That being said, at the time of writing this article, the iPhone 14 Plus was only $100 more affordable than the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Samsung’s flagship was more expensive in the past, though, but the Galaxy S23 series is right around the corner, while it’s a discount season. So, is it worth spending $100 more on what Samsung has to offer, or should you get the iPhone 14 Plus? That’s something only you can answer, but we’ll try to help by comparing the two devices. Something we will not be comparing are the two OS’, that really comes down to your preference.
Specs
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 14 Plus: Design
Both of these phones are made out of metal and glass. In fact, they both utilize aluminum for their frames. They do look quite different, though, as the two companies took different approaches to design. The Galaxy S22 Ultra is heavily curved on the sides, while it’s flat at the top and bottom. The iPhone 14 Plus is flat all over the place. Its sides are flat, as are its front and back sides. Both of them have rather flat bezels, but the iPhone 14 Plus has a notch up top, which is an eyesore. The Galaxy S22 Ultra does include a display camera hole, which is considerably smaller than the notch on the iPhone 14 Plus. The Galaxy S22 Ultra also has sharper corners than the iPhone 14 Plus, which is rounder in that area. On the back, they have fairly different camera setups. The Galaxy S22 Ultra has four cameras back there, each of which protrudes out of the back of the phone on its own. The iPhone 14 Plus has two cameras, both of which are included in the same camera island. When it comes to size, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is slightly taller, slightly narrower, and a bit thicker. It’s also heavier than the iPhone 14 Plus. The Galaxy S22 Ultra does have a slightly larger display than the iPhone 14 Plus. Both phones are quite slippery, so using a case is definitely recommended. They’re both also IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. Both of these devices feel quite premium in the hand.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 14 Plus: Display
The Galaxy S22 Ultra features a 6.8-inch QHD+ (3088 x 1440) Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. That is a 120Hz panel, and an LTPO panel, which means it offers an adaptive refresh rate. This display gets plenty bright at 1,750 nits of peak brightness, and it’s flat. It supports HDR10+ content, while it’s protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus+. We’re looking at the 90.2% screen-to-body ratio on the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
The iPhone 14 Plus includes a 6.7-inch 2778 x 1284 Super Retina XDR OLED display. That is a flat display, and it has a 60Hz refresh rate. So it does not offer a high refresh rate. It does support HDR10 content, and has Dolby Vision support. It gets up to 1,200 nits when brightness is concerned, and it has a 19.5:9 display aspect ratio. We’re looking at an 87.4% screen-to-body ratio here. Both of these displays are really good, but the Galaxy S22 Ultra has the upper hand here. Not only does its display offer a 120Hz refresh rate, but it also gets noticeably brighter outdoors. If you’re in direct sunlight, the difference will be visible, very much so. Both displays are plenty sharp, though, and offer those vivid colors with deep blacks. The viewing angles are great on both, as is the touch response.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 14 Plus: Performance
The Galaxy S22 Ultra comes in two SoC variants. The model in Europe is fueled by the Exynos 2200 SoC, while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 fuels every other variant. We’ve used the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 variant, and that model is better in a number of ways. It offers better performance, pictures, and it doesn’t heat up as much. On top of that, it’s better when it comes to power consumption. That’s the model we’ll talk about here. The Galaxy S22 Ultra also includes LPDDR5 RAM, up to 12GB, and UFS 3.1 flash storage. The iPhone 14 Plus is fueled by the Apple A15 Bionic processor. It comes with 6GB of RAM and NVMe storage. How does all this reflect on their performance? Well, both smartphones are great in that regard. When it comes to regular, everyday tasks, they both shine. They can open and close apps really fast, they’re generally very smooth during browsing, consuming multimedia, taking pictures, and so on. Even when it comes to gaming, both phones deliver. The Galaxy S22 Ultra got a lot better with updates throughout the year, and it really does shine in terms of performance now. The iPhone 14 Plus did have some initial bugs, but those got polished quickly too. They’re both great options when performance is concerned.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 14 Plus: Battery
The Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 5,000mAh battery, while the iPhone 14 Plus packs in a 4,323mAh unit. Apple’s iOS handles battery consumption differently, and it generally needs smaller battery packs than its Android counterparts. That being said, the battery life on both smartphones is really good. We were able to push out 6-7 hours of screen-on-time from the Galaxy S22 Ultra, while the iPhone 14 Plus goes beyond that. Generally, the iPhone 14 Plus does offer a better battery life, and it will likely get you over that 8-hour screen-on-time mark. Your mileage may vary, though, of course. Each of us use our phones differently. We use different apps, have different usage patterns, and different signal strengths as well. So keep that in mind. Both devices do deliver in that battery life department, and will get most people through a day of use without a problem. When charging is concerned, the Galaxy S22 Ultra offers support for 45W wired, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. The iPhone 14 Plus supports 20W wired, 15W MagSafe wireless, and 7.5W Qi wireless charging. Do note that neither phone includes a charger in the box, though.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 14 Plus: Cameras
The Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 108-megapixel main camera, in addition to a 12-megapixel ultrawide unit, a 10-megapixel telephoto, and a 10-megapixel periscope camera. The iPhone 14 Plus includes a 12-megapixel main camera, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide unit. Both of these phones are excellent when it comes to camera performance, but they do produce different-looking images.
You’ll be glad to know that the Galaxy S22 Ultra camera only got better since launch. Samsung worked out the kinks it had at first, and the Galaxy S22 Ultra really delivers now. During the day, both phones do provide very detailed images. They’re sharp, well-balanced, and nice overall. The iPhone 14 Plus has a tendency to produce warmer shots, though. The Galaxy S22 Ultra handles some HDR situations better, as the iPhone 14 Plus has a tendency to overblow the highlights at times. The Galaxy S22 Ultra does use sharpening more in some situations, while the iPhone 14 Plus oversharpens in others. They both do a great job in low light, and can really pull out a lot of details from the highlights. The images from the iPhone 14 Plus do end up looking more natural in such conditions, but the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s are brighter. The Galaxy S22 Ultra wins in the telephoto game hands-down, regardless of the shooting distance really. The video recording, on the other hand, is better on the iPhone 14 Plus.
Audio
Both the Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 14 Plus include stereo speakers. Those speakers are actually really good on both phones. They end up sounding loud and detailed, but the Galaxy S22 Ultra has an upper hand here. The sound is a bit fuller from Samsung’s flagship. Both will do the trick for the vast majority of people, though. If you’re in need of an audio jack, well, unfortunately, neither of these two phones offer one. You’ll have to use a Type-C port on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, or the Lightning port on the iPhone 14 Plus in order to get a wired audio connection. The two phones do offer Bluetooth 5.2 and 5.3, respectively, in case you use wireless headphones.
