Technologies

iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera vs. Galaxy S23 Ultra: Smartphone Shootout

We put Samsung’s and Apple’s best phones up against each other to see which can take better photos.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max packs one of the most capable cameras seen on any phone. Its main, 48-megapixel image sensor takes stunning photos, while its telephoto lens has been bumped up to 5x, making it great for taking more zoomed-in shots of distant subjects. But it isn’t the only great camera phone to buy. Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra has remained one of our top picks for photographers since it launched earlier this year. It can take great images under any conditions, and its 10x zoom offers even more creative options.

But how do these two phones compare when it comes to photo-shooting prowess? To find out, I put both devices through their paces in a series of tests in London and Edinburgh, including night mode imagery, zoom tests and portrait mode challenges.

Read more: Best camera phone to buy in 2023

The long story short is that both phones are incredibly capable when it comes to taking photos that’ll wow your Instagram followers, but read on to see how each phone fares under different conditions.

Both phones have captured this bright, vibrant scene well with their main cameras. But the iPhone 15 Pro Max has produced more realistic colors in both the sky and in the main building to the left of the scene. The S23 Ultra’s sky looks particularly oversaturated , with a yellow tinge to the scene that I’m less keen on.

It’s the same story when switching to each phone’s wide-angle lens. The S23 Ultra’s shot is more vibrant, but it looks almost unnaturally saturated as a result. The iPhone 15 Pro Max’s shot looks almost a little drab by comparison, but I prefer its more faithful reproduction of colors.

Beyond a slight shift in white balance, there’s very little to choose between either shot here.

I focused closer-up on these pretty pink flowers using the main cameras on each phone, and the iPhone is the clear winner. It’s provided an attractive out-of-focus bokeh to the background, while keeping the subject looking nice and sharp, which helps the foreground flflowers stand out. The S23 Ultra doesn’t have the same depth effect and its colors are extremely saturated. The green leaves to the bottom left of the image in particular look almost toxic against the iPhone’s much more realistic tones.

Color balance isn’t an issue here, with both phones producing well-exposed shots and the vibrant artwork on this bridge looking well-produced in both images.

There’s not a lot of immediate difference here, so I really have to nitpick to draw any conclusion. On the one hand, I slightly prefer the brighter, higher-contrast exposure the S23 Ultra has managed. However, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a more attractive shallow depth of field, with softer bokeh noticeable on the chairs and light sources in the background. As a result, we can call this one a tie.

Switching to the ultrawide cameras on both phones, the big difference is the shift in white balance on the S23 Ultra. Samsung’s phone has opted for an image with a strong magenta color cast that I’m not particularly keen on. While the iPhone’s shot is a little darker, its color tone is much more accurate.

Both phones have portrait modes that can be used with different lenses but still capture that attractive bokeh effect around your subject. Taken with the standard 1x lenses, the S23’s shot is wider than the iPhone’s, while also producing richer contrast and stronger colors. The iPhone’s looks quite washed out, either due to lens flare or simply through software processing, and the result is disappointing.

Things change when we look at the zoomed-in shots. The iPhone Pro Max’s 5x zoom lens has captured a lovely portrait here, with great exposure and a really natural-looking bokeh around the subject that could easily have been taken on a DSLR with a telephoto zoom. The S23 Ultra’s shot still looks good though, with rich contrast and deep colors.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 5x zoom has delivered a much better-looking shot than the S23 Ultra’s 3x lens, with more natural-looking colors and exposure. Things improve for the S23 Ultra at 10x zoom though, with a far nicer color tone overall, not to mention being able to see more detail on the sign, thanks to the longer zoom range.

The S23 Ultra’s extended zoom range can be beneficial, especially for those occasions where you really want to fill your frame with a distant subject. However, I personally find 5x to be a real sweet spot. It allows me to find more interesting compositions than I could with a wide-angle lens, but without being too restrictive.

That’s why I prefer the iPhone 15 Pro Max in this scenario rather than the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s closer 10x zoom. This largely comes down to personal preference, of course, but I find the iPhone’s zoom (as I did with the Pixel 7 Pro’s 5x zoom) much more useful on a day-to-day basis.

Night mode

Both the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra can take excellent shots after dark, and these images from the main camera are fine examples. That said, the S23 Ultra’s image has a more yellow color cast to the image, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max maintains slightly finer details, especially in some of the brickwork on the buildings. The S23 Ultra’s image noise processing has smoothed out some of those details.

That detail smoothing is especially noticeable in this nighttime image of the front of a building. While the iPhone has clearly reproduced the details in the brickwork, with noticeable texture on the sandstone blocks, the S23 Ultra has recognized that texture as image noise and so has attempted to smooth it out. The result is an odd-looking smoothed appearance that lacks any of the realism of the iPhone’s image.

This scene is more of a mixed bag. The S23 Ultra has kept some of the bright highlights under better control, while the iPhone has achieved a brighter sky that gives better separation to the tops of the buildings. I don’t really feel either one is especially better than the other here.

Switching to the ultrawide lenses on both phones, it’s immediately obvious that the iPhone’s image is brighter, both in the sky and in the river below. However, it’s a less detailed image, with the S23 Ultra achieving sharper details on the buildings, better control of highlights and less image noise in the river.

However, I much prefer the iPhone’s 5x zoom shot at night to either the 3x or 10x zoom shots from the S23 Ultra. The iPhone has achieved a pin-sharp image here, with great colors and exposure, with even the bright clock face on the left being clearly visible. At 3x, the S23 Ultra is already losing some detail, and at 10x the image is disappointingly mushy and lacking in detail.

The S23 Ultra’s familiar magenta color cast is visible again in this night mode shot, with the iPhone generally producing more natural tones. Both shots are almost equally bright however, with almost nothing to choose between them in terms of clarity and detail.

While the iPhone’s ultrawide night mode shot isn’t quite as sharp as the S23 Ultra’s, Samsung’s phone suffers from some unpleasant noise artifacts in the sky — green-looking blobs where the digital processing clearly hasn’t performed as it should. It’s a disappointing result for the S23 Ultra here, as its shot is otherwise the better of the two.

The night mode zoom results here are the same as I found in the other test. The iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 5x zoom has produced a sharp and clear image with a good handle on image noise. The 3x shot from the S23 Ultra suffers from unpleasant noise artifacts, and the 10x is extremely muddy and lacking in detail.

iPhone 15 Pro Max vs. Galaxy S23 Ultra: Which takes better photos?

It’s been a very close-fought battle between these two powerhouse phones, and the reality is that either phone is superb for photographers wanting to take beautiful images under any conditions. It’s only when you really study the details of each shot side-by-side that you can you tell much difference. And even then, a lot of those perceived differences are subjective. Still, with both phones costing well into four figures, it’s important to nitpick at these details to make sure your money is well spent.

Overall I prefer the images from the iPhone 15 Pro Max. It delivered more-accurate colors in almost all my tests, with the S23 Ultra frequently producing unrealistic color casts from the auto white balance. Samsung’s phone also produces oversaturated images — something that’s been common on Samsung phones for generations — while the iPhone keeps its colors more true to life.

I also prefer the 5x zoom on the Pro Max, which produces better-looking images than the S23 Ultra’s 3x lens and is generally more useful than the Ultra’s 10x lens. And in night mode, I found the iPhone to deliver overall better-looking shots, especially when using the zoom.

But bear in mind that I’m a professional photographer, so what I value in images is accurate color tone and a more neutral-looking image that I could boost manually with contrast or other adjustments in editing apps. If you prefer more vibrant, contrasty images to share with family and friends straight from your phone, then Samsung’s phone may be the better option.

Technologies

Ted Lasso Kicks Off Filming for Season 4 in Kansas City. Here’s What We Know So Far

Jason Sudeikis and the AFC Richmond gang are back with a new pitch and new faces now that filming is underway in the US and London.

Cue the biscuits and believe signs: Ted Lasso is back on the pitch as Apple TV Plus confirmed Monday that production on the Emmy-winning comedy’s fourth season has begun. Filming has started in Kansas City, Missouri — Jason Sudeikis’s hometown — with additional scenes planned for London.

Season 4 of the streaming series will find Ted tackling an entirely new challenge as he takes on coaching a second division women’s football team. According to Apple’s logline, you can expect plenty of leaps of faith and signature pep talks as Ted and his players navigate unfamiliar turf.

Most of the beloved cast returns for the next chapter, including Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt and Jeremy Swift. A handful of newcomers are joining the squad, too: Tanya Reynolds, Jude Mack, Faye Marsay, Rex Hayes, Aisling Sharkey, Abbie Hern and Grant Feely, who steps in as Ted’s son, Henry.

Read also: 16 Funniest Ted Lasso Quotes: Tea Is ‘Garbage Water,’ and God Hates Tie Scores

Behind the scenes, Ted Lasso brings on Emmy-winner Jack Burditt (Modern Family, 30 Rock) as executive producer under a new overall deal with Apple. Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt, Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence return as executive producers, alongside series vets Joe Kelly and Jane Becker.

The feel-good comedy has been a cultural juggernaut for Apple TV Plus since it premiered in 2020, racking up back-to-back Outstanding Comedy Series Emmys for its first two seasons and helping boost Apple’s original streaming slate alongside titles like CODA.

There is no release date set for Season 4 yet.

Technologies

Microsoft Will Erase Your Passwords on Aug.1: Do This ASAP

If Microsoft Authenticator is your password manager, you’re running out of time to move your passwords.

As of Aug. 1, Microsoft will be deleting passwords from its Authenticator app. This means that passwords stored there will no longer be accessible, which could be a problem for a lot of users.

Microsoft Authenticator has been one of the best password managers for years, offering options for saved passwords, two-factor authentication and auto-fill. However in just a few short days, all of that is going away as Microsoft moves to passkeys instead. This means that logins will move from remembering specific passwords, to using PINs, fingerprint scans, facial recognition or pattern using a device’s lock screen.

Using a passkey can make your account safer, and it’s a move I’m excited about. I recently uncovered that 49% of US adults have risky password habits that can open the door to scammers getting access to your sensitive data.

If you’re a fan of Authenticator and not sure where to start before the switch, here are other password managers CNET recommends and steps you should take before August.

When will Microsoft Authenticator stop supporting passwords?

Microsoft Authenticator houses your passwords and lets you sign into all your Microsoft accounts using a PIN, facial recognition like Windows Hello, or other biometric data like a fingerprint. Authenticator can be used in other ways, such as verifying you’re logging in if you forgot your password, or using two-factor authentication as an extra layer of security for your accounts. In June, the company stopped letting users add passwords to Authenticator.

Starting this month, you won’t be able to use the autofill password function. And next month, you’ll no longer be able to use saved passwords.

If you still want to use passwords instead of passkeys, you can store them in Microsoft Edge. However, CNET experts recommend adopting passkeys during this transition. «Passkeys use public key cryptography to authenticate users, rather than relying on users themselves creating their own (often weak or reused) passwords to access their online accounts,» Tomaschek said.

Why are passkeys a better alternative to passwords?

So what exactly is a passkey? It’s a credential created by the Fast Identity Online Alliance that uses biometric data or a PIN to verify your identity and access your account. Think about using your fingerprint or Face ID to log into your account. That’s generally safer than using a password that is easy to guess or susceptible to a phishing attack.

«Passwords can be cracked, whereas passkeys need both the public and the locally stored private key to authenticate users, which can help mitigate risks like falling victim to phishing and brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks,» said Attila Tomaschek, CNET’s software senior writer and digital security expert.

Passkeys aren’t stored on servers like passwords. Instead, they’re stored only on your personal device. More conveniently, this takes the guesswork out of remembering your passwords and the need for a password manager.

How to set up a passkey in Microsoft Authenticator

Microsoft said in a May 1 blog post that it will automatically detect the best passkey to set up and make that your default sign-in option. «If you have a password and ‘one-time code’ set up on your account, we’ll prompt you to sign in with your one-time code instead of your password. After you’re signed in, you’ll be prompted to enroll a passkey. Then the next time you sign in, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your passkey,» according to the blog post.

To set up a new passkey, open your Authenticator app on your phone. Tap on your account and select «Set up a passkey.» You’ll be prompted to log in with your existing credentials. After you’re logged in, you can set up the passkey.

Other password manager alternatives

Since Microsoft will get rid of all of your passwords in two weeks, you’ll need a new place to store your passwords safely. Tomaschek has a few of the best password manager recommendations after testing and reviewing several.

The top recommendation is Bitwarden for its transparency. It’s open-source and audited annually. From a price perspective, the free plan lets you store infinite passwords across unlimited devices. The free plan also includes features most password managers would charge for, including password sharing and a username and password generator.

Bitwarden’s upgraded plans have other upgraded features that could be worth the cost, too.

Personally, Tomaschek has been using 1Password for a while, and he likes the interface and family plan. Even though it’s second on the list, Tomaschek says it’s just as good as Bitwarden.

Technologies

Don’t Miss Your Second Chance to Grab the 30th Anniversary DualSense Controller

A new wave of preorders just went live at Sony, so PS Plus members can grab one of these sweet retro PS5 controllers for $80 right now.

Looking to relive the glory days of gaming? Then you won’t want to miss out on this surprise restock at Sony. The special edition 30th Anniversary DualSense controller was released last year to celebrate the release of the original PlayStation, and it’s been tough to get your hands on one since it originally sold out in December. But a second wave of preorders just went live at Sony, which means you’ve got another chance to pick one up for just $80 right now. Just note that preorders are only available to PlayStation Plus members, and it sold out in no time during the last round, so we’d act fast if you don’t want to miss this rare opportunity to snag one.

The 30th Anniversary DualSense controller features a throwback design that mimics the controllers of the original PlayStation that first hit shelves all the way back in 1994. That includes a grayscale color scheme along with the classic green, blue, red and pink buttons and PlayStation logo. It’s also relatively versatile, and is compatible with the PlayStation 5 console, PC, Mac and mobile devices. Preorders will start shipping on September 9, and are limited to one controller per order.

Sony also released a special 30th Anniversary console last year. There hasn’t been any news about a new wave of availability in the US yet, but there was a recent restock for UK shoppers, so we’re tentatively hopeful that you’ll have another chance to grab one of these retro consoles as well. The CNET team will be keeping a close eye on Sony’s shopping page for any updates.

Why this restock matters

There are plenty of cool color variants for the DualSense controller, but this 30th Anniversary edition certainly stands out from the crowd with a retro design that takes you back to the PS1 days. Plus, it sold out fast during the original release, and it’s unclear if or when we’ll see another round of restocks, so we’d take advantage of this rare opportunity to grab one while you can.

If you’re looking for more ways to expand your Sony gaming setup, you can check out our full roundup of all the best PlayStation 5 deals for bargains on games and accessories.