Samsung S23 Ultra vs. iPhone 15 Pro Max - Which Should You Buy?

Summary

In this comparison, Josh Teder evaluates the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max, highlighting key features and ecosystem strengths. The S23 Ultra impresses with its 10x telephoto camera, S Pen functionality, and customizable One UI. It offers a flexible ecosystem and compatibility with non-Samsung devices. The iPhone 15 Pro Max stands out for its weight, Apple's robust ecosystem, iMessage, and Continuity Camera. It excels in video quality and offers a streamlined user experience with timely software updates. The choice ultimately hinges on personal preference for customization or seamless integration within the respective ecosystems.

Takeaways

• 📱 The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra offers a 10x telephoto camera, which is great for capturing close-ups of nature.
• 🖊️ The S23 Ultra includes an S Pen stylus, enabling unique features like writing on the screen when off and using it as a remote for photos.
• 🤖 The S23 Ultra runs on One UI, Samsung's version of Android, which provides extensive customization options and features like multitasking and Samsung DeX.
• 🔄 Samsung's ecosystem is flexible, allowing for easier sharing with non-Samsung devices and a broader range of compatible devices.
• 📸 The iPhone 15 Pro Max is slightly lighter than the S23 Ultra, offering a more comfortable feel in hand.
• 🌐 The Apple ecosystem is characterized by market-leading accessories like iPad, AirPods, and Apple Watch, along with unique services like Apple Music and Apple TV Plus.
• 💬 iMessage is a popular messaging service exclusive to Apple devices, offering a consistent and fun messaging experience with full-res photo sharing.
• 🎥 The iPhone 15 Pro Max excels in video quality, with features like Apple ProRes for professional-grade footage and smooth lens switching.
• 🔧 The iPhone 15 Pro Max introduces a dedicated action button for customizable shortcuts and quick access to features like silent mode and the camera.
• 📱 The iOS operating system on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is known for its aesthetic consistency, fluidity, and timely updates directly from Apple.

Q & A

What is the main advantage of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's camera over the iPhone 15 Pro Max?

The main advantage is the 10x telephoto camera, which is surprisingly usable for taking close-ups of distant subjects like waterfalls and animals.

What unique feature does the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra offer that is not commonly found in other smartphones?

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra offers the S Pen, a stylus that allows for writing on the screen when it's off, converting handwritten notes to text, and using it as a remote to take photos.

How does One UI on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra enhance the Android experience?

One UI enhances the Android experience with features like multitasking, window management, edge panels, S Pen features, and Samsung DeX, which can turn the phone into a computer when connected to a desktop monitor.

What customization options does the Good Lock app provide for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra?

Good Lock allows for customizations such as creating a new lock screen and always-on display, changing the app tray to a list style, adjusting the task changer layout, creating new themes, and adjusting theme colors with Theme Pack.

How does the Samsung Galaxy ecosystem compare to Apple's ecosystem in terms of flexibility?

The Samsung Galaxy ecosystem is more flexible, allowing for easier sharing with non-Samsung devices and a broader range of compatible devices beyond just Samsung's own products.

What is the weight difference between the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra?

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is slightly lighter, weighing 221g compared to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's 234g.

What are some of the unique services and accessories that differentiate the Apple ecosystem from Samsung's?

The Apple ecosystem offers market-leading accessories like iPad, AirPods, and Apple Watch, along with unique services such as Apple Music, Apple Fitness Plus, Apple TV Plus, and Apple Arcade.

How does the iPhone 15 Pro Max's video quality compare to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra?

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is noted for having the best video quality of any smartphone tested, with excellent color science, HDR processing, and minimal noise artifacts, even in low light conditions.

What is the significance of the dedicated action button on the iPhone 15 Pro Max?

The dedicated action button allows for customization to perform various actions like silent mode, Do Not Disturb, opening the camera, flashlight, voice memo, and shortcuts for further automation.

How does the iOS operating system on the iPhone 15 Pro Max compare to Samsung's One UI in terms of customization and app availability?

iOS is less customizable than One UI but offers a more aesthetically consistent and fluid experience. Developers tend to release apps first on iOS, and users get access to the latest iOS version on day one.

Outlines

00:00

📱 Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Standout Features

The first paragraph introduces the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's advantages over the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Key features highlighted include the 10x telephoto camera, which is highly usable and appreciated for capturing nature's details, the S Pen that offers unique functionalities like writing on the screen, taking notes, and remote photo capture, and One UI's extensive customization options. One UI's robust feature set is emphasized, including multitasking, window management, edge panels, and the ability to integrate with a Windows PC. The paragraph also touches on the Samsung ecosystem's flexibility and the Good Lock app for further customization.

05:02

🍎 iPhone 15 Pro Max: Ecosystem and Features

The second paragraph shifts focus to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, emphasizing its weight advantage and the cohesive Apple ecosystem. The ecosystem's market-leading accessories and services like iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch, and unique services such as Apple Music and Apple TV Plus are highlighted. The paragraph also discusses the importance of iMessage for consistent messaging experiences and the new Continuity Camera feature for enhanced video quality. Additionally, the iPhone's dedicated action button for customizable shortcuts and its superior video quality with features like Apple ProRes and depth information capture in photos are mentioned.

10:05

🔍 Choosing Between Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max

The final paragraph concludes the comparison by weighing the pros and cons of both devices. It points out that the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra offers more customization and flexibility, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max provides a streamlined user experience and seamless integration with other Apple products and services. The decision ultimately hinges on personal preference for customization versus a cohesive ecosystem. The paragraph also invites viewer feedback and provides links for further information and purchasing options.

Keywords

💡Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a flagship smartphone from Samsung Electronics, known for its advanced camera system, including a 10x telephoto lens, which is highlighted in the script for its usability in capturing detailed shots of nature. It also features an integrated S Pen for note-taking and remote control functionalities, setting it apart from other smartphones on the market.

💡iPhone 15 Pro Max

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is Apple's latest high-end smartphone, mentioned in the script for its slightly lighter weight compared to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. It represents Apple's ecosystem and is noted for its seamless integration with other Apple products and services, as well as its superior video quality and the introduction of a dedicated action button for customizable shortcuts.

💡10x Telephoto Camera

The 10x telephoto camera on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a key feature that allows for detailed, far-distance photography. The script discusses how this feature was particularly useful for capturing close-ups of natural elements like waterfalls and animals, showcasing the phone's photography capabilities.

💡S Pen

The S Pen is a stylus that comes with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, enabling users to write on the screen, convert handwriting to text, and use it as a remote for various functions like taking photos. This unique feature is highlighted as one of the advantages of the S23 Ultra over the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

💡One UI

One UI is Samsung's custom user interface for its Android devices, including the S23 Ultra. The script emphasizes its extensive customization options, such as multitasking, window management, and the ability to sideload apps, which are not as readily available on other Android devices or iOS.

💡Customization

Customization is a central theme in the script when comparing the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. While both phones offer some level of personalization, the S23 Ultra, with its One UI, provides a more extensive range of options, including the use of the Good Lock app for further tweaking of the user interface.

💡Apple Ecosystem

The Apple ecosystem refers to the interconnected suite of products and services provided by Apple Inc., including the iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch, and various services like Apple Music and iCloud. The script discusses how the iPhone 15 Pro Max integrates well within this ecosystem, offering a cohesive user experience.

💡Continuity Camera

Continuity Camera is a feature of the Apple ecosystem that allows an iPhone to be used as a high-quality webcam with a Mac, and as of the latest update, with Apple TV and FaceTime calls. The script mentions this as an advantage for users who want a seamless video conferencing experience.

💡Action Button

The action button on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is a new hardware feature that allows users to assign various functions, such as silent mode, camera access, or shortcuts, for quick access. The script explains how this can be customized to suit individual user preferences, enhancing the device's functionality.

💡Video Quality

Video quality is a critical aspect of smartphone cameras, and the script highlights the iPhone 15 Pro Max's superior capabilities in this area. Apple's devices are known for their color science and HDR processing, which result in high-quality, noise-free footage, even in low-light conditions.

💡iOS

iOS is the operating system used by Apple on its mobile devices, including the iPhone. The script contrasts iOS with Samsung's One UI, noting that while iOS may not be as customizable, it offers a more aesthetically consistent and fluid user experience, with timely access to new software updates and a robust app ecosystem.

Highlights

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 10x telephoto camera, which is surprisingly usable and great for nature photography.

The S23 Ultra's S Pen offers unique features like writing on the screen when off, converting notes to text, and remote photo capture.

One UI on the S23 Ultra provides extensive customization options, including multitasking, window management, and edge panels.

Samsung DeX allows the S23 Ultra to function as a computer when connected to a desktop monitor.

The S23 Ultra can be linked to a Windows PC for accessing notifications, messages, and photos.

Good Lock app on the S23 Ultra enables further customizations like new lock screens and changing the app tray style.

The S23 Ultra is part of the Samsung Galaxy ecosystem, which is flexible for sharing with non-Samsung devices.

Samsung's ecosystem includes a wide range of devices from smart tags to appliances, offering more diversity than Apple.

Family Sharing in Apple's ecosystem is crucial for managing kids' devices and services.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is slightly lighter than the S23 Ultra, offering a more comfortable feel.

Apple's ecosystem is known for its market-leading accessories like iPad, AirPods, and Apple Watch.

iMessage provides a consistent and fun messaging experience within the iPhone and Apple ecosystem.

Continuity Camera turns the iPhone into a high-quality webcam for Mac, Apple TV, and FaceTime calls.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max features a dedicated action button for customizable shortcuts and functions.

Apple leads in smartphone video quality, with excellent color science and HDR processing.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max can shoot in Apple ProRes, enhancing video footage quality for color grading.

iOS on the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers a more aesthetically consistent and fluid experience with widgets and smart stacks.

Developers often release apps first on iOS, ensuring iPhone users get new features and apps sooner.

The decision between the S23 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max often comes down to the preference for Samsung or Apple ecosystems.

Transcripts

I've been using a Samsung Galaxy S23  Ultra for well over the past 6 months,  

and now that the iPhone 15 Pro Max has been  out for a few months, I'm going to take you  

through the standout features of each of these  phones, the downsides, and then ultimately,  

which phone I think you should buy. First,  let's look at the S23 Ultra's advantages. 

The first advantage the S23 Ultra has over  the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the 10x telephoto  

camera. The 10x is surprisingly usable, and I've  really enjoyed using it, especially on my trip to  

Hawaii this year, taking close-ups of waterfalls  and cute little geckos. The only thing I wish  

Samsung had done was also include a 5x. Oddly,  when comparing it to the iPhone, I like the 5x  

a bit better compared to the 3x on the S23 Ultra.  Overall, though, if you love taking photos of cool  

things in nature, you'll love the 10x camera  and camera system in general on the S23 Ultra. 

The next advantage of the S23 Ultra is the S  Pen. The S23 Ultra is one of the only phones  

on the market today that comes with a stylus,  and you can do some pretty cool things with it,  

like writing on your phone screen when it's  off, converting handwritten notes to text,  

and using it as a remote to take photos. The next benefit of going with the S23  

Ultra is One UI, which is Samsung's version of  Android. One UI has a ton of features not found  

on most other Android devices, like multitasking,  window management, edge panels, the S Pen features  

I talked about, Samsung DeX, which can turn your  Galaxy phone into a computer when hooked up to a  

desktop monitor, and you can link the S23 Ultra to  a Windows PC. By the way, to access your phone's  

notifications, messages, and photos, plus, you  can even mirror your phone screen to your PC. And  

because the S23 Ultra uses Android, that means  it's much more customizable than the iPhone.  

You can sideload apps on this phone, customize  the font, the colors, even change the Android  

launcher to something less Samsung-looking  and more iPhone-looking. Android just allows  

you to do kind of whatever you want, and Samsung  really embraces being able to customize their OS. 

Samsung has an app called Good Lock that  allows you to customize many more things  

on the S23 Ultra, like creating a new lock screen  and always-on display, changing the app tray to a  

list style, which fixes one of my biggest gripes  with One UI's default design. You can change the  

layout type of the task changer, changing it from  a list to something that looks more like iOS with  

stack view. You can create new themes and finally  adjust theme colors with Theme Pack. Download  

an even more capable routine experience with  Routines Plus and improve the sound experience  

of your Galaxy with Sound Assist, which adds up  to 150 volume levels, making volume adjustments  

much more precise than they are by default. One  UI is a huge benefit of going with the S23 Ultra,  

and one of the surprising things with it is even  when you have a ton of customizations applied, the  

operating system is still solid. I've yet to run  into a significant bug with this operating system. 

Now, the next benefit of going with the S23 Ultra  is the Samsung Galaxy ecosystem, which is a bit  

more flexible than Apple's ecosystem. You have  more flexibility sharing things to non-Samsung  

devices, like other Android devices or a Windows  PC, via the Phone Link app. And Samsung has many  

of the same devices you'll find in the Apple  ecosystem, like Samsung Smart Tags, earbuds,  

tablets, PCs, SmartWatches, and more. About the  only thing they don't have in their ecosystem  

at this point are over-the-ear headphones and  desktop PCs, though they do have a lot more  

types of devices than Apple does, that expands  to smart fridges, washing machines, and other  

appliances. Though I'm not sure there's that much  of a benefit by having a phone made by the same  

company that also makes your fridge and washing  machine. But if that's been your experience,  

though, definitely let me know in the comments. Both the Samsung and Apple ecosystems allow  

you to do things like use other devices as  second screens, wirelessly share files between  

devices, and you can track all of your devices'  locations. On the iPhone, you'll use the Find My  

app, and the SmartThings app on the S23 Ultra, and  both ecosystems support smart home accessories,  

with Samsung being more open to more devices  with Samsung SmartThings versus Apple's HomeKit. 

One other thing to consider about which phone  to choose is if you have kids and they use an  

iPhone. Family Sharing is a pretty important part  of Apple's ecosystem, and it's easier to use and  

manage your kids' devices if you also have an  iPhone. With Family Sharing, you can track your  

kids' iPhones in case of an emergency, set up  their wallets so they can spend money via Apple  

Pay, as well as let you share subscriptions with  them, like for Apple TV Plus, Apple Fitness Plus,  

Apple Arcade, and of course, Apple Music.  Samsung uses Google's Family Link service  

for parental controls, which you can manage  as a parent from an Android or from an iPhone. 

Overall, the S23 Ultra has great build  quality, an excellent display, battery life,  

and One UI on it has been really, really good, and  I've really enjoyed using it. But now, let's look  

at the iPhone 15 Pro Max and its advantages. The first advantage is weight. The iPhone is  

slightly lighter than the S23 Ultra, at 221  g versus the 234 g the S23 Ultra weighs,  

which you can feel. But both phones could  lose even more weight when you compare them  

to other phones on the market of similar size,  like the Pixel 8 Pro and the Nothing Phone 2. 

The next benefit the iPhone 15 Pro  Max has is the Apple ecosystem. Now,  

Samsung and Apple at this point have pretty  similar devices in their ecosystem. However,  

the one big thing that differentiates  the Apple ecosystem from Samsung's is  

market-leading accessories like iPad, AirPods, and  the Apple Watch, plus Apple services, which are  

pretty different and unique compared to Samsung.  These include Apple Music, Apple Fitness Plus,  

Apple TV Plus, and Apple Arcade, all of which can  be bundled together in an Apple One subscription. 

Now here in the US, the iPhone and the  Apple ecosystem also gets you iMessage,  

which is quite popular, and if you're like me,  and it seems like most of your friends and family  

nowadays just have an iPhone, it's nice to have  a mostly consistent and fun messaging experience,  

with full-res photo sharing. Photos that are  shared with you will automatically appear in  

different apps like Photos, plus fun features  like Apple's new stickers, and everything syncs  

across all of your Apple devices. Though yes,  I will concede, messaging itself should just  

be a standard, like email. You shouldn't just be  locked into one messaging service like iMessage,  

and especially when you're messaging somebody on  an Android device from an iPhone, those messages  

should be encrypted, and you should be able to  send full-resolution photos, which right now,  

you're not able to because Apple does not  support a standard called RCS. Though recently,  

like just the week we're recording  this, they announced they will finally  

be supporting this standard by late 2024. The last big Apple ecosystem feature I'll  

point out is Continuity Camera. With it, you can  turn your iPhone into not just a webcam but one of  

the best-looking webcams on the market with your  Mac, and this year you can now use it with your  

Apple TV and FaceTime calls, perfect for catching  up with the family while sitting on your couch. 

The next benefit of the iPhone 15 Pro Max  is the dedicated action button. This year,  

Apple added a new button to the Pro iPhones that  you can customize to do different things. By  

default, you can customize the action button to  trigger silent mode, Do Not Disturb, the camera,  

flashlight, voice memo, and importantly, a  shortcut. Shortcuts are a powerful way to  

customize and automate certain actions on  your iPhone, and I covered shortcuts more  

in-depth in my "Top Six Tips for iPhone in 2023"  video. So, if you want to learn more about them,  

I'd encourage you to pause this video, click the  link here, go watch that, and then come back here.  

The Shortcuts app allowed me to write a shortcut  where when I'm home, the shortcut button will  

toggle Do Not Disturb on and off, and when I'm not  home, it'll open the camera app. Though do note,  

you can get a similar effect on the S23 Ultra by  using Samsung's Good Lock app and customizing the  

action when you hold down the power button. You  can also customize the action of double pressing  

the power button, known as the side key, as well. The next advantage the iPhone 15 Pro Max has  

over the S23 Ultra is video quality. Apple  continues to have the best video quality of  

any smartphone I've tested. Its color science and  HDR processing are very good, and there's little  

to no noise artifacts in most footage, even at  night, which is impressive. And new this year,  

you can shoot in Apple ProRes, which gets you  substantially better video footage out of a  

smartphone and allows you to color grade footage  to your liking, where you can really change the  

look to the point where it doesn't even look like  the footage was shot on an iPhone. And because  

this year's iPhone finally has USB-C, you can  easily record footage from it to an external SSD. 

Also, the iPhone can smoothly switch between  lenses when shooting video. Another impressive  

feature of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is its ability to  capture depth information in photos. This feature  

activates automatically whenever the camera  detects a person or animal, or when you tap  

and hold to focus on a specific subject. After  taking a photo, you can effortlessly transform  

it into a portrait photo. This allows you not  only to adjust the depth of field but also to  

refocus the image on a different subject. Alright, the last benefit of going with  

the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the iOS operating  system. While it's nowhere near as customizable  

as Samsung's One UI, I'd argue it's more  aesthetically consistent and fluid, especially  

with features like widgets. iOS has more widgets  that you can place on your lock screen versus  

One UI. Plus, smart stacks for widgets on the  home screen, where your phone will show you  

the correct widget based on a variety of factors. Another huge benefit of the iPhone 15 Pro Max and  

iOS is that if developers are not releasing their  apps simultaneously on both operating systems,  

they will almost always release their apps first  on iOS. A perfect example of this happened this  

year with the ChatGPT app, which came out for  iOS in May and two months later on Android. 

Also, with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, you'll get the  next version of iOS on day one, which is not the  

case for the S23 Ultra and Android. Samsung  takes a few months before rolling out the new  

version of Android and a new version of One UI. So, those are the main advantages of each phone in  

my experience. But which one should you actually  buy? Well, I think it really comes down to the  

Samsung and Apple ecosystems—shocker, I know. In  general, the S23 Ultra with One UI can do a lot  

more than the iPhone and be customized a lot more,  all while maintaining a pretty stable OS. Plus,  

with the S23 Ultra, you're not locked  into just using Samsung accessory devices. 

The iPhone, however, offers a simplified user  experience. The customizations you do have access  

to are intuitive and easy to use, and your phone  will work really well with other Apple products,  

plus Apple Services. If you don't need the level  of customization that you get with the S23 Ultra  

and just need a phone that works and has solid  performance, better privacy controls, is lighter,  

works great with other Apple devices, and you  don't need to download anything outside of Apple's  

App Store, that's where I'd go with an iPhone. So those are my thoughts on these two phones.  

Let me know if you think I got it right or if  you think I got something wrong in the comments  

below. I've left purchase links to both of  these devices in the description, and make  

sure you're signed up for our monthly newsletter,  where I'll post deal alerts when I notice these  

two phones go on a significant sale. Consider  giving this video a thumbs up if you liked it,  

and subscribe for more. To see more videos on  Apple and Samsung products, you can get to those  

by clicking on the videos above. For '6 Months  Later,' I'm Josh Teder. Thanks for watching.