Are you looking for the largest and most powerful phone ever made? The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max are at the top of your wish list. 

Both are ideal candidates because they are large, have large batteries, and have excellent cameras, but how are they different?

With its new and faster A16 processor, industry-leading battery life, a slew of innovative features—including the never-before-seen Dynamic Island concept—and a few potentially life-saving ones like SOS via satellite and Crash Detection—the iPhone 14 Pro Max stands out from the competition. Not to mention a new Always On display, improved cameras, the best portrait mode video, and extended software support from Apple to top it all off.

On the other hand, the Galaxy S22 Ultra has an integrated S Pen that is great for creatives, an unrivaled 10X zoom camera, and all of the power of Android, including features like split-screen multitasking.

Design and Display Quality 

The Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max are both well-built premium smartphones made of high-quality materials, but some differences exist.

The Galaxy has sharp corners and a wider aspect ratio than the average phone, which gives it a distinctive look but lessens its comfort in a pocket. Similar in size to the iPhone but with rounded corners. The Galaxy has an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone’s middle is made of gleaming, more expensive stainless steel. Both are made of a glass and metal sandwich.

You don’t need to worry if you get caught in the rain with one of them because they both have the same IP68 water and dust certification and are equally protected from the elements.

The iPhone continues to use its exclusive Apple Lightning connector, while the Galaxy charges through a USB-C port. 

What is in the box or, more accurately, what is not should be familiar to you. Both come with a charging cable, but neither comes with a charger; you must purchase a charging brick separately.

The screen sizes on the iPhone and Galaxy are slightly different at 6.7″ and 6.8″, respectively, so the S22 Ultra does have a larger display. In addition, it has a marginally higher resolution than the iPhone (1290p vs. 1440p), which is still noteworthy.

Performance and Software 

The Galaxy is based on a Qualcomm-made Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max is powered by an Apple A16 Bionic chip built on a new and more advanced 4nm manufacturing process (outside of the US, Galaxy models are powered by a different chip, the Samsung-made Exynos 2200). Even though they both seem quick in everyday use, the Snapdragon chip is inferior. 

The fluidity of the iPhone’s interface, which the Galaxy doesn’t quite match, is one difference that benchmarks don’t specifically note, especially if you use gesture navigation. That is one of its main issues, and the newest One UI 5 software doesn’t address it either.

The Galaxy is offered with 8GB of RAM in the base model, and a beefed-up version is also available with 12GB of RAM, so that’s great for running more apps in the background than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which sticks with 6GB.

Both phones have 128GB of storage as a base capacity, with upgrades to 256GB, 512GB, and even 1TB available for the most discerning users. Remember that neither phone supports expandable storage (neither has a microSD card slot).

Cameras 

It is highly anticipated that the main camera on the iPhone 14 Pro Max will feature a higher resolution sensor than previous models have. Apple replaced the current 12MP sensor in the main camera with a 48MP sensor. On the other hand, Samsung has been using a main camera with an even higher resolution 108-megapixel sensor, for a while now.

Apple has not been able to match the 10X periscope lens on the Galaxy, which is ideal for zooming far away. Additionally, the Galaxy supports digital zoom of up to 100X, compared to the iPhone’s maximum of 9X.

Camera differences between the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Galaxy S22 Ultra:

• 24mm lens vs. 23mm lens, 48MP vs. 108MP main sensor
• 12MP ultra-wide on both
• 10MP 3X zoom on the Galaxy, 12MP 3X zoom on the iPhone 
• Only the Galaxy has a 10X zoom.

Additionally, Apple has a few unique camera features you won’t find on the Galaxy, such as Photographic Styles.

Battery Life and Charging 

With a massive 5,000mAh battery inside, you might anticipate that the Galaxy S22 Ultra would easily outlast its 4,400mAh-capable iPhone competitors. The 4,323mAh battery in the iPhone 14 Pro Max is not the biggest. But battery size might be one of many determining factors in this case.

The iPhone has a longer battery life that you can easily stretch into two full days off the charger thanks to Apple’s iOS platform, which does a much better job of preventing the phone from excessive power use.

According to the battery test, the iPhone scored an impressive 11 hours, while the Galaxy could only muster around seven and a half hours of video playback over a Wi-Fi connection. This is a significant difference.

The iPhone also has a nearly 50% advantage in web browsing, and these results are significant.

It’s interesting to note that the Galaxy outperforms the iPhone in the 3D gaming test, but there are some reservations about those results given that the game used doesn’t support 120Hz on the Galaxy, and the test may have taken place at 60Hz, which is much easier on the battery.

However, the Galaxy supports charging speeds of up to 45W, giving it a significant advantage over the iPhone, which only supports speeds of up to 27W. And there is a significant difference in how quickly these two charges with the Galaxy takes just a little over an hour, while the iPhone charges in almost twice that time. 

Final Thoughts 

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has several benefits, including a new and faster chip, new moves with the Dynamic Island, potentially life-saving satellite connectivity, extended software support, and longer battery life.

On the other hand, the Galaxy S22 Ultra provides you with a fair number of extra features, such as an S Pen, faster charging, a long-range telephoto camera, and all of that, on top of its reliable fundamentals.

So, look at what you value most in a phone and only then decide which phone is right for you.