Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Which is better

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is one of the best phones to compare the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max with. This is because, just like Apple, Samsung put lots of effort into making its ULTRA phone lineup. Just to get you warmed up for this comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Galaxy S22 Ultra are in so many ways and are built for different types of people depending on their use.

But, if you’re here reading this post, you probably want to know which is the better device, the iPhone 14 Pro Max or Galaxy S22 Ultra. Well, we do too and that is why we asked our team to take a close look at the specification of both phones. So, in this Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra specs comparison, we’ll share our findings with you.

See Also: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: Which is better

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Quick Note: The only difference between iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max is size. So, this post is also a comparison between the Apple iPhone 14 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Display, Design, and Durability

The display and design of the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Galaxy S22 Ultra are different. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 6.7-inches display with an LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED panel that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10, and Dolby Vision. In contrast, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 6.8-inches display with an LTPO Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel that supports a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10. The display of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is brighter because its peak brightness is 2000 nits (Galaxy S22 Ultra 1750 nits).

The front screen and back panel of the iPhone 14 Pro Max are flat while the front screen and back panel of the Galaxy S22 Ultra are curved. The front screen of the iPhone has a big punch hole which Apple calls Dynamic Island while the front screen of the Samsung Galaxy has a simple punch hole. The bezels around the screen of the iPhone are thin but that of the Galaxy phone is thinner.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is made of a Glass front (Gorilla Glass), glass back (Gorilla Glass), and stainless steel frame. It is IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 mins) and has Scratch-resistant ceramic glass and oleophobic coating. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is made of a Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus+), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus+), and aluminum frame. It’s also IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) and features an Armor aluminum frame with tougher drop and scratch resistance.

The design, display, and durability features available on both smartphones are top quality. The display on both smartphones is fast and smooth and can auto-refresh between 1Hz and 120Hz. The iPhone 14 Pro Max feels like a box with its sharp and flat edges while the Galaxy S22 Ultra curved right into your hand and gives this comfortable vibe thanks to its curved edges.

See Also: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone 13 Pro Max: Which is better

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Camera

Samsung phones and Apple iPhones are among the best camera phones of every year and there is a good reason for that. But, between the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Galaxy S22 Ultra, which is the better camera phone?

Camera	iPhone 14 Pro Max	Galaxy S22 Ultra
Main	48MP	108MP
Telephoto	12MP	10MP + 10MP
Ultra-wide	12MP	12MP
Depth	TOF 3D LiDAR scanner	N/A
Front	12MP + SL 3D	40MP

The camera setup of the iPhone 14 Pro Max 48MP + 12MP + 12MP + TOF 3D LiDAR scanner and 12MP + SL 3D front cameras while that of the Galaxy S22 Ultra is 108MP + 10MP + 10MP + 12MP and 40MP front camera. Both phones have different setups, camera sensors, and camera features.

The 48MP main camera of the iPhone 14 Pro Max has an f/1.8 aperture, 1.22µm quad pixel PDAF, and 24mm focal length while the 108MP main camera of the Galaxy S22 Ultra has an f/1.8 aperture, 0.8µm PDAF, and 23mm focal length. The aperture and focal length of the main cameras on both phones are similar.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 12MP telephoto lens that can do 3x optical zoom and 20x digital zoom while the Galaxy S22 Ultra has two telephoto lenses, a 10MP periscope lens that can do 10x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom, and a 10MP telephoto lens that can do 3x optical zoom. The focal length of the periscope lens of the Galaxy phone is 230mm and this offer a longer shooting range compared to the telephoto lens of the iPhone which is 77mm.

The 12MP ultra-wide lens on both phones has the same aperture (f/2.2), the same focal length (13mm), the same degree (120˚), and the same 1.4µm dual pixel PDAF. There is a TOF 3D LiDAR scanner (depth sensor) on the iPhone 14 Pro Max to make up for the lack of a second telephoto lens. The 40MP front camera of the Galaxy S22 Ultra can capture a wider area with its 26mm focal length (the 12MP of the iPhone is 23mm) but the 12MP of the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a faster aperture (f/1.9 compared to the f/2.2 of the Galaxy S22 Ultra).

The camera features available on the iPhone 14 Pro Max are 10-bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), ProRes, Cinematic mode (4K@30fps), stereo sound rec., action mode, 4K recording @24/25/30/60fps, sensor-shift OIS, Dual-LED dual-tone flash, and HDR (photo/panorama). In contrast, the camera features available in the Galaxy S22 Ultra are HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS, Super Steady video, Laser AF, OIS, LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama, Dual video call, Auto-HDR, 8K recording @24fps, and 4K recording 4K@30/60fps.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has camera features that are best suited for taking photos while the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max has camera features that are best suited for recording videos.

See Also: Apple iPhone 14 vs iPhone 13: Which is better

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Chipset, RAM & Storage

The chipset in the iPhone 14 Pro Max is the Apple A16 Bionic chip while that of the Galaxy S22 Ultra is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. Both chipsets are 5G capable and both are built on a 4nm process technology. The A16 Bionic chipset has a Hexa-core CPU (6-core processor) while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset has an Octa-core CU (8-core processor).

The CPU cores of the A16 Bionic chipset are two Avalanche high-performance cores with a speed clocked at 3.46GHz and four Blizzard power-efficiency cores with a speed clocked at 1.82GHz. In comparison, The CPU cores of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset are one Cortex-X2 high-performance core with a speed clocked at 3.00GHz, three Cortex-A710 performance and efficiency cores with a speed clocked at 2.50GHz, and four Cortex-A510 small-efficiency cores with a speed clocked at 1.80GHz. The iPhone 14 Pro Max features the Apple GPU (5-core graphics) while the Galaxy S22 Ultra features the Adreno 730.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has 6GB of RAM while the Galaxy S22 Ultra has up to 12GB of RAM (the base model has 8GB RAM). The internal storage options available on both phones start at 128GB and go up to 1TB. There is no space for storage expansion via a microSD card slot available on both phones.

See Also: Apple Watch Series 8 vs Apple Watch Series 7: Should You Upgrade?

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Software

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max boots iOS 16 out of the box while the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra boots the OneUI 4 based on Android 12 out of the box. The iPhone 14 Pro Max will get up to five years of major software updates while the Galaxy S22 Ultra will get up to four years of major software updates. Users can download apps and games from respective stores (Apple App Store for the iPhone and Samsung Store or Google Play Store for the Galaxy phone).

The software and user experience on both smartphones are good. The navigation experience, animation, and opening of apps are fast, smooth, and fluid on phones. But Apple built a new software and user experience around the Dynamic Island punch hole of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. App minimization, notification, and quick response experience with the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro Max is fun but the punch hole of the Galaxy S22 Ultra looks really neat and clean.

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Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Battery Charging & Sensors

A 5000mAh battery powers the Galaxy S22 Ultra while a 4,323mAh battery powers the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The charging features available on the iPhone 14 Pro Max include 15W MagSafe wireless charging, 27W wired fast charging, USB Power Delivery 2.0, and 7.5W Qi magnetic fast wireless charging. In comparison, the charging features available in the Galaxy S22 Ultra are 15W Fast Qi/PMA wireless charging, 45W wired fast charging, 4.5W Reverse wireless charging, and USB Power Delivery 3.0.

The sensors available in iPhone 14 Pro Max are Face ID, NFC, Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified), Emergency SOS via satellite (SMS sending/receiving), Crash Detection, eSIM support only for users in the United States, and Ultra Wideband (UWB) support. The sensors available in the Galaxy S22 Ultra are Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX, NFC, Bixby natural language, Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified), Ultra Wideband (UWB) support, and Stylus (2.8ms latency).

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Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Price

The starting price of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is $1,099 while that of the Galaxy S22 Ultra is $1,199 (but currently selling for $999). The discounted price on the Galaxy S22 Ultra means the iPhone 14 Pro Max is the more expensive device.

Galaxy S22 Ultra	Price
Buy on Amazon	$999.99

iPhone 14 Pro Max	Price
Buy on Amazon(UK)	$1099
Buy on Amazon(EUR)	€1,499

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Summary

Specs	iPhone 14 Pro Max	Galaxy S22 Ultra
Display	6.7-inches, OLED, 120Hz	6.8-inches, AMOLED, 120Hz
RAM	6GB	up to 12GB
Storage	up to 1TB	up to 1TB
Back Camera	48MP + 12MP + 12MP + TOF 3D LiDAR	108MP + 10MP + 10MP + 12MP
Front Camera	12MP + SL 3D	40MP
Chipset	Apple A16 Bionic	Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Software	Apple iOS 16	Android 12
Battery	4,323mAh	5,000mAh(45W)
IP Rating	IP68	IP68

The user experience, size, design, display, cameras, and performance on the iPhone 14 Pro Max is different from that of the Galaxy S22 Ultra. However, this Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra specs comparison has shown that both phones are made for different types of users.

People who love to shoot videos and like flat displays would like the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max more than the Galaxy S22 Ultra. This is because the camera features of the iPhone 14 Pro Max are centered more on recording videos than taking phones. This does not mean it can’t take high-quality photos. In contrast, people who like taking photos and need more productivity will prefer the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. This is because it has support for Stylus (S-PEN) and its camera features are more suited for taking photos. This does not mean it can’t record high-quality videos.

The crash detection and emergency SOS satellite features are a nice touch for the iPhone 14 Pro Max. While the Stylus Support and Samsung Dex features are a nice touch for the Galaxy S22 Ultra are also very useful for those who need to get more work done with their smartphones.