| Model | iPhone 14 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | Google Pixel 7 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design | Sleek and refined | Premium glass and metal | Modern and minimalist |
| Display | Vibrant Super Retina XDR | Dynamic AMOLED 2X | Smooth OLED |
| Performance | A16 Bionic chip | Exynos 2200 / Snapdragon 895 | Google Tensor chip |
| Camera | Advanced camera system | Versatile quad-camera | Impressive AI camera |
| Battery Life | Improved endurance | All-day battery life | Decent battery backup |
| 5G Connectivity | Enhanced speeds | Ultra-fast 5G support | 5G capabilities |
| Software | iOS 16 | One UI 4.0 | Stock Android |
| Special Features | Face ID 2.0 | S Pen support (optional) | Enhanced AI features |
| Storage Options | Up to 1TB | Up to 512GB | Up to 256GB |
| Price Range | High-end flagship | Premium flagship | Mid-range flagship |
| Overall Rating | 9.5/10 | 9/10 | 8.5/10 |
iPhone 14 Pro Max
Introduction
Enhanced Photography and Imaging Capabilities
The iPhone 14 Pro Max brings significant advancements to its photography and imaging capabilities, elevating the user experience to new heights.
- Revolutionary Quad Bayer Main Camera – The primary 48MP camera features an exclusive Quad Bayer type sensor, enabling stunning details, improved low-light performance, and dynamic range. Apple’s unique design ensures that your photos capture every nuance, from vibrant colors to exquisite textures.
- Upgraded Ultrawide Camera – The ultrawide camera receives a sensor size upgrade, allowing you to capture even more in a single frame. Whether it’s sweeping landscapes or group photos, the improved ultrawide camera ensures that nothing gets left out.
- Front-Facing Camera Innovation – The front-facing camera now boasts autofocus functionality, ensuring your selfies are crisp and clear every time. With the potential addition of Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), shaky hands won’t compromise the quality of your self-portraits, video calls, or even vlogging.
- Advanced Camera Software – The marriage of cutting-edge hardware with intelligent software enhancements results in stunning photos and videos. Apple’s image processing algorithms have been refined to take full advantage of the new camera hardware, delivering true-to-life colors, improved noise reduction, and enhanced computational photography features.
Exceptional Display and Always-On Convenience
The iPhone 14 Pro Max delivers an exceptional display experience, complemented by the convenience of an Always-On display mode.
- Bigger and Better – With the XL-sized design of the Pro Max, you get more screen real estate than ever before. Whether you’re watching movies, playing games, or multitasking, the larger display ensures a truly immersive experience.
- Innovative Always-On Display – Thanks to LTPO (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide) technology, the iPhone 14 Pro Max introduces the long-awaited Always-On display feature. This means you can glance at your phone to check the time, notifications, and other important information without unlocking your device or even tapping the screen.
- Dynamic Notification “Pill” – The Face ID notch has evolved into a sleek “pill” shape, serving as a dynamic island of notifications. This ingenious design blurs the line between hardware and software, turning what was once considered a distraction into a functional and visually appealing element.
Reliability and Connectivity
- eSIM Integration – The US models of the iPhone 14 Pro Max now exclusively use eSIMs, streamlining the activation process and providing more flexibility for users who frequently switch carriers or travel internationally.
- Safety Enhancements – The addition of crash detection, coupled with emergency satellite connectivity, ensures that the iPhone 14 Pro Max not only keeps you connected but also offers crucial safety features that can be a lifesaver in critical situations.
- Powerful Performance – The obligatory chipset update, combined with other optimizations, ensures that the iPhone 14 Pro Max delivers exceptional performance for all your tasks, from productivity to gaming.
In summary, the iPhone 14 Pro Max stands as a testament to Apple’s commitment to innovation, providing a blend of groundbreaking hardware enhancements, intelligent software features, and an expansive display that caters to users seeking the ultimate smartphone experience.
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max specs at a glance:
- Body: 160.7×77.6×7.9mm, 240g; Glass front (Corning-made glass), glass back (Corning-made glass), stainless steel frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 mins).
- Display: 6.70″ LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED, 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (typ), 2000 nits (HBM), 1290x2796px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 460ppi; Always-On display.
- Chipset: Apple A16 Bionic (4 nm): Hexa-core (2×3.46 GHz Everest + 4×2.02 GHz Sawtooth); Apple GPU (5-core graphics).
- Memory: 128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 6GB RAM, 512GB 6GB RAM, 1TB 6GB RAM; NVMe.
- OS/Software: iOS 16.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1.28″, 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS; Telephoto: 12 MP, f/2.8, 77mm, 1/3.5″, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120Ëš, 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF; Depth: TOF 3D LiDAR scanner.
- Front camera: Wide (main): 12 MP, f/1.9, 23mm, 1/3.6″, PDAF, OIS (unconfirmed); Depth: SL 3D.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, 10-bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), ProRes, Cinematic mode (4K@24/30fps), stereo sound rec; Front camera: 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS.
- Battery: 4323mAh; Fast charging, USB Power Delivery 2.0, MagSafe fast wireless charging 15W, Qi wireless charging 7.5W.
- Misc: Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer; NFC; stereo speakers; Ultra Wideband (UWB) support, Emergency SOS via satellite (SMS sending/receiving);, Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified).
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
- Best phone display yet: The Galaxy S22 Ultra’s AMOLED panel is not only brighter than the competition, making it ideal for outdoor viewing, it delivers better color saturation.
- The S Pen is better: By reducing the latency by 70%, writing and drawing on the Galaxy S22 Ultra feels as smooth as pen and paper. And there’s a holster built in.
- Better photos (especially in low light): Thanks to a bigger main sensor, the Galaxy S22 Ultra delivers brighter pictures than the S21 Ultra, and the Night Mode works even better than the iPhone 13 Pro Max in certain scenarios.
- Longer support: Samsung is promising five years of update support and four years of major OS updates, so this flagship should be able to last you a long time.
- Battery life could be better: We saw a little over 10 hours of endurance in our web surfing battery test. That’s good but behind the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s over 12 hours.
- Sleek and durable design: The Galaxy S22 Ultra is protected by an armor aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus+ back, and yet it’s lighter than the iPhone 13 Pro Max without a lame notch. Some may not dig the curved display, though.
- 45W charging is fast (but not that fast): The phone got to 67% in 30 minutes, which is not that much faster than 25W (58%).
Samsung Galaxy S22 review: Release date and price
Starting at $1,199 for the Galaxy S22 Ultra in its 8GB/128GB configuration. It costs $1,299 to go up to 256GB, $1,399 for 512GB and $1,599 for 1TB.
Available to buy now, the Galaxy S22 Ultra comes in black, white, green, but also has a burgundy option. Online you can get the larger phone in Graphite, Sky Blue and red.
Check out our Samsung Galaxy S22 deals and Samsung promo codes to get the best discounts on Samsung’s new phones.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review: Design
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is simple but stunning at the same time. I appreciate the sharp, squared-off angles, and I also like that the cameras aren’t housed in a honking bump. They are more flush with the back of the handset. The overall look is minimalist and sleek.
Another plus: The 6.8-inch display is gently curved, so it adds some aesthetic appeal without leading to accidental screen presses. My only complaint is that sometimes typing words or moving the cursor on the extreme left or right side of the screen can be a challenge. Despite having a slightly larger display than the 6.7-inch iPhone 13 Pro Max, the S22 Ultra is lighter at 8.07 ounces vs. 8.5 ounces for Apple’s handset.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra feels solid and durable, and it should, as it’s fortified with an armor aluminum frame and a Gorilla Glass Victus+ back. We’ll have to see how well this phone holds up in drop tests, though.
The color options for the Galaxy S22 Ultra include Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green and Burgundy. I tend not to use a case, so I would probably opt for the very eye-popping white model.
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | iPhone 13 Pro Max | Google Pixel 6 Pro | |
| Max brightness | 1,359 nits | 1,038 nits | 842 nits |
| sRGB color gamut | 137.5% | 109.3% | 104.2% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 97.4% | 77.4% | 73.8 |
| Delta-E color accuracy (lower is better) | 0.25 | 0.21 | 0.3 |
The Galaxy S22 Ultra’s panel also impressed in our lab tests, as it reached a very high max brightness of 1,359 nits, compared to 1,038 nits for the iPhone 13 Pro Max and 842 nits for the Google Pixel 6 Pro.
In addition, the Galaxy S22 Ultra beat the competition on color reproduction, as it notched scores of 137.5% and 97.4% on the sRGB and DCI-P3 tests, compared to 109.3%/77.4% and 104.2%/73.8% for the iPhone 13 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro, respectively.
The only are where the S22 Ultra fell behind the iPhone was color accuracy, as it turned in a Delta-E score of 0.25 (where 0 is perfect). The iPhone 13 Pro Max hit 0.21.
One potential issue with the S22 Ultra’s display has been noted by several users (though not us) who got their devices early. These units produce strange static-like bands across the display, but the issue is limited to Exynos-powered devices and Samsung promises a fix.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review: S Pen
The Galaxy S22 Ultra has the smoothest S Pen I’ve ever experienced, and that’s because Samsung has dialed down the latency from 9 milliseconds to just 2.8 ms. So you’re getting a 70% improvement here.
The best part is that you don’t have to use a dumb case to store the S Pen as you had to with the Galaxy S21 Ultra. There’s an S Pen holder built right in to the phone.
In addition, the Galaxy S22 Ultra uses AI to predict your hand movements and deliver that pen-and-paper feel. When taking notes the writing not only feels smooth, there’s a neat sound that makes it sound like you’re writing on paper.
I compared the S22 Ultra and S21 Ultra, and there is a noticeable difference in responsiveness when writing on the display. For example, when jotting down “This is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra,” I felt like the words were appearing in real time on the S22 Ultra as I scribbled, while it felt like the S21 Ultra was a half step behind and was trying to keep up with the S Pen.
Samsung has made a few other notable S Pen improvements, including more accurate handwriting-to-text conversions, as well as the ability to quickly save your notes in Microsoft Office docs and emails.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review: Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra looks determined to top our best camera phone list and unseat Apple and Google. Our testing shows that the S22 Ultra is a very good camera phone, but it’s quite the champ.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra boasts a larger 2.4um pixel sensor for capturing more light and data, as well as a Super Clear Glass lens for capturing nighttime videos without flares. You also get a 12MP ultrawide lens, plus dual 10MP telephoto cameras that combine to offer 10x optical zoom and 100x space zoom. For more comparisons, check out our Samsung Galaxy S22 vs iPhone 13 Pro Max low-light photography comparison.
Samsung is also doubling down on computational photography with its camera system. There’s adaptive pixel technology that combines 9 pixels into one for better images in the dark, enhanced AI high-res processing and 4x faster multi-frame processing. These software features are already getting a boost from Samsung, which began a camera update rollout in June 2022. Among the key improvements are a performance upgrade to portrait mode and a bug fix for Single Take.
Pixel 7 Pro Review: Price and availability
The Pixel 7 Pro starts at $899 / £849 / AU$1,299 for a base model with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. For $999 / £849 / AU$1,499 , you can jump up to 256GB, or get 512GB for $1,099 / AU$1,599. That’s a great value considering the likes of the Galaxy S22 Ultra ($1,199), iPhone 14 Pro ($999) and iPhone 14 Pro Max ($1,099) all feature 128GB in their base models. You simply get more storage for your buck with the Pixel 7 Pro.
Even lower on the totem pole, the Pixel 7 Pro is only $100 more than the Galaxy S22 and iPhone 14, $100 less than the Galaxy S22 Plus, and the same price as the iPhone 14 Plus. Yet, Google’s handset offers more than those phones, such as a telephoto lens with a 5x optical zoom. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus don’t even have telephoto lenses or adaptive 120Hz displays.
The Pixel 7 Pro went on sale last October, and you can find it at all major carriers as well as on retail site like Amazon and Best Buy. Since releasing its flagships last fall, Google has subsequently come out with the cheaper Pixel 7a, which costs $400 less than the Pixel 7 Pro while featuring a Tensor G2 chip of its own. Note that the Pixel 7 Pro has a bigger display with a faster refresh rate, and it’s the only current Pixel with a dedicated telephoto lens.
Google Pixel 7 Pro review: Design
Let’s take a moment to admire the Pixel 7 Pro, especially the Hazel colorway I received for review. You can clearly see the design language that Google introduced last year, but the company refined it to a T for 2022. Whether it’s the metal camera bar that seamlessly blends into the frame or the prominent camera lenses that immediately draw your eye, the Pixel 7 Pro is a beautiful device in all three of its color options.
At 7.5 ounces, the Pixel 7 Pro feels heftier than its predecessor (7.4 ounces). It’s a miniscule difference on paper, but that 0.1-ounce difference feels noticeable. And despite a thinner 0.3-inch profile, the latest Pixel feels no less chunkier than the Pixel 6 Pro. It’s odd since my perception doesn’t line up with the numbers. Yet, I noticed it immediately upon picking up the Pixel 7 Pro. (I’ve been using the Pixel 6 Pro consistently since it launched, which is why I bring this up.)
If I had to lodge one complaint against the Pixel 7 Pro’s hardware, it’d be that it’s a slippery device. Whereas the Pixel 7 unit I received in the Lemongrass colorway has some grip along the frame, the new Pro likes to slide out of my hand or off of slightly unlevel surfaces. This was something I’d hoped Google would address this year since the Pixel 6 Pro had the same issue, but shiny and slippery seems to be the name of the game for Pro Pixels. I suppose I can hold out hope for a grippier Pixel 8 Pro.
You can read about how our News Editor had a hard time using the Pixel 7 Pro without a cover.
Google Pixel 7 Pro review: Display
The Pixel 7 Pro sports a 6.7-inch OLED display with a QHD+ resolution. I didn’t mind the Pixel 6 Pro’s display, but I found it a bit lacking in brightness for outdoor use. Google appears to have taken that into consideration this year, because the Pixel 7 Pro is significantly and noticeably brighter.
Some users have recently reported scrolling issues on the Pixel 7 Pro. The reports claim that scrolling on the display is inconsistent and is especially noticeable when upgrading from an older Pixel. In part this could be because of the snappy 120Hz refresh rate on the screen. An update seems to have fixed the issue for a few.
Here’s what we measured for the display.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Pixel 7 Pro | iPhone 14 Pro | Galaxy S22 Ultra |
| Display size | 6.7 inches | 6.1 inches | 6.8 inches |
| sRGB (%) | 104.9 (Natural) | 119.8 | 137.5 (Natural) |
| DCI-P3 (%) | 74.3 (Natural) | 84.8 | 97.4 (Natural) |
| Delta-E | 0.28 (Natural) | 0.25 | 0.25 (Natural) |
| Peak brightness (nits) | 927 | 993 (SDR) / 1448 (HDR) | 644 (SDR) / 1359 (HDR) |
Although Google closed the gap between its two biggest rivals, the Pixel 7 Pro’s display still falls behind the iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra across all metrics. However, approaching 1,000 nits of brightness is nothing to sneeze at. I can easily see what I’m doing outdoors, which is great for photography sessions.
But Samsung is the clear winner when it comes to color reproduction in the sRGB and DCI-P3 gamuts, and it shares the same Delta-E color accuracy score with the iPhone 14 Pro. That said, it’s a known fact by now that Samsung and Apple have the best displays on the market.
In my real-world use, the Pixel 7 Pro’s panel is a step up over last year’s display. Colors absolutely pop with sharp contrast and deep blacks. Watching the trailer for Blade Runner 2049, for example, showed just how rich the neons in that film can look. And with the new Super Mario trailer, Mario’s signature red getup looks amazing.
Google Pixel 7 Pro review: Cameras
The Pixel 7 Pro sports a triple rear camera setup. The 50MP main sensor does the heavy lifting, and it performs just as well as I had hoped. The 12MP ultrawide sensor does a great job of capturing detail at a superwide angle. And then there’s the 48MP telephoto camera, rocking a 5x optical zoom level. Around front, the 10.8MP selfie cam does pretty well in most conditions.
Let’s see how the Pixel 7 Pro’s camera performs and be sure to check out our Pixel 7 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro Max camera shootout for more comparisons.
The Pixel 7 Pro goes head-to-head with the iPhone 14 Pro (at $100 less), so that’s what I brought out for comparisons.
Starting off with this wall of metal stars, I love the rich detail in both images captured by the Pixel 7 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro. On that front, the two phones are pretty equal. Just look at the grain and cracks in the wood, the paint chips, the roughness of the stone, and striations in the stars.
However, you can see Apple’s Photonic Engine on display here. The brightness level stands as an immediate difference between the two. To my eye, the iPhone 14 Pro loses some detail in the stairs’ rust, whereas the grittier Pixel shot (given the overcast day) looks richer. Brighter is good, for sure, but Apple’s first round on the Photonic Engine is a bit aggressive here. I prefer the Pixel 7 Pro’s picture.
In this photo of a broken down Beetle, the images are once again nearly identical in terms of detail and dynamic range. I really like how the Pixel 7 Pro captured the plants and the faded auto paint, not to mention the flowers and pumpkins in the background. The iPhone 14 Pro did an equally nice job.
That said, I once again see the Photonic Engine getting a little aggressive in the background. The white flowers, for example, look on the verge of overexposure. The shot looks a bit too cool, whereas the Pixel 7 Pro captured a welcome and inviting warmness that I prefer given the weather conditions on the day I took these pictures. I once again give the nod to the Pixel.
Wrapping up the outdoor comparison, I took a picture of this part of New York City at night without either phone’s night mode active. I notice a much larger gap between the Pixel 7 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro here. The former wins in my opinion with a brighter image, stronger sense of detail and depth, and better colors on the mural. This was a very challenging scene with the very bright backlighting behind me, the night sky, and the lack of night mode. But I think the Pixel came out ahead.
Heading inside, this appropriately autumn scene shows that the Pixel 7 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro are on equal footing. Both phones have a wonderful sense of depth with the stuffed pumpkin in the foreground while the other pumpkins in the background are artistically out of focus. With the lamps, the scene looks very warm and inviting. The detail in the table catches my eye, too. It’s such a great performance from both devices that I can’t pick a winner.