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Apple iPhone 15 Professional
In all probability the very best compact flagship on this planet
Should you’re in search of a whole flagship telephone and are a fan of Apple gadgets, there actually is just one good selection – you need to get the iPhone 15 Professional. It is the top of Apple’s engineering, combining beautiful construct high quality with stellar efficiency and software program.
Execs- Attractive design with a titanium body
- Wonderful efficiency
- Nice show and digicam
Cons- Missed out on the periscope zoom from the iPhone 15 Professional Max
- Sluggish charging speeds
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Samsung Galaxy S23
The compact flagship for the Android lovers
The Android house has a couple of nice contenders for the title of the very best compact smartphone, however the Galaxy S23 is an superior selection amongst them. It is the precise combination of doing all the pieces very well, making for a well-rounded smartphone that won’t break the financial institution, but in addition slot in your pocket.
Execs- Slim, premium design
- Wonderful, vivid show
- Respectable battery life and efficiency
Cons- Images are typically a tad oversaturated
- Not that a lot totally different from the S22
Key Takeaways
- Flagship telephones are getting larger yearly, however smaller compact telephones are nonetheless out there from manufacturers like Samsung and Apple.
- The Samsung Galaxy S23 begins at $799 for the bottom mannequin, whereas the iPhone 15 Professional is $200 dearer, beginning at $999.
- The iPhone 15 Professional has a robust Apple A17 SoC and a smooth design with a brushed titanium physique, whereas the Galaxy S23 has a Snapdragon 8 gen 2 SoC and a shiny glass again.
When looking for telephones immediately – particularly when you’re in search of a flagship gadget – you’re largely spoiled for selection. Whether or not you need clear software program, superb pictures or movies, nice construct high quality or unique options, manufacturers like Google, Xiaomi, OnePlus or Motorola have gotten you coated.
Nevertheless, there may be one selection that’s typically missed, and that’s the dimension of the telephone. Recently, flagship phones have been getting larger yearly, with most of them reaching surpreme sizes.
If that is the event you want, the larger display sizes make for excellent information because it means more room to observe your favourite content material, play video games or simply browse your apps. However these larger shows are sometimes accompanied by merely being unwieldy, barely becoming in your pockets (particularly when you put on feminine clothes), and simply being arduous to make use of when you’ve got smaller arms.
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Fortuitously, there are nonetheless some firms that provide great compact phones. In fact, the Asus Zenfone 10 might be the smallest flagship out there now, however if you wish to go for one of many mainstream manufacturers, each the Android king Samsung, together with Apple, have one thing to supply for those who like their telephones on the smaller aspect. iPhone 15 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S23 are fully-featured, flagship telephones that don’t compromise on options and specs whereas nonetheless sustaining smaller, extra pocketable dimensions. With each, you get top-tier processors, a triple digicam setup, and a shocking display, crammed right into a smooth physique.
So, if you wish to get your self a smaller flagship, which considered one of these two is the higher selection? This is all it is advisable to learn about them:
Value and availability
Beginning with the Samsung Galaxy S23, the telephone begins at $799 for the bottom mannequin with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. You may improve the storage to 256GB – this model prices a bit extra, because it’s $859.
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The iPhone 15 Professional, alternatively, is sort of a bit dearer. Its base mannequin is a steep $200 dearer, beginning at $999 for a similar 8/128GB configuration because the competitor immediately. You may broaden the storage as effectively, and the iPhone has three extra storage tiers: 256GB, 512GB and 1TB.
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Each of those telephones have already been launched, so you’ll be able to simply discover them each on-line and in bodily shops. Galaxy S23 was launched in February 2023, whereas the iPhone 15 Professional got here to the market fairly a bit later – in September 2023.
Specs
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Apple iPhone 15 Professional Samsung Galaxy S23 SoC Apple A17 Professional Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Show 6.1-inch, OLED, 2556 x 1179, HDR, 2000nits, 120Hz 5.1-inch, 120 hz, AMOLED 2X Storage 128/256/512GB/1TB 128GB / 256GB / 512GB Battery 23 hours, quick cost 50% in 30 minutes 20W wired, 15W MagSafe, 7.5W Qi wi-fi 3900mAh, 25W wired, 15W wi-fi Ports USB-C USB-C Dimensions 146.6 x 70.6 x 8.25mm, 187g 70.9 x 146.3 x 7.6mm, 168g IP Ranking IP68 IP68
Beginning with the center of those handsets, the SoC, the iPhone 15 Professional sports activities the state-of-the-art Apple A17 SoC, which has 6 CPU and 6 GPU cores. Put immediately, the A17 is an absolute beast and by far probably the most highly effective cellular chip so far, so even when you’re doing something intensive like enjoying video games or rendering movies, you should not really feel any slowdown both now, or fairly a couple of years down the highway. The SoC is supported by 8GB of RAM. Different notable options embrace the IP68 water-resistance ranking, Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6e help. It is also value mentioning that it’s the primary iPhone to lastly get a USB-C charging port, as an alternative of the ageing Lightning. What’s extra, the port itself helps the USB 3.2 Gen 2 commonplace, so it is not solely versatile but in addition helps extraordinarily quick information transfers.
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Samsung Galaxy S23 isn’t any slouch both. Its SoC – the Snapdragon 8 gen 2 -is a bit slower than what Apple has in retailer, however it’s an especially succesful, highly effective chip that may simply cope with something you throw its manner, making it nice each now, and sooner or later. It’s additionally paired with 8GB of RAM. The Galaxy S23 options the IP68 water resistance rating, in addition to Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6e help. As is commonplace on each fashionable telephone now, it too has a USB-C charging port which helps USB 3.2 Gen 2 as effectively.
Design
Apple, as an organization recognized for its design prowess, didn’t disappoint with the iPhone 15 Professional. It’s an awesome kind issue – the 6.1-inch display along with good, slim bezels makes the telephone’s dimensions a very pocketable 146.6 x 70.6 x 8.3 mm. What’s even higher is that the telephone, as an alternative of the usual aluminum or chrome steel, is now made out of brushed titanium with flat edges. This not solely makes it lighter (the telephone now weighs solely 168g) and extra sturdy, but in addition leaves it feeling far more premium than the competitors – this alloy does provide the “one thing additional” that you just’d anticipate from an Apple product.
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Apart from the titanium, Apple went for a matte glass again and toned down colours you’d anticipate from the “Professional” lineup: Grey, Black, White and Blue. There are additionally two extra adjustments. I’ve talked about the inclusion of USB-C for charging and information switch, however the brand new iPhone additionally lacks a staple of the road for a few years – the mute swap. As an alternative, you’ll discover an Motion Button there. It is a programmable button that you could personalize to your liking – it will possibly nonetheless act like a mute swap, however you may also program it to do different capabilities that you just’d prefer to have a devoted shortcut for. On the again, you get the acquainted 3-camera setup and an Apple emblem.
Transferring on to the Galaxy S23 – that is additionally a pleasant, premium-looking telephone. It goes with out saying that its aluminum chassis doesn’t really feel nearly as good because the titanium on the iPhone, however the match and end are equally good, making for a pleasant flagship. Samsung even manages to be a bit smaller than the Apple telephone, measuring 146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6 mm – particularly the distinction in thinness is sort of noticeable right here.
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On the again, Galaxy S23 additionally goes for a glass cowl, however the Korean producer opted for a shiny end. It does look higher for my part, however it’s a slo a fingerprint magnet – so that you get some, you lose some. There are additionally three vertically stacked cameras, a Samsung emblem and a small flash. The telephone is available in 4 colours that are far more energetic than toned-down iPhone colours: Black, Cream, Lavender and Inexperienced. Rounding issues up, you additionally get a USB-C charging port, however no motion button – after the failure of Bixby, Samsung gave up on this concept, sticking to the standard quantity rocker and energy button combo.
Software program
There isn’t a beating across the bush anymore – the largest distinction between these two telephones is not going to come all the way down to their design or {hardware} however to their respective software program. Each Apple and Samsung went all-in into creating its product ecosystems, the place its telephones are the centerpiece of all of it, however the firms did that with utterly totally different mindsets and targets in thoughts.
The iPhone 15 Professional is operating the most recent model of iOS 17. There may be rather a lot to be mentioned about iOS, good and unhealthy, however you’ll be able to’t deny it being one of the vital polished, well-rounded cellular working techniques. It’s a utterly closed-down system, so overlook about sideloading your apps or modifying the UI in any manner that Apple didn’t take into consideration, however in return, you get a easy, acquainted expertise with tons of well-optimized apps.
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What’s extra, for the previous couple of years Apple did open the system up a bit for its customers to personalize the handset, so recently every telephone has turn out to be far more private. Plus, with how widespread iPhones are within the US, you might be fairly certain that if there may be an app for one thing, it’ll certainly be out there on iOS, and it’ll be well-optimized – one thing that Android nonetheless appears to wrestle with a bit in America. To high all of it off, you will have the aforementioned ecosystem. All of the Apple gadgets work nice with each other, so if you have already got a Mac, an iPad, or an Apple Watch, that is an awesome mixture in your iPhone. Yet another factor to say – apart from the common connectivity choices, the iPhone additionally provides satellite tv for pc connectivity, enabling SOS communication even when you’re out of cellular community vary.
Then again, Samsung is the preferred firm making Android telephones within the US, and its thought of software program is sort of a bit totally different. It is operating Samsung’s customized Android pores and skin referred to as OneUI. Proper now, it is already on OneUI 6.0 which relies on Android 14. As with all Android telephones, the very best factor about it’s the freedom to do what you need – freely change your UI, sideload apps and all that great things. Samsung does deliver numerous its personal improvements to the desk although – nice multi-windows multitasking capabilities, DeX desktop mode and only a slew of other handy features that you could uncover by yourself. It additionally works nice with different Samsung gadgets, such because the Galaxy Tab sequence or the Galaxy Watch, however opposite to rivals, Samsung gadgets additionally work nice with different Android equipment, so you’ll be able to combine and match totally different producers based mostly on what you need and want.
Show
I might argue that the display is, finally, an important a part of your telephone. That is the factor you take a look at each time you wish to use it, so when it is crisp, responsive and brilliant, nearly all the pieces appears to be like and feels good when searching content material on such a show.
Let’s get into the small print then. Apple is utilizing what it calls a Tremendous Retina XDR show for its iPhone 15 Professional. It is an OLED panel with a decision of 2556 x 1179 pixels and a dynamic 1-120 Hz refresh price. It is 6.1-inches in diameter and Apple covers it with its Ceramic Protect glass. It helps 1000 nits of sustained brightness and 2000 nits of peak brightness. The show is flat, with out curved edges, and incorporates a Dynamic Island – a cutout for the digicam and Apple’s FaceID tech.
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 alternatively, comes outfitted with a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a decision of 2380 x 1080 pixels and a dynamic 48-120 Hz refresh price. It is also 6.1-inches in diameter and is roofed with Corning’s newest Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Its peak brightness is a contact decrease, coming at 1750 nits, however Samsung claims a better sustained brightness of 1200 nits. Samsung additionally went for a flat panel this time round, with a a lot smaller digicam cutout in the midst of the display’s higher edge.
Total, it is arduous to say which considered one of these screens is healthier – they’re each magnificent to take a look at and are the top of cellular show know-how. There are refined variations – Apple’s dynamic refresh price goes all the way down to 1Hz, which ought to give it an edge in battery life, however Samsung’s display ought to have a better sustained brightness. In any case, when you’re in search of a telephone with an out-of-this-world show, each of those will swimsuit you simply high quality.
Cameras
Apart from the show, one other space the place each of those telephones are extraordinarily equally matched are their cameras. If you need your telephone to take nice pictures in all situations – these two are in all probability, possibly apart from the Pixel 8 Pro, your two finest selections. They’ve comparable triple digicam setups, nice further modes and options, and versatile lenses. Plus, each of them take actually respectable selfies.
Beginning with the principle shooter, the iPhone 15 Professional has a spectacular 48 MP predominant sensor with sensor cropping know-how, basically providing you with the equal of three extra focal lengths (48mm, 35mm and 28mm). The image high quality itself is nice, albeit with the usual iPhone oversharpening. Nevertheless, the photographs are extremely brilliant and detailed, with pure colours. The digicam additionally works nice in worse lighting situations, using the 1/1.28-inch sensor to its fullest.
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The Galaxy S23 alternatively sports activities a 50MP predominant sensor which is a bit smaller than the iPhone – just one/1.56-inch. Nevertheless, the pictures look nice, and the lens is equally succesful because the iPhone in coping with worse lighting situations. The photographs look spot-on with regards to sharpness – a stark distinction to the iPhone’s look – however they’re a tad oversaturated, which is one thing all Samsung cameras are recognized for. Apart from that, it’s a very succesful, versatile digicam.
The opposite lenses on each of those gadgets are inferior to their predominant ones. The iPhone 15 Professional is provided with a 12MP ultrawide lens and a 12MP 3x zoom lens, making for a well-rounded setup. Its 12 MP selfie digicam completes the image. Sadly, the iPhone 15 Professional missed out on the periscope telephoto lens from the Pro Max, so the zoomed-in photos is not going to look as nice on the smaller mannequin.
Samsung has a very comparable setup of secondary cameras, going for a 12MP ultrawide lens and a 10MP 3x telephoto. As soon as once more, each of those are barely on the smaller aspect in comparison with the iPhone, so that you would possibly discover a small drawback in darker environments. Samsung can be outfitted with a 12MP selfie cam.
The one factor the place the iPhone – as all the time – shines effectively above the Samsung is video. Though it solely information in 4K 60FPS, in comparison with the Samsung’s 8K 30 FPS max decision, movies from the iPhone are a lot better high quality, with higher stabilization and coloration science – plus they only look so a lot better. The competitors nonetheless has miles to go earlier than it catches as much as the iPhone’s video capabilities.
Battery and charging
No flagship expertise could be pleasurable and not using a respectable battery life – you do not need your smartphone, nevertheless highly effective and premium-feeling, to be tethered to your charger on a regular basis. Fortuitously, each of those telephones are glorious at retaining you related for a very long time. Sadly, in addition they each dissatisfied with their charging speeds.
Choosing up iPhone 15 Professional’s spec sheet would possibly make you a bit hesitant – it solely sports activities a comparatively small, 3274 mAh battery. Nevertheless, dimension is not all the pieces, and Apple does know tips on how to use it – that means that the most recent iPhone is an especially environment friendly telephone, with a power-sipping chip and nice optimization. Because of this despite the fact that the cell itself is small in comparison with the competitors, its battery life continues to be very respectable. In our testing, it comfortably lasted for a complete busy day, with round 20 p.c battery to spare on the finish of it.
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The Galaxy S23 gives a extra typical 3900 mAh battery, making it extra consistent with the remainder of the compact smartphone competitors. In our testing it behaved very equally to the iPhone, leaving you with round 20% of battery on the finish of the day.
What is just not nice about both the iPhone, or the Galaxy, are their charging speeds. With flagship telephones these days giving customers fast charging left and proper, each of those go for comparatively gradual charging speeds – and don’t even provide you with chargers within the field.
Samsung tops out at 25W wired charging and 15W wi-fi – not very spectacular. The iPhone is sort of the identical, topping at 27W and 15W wi-fi charging speeds. These telephones do, admittedly, have smaller batteries, so you need to anticipate them to replenish in underneath an hour and a half, however in comparison with the competitors, such speeds are painfully gradual.
iPhone 15 Professional vs. Galaxy S23: Which one do you have to select?
Evaluating the iPhone to any Android gadget, regardless of how good and totally different, is all the time a troublesome selection. It’s going to often come all the way down to the identical reply – finally, you need to get the telephone with the software program you favor.
Nevertheless, trying on the specs alone, the iPhone 15 Professional in all probability edges out the Galaxy S23 and takes the win. Granted, it’s $200 dearer, however you get an insane titanium chassis, arguably a bit higher cameras, a shocking show and the very best efficiency out there within the cellular house. Moreover, it really works effectively throughout all Apple ecosystem merchandise.
It must be mentioned that the Samsung Galaxy S23 is just not far behind – quite the opposite. For a lot much less, you get a tremendous, compact telephone with a show that could be even barely higher, an awesome and versatile digicam system and all the good options of Android with slightly little bit of that Samsung sparkle on high – it is nothing to scoff at. Should you like Android, or just wish to lastly get out of Apple’s “walled backyard,” the Galaxy S23 is a good selection.
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