Quicker than ever
With a design that is not too totally different from an iPhone’s, the Galaxy S23+ additionally has efficiency and battery life on par with what you’d get from an Apple cellphone. Add in a gorgeously brilliant and colourful show and 4 dependable cameras, and this cellphone is hard to beat.
For
- New Snapdragon closes the efficiency hole
- Comes with telephoto lens
- Packs extra RAM, base storage
- Brighter 120Hz show
In opposition to
- Costlier
- Design is a bit boring
- Solely FHD show
A giant last-gen cellphone
Apple tried to get away with promoting a reskinned iPhone 13 with a bigger show, and customers largely weren’t fooled. Whereas it is nonetheless a quick and enticing cellphone, it feels prefer it misplaced a step and allowed the Galaxy sequence to achieve necessary floor. That being stated, it does have a couple of benefits.
For
- Extra pixel-rich show
- Longer software program help
- Final-gen Bionic chip nonetheless very quick
- Higher colours
In opposition to
- The notch, nonetheless
- Solely a 60Hz show
- Solely two 12MP cameras
The iPhone 14 Plus fairly notoriously fell in need of Apple’s gross sales expectations, as most customers seemed to be bored with a jumbo-sized iPhone 14 in comparison with the revamped iPhone 14 Professional. The Samsung Galaxy S23+ is one other middle-tier cellphone that has to face out towards the petite S23 and upgraded S23 Extremely.
We’re not sure if the Galaxy S23+ will share the same destiny or if its upsides over a cellphone just like the iPhone 14 Plus will make it a extra interesting — and higher — cellphone. Let’s discover how the Samsung Galaxy S23+ matches towards the iPhone 14 Plus.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus vs. iPhone 14 Plus: Design and show
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Ever because the Galaxy S22 sequence, Samsung has redesigned its S telephones to look remarkably near the traditional iPhone look, full with the flat glass again and flat, angular edges. The Galaxy S22 Plus first utilized this design, and now each the Galaxy S23 and S23+ have continued the brand new custom.
Apple hasn’t modified its design language a lot in the previous few generations, and the iPhone 14 Plus isn’t any exception. 2mm wider and 0.2mm thicker than the S23+, with the identical broad and flat edges, the iPhone 14 Plus goes to be barely extra uncomfortable to carry. The Galaxy S23+ is not a simple one-handed cellphone just like the S23 or iPhone 14, both, however it’s barely extra comfy to grip.
The primary design distinction is within the cameras. Apple switched to its distinct triangular digital camera module look final era and caught with it right here, whereas Samsung continues to make use of the straight-line look. Besides this time, Samsung eliminated the aluminum digital camera housing across the sensors, leaving them bare for a extra stark look.
The Samsung emblem can also be a lot smaller than the metallic Apple emblem, and its colours are extra subdued and « skilled » trying than the iPhone 14 Plus, which embraces a barely extra enjoyable and colourful look with choices like Purple, Blue, and (Product) Pink.
Outdoors of aesthetics, each telephones have the usual IP68 resistance to water and dirt. The iPhone 14 Plus makes use of Apple’s commonplace Ceramic Protect safety and « aerospace-grade aluminum, » whereas the Galaxy S23+ has Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and Armor Aluminum safety. Victus 2 is meant to be the most recent and best in fall safety, whereas we’re unsure if Ceramic Protect has progressed a lot since its iPhone 12 reveal.
Take a look at the shows, although, and the variations between the Galaxy S23+ and iPhone 14 Plus grow to be far more distinct. For starters, the iPhone 14 Plus nonetheless has the identical miniature notch because the iPhone 13 sequence, lacking out on the extra delicate Dynamic Island cutout on the iPhone 14 Professional.
Galaxy S23+ house owners will fortunately settle for the easy pinhole digital camera that takes up a lot much less room on the show, given it additionally has facial recognition as an unlock choice along with an in-display fingerprint sensor.
The one upside to the iPhone 14 Plus, except for the additional 0.1 inches of show house, is that it has 65 extra pixels per inch (PPI) than the S23+, falling in-between FHD and QHD decision. However Apple gave this pretty high-priced cellphone a 60Hz refresh fee, one thing we have solely come to anticipate from mid-range telephones at worst. You will positively discover extra jittery scrolling and swipes than on the S23+, which makes use of a buttery 120Hz refresh fee.
You will additionally get pleasure from a a lot brighter display on the Galaxy S23+. Our mother or father firm Future Labs measured each adaptive and HDR brightness on each telephones and located the S23+ received for each (1012 vs. 764; 1345 vs. 1100). Its sRGB and DCI-3 shade gamuts additionally sweep the desk in comparison with Apple’s, which means you will get pleasure from richer shade arrays for gaming and streaming.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus vs. iPhone 14 Plus: Efficiency and battery life
Apple’s 2022 telephones had been the primary era to make use of totally different chips for its commonplace and Professional lineups. Nonetheless, even with the « last-gen » Apple Bionic A15 chip first discovered within the iPhone 13 sequence, the iPhone 14 Plus is an exceedingly quick cellphone. What’s stunning is after years of Android flagships lagging behind Apple telephones, the Galaxy S23+ truly closes that hole.
Future Labs bookmarked each telephones extensively, and we’re itemizing their close-fought battle under:
| Benchmark | Samsung Galaxy S23+ | Apple iPhone 14 Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 5 (Single-Core) | 1524 | 1735 |
| Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core) | 4642 | 4473 |
| CrossMark (General) | 1352 | 1194 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Authentic Limitless | 14509 | 11512 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive Limitless | 3730 | 2792 |
Whereas benchmarks can solely be trusted to this point, you possibly can usually see that because of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and additional RAM, the Galaxy S23+ wins for total efficiency, its CrossMark rating barely beating what we measured within the iPhone 14 Professional with matching RAM (1328). As a gaming machine or for demanding apps, the Galaxy S23+ seems to simply win the day.
To be clear, the iPhone 14 Professional is far more aggressive in efficiency than the Plus, however that is a a lot smaller machine. You’d want the 256GB iPhone 14 Professional Max to match it for show measurement and storage, and that cellphone is priced $200 larger than the Galaxy S23+. The 256GB Plus prices the identical because the S23+ (which begins at that storage measurement), so these are the 2 telephones we’re evaluating right here.
| Spec | Galaxy S23 Plus | iPhone 14 Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Units | A15 Bionic |
| Show | Flat 6.6-inch AMOLED (As much as 1,750 nits) | 6.7-inch Tremendous Retina XDR Show (As much as 1,200 nits) |
| Decision | 2340 x 1080 (393ppi) | 2778 x 1284 (458ppi) |
| Refresh fee | 120Hz (48-120); 240Hz contact sampling | 60Hz |
| Reminiscence | 8GB | 6GB |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB UFS 4.0 | 128GB/256GB/512GB NVMe |
| Essential rear digital camera | 50MP (OIS), ƒ/1.8 | 12MP (OIS), ƒ/1.5 |
| Telephoto digital camera | 10MP (OIS), f2.4, 3x optical zoom | N/A |
| Extremely-wide angle digital camera | 12MP, ƒ/2.2 | 12MP Extremely Vast, ƒ/2.4 |
| Entrance Digicam | 12MP, ƒ/2.2 | 12MP, ƒ/1.9 |
| Battery | 4,800mAh, 45W USB-C Quick Charging, 15W Wi-fi Charging, 5W reverse wi-fi charging | 4,323mAh, 20W Lightning wired charging, 15W wi-fi charging, 7.5W reverse wi-fi charging |
| Updates | As much as Android 17 (4 updates), safety via early 2028 | As much as iOS 21 or 22 (5 – 6 updates); safety via late 2028 |
| Safety | Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint sensor | Face ID |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E, sub-6 and mmWave 5G, UWB, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3 | Wi-Fi 6, sub-6 and mmWave 5G, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Dimensions | 157.8 x 76.2 x 7.6 mm | 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.8 mm |
| Weight | 196 g | 203 g |
| Colours | Phantom Black, Cream, Violet, Inexperienced | Midnight, Purple, Starlight, (Product) Pink, Blue |
| Safety | IP68, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | IP68, Ceramic Protect |
Apple has at all times benefitted from NVMe storage, providing you with sooner learn/write speeds than the UFS 3.1 commonplace may. Now Samsung has upgraded to UFS 4.0 storage, which basically doubles the learn and write speeds in comparison with the final era of telephones. We do not have official Apple numbers for a straight comparability, however it’s clear this Galaxy era additionally closed the efficiency hole on this space.
As for battery life, Future Labs stress-tested the Galaxy S23+ and iPhone 14 Plus’ longevity, measuring 11:24 and 11:57, respectively. Neither is the greatest battery rating we have ever seen, however that display time is greater than sufficient to final you thru the day.
Apple’s Professional sequence is notoriously battery-deficient, however the 60Hz Plus is far more environment friendly. Equally, the Galaxy S23+ lasted about 90 minutes longer than the S22+, which tended to overheat with heavy use, and has created a extra reliably long-lived machine.
As for charging, Samsung unquestionably wins on this entrance with 45W USB-C charging over Apple’s 20W Lightning charging. In follow, the Galaxy S23+ will refill about 25% extra of its battery in half-hour than the iPhone 14 Plus. Each telephones provide 15W wi-fi charging, and plenty of desire MagSafe charging to Qi charging. However solely Samsung provides reverse wi-fi charging on your different gadgets.
Apple at all times offers its telephones no less than 5 OS updates and long-lasting safety updates, and that hasn’t modified. However the Galaxy S23+ will get 4 OS updates and 5 safety updates, which means you are getting significantly better worth on your buy than you probably did with Android telephones of the previous.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus vs. iPhone 14 Plus: Cameras
Till we’re capable of assessment the Galaxy S23+, we will not give a definitive judgment for a way good its cameras are. Its three rear cameras are largely unchanged from the S22+; in our S22+ assessment, we stated the cellphone captured « completely respectable pictures with good shade accuracy and respectable element, » however that it did not take true « flagship-quality » pictures and its selfie pictures had been solely common.
Fortunately, it did get a revamped selfie digital camera, and our Galaxy S23 Extremely digital camera assessment famous how implausible the selfie digital camera is, with « very good dynamic vary » and wonderful element and focus. The S23+ has the identical selfie digital camera, so we’re optimistic; and as for the opposite cameras, the improved AI high quality of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 may result in significantly better photograph post-processing.
Our iMore colleagues reviewed the iPhone 14 — which has the identical cameras because the Plus — and praised the standard of low-light pictures, brighter and extra detailed daytime pictures, and high-quality Cinematic Mode video, whereas criticizing the element high quality in selfies. However with no telephoto lens just like the S23+ has, you will not get the identical optical zoom for farther-away topics.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus vs. iPhone 14 Plus: Which do you have to purchase?
With most of those comparisons, we finish with the legitimate level that Apple and Android telephones are a bit like apples and oranges. When you desire one ecosystem or the opposite, each choices are legitimate; that actually applies whenever you examine the iPhone 14 Professional vs. Galaxy S23 Extremely, two implausible and top-tier gadgets.
With this comparability, it is truly far more clear-cut than typical. Apple normally holds a considerable lead for efficiency, battery life, and software program updates, however the S23+ both wins or falls very shut behind in every space.
The Plus is arguably a extra enticing cellphone from the again, however it’s robust to get previous the notch, Lightning port, and 60Hz refresh fee in 2023 — making the cellphone really feel dated proper out of the field. That is why so many Apple followers upgraded to the Professional.
The Galaxy S23+ misses out on the next-gen cameras and better decision of the Extremely, however in any other case, it nonetheless looks like a « current-gen » machine that does not maintain a lot again. It is an all-around performer and can probably be one of many greatest Android telephones of 2023.
Select the Galaxy S23+ for one of the best unblemished visible expertise, quickest multi-core efficiency, and (arguably) higher cameras. Keep away from the S23+ if you need a one-handed cellphone or the best-possible Samsung expertise.
Select the iPhone 14 Plus if the 14 is just too small, the iPhone 14 Professional Max is just too costly, and also you desire a quick and long-lasting machine. Do not select it for Apple’s newest show, processor, or digital camera tech.
