to, but its corners are pointy; the iPhone 13 Pro Max has rounded corners, but the stainless steel sides are flat with hard corners. In any case, each phone pierces my palm in ways that almost no other recent release does. Using a case will probably alleviate this issue slightly, as the hard corners/sides will be softened. However, these are large and wide phones that most people will struggle to use with one hand without constantly readjusting their grip. I have not dropped either device and do not intend to do so. However, I believe the iPhone 13 Pro Max is more likely to withstand drops because its frame is stainless steel and wide on all four sides, whereas the Galaxy S22 Ultra's frame is aluminum and narrows on the left and right sides due to glass curvatures. Both devices include loud stereo speakers and IP68 water and dust resistance, as well as standard flagship features like wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. The Galaxy S22 Ultra employs newer Bluetooth connectivity standards (5.2), as opposed to the iPhone 13 Pro Max's "only" 5.0, but I had no trouble using wireless earbuds with either device. The haptic engine on the iPhone 13 Pro Max is excellent, whereas many people find the haptics on the Galaxy S22 Ultra to be underwhelming. Despite minor flaws, these phones are top-tier hardware produced to the highest standards by the world's two largest smartphone manufacturers.

Display


While these phones aren’t the most comfortable to hold, the positive trade-off you get in return is screen immersion. Bigger is always better when it comes to displays, and both panels here are absolutely brilliant: OLED screens with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz (both manufactured by Samsung Displays). However, the screen on the Galaxy S22 Ultra is superior — it has more pixels, a more versatile variable refresh rate implementation that can range from 1-120Hz, and is slightly brighter at 1,750 nits compared to the iPhone's 1,300 nits. Although these are spec sheet wins, users will not be able to spot these differences in the real world unless they actively seek them out. However, there is one area where Samsung's screen clearly outperforms the iPhone's: it is only interrupted by a small hole punch rather than the giant iPhone notch. In a vacuum, the iPhone 13 Pro Max display is still fantastic, but the Galaxy S22 Ultra screen simply outperforms it.

Selfie camera

The selfie camera on the iPhone 13 Pro Max takes more natural selfies, whereas the Galaxy S22 Ultra will apply a layer of skin smoothing/whitening filter even if you don't ask for it. Whether or not this is a good thing depends on who you are. The Galaxy S22 Ultra's exposure is inconsistent, as evidenced by the samples below, some of which prioritized properly exposing my face and blowing out the background lights, while another shot exposed the light behind me but left my face in shadows.