Technologies

iPhone 14 Pro vs. Galaxy S23 Ultra: This Ex-Android Lover Has Thoughts

Do I regret switching to Apple?

This story is part of Samsung Event, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Samsung’s most popular products.

Five months ago, I went from being a die-hard Samsung Galaxy fan to a sellout iPhone owner. Since then, I’ve fully adapted to the world of Apple and have been basking in the perks of features like AirDrop and iMessage (mostly to the delight of my friends, who were sick of my green texts).

But I still have a soft spot for Galaxy phones, and when Samsung unveiled the S23 lineup in February, I was eager to see how the top-of-the-line S23 Ultra would compare to my iPhone 14 Pro. So I got my hands on one and began using the phones side by side to compare everything from the cameras to battery life to overall design — and to see whether I’d have any regrets about switching to the «dark side.» Here’s what I found.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s display vs. Apple’s Super Retina screen

First things first: I have an iPhone 14 Pro, and not a Pro Max, so the Ultra’s massive screen definitely stands out in comparison. I never feel like I need a bigger screen than what I get on my 14 Pro, but it definitely doesn’t hurt to have that larger display when I’m watching a YouTube video or streaming a show — or spending too much time on TikTok.

The trade-off to having that larger screen is trying to fit it in my pocket and having to carry something a bit bulkier. Still, it’s a pretty sleek phone for all that real estate.

The display quality on both phones is stellar, and I don’t see much of a quality difference between the two. Right out of the box, the S23 Ultra has a nice bright display, which you can achieve on the iPhone by turning off True Tone (a feature that adjusts the color and intensity of your display depending on your environment). If the brightness on the Ultra is too much, you can inversely mimic the effects of True Tone by going into Display settings and either toggling on Eye comfort shield or going to Screen mode and selecting Natural. You can also play with the White balance scale. Images on the iPhone look slightly sharper, but colors pop a bit more on the S23 Ultra. Overall, though, there’s really not much of a difference between the phones.

Galaxy and iPhone keyboards — The keyboard on the Galaxy S23 Ultra (right) places numbers above letters, so you don’t have to hop between the two.

John Kim/CNET

There’s one aspect to having an iPhone that I haven’t quite made peace with yet, and it’s the keyboard. I’m glad Apple added Slide to Type with iOS 13 a few years ago, followed by haptic feedback on the keyboard with iOS 16 (finally), because those are features I loved on Android. But I still get frustrated that I have to switch between numbers and letters when I’m typing on the iPhone. Meanwhile, on the Galaxy, the numbers sit just above the letters, so you can select them more quickly, the way you would on a laptop keyboard. You can download different keyboards on the iPhone like Gboard, but it’s not the same. I’ll admit that’s a minor complaint, but I do think the user experience would benefit from Apple taking a page from Android’s book — you know, like they’ve done many times before. Moving on….

Get up to $750 off a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra with a trade-in

$450 at Samsung

Get up to $600 off an iPhone 14 Pro with a trade-in

$399 at Apple

The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s battery life is next level

I’ve had my iPhone for a few months now and thankfully haven’t seen any noticeable drops in battery life yet. My phone still lasts a full day of heavy use, but I always need to charge at the end of the day.

The Ultra’s battery is next level. I can go a full day of use and still have some juice left over. That’s not surprising, given the S23 Ultra has a 5,000-mAh battery. Apple doesn’t share battery capacity for its phones, but says the 14 Pro has up to 23 hours of video playback. An iFixit teardown found the iPhone 14 Pro has a 3,200-mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra — The battery that keeps going.

James Martin/CNET

Even though the Ultra has a bigger battery, Apple is actually able to crank out more efficiency from its batteries thanks to iOS and its own A-series chips. Meanwhile, Android has to work with a variety of devices running different processors, so it becomes more important to have that bigger battery.

Specs and logistics aside, I’m amazed by the Ultra’s battery life, as was CNET’s mobile reporter Lisa Eadicicco when she reviewed the Ultra.

The S23 Ultra’s 200-megapixel camera

Camera quality is the most important aspect of any phone for me. I take a lot of pictures and videos for work and social media, including for my very niche tea account on Instagram. The camera on the Galaxy phones kept me in the Samsung family for a decade, so I was eager to compare the S23 Ultra’s cameras to the iPhone 14 Pro’s.

What I noticed right away is how much more saturated photos on the Ultra are. In most cases, that saturation adds a nice color boost to images and makes them stand out more. Pictures of my colorful teacups look even more vibrant on the Ultra. Sometimes, that saturation can be a bit overwhelming and makes photos look unnatural, as if there’s a filter on them. But other times, it makes colors and subjects stand out, in a good way.

A floral teacup and saucer taken with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra — The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 200-megapixel sensor brings out details and color in this decorative teacup.

Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

The 200-megapixel sensor on the Ultra punches up color and detail even more. A picture I took of a decorative teacup emphasizes the intricate floral design and gold trim and another image of a Klay Thompson mural shows vivid blues and yellows.

Not all moments are made for a 200-megapixel sensor, though. In another image taken outdoors, the sensor removed a few too many highlights, so it was harder to see detail and make sense of what’s going on.

Overall, I appreciate the softness and brightness of photos on the Ultra. Shadows on the iPhone are often a bit too harsh and give some images a darker overtone. An image of the sky on the Ultra will look nice and bright, while on the iPhone, there might be distracting shadows under clouds. The Ultra’s softness and brightness also make for more flattering selfies. You can adjust the iPhone’s camera settings and play around with things like contrast, tone and color temperature, and even mimic photography styles on the Galaxy (and vice versa), but I do wish the iPhone just automatically adjusted for things like shadows a little better.

The camera feature that surprised me most was Portrait mode. I think of Portrait mode on the iPhone as the gold standard. The subject is usually in perfect focus, the background is smoothly blurred and the colors are more natural looking. But I noticed there’s something the Ultra did better than my iPhone. I took a picture of my friend while she had sunglasses on top of her head, and the iPhone struggled to keep the bridge and sides of the glasses in focus, while the Ultra didn’t. It’s that small detail that shows how far Portrait mode has come on Galaxy phones. I still prefer the look of iPhone portraits because of the lower saturation, and you can catch a bit more detail in the background, which is nice.

Portrait mode on iPhone 14 Pro vs Galaxy S23 Ultra — The picture on the left was taken with Portrait mode on the iPhone 14 Pro, while the one on the right was taken with the Galaxy S23 Ultra. If you look closely, you’ll nice the iPhone blurs the bridge and sides of the glasses, while the Ultra doesn’t.

Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

Does the Galaxy S23 Ultra beat the iPhone at video?

Given the popularity of TikTok and Instagram Reels right now, video is a huge focus for both Apple and Samsung — and also important for folks like me who take a lot of videos. Since switching to the iPhone, I’ve seen an uptick in the quality of my videos. The colors are more natural and the images sharper. Cinematic mode makes subjects pop and lends a more professional look to my content. Samsung has its own Cinematic mode equivalent, called Portrait video. It also does a great job of blurring the background, but objects and people look a little less defined than they do on iPhone.

One area where the Ultra is a clear winner is with video stabilization. Even walking down the stairs, the footage is incredibly smooth, as if you’re using a gimbal. With the iPhone, you can still sense each step being taken, and there’s a lot more movement.

The S23 Ultra’s design vs. iPhone 14 Pro

Let’s be honest: the iPhone’s camera bumps are ridiculous. The Ultra is a breath of fresh air because the cameras don’t stick out as much, so it wobbles less when you set it down.

The S Pen on the Ultra is a fun extra, though I never found myself reaching for it. There’s not much I want to write by hand, and I can just tap the screen for pretty much all functions. Still, I’m glad the legacy of the retired Galaxy Note series lives on.

The in-screen fingerprint reader was a favorite feature of mine on my Galaxy phones, and it’s nice to have that option again while using the Ultra. I missed it when I first switched to the iPhone, but Face ID is solid enough that I quickly got over it. Unlocking both phones has been seamless.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s price is the same as the iPhone

The S23 Ultra is $1,200 for 256 GB of storage and is priced similarly to the iPhone 14 Pro Max with the same amount of storage. The smaller iPhone 14 Pro is $1,100 for 256GB. Whether you’re a Galaxy fan or an iPhone lover, $1,200 is a lot. But in this case, you get what you pay for.

Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. iPhone 14 Pro final thoughts

iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra cameras — Those camera bumps on the iPhone 14 Pro feel a little excessive.

John Kim/CNET

It’s been fun to revisit a world I’ve abandoned and compare the iPhone I have now to the one I could’ve had if I’d stayed in the Galaxy family. While there are aspects to the S23 Ultra that I appreciate, like brighter and more colorful images, better video stabilization and incredible battery life, there are advantages to having an iPhone that go beyond specs that’ll likely keep me in the Apple ecosystem for a while. Features like Airdrop and iMessage have made the user experience more seamless. And I don’t know if I could give up the iPhone’s video quality for anything else.

Still, I know that if I want to take a picture that makes people’s jaws drop, I’ll likely reach for the S23 Ultra. Then I’ll wait for the look of shock when I tell them it wasn’t taken with an iPhone.

Check out the video above to see more of my experience trying out these two phones, along with some side-by-side examples of photos and videos taken on each.

Galaxy S23 Ultra: Take a Closer Look at Samsung’s Giant New Phone

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See all photos

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WWE 2K25 Jumps From the Top Rope Onto PlayStation Plus in September

Subscribers will also be able to play a turn-based strategy Persona game.

«The American Nightmare» Cody Rhodes, son of one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time, «The American Dream» Dusty Rhodes, is the current undisputed WWE champion. And PlayStation Plus subscribers can bring Rhodes down a peg or help establish a new wrestling dynasty with the champion beginning on Sept. 16 in WWE 2K25.

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s version of Xbox Game Pass, and it offers subscribers a large and constantly expanding library of games. There are three PlayStation Plus tiers — Essential ($10 a month), Extra ($15 a month) and Premium ($18 a month) — and each gives subscribers access to games. However, only Extra and Premium tier subscribers can access the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog.

Here are all the games PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can access starting on Sept. 16. You can also check out the games all PS Plus subscribers can play in September, including Psychonauts 2.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

WWE 2K25

Take control of your favorite superstar from the men’s and women’s divisions in this knockdown, dragout wrestling game. Become one of over 300 wrestlers from today and years past, like Rhea Ripley and Andre the Giant. This entry in the series also introduces intergender wrestling matches, barricade diving and new brawl environments where you can get over or turn heel.

Persona 5 Tactica

Join the Phantom Thieves in this real-time strategy game set in the Persona universe. You and the group wander into a bizarre realm where people are living under tyrannical oppression, and you cross paths with a revolutionary named Erina. Now you’re in cahoots with the rebels as you try to free an oppressed people and find your way back home.

Other games on PS Plus

Those are a few of the games Sony is bringing to PlayStation Plus, and subscribers can play these games as well starting on Sept. 16.

*Premium subscribers only.

For more on PlayStation Plus, here’s what to know about the service and a rundown of PS Plus Extra and Premium games added in August. You can also check out the latest and upcoming games on Xbox Game Pass and Apple Arcade.

Technologies

Little Nightmares 3 Hands-On: a Creepy Co-Op Game Arriving Just in Time for Halloween

The sequel adds cooperative play with all the haunting hallmarks of the earlier games.

After about an hour playing Little Nightmares 3, I’d used a person’s bisected halves to solve a puzzle, gotten a high score in a carnival shooting game and escaped the murderous claws of a deranged baby. As a 2-foot-tall youth trying to survive the morbid dangers of one demented area after another with my co-player, I was terrified and delighted.

I’ve only sampled the first two Little Nightmares games, but in my brief preview of Little Nightmares 3, it felt like a refined version of the series’ premise: small protagonists endangered by a large, grim world filled with traps to evade, puzzles to solve and horrid, lethal enemies to outwit. Take the scale of the animated horror movie 9, mix it with the darkest of stop-motion director Henry Selick’s maudlin settings and let players enjoy the haunting ride, room by perilous room.

This time, players aren’t alone. In Little Nightmares 3, developed by Supermassive Games, two players (or one and an AI companion) choose between characters Low (a bird-masked boy with a bow) and Alone (a girl with a jumpsuit and a wrench), who rely on each other and get out of rooms using their unique tools or just good ol’ fashioned teamwork. Sometimes this means pushing a box for the other to jump on, but other obstacles require rather complex puzzle-solving.

In the game, Low and Alone seek to escape the bleak Nowhere and its roulette of dystopian lands. My preview was limited to one of these areas — Carnevale, a demented circus where our small characters had to sneak under the feet of grotesque, ambling workers (or their corpses, tied up or swinging for the sport of their fellows). When we thought we were safe, possessed puppets sprinted after us until we could team up to knock their wooden heads off and crush them. Being noticed by anyone meant our demise, requiring frantic cooperation amid the anxious stakes of rather gruesome deaths.

It’s this tension and the dour setting that sets Little Nightmares 3 apart from other co-op games like the more excitable and dynamic Split Fiction released earlier this year, a rollercoaster flipbook of game genres that made for a breathless if not terribly coherent experience. In contrast, the section of Little Nightmares 3 I played unfolded like a series of grim vignettes that rely on its pleasingly goth trappings as much as working together with your friend (or computer teammate) to progress.

Surviving your little nightmares

While I got only an hour with the game, Little Nightmares 3 seems to iterate on rather than innovate away from its predecessors: Expect more of the same in new, grotesque settings, just with the welcome addition of tightly designed teamwork dynamics. For fans of the series, this is likely a good thing. There’s not much else like Little Nightmares.

The Carnevale stage I played through opened up with rain pelting red-and-white circus tent tops, which I as the masked Low (and someone from Bandai Namco who kindly played as the jumpsuit-wearing Alone) skittered between. Lumbering above us were brutish factory workers seeking escape at the funfair, which very quickly turned sinister as we very shortly saw some hanging tied-up as others took turns beating them like a piñata. We entered one room to find one worker in connected boxes as the subject of a magician’s saw-in-half trick…which was no trick, as we had to separate the halves to climb out of a window. I tried, and failed, to ignore the viscera slopping out of the boxes.

While we hid from the human-size enemies, we had to fight the wooden puppets. Like Geppeto’s most horrid creations, they ambushed us in several rooms, requiring me to knock their heads off with Low’s bow and run away from their decapitated bodies while my teammate rushed forward to crush their heads with Alone’s wrench.

But most of the rooms are about solving puzzles, which could be as simple as moving a box for my teammate to jump up and pull a switch or figure out how a radio plays into a complex solution. While these quiet moments are a nice break from the tense combat or pursuit, they also give time to appreciate the macabre backgrounds: I ran past one room with a circle of empty tall chairs only to come back a few seconds later to find them filled with puppets, unmoving but watching.

And then there are the really, really tense moments. We moved from the carnival to the adjoining candy factory (apparently where all those brutes work) and up to the offices where the boss works, to find him asleep with the TV droning on in the darkness…and his frankly hideous baby nestled next to him. Naturally, we had to make noise, cranking open a grate, awakening the terrifying spawn who ran after us. After many, many failed escapes, my teammate and I discovered we had to scramble for a hiding place after making it past the grate.

This was perhaps the most frustrating part of the preview as we panicked looking for a solution to our deadly woes (as opposed to the slow, methodical gameplay earlier) — but that’s part of the tension, especially when adding a teammate to the mix. Ultimately, it was a hard-won lesson in patience. In the next room, a kitchen, the nightmarish baby banged a bowl on the table until the father walked over to a corpse (presumably his worker) and cut out some meat for his ghoulish child to eat.

In my short time with it, Little Nightmares 3 seems like a cooperative spooky storybook for players and their friends (but not couch buddies, sadly — it’s online co-op only) to experience. How much it lives up to previous games in the series, especially as developer Supermassive Games takes more of the reins from the franchise’s original creators Tarsier Games, is anyone’s guess. (Tarsier’s similar spiritual sequel to Little Nightmares, Reanimal, is coming in 2026.)

But as the air turns crisp and Halloween beckons, it’s the best time of the year for a creepy co-op game like Little Nightmares 3 to land.

Little Nightmares 3 comes out Oct.10, 2025, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.