iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

iPhone 16 Pro Max

Apple

8.7

Battery king, best iPhone, incremental

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Samsung

8.7

Best big Android phone of 2023, still kicking in 2026

iPhone 16 Pro Max

What Reviewers Agree On

Battery life is the best of any flagship — reviewers and a robotic battery test repeatedly rank it first, easily a full heavy day with hours to spare.
It's the best iPhone Apple had produced — a maxed-out feature set in a barely-wider body than the 15 Pro Max.
The A18 Pro is the standout for sustained gaming: ~20% faster than the 15 Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra after a 20-minute stress test, holding 120fps stably for 90+ minutes.
The 48MP main is the best iPhone camera for stills Apple had made, with superb 4K/120fps video and best-in-class four-mic audio.
Long-term durability and battery health are excellent — many owners report 96–100% battery health and minimal wear after a year.

Deal Breakers

Pros & Cons

iPhone 16 Pro Max

Pros

Battery life is the best of any flagship — reviewers and a robotic battery test repeatedly rank it first, easily a full heavy day with hours to spare.
It's the best iPhone Apple had produced — a maxed-out feature set in a barely-wider body than the 15 Pro Max.
The A18 Pro is the standout for sustained gaming: ~20% faster than the 15 Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra after a 20-minute stress test, holding 120fps stably for 90+ minutes.
The 48MP main is the best iPhone camera for stills Apple had made, with superb 4K/120fps video and best-in-class four-mic audio.

Detailed Comparison

Battery & Charging

iPhone 16 Pro Max

The headline strength: a ~4,685mAh battery delivering the best flagship endurance reviewers had measured — undercut by slow charging.

Battery life is the best of any flagship phone in the last few years — extremely efficient.
In a robotic intensive battery test, the iPhone 16 Pro Max beat all the competition.
Even after a year of daily use it still measured 100% battery health and reached 10h07m screen-on-time in a 7-phone drain test (best result observed: 12h44m on iOS 18.3.2).
It charges slowly: ~39% in 30 min and a full charge in ~2h03m, versus a Galaxy S25 Ultra's 1h17m.
Max wired charge is only ~30W and Apple doesn't even sell a 30W adapter (you must buy the 40W one); MagSafe is 25W.

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Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

What Reviewers Agree On

Best stylus in any phone — the built-in S Pen remains uniquely useful for notes, signing PDFs and screenshots
Stunning 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, 1-120Hz LTPO, 1750-nit peak — among the best phone screens of its era
Stellar battery life from a 5,000mAh cell with the more efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy — comfortably an all-day phone, often two
New 200MP main camera with a 3-degree OIS module hugely improves video stabilization (best on Android, just behind iPhone 14 Pro)
Quad-camera versatility — 200MP main + 12MP ultrawide + 10MP 3x telephoto + 10MP 10x periscope — still class-leading zoom range
Premium build with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 + Armor Aluminum frame, IP68; survived drop tests against the iPhone 15 Pro Max
Stays cool under sustained load thanks to the upgraded vapor chamber — noticeably less hot than the S22 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max

Deal Breakers

Expensive at $1,199 launch — competition from the cheaper Pixel 7 Pro at $899 was real
Only 45W wired charging (1h3m to full at best) — slow versus the OnePlus 11's 80W (~25 min full) and other 2023 rivals
Box-bundled cable doesn't trigger Super Fast Charging 2.0 — you must buy a separate 5A cable and 45W brick to hit the rated speed
Iterative upgrade — no single big new feature over the S22 Ultra, and the design is essentially identical
Bulky boxy form factor; ultrasonic fingerprint reader is hit-or-miss for many owners

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Pros

Best stylus in any phone — the built-in S Pen remains uniquely useful for notes, signing PDFs and screenshots
Stunning 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, 1-120Hz LTPO, 1750-nit peak — among the best phone screens of its era
Stellar battery life from a 5,000mAh cell with the more efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy — comfortably an all-day phone, often two
New 200MP main camera with a 3-degree OIS module hugely improves video stabilization (best on Android, just behind iPhone 14 Pro)
Quad-camera versatility — 200MP main + 12MP ultrawide + 10MP 3x telephoto + 10MP 10x periscope — still class-leading zoom range
Premium build with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 + Armor Aluminum frame, IP68; survived drop tests against the iPhone 15 Pro Max
Stays cool under sustained load thanks to the upgraded vapor chamber — noticeably less hot than the S22 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max

Cons

Expensive at $1,199 launch — competition from the cheaper Pixel 7 Pro at $899 was real
Only 45W wired charging (1h3m to full at best) — slow versus the OnePlus 11's 80W (~25 min full) and other 2023 rivals
Box-bundled cable doesn't trigger Super Fast Charging 2.0 — you must buy a separate 5A cable and 45W brick to hit the rated speed
Iterative upgrade — no single big new feature over the S22 Ultra, and the design is essentially identical
Bulky boxy form factor; ultrasonic fingerprint reader is hit-or-miss for many owners

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

5,000mAh paired with the efficient 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy delivered the era's best Android battery life — 6-7 hours of screen-on time, still close to 5 hours of mixed heavy use after 2 years. The catch is charging speed: 45W wired (and a special cable is needed to hit it) when rivals offer 80W+.

5,000mAh battery + the efficient 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy gives 6-7 hours of screen-on time at full brightness in WQHD with no power-save modes.
Two-year battery test still delivered ~4h44m of mixed heavy SOT (PUBG, Genshin, 4K video, Spotify) — strong longevity even after 2 years.
Pure-runtime lab test hit 11h5m vs 8h13m on the S22 Ultra — a major efficiency leap from the Snapdragon chip alone.
45W wired charging: 40% in 15 min, 72% in 30 min, 91% in 45 min, full in ~1h3m — but only with a separate 5A cable and 45W brick.
The included box cable doesn't trigger Super Fast Charging 2.0 — Samsung sells the 5A cable and 45W brick separately, a recurring complaint.
15W wireless charging works as advertised: 20% in 20 min, 50% in 50 min, full in 1h58m.
Versus OnePlus 11's 80W charging (~25 min full): the S23 Ultra's 45W feels noticeably slow — the era's clearest charging gap.