Whether American football, soccer or tennis: rivalries in these sports electrify the masses. In the smartphone world, the duel between Apple and Samsung has been heating up tempers since the release of the first Galaxy S model in June 2010 at the latest. Now the opponents are competing against each other again at COMPUTER BILD – the duelists are recruited from Samsung’s S22 and Apple’s brand new iPhone 14 series.
iPhone 14 (Pro Max) vs. Galaxy S22 (Ultra): Before the decision is made, the test is carried out.
Apple or Android?
In recent years, a number of new smartphone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo have emerged. But in Germany, most people continue to ask themselves the question before buying a cell phone: Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy? The answer to this is also a system decision – for iOS or for Android.
iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Galaxy S22 Ultra.
design and biometrics
Gone are the days when only Apple built pretty electronic devices. Samsung’s top model, the S22 Ultra, is an eye-catcher thanks to the side-curved displays, and the Samsung devices are now much slimmer. Apple, on the other hand, relies on simple, angular cases with metal frames. All devices in the test were waterproof.
Enormously bright and large OLED
Good battery life
No jack socket
No power supply included
Record readings for speed and display brightness
Good camera with telephoto and 48 MP
Battery life could be longer
Slow loading
Design is a matter of taste, but with its front-filling edge display and the S Pen, the S22 Ultra is definitely an eye-catcher.
The topic of biometrics is a matter of taste: some prefer face recognition, others a fingerscan. Like all Android manufacturers, Samsung has said goodbye to secure face recognition: In the test, a photo was enough to unlock the Samsungs. Unlocking via fingerscan is more secure – it even works with wet fingers on the Galaxy S22. Apple, on the other hand, no longer has a finger sensor. There is a complex camera system in the front that can recognize the face quite reliably and almost foolproof – Face ID even works with an FFP2 mask. The downside: the system takes up more space than Samsung’s tiny front camera. So iPhones have to live with a thick black recess in the display. On the iPhone 14 it is a notch, on the 14 Pro models it is a narrower oval (dynamic island).
iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro side by side.
Technical check 1: Display
All devices have great OLED displays with crisp colors and strong contrasts. However, there are differences in the details: only the Samsung models and the Pro iPhones are extremely bright. And they have it all: iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max were the first smartphones in the test to break the limit of 2000 candelas per square meter, albeit only selectively when playing HDR content. But even normal images are hardly darker at around 1900 candelas. The iPhone 14 clearly lags behind with 833 candelas for content without HDR. Critical eyes appreciate the smooth display of 120 Hertz displays. This is common with Samsung’s S-Class and even with many inexpensive Androids. At Apple, only the Pro models offer this luxury. By the way, they can turn their display down to a measly Hertz. In this sloth mode, it consumes even less power. The S22 Ultra also has it – but the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus do not, but they reach 48 and in certain situations up to 24 Hertz. The iPhone 14, on the other hand, is nailed to 60 Hertz, like all its predecessors. But only those who previously had a Samsung or an iPhone 13 Pro could experience the display as a bit notchy. Everyone else doesn’t notice anything because they don’t know any different.
Interim result: The iPhone Pro models and the S22 Ultra have the best displays.
The bar graph shows the maximum display brightness with normal image content (SDR). The Pro iPhones also lead here – closely followed by the Samsung S22 Plus.
Technique Check 2: Tempo
The fight for the title “fastest mobile phone” is taking place at a high level. Nobody gets impatient with the current top devices. But the iPhone 14 Pro models with their new Apple processor A16 Bionic are outperforming the competition. However, the iPhone 14 with the older A15 chip is hardly slower. Thanks to the smooth animations of iOS 16, the pace advantage of iPhones seems even greater. It is not yet possible to say to what extent the upcoming Samsung update to Android 13 with One UI 5.0 will reduce this.
Interim result: The iPhone 14 Pro models win the speed comparison.
A good measure of pure processor speed is the Geekbench benchmark. The Pro iPhones are at the top here, followed by the standard iPhone 14, followed by Samsung.
Technical check 3: camera
In the smartphone camera test, the lab checks the photo quality in two steps: firstly, using software-based evaluations of standardized test charts, and secondly, using visual tests, in which, for example, an unnatural (e.g. oversharpened) display is noticeable. Of course, the assessment is not made on the mobile phone screen, but on calibrated PC monitors at 100 percent magnification. The tests are carried out in daylight and in dim light, for example in a candlelit room. In addition, there is a zoom analysis, here a practical fourfold magnification is decisive.
iPhone 14 camera: Standard mode.
S22: Standard recording with the main camera.
iPhone 14: camera recording with fivefold zoom – Apple only offers better zoom recordings with the Pro models.
S22: Camera shot with 10x zoom. The S22 has a Tele. This is only available on the iPhone in the Pro models of the iPhone 14 series.
15x zoom comparison: iPhone 14 Pro Max vs. S22 Ultra. Samsung wins – but it’s still impressive how close the Pro iPhone comes to Samsung’s 10x optical space zoom.
iPhones take the best photos in daylight. Interesting: The standard iPhone 14 with its 12 megapixel (MP) camera is on par with the Pro versions (48 MP) here. In dim light, all smartphones in the test take quite good photos – the iPhone 14 Pro was slightly ahead. When it comes to zoom shots, the Samsung models outperform the iPhones. The S22 Ultra shoots the bird here with its second, extremely strong tele (tenfold optical). The iPhone 14 takes really bad zoom photos – it is the only smartphone in the comparison without a separate telephoto lens.
Interim result: iPhones win for everyday photos – but Samsung is top when it comes to zoom.
Night photo comparison: S22 Ultra vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max. Both photos show good quality, but the iPhone is just ahead.
Technical check 4: battery
In the smartphone battery test, the laboratory torments the cell phones with continuous operation using robot fingers until the battery is exhausted. Almost all test candidates achieved a decent runtime of nine to ten hours – but there are two outliers. The large iPhone 14 Pro Max managed 13:36 hours. And the small S22 gave up after just 8:13 hours. If the battery is almost empty, fast charging can help. However, all test candidates weaken in this discipline. Some China smartphones are fully charged after around 20 minutes. The flash loader in the test was the S22 Plus – with 76 minutes (!). The iPhone 14 Pro Max refueled the slowest (143 minutes). All devices also charge wirelessly. Samsung’s S22 can charge other devices, including dead iPhones, via the back.
Interim result: The iPhone 14 Pro Max is the clear battery king.
The left bar shows how much the empty battery is charged after 15 minutes. The one on the right shows the running time with a fully charged battery for continuous use.
Overall test winner: Apple
Large, extremely bright screen
Very high work pace
Price-performance winner: Samsung
Very bright OLED
Good battery life
No jack socket
No power supply included
Conclusion: iPhone 14 series against Galaxy S22 model series
iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max win thanks to a better main camera, bright display and turbo processor – the Max scores with a strong battery and large display. But Samsung is close. Anyone who needs professional functions such as stylus, HDMI and DeX cannot avoid the Samsung S22 Ultra. The price-performance winner goes to the Galaxy S22 Plus: With 256 gigabytes of storage, it only costs as much as the iPhone 14 with 128 gigabytes, has a larger display and a telephoto camera. Good: When it comes to sustainability, Apple and Samsung are leading the way with long updates.
The best smartphones and cell phones
Apple
Details about the test
Per
top camera
Bright 120 Hertz display
against
Slow loading
No jack socket
live
Details about the test
Per
Excellent video stabilization
Good camera with Zeiss lenses
Apple
Details about the test
Per
Enormous battery life
top camera
against
Big and unwieldy
Slow loading
Apple
Details about the test
Per
Record readings for speed and display brightness
Good camera with telephoto and 48 MP
against
Battery life could be longer
Slow loading
Apple
Details about the test
Per
Large, extremely bright screen
Very high work pace
Apple
Details about the test
Per
OLED display with top contrast/colours
Very high work pace
Samsung
Details about the test
Per
Super display – large, sharp, high-contrast and extremely bright
WiFi 6E
against
Big and heavy
No memory card slot
Samsung
Details about the test
Per
Very bright OLED
Good battery life
against
No jack socket
No power supply included
Apple
Details about the test
Per
Long battery life
Very high work pace
against
No telephoto lens
Display without 120 Hertz (only in the 13 Pro)
Samsung
Details about the test
Per
Enormously bright and large OLED
Good battery life
against
No jack socket
No power supply included
Complete list: The best smartphones and cell phones
Alternative: folding cell phones – from Samsung
If you look beyond the duel, you will discover another alternative: the biggest smartphone innovation in recent years are smartphones with folding displays. Samsung dominates the action here, proving with the handy Galaxy Z Flip 4 and above all with the professional bolide Galaxy Z Fold 4 that the technology is now practical.
Tag: iphone design, iphone 14, apple iphone, iphone release
