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Galaxy S22 Ultra vs iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max: The battle of the behemoths

We take a look at the tale of the tape in the fight between the biggest and best from Samsung and Apple to help you decide which model is best for you.
Written by Michael Gariffo, Staff Writer

In 2022, Samsung is once again releasing a trio of flagship S-series smartphones. While the Galaxy S22 clearly has the middle-market and the S22 Plus skates in just under the $1,000 price point, the S22 Ultra once again attempts to make a case for a $1,200 smartphone that takes the latest and greatest of everything and packs it into a single glass-and-metal package aimed squarely at the most discerning power users. 

Attracting the smartphone aficionados and elite shoppers is something Apple has been attempting to do for years with its top-end iPhones. That slot is currently occupied by the iPhone 13 Pro, and its larger iPhone 13 Pro Max cousin. The two devices may be nearly identical in their internal specs, but the larger display of the Pro Max makes it Apple's closest (and most expensive) analogue to the Galaxy S22 Ultra. 

This side-by-side comparison of Samsung's absolute best and Apple's current top contenders is designed to help those shoppers still on the fence about whether they want to join team Blue Bubble or team Green Bubble. We'll lay out all of the specs for Samsung's Galaxy S22 Ultra and Apple's iPhone 13 Pro/Pro Max to give you the clearest picture possible of which device is right for you. 

Of course, differences in platform, hardware configurations, and other factors make it hard to draw direct comparisons, in some cases. But, our coverage of each device's respective spec sheet and our analysis of how they stack up should be invaluable in your quest to decide whether Apple or Samsung is more deserving of your hard-earned cash this time around. 

We're going to break the analysis up into individual components to make it easier to compare the factors that matter most to you. First up: 

Displays

Model

iPhone 13 Pro

iPhone 13 Pro Max

Galaxy S22 Ultra

Screen size

6.1 inches

6.7 inches

6.8 inches

Technology

Super Retina XDR with ProMotion

Super Retina XDR with ProMotion

Dynamic AMOLED 2X

Resolution

2532×1170

2778x1284

3200x1440 (QHD+)

Pixel Density

460ppi

458ppi

515ppi

Refresh rate

48-120Hz

48-120Hz

1-120Hz

Touch sampling rate

240Hz

240Hz 

240Hz (in gaming mode)


Obviously, the iPhone 13 Pro can't match the sheer size of the two other smartphone titans in this comparison. However, it can go toe-to-toe with them across maximum refresh rate, as well as the responsiveness of their respective touch sampling speeds. This should make all three screens look buttery smooth and feel ultra responsive. 

While all three models include variable refresh rates, Samsung's S22 Ultra is able to drop the lowest, potentially offering the most savings in battery usage thanks to its ability to refresh the image displayed on a static display just one time per second (1Hz). At the high end, all three clock in at the same 120Hz, making it a tie. 

All three also feature resolutions that should make it impossible for the user to see their individual pixels with anything short of a microscope

galaxy-s22-ultra-black.jpg
Image: Samsung

Cameras

Model

iPhone 13 Pro/Pro Max

Galaxy S22 Ultra

Total cameras

4 (including front)

5 (including front)

Wide angle

12MP f/1.5

108MP f/1.8

Ultrawide angle

12MP f/1.8

12MP f/2.2

Telephoto

12MP f/2.8

10MP F/2.4 w/ 3X optical zoom and 10MP f/4.9 with 10X optical zoom

Front camera

12MP f/2.2

40MP f/2.2


Samsung's Galaxy S22 Ultra features the company's most heavily revamped camera array in years. Not only does it come in with five total shooters, thanks to its dual telephoto lenses, but it also manages to squeeze all of them into a package that doesn't require any significant camera bump. The lenses do protrude from the otherwise flat back panel of the unit somewhat, but they do so individually, and nowhere near as far as the widely-panned size of the bump on some of the unit's predecessors

Despite the miniaturization of the camera bump, the S22 Ultra still supports the same "100X Space Zoom" as its predecessor, with the same division of labor between its 10X optical and 10X digital zooms doing the work. As with the S21 Ultra, Samsung notes that "Zooming in past 10x may cause some image deterioration." Still, the option to push a smartphone camera to zoom levels that would otherwise require some massive photographic equipment is a nice tool to have on hand, should the need arise. 

Like the S22 and S22 Plus also being released this year, the S22 Ultra also includes Samsung's new Nightography mode, which relies on its enlarged photo sensors to gather more light, quicker. The results, according to Samsung, are clear, crisp photos and videos day or night. The S22 Ultra's exclusive Super Clear Glass lenses are also designed to prevent annoying flares while all that light is being gathered. 

On the opposite side of the coin, Apple's iPhone Pro line both support Apple's widely-praised, AI-based software processing which takes the photos and videos captured by the numerically inferior 12MP sensors and turns them into imagery that has consistently been able to match or beat media captured with far higher megapixel cameras in the past. 

Apple's devices also offer full support for its new Cinematic Mode, which digitally adds capabilities like rack focus to dynamically and smoothly shift the device's focus between subjects while capturing videos. 

Both of the iPhone models and the S22 also include support for photo and video formats preferred by professionals. Apple's comes in the form of its Apple ProRAW photos and ProRes videos, while Samsung uses the standard RAW format, which can now be edited in the S22 Ultra's Expert Raw app to provide a "a DSLR-like experience." 

In short, all three models here are photographic and videographic beasts.

Memory and storage

Model

iPhone 13 Pro/Pro Max

Galaxy S22 Ultra

RAM

6GB

8GB-12GB*

Storage options

128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB


*Note: the base model Galaxy S22 Ultra includes 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. All larger storage options (256GB, 512GB, 1TB) include 12GB of RAM. 

Memory might seem like a straightforward factor to compare. In this case, Samsung's RAM is twice what Apple offers at the top end. But, Apple's very good at making seemingly lower-end hardware outperform what appears to be numerically superior technology. 

The M1 chip currently powering its MacBook Air and Mac Mini models is a perfect example. The M1 combines a CPU, SSD, and RAM into a cohesive unit that uses this built-in integration to optimize the performance of all three traditionally discrete components. This has allowed M1-equipped Macs to beat far more expensive systems with twice the RAM they offer, on a regular basis.

Apple's tightly controlled guardianship of the iOS platform and its App Store also guarantees that any apps ultimately installed on the iPhone 13 Pro will be optimized to run with reliably solid performance on its 6GB of RAM. Samsung, however, relies on Android's far more diverse, far less controlled ecosystem. This results in a reality where the S22 Ultra's 12GB of included memory may be unable to provide twice the performance of the iPhone 13's in real-world use.

These variable mean that even technical benchmarking can often fail to accurately represent the differences in end user experience between lower-end, highly optimized hardware (Apple on iOS) and higher-end less optimized solutions (Samsung on Android).

Battery and charging

Model

iPhone 13 Pro

iPhone 13 Pro Max

Galaxy S22 Ultra

Battery size

3,095 mAh

4,352 mAh

5,000 mAh

Wired charging speed

20-23 W (via lightning cable)

20-27 W (via lightning cable)

45 W (via USB-C)

Wireless charging speed

7.5 W (via Qi) or 15 W (via MagSafe)

7.5 W (via Qi) or 15 W (via MagSafe)

15 W (via Qi)


Like memory, a device's raw battery capacity numbers cannot be taken as a face-value indicator of how long we can expect a full charge to last. Once again, this is because of optimization, or lack thereof, to factors such as background app usage, idle power drain, network configurations and strength, and even just our phone's age. These issues can have far more influence on a power pack's duration than a few more mAh in its stats. That said, this trio should all have zero issues lasting through even a demanding day of use, thanks to Apple's aforementioned app and power consumption optimization and Samsung's recently debuted 4nm chip.

On the charging front, things become easier to quantify. Samsung is the clear winner here, due to the much faster 45 W charging supported by the S22 Ultra, as well as its support for 15 W Qi charging via any third-party charger that supports the wattage.

It's true Apple's iPhone 13 Pro can meet the S22 Ultra's 15 W of maximum input, but to do so, charger being used must be a MagSafe unit. MagSafe chargers are manufactured by Apple or by licensed third parties that must pay Apple for its approval. That usually results in prices far higher than those Qi-based units without MagSafe licensing can provide. Even if they support the same 15 W of power delivery on Samsung's devices, they will still be limited to just 7 W on the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max. 

Connectivity

Model

iPhone 13 Pro/Pro Max

Galaxy S22 Ultra

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 6 

Wi-Fi 6E

Bluetooth

Version 5.0

Version 5.2

5G 

Yes (including ultrawide-band and C-Band)

Yes (including ultrawide-band and C-Band)


This one's just about a tie for the vast majority of users. The only differentiators here are slight variances that give the S22 Ultra a bare edge in the versions of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth supported. 

For Wi-Fi, version 6E adds additional support for the 6GHz frequency that can provide improved throughput and reduced latency. However, this requires all involved devices to support the still very-new technology, meaning you likely won't see any real benefit until you've at least upgraded your router or whatever other unit the smartphone S22 Ultra is connecting to. Even then, Wi-Fi 6 is likely more than fast enough for most applications a smart phone can be put to. 

On the Bluetooth side of things, Samsung's decision to include Bluetooth 5.2 over Bluetooth 5.0 means that the S22 Ultra gains the use of isochronous channels (ISOC), which provide simultaneous access to both connection-oriented and connectionless data channels at the same time. The ultimate result is slightly faster pairing times, and improved battery life for devices that disconnect and reconnect frequently. 

At the end of the day, it's questionable whether these minor version differences in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth protocols will even really be noticed by the vast majority of users. 

Software

Model

iPhone 13 Pro/ Pro Max

Galaxy S22 Ultra

Launch version

iOS 15

Android 12

Guaranteed number of updates

5

4


Obviously, it's difficult to compare Android to iOS, at least in the relatively short amount of space we've got here. However, it is worth taking a look at the promised number of updates offered by each model. 

Apple's iOS has pretty much been the gold standard for long-term OS updates. Its five-version promise means that you're guaranteed to be able to download the latest version of iOS for at least five years. The recent launch of iOS 15 is supported all the way back to the iPhone 6S, which launched in 2015. Sure, some newer features that require newer hardware to work might leave this model behind, but the same can be said for any smartphone. 

Meanwhile, Samsung is promising a slightly shorter four-version guarantee. This is one less major update than iOS, and also a much less reliable proposition in general. While iOS updates are generally available to all compatible devices from day one, Android models often take much longer for a new update to proliferate across the daunting number of models made by the various manufacturers and customized for various carriers. The associated approval processes can often mean a new version of Android released in the fall won't reach even the latest generation of devices until the next spring. 

Companies like Google and Samsung have worked to shorten these wait times, but they still can't beat the monolithic surety offered by iOS.

1-14-galaxy-s22-ultra-back1-phantom-white-design-hi.jpg
Image: Samsung

Stylus support

We'll be skipping the table this time around since the S22 Ultra is quite unique in its inclusion of Samsung's iconic S Pen. Well, not unique exactly. The S Pen was included in Samsung's now apparently-defunct Galaxy Note line for several years before it switched over to the S-series with this generation. The latest iteration of the S Pen also brings with it upgrades like 70% lower latency for a more responsive experience. Most importantly, the S Pen actually ships with and fits inside Samsung's S22 Ultra, unlike recent offerings which could have a separate S Ped added later

Apple doesn't really have much in the way of competition for this one. Sure, rumors have been around for years that it would add support for its own Apple Pencil stylus to the iPhone, but those have yet to come to fruition. Meanwhile, users can make use of any of the slew of passive styli available in every phone shop's bargain bin, and probably on the back of that pen you got from your doctor's office. But, those are essentially just slightly thinner, artificial fingertips that offer very little in the way of additional precision over your own digits. They also provide no additional functionality. 

I'm not sure it's worth calling Samsung a winner in this area, because it was never really a contest.

Colors and pricing

Model

iPhone 13 Pro

iPhone 13 Pro max

Galaxy S22 Ultra

Color options

Sierra Blue, Silver, Gold, Graphite

Sierra Blue, Silver, Gold, Graphite

Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, Burgundy (S22 Ultra exclusive)

Starting price

$999

$1,099

$1,199

Cost is going to be the single most important factor for a lot of shoppers. After all, what good are all of those cutting-edge improvements if you can't afford them ?

Of course, if you're looking for a bargain-priced smartphone, you probably wouldn't be considering any of these models to begin with. Each of the three units is the best of the best in their own right, and they're priced accordingly. 

The biggest difference in pricing comes in when comparing the relative storage options of the Apple and Samsung entrants. The base model Galaxy S22 Ultra includes 128GB of storage and is priced at $1,199. For that same price, you can get an upgraded iPhone 13 Pro Max with double the storage at 256GB. While there are, of course, numerous other factors worth taking into consideration, this means that Apple actually wins the dollar-per-GB race as far as onboard storage goes. 

Now obviously Samsung would be likely to argue that the S22 Ultra is worth the extra cost as it's a technologically superior smartphone, thanks to advantages like its extra camera, increased zoom levels, increased RAM, and more. However, we've discussed at length, at this point, how several of those differences are not as clear-cut as they may first appear, and not necessarily nearly as important for everyone as they might be for the absolute top 1% of smartphone enthusiasts.

Ultimately, it's up to you whether Samsung's philosophy of maximum technology for one of the highest prices of any non-folding smartphone on the market is correct, or if Apple's decision to stick relatively close to that all-important $1,000 mark is more your speed. 

In either case, you'll be getting one of the fastest, most powerful smartphones ever made. Hopefully we've helped to ensure that the phone in question isn't just a performance beast, but also the most ideal option for you. 


Preorder info

The Galaxy S22 Ultra is available now for preorder from Samsung, all major US carriers, and other major retailers. Units are expected to arrive in stores on February 25. 

Don't worry about researching which carrier or store to buy from. We've already rounded up the best preorder deals available for the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. 

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