iPhone 13 vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Devices: Which Is Right for You?

An estimated 2.2 billion iPhones have been sold since the first model was released.

Over the years, many phone companies have tried to produce smartphones to rival the iPhone, and most of the best competitors have been from Samsung's Galaxy S line. The current flagships are the Samsung Galaxy S22 and the iPhone 13. Both are very impressive devices, but which one is actually better?

Read on for a comparison of the iPhone 13 vs Samsung Galaxy S22, and find out which device is right for you. 

Design

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Both Samsung and iPhone have seen gradual changes over the years to their flagship models. Each of these devices is among the best in their respective series.

Appearance

The Galaxy S22 has a relatively similar appearance to its predecessor, the S21. They both share the same 'Contour Cut' design that blends the camera module into the frame of the device.

The back cover is made of Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus+ with a haze finish. This provides a sleek, stylish feel while maintaining durability.

Similarly, the iPhone 13 isn't hugely different in design from the iPhone 12, carrying over the popular flat edge design. The only notable differences are the thickness and the camera placement.

The iPhone 13 is slightly thicker than the 12 due to the larger battery it contains. The upgraded cameras have larger sensors, so they now sit diagonally rather than inline. Apple also boasts that the Ceramic Shield front glass on the iPhone 13 is the most durable glass on any smartphone.

Despite how durable both of these phones are, it’s always possible to crack and break them, so using a case is a good idea for extra protection. 

Dimensions

The S22 measures 146 x 70.6 x 7.6 mm (5.75 x 2.78 x 0.3 in), and the iPhone 13 is 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.65 mm (5.78 x 2.81 x 0.3 in), making the S22 slightly smaller. It's also the lighter of the two at 167 g (5.89 oz) compared to the iPhone 13 at 174 g (6.14 oz).

Both phones have handsets in black, white, blue, green, and pink. The iPhone also has a red option, and the S22 has gray, purple, and yellow versions, giving a few more choices.

Display

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A smartphone's display is one of its most important features. Almost every interaction you have with your phone will be through the screen, so high quality and good performance are essential.

Specs

Samsung has always provided very impressive displays on their Galaxy S line, and this one is no different. The S22 has a 6.1-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It's FHD+ (Full High Definition Plus) with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz.

The iPhone screen matches the S22 in size at 6.1 inches. It has a Super Retina XDR OLED display with a slightly higher resolution of 2532 x 1170 pixels. It does fall behind on the refresh rate, however, which is limited to 60Hz.

Visuals

The higher resolution of the iPhone 13 screen gives it 457 PPI (pixels per inch) making it sharper than the S22's 422 PPI. This difference, however, is almost impossible to notice without holding the phones right in front of your face, so not a major loss for Samsung.

Both devices impress, giving clear, smooth video playback and crisp viewing of images and text.

When getting down to specifics, the S22 display seems to perform better. The DCI-P3 color gamut comes out at 79.3% compared to 78.1% for the iPhone 13. Using the Galaxy S22's Vivid mode pushes this up to 151.1%.

The Delta-E color accuracy is better on the S22 at 0.24, with the iPhone 13 getting 0.26. The S22 also provides more brightness at 1,191 nits, while the iPhone 13 gives 795 nits. On top of all this, the 120Hz makes animations noticeably smoother on the Galaxy S22.

If you want to get 120Hz on an iPhone, you'll have to go for the Pro or Pro Max models. The Pro Max colors, brightness, and resolution are all higher, making it the best display available in the iPhone 13 range.

If you go with the iPhone 13, you won't be disappointed by the screen - it's clear, bright, and responsive. The Galaxy S22 is, however, the clear winner here, sporting one of the best screens available on a smartphone.

Processor, RAM, and Storage

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Apple has been able to edge ahead of Samsung in terms of its processors for years, and it's the same situation here.

In most regions, The Galaxy S22 houses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, although the European model has an Enoxys 2200. Both of these perform very well with day-to-day use. You'll also have no issues with gaming and running multiple apps at the same time.

The iPhone 13 has the Apple A15 Bionic processor, which gives slightly better results than the Galaxy S22. It's safe to say that you'll have a good experience with both phones, but if you plan on pushing your phone to its limits, then the iPhone 13 is the winner.

The Galaxy S22 has 8GB of RAM, which beats out the iPhone 13's 4GB. More RAM generally means better performance, but factors such as the processor and operating system have an effect. The overall result is that despite having twice as much RAM, the Galaxy S22 still falls short of the iPhone 13 in performance.

Samsung has 2 variants of the S22, one with 128GB of storage and the other with 256GB. Apple offers the same with the iPhone 13, as well as a third model with 512GB of storage. This makes Apple the winner in terms of storage simply by having a third, larger option.

Neither the S22 nor the iPhone 13 offer expandable storage, so you won't be able to increase the storage of your phone later on. As you use your phone the memory will get filled up with unnecessary files, so removing these can help you maintain some extra space.

Software

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Over the years, both iOS and Android have seen huge improvements, and neither of them gives a disappointing experience. Many people have a preference based simply on the look and feel of each user interface, but there are a lot of characteristics that stand out for each handset.

One UI 4.1

The Galaxy S22 comes with Android 12, which has several performance and security improvements from the previous version. Samsung's One UI 4.1 runs over the top to give a more unique experience than the standard Android user interface.

This new UI introduces Samsung's Smart Widget, which lets you stack up to 7 widgets in one spot on your home screen. You can then scroll through them by swiping left and right. It includes a Smart Rotation feature that will determine and display the most relevant widget at any time based on user behavior.

The Galaxy S line has always had a lot of gallery features to match its impressive cameras. This user interface brings several new features to the table:

• •Portrait relighting
• •Change portrait effect
• •24-Hour time lapse
• •Enhanced photo remaster
• •Director's view
• •Diversified suggestions
• •Enhanced cleanout

All of this along with their updated photo and video editor makes the S22 a multimedia powerhouse.

It also has the Samsung Members app, which provides news and tips from Samsung. If you're having any issues, you can message directly through this app to get assistance.

iOS

The iPhone 13 has the latest version of Apple's operating system, iOS 15. It comes pre-installed with some useful applications such as iMessage and FaceTime.

iOS 15 has several newer features such as its Notification Summary and Focus feature. You can also translate images into text. If you swipe left on the home screen, it quickly brings up the app library, and you can now add widgets among the app icons.

Over the years, developers have created all kinds of apps. The Apple App Store currently has around 1.96 million apps, and Google Play has around 2.87 million. With these many options, you'll never be short of choices on either device, and with both phones running their latest operating systems, compatibility is no issue.

One thing to note is that the S22's OS takes up 30.2GB of storage, whereas iOS only takes up 18GB on the iPhone 13. That's 12.2GB more storage lost on the S22 just for the operating system.

Battery and Charging

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The Galaxy S22 has a battery capacity of 3700 mAh, which is actually less than its predecessor had at 4000 mAh. This battery isn't particularly long-lasting, and this has been one of the most common criticisms of the Galaxy S22. The 120 Hz AMOLED display is partly to blame here, as it takes a lot of power to run such a screen.

In the past, Apple has been known for having quite poor battery performance. Many iPhone users would carry a battery pack with them in case their device died while going about their daily business. While the iPhone 13 still doesn't have the most impressive battery around, it's certainly a step up from previous models.

The iPhone 13 battery is smaller than the Galaxy S22 at just 3227 mAh. However, this doesn't mean it won't last as long - in fact, the iPhone 13 battery generally lasts longer than that of the S22. This is mainly because the iPhone's processor is more energy-efficient.

It's still not the longest-lasting phone on the market, but it should last the whole day with medium use. Most days, you won't need to charge it again until the evening. If your phone is dying too quickly, there are a few things you can do to extend the battery life.

Charging

As is the case with many modern phones, neither of these models comes with a power brick, so you'll need to buy that separately if you don't already have one. The Galaxy S22 has a USB Type-C port, so you may well have a suitable charger already. It can charge at a maximum of 25 watts.

The iPhone 13 has a lightning port that allows charging at 20 watts. Both the S22 and the iPhone 13 support wireless charging at up to 15 watts. They also both allow for fast charging, with the S22 able to reach 63% in 30 minutes, and the iPhone 13 getting to 54% in the same time.

The S22 will reach full charge in about 1 hour 3 minutes, with the iPhone 13 taking quite a bit longer at 1 hour 46 minutes.

Overall, the Galaxy S22 will charge faster than the iPhone 13, but doesn't last as long and may need charging throughout the day if you're using it a lot. The iPhone 13 is a better choice when looking at battery life.

Cameras

A couple of decades ago, almost no phones included a camera. When they were first introduced, phone cameras were incredibly basic, and barely more than a novelty. Nowadays, the cameras seen in smartphones meet incredibly high standards and are the main selling point of many phones.

We've even reached a point where high-end phones have multiple cameras to make photographs and videos more impressive.

Camera Specs

The Galaxy S22 has three lenses on the rear, while the iPhone 13 has two. That doesn't automatically make the S22 better, as many factors determine the overall camera quality.

The S22 has an f/1.8 50 MP (mega-pixel) wide (primary) lens as well as an f/2.4 12MP ultrawide lens and an f/2.4 10 MP telephoto lens.

The iPhone's primary lens is an f1/6 12MP wide lens, and it has an f/2.4 ultra-wide lens. It has no lenses to match the telephoto lens of the S22.

The S22 has an impressive 3X optical zoom, which is very impressive for a smartphone. The iPhone 13 only has a digital zoom, which becomes almost unusable above 4-5x. Using the optical and digital zoom of the S22 you can get reasonable photos up to about 10x.

Some people might not make much use of a zoom, but having the option there is always beneficial if you want to get a good photo of some scenery or distant architecture.

Camera Performance

When looking at the specs, it seems as though Samsung is the clear winner, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's better in practice.

In daylight, the primary cameras on both devices perform incredibly well. Samsung uses HDR saturation, but it's reduced on this device from the S21, which is a good thing as it was a bit too much on the previous model.

The S22 has an upgraded sensor which helps it perform in low light situations. Low light is where many phone cameras struggle, and the difference between the iPhone 13 and S22 is a bit clearer here.

The aperture and sensor size of the iPhone 13 make it better for photographing at night. They both have a night mode to help with low light, but in this mode, photos can come out a bit blurry if your hands aren't steady or if there's movement in the photo.

When taking ultra-wide photos with both phones, it's clear that these lenses are inferior to their primary lenses. You'll only want to use this for very particular photos. Whenever the primary lens is suitable, it's the one you'll want to use.

You might need to use the ultra-wide lens for a photo of a group of friends and you're limited for space, or you're trying to get an entire cityscape into one photo. The ultra-wide lens of the Galaxy S22 and the iPhone 13 both match colors well in good lighting, but the quality can drop significantly in low lighting.

The iPhone 13 also has a dual-LED flash, whereas the S22 has a single LED flash. Again, this isn't an area where the S22 fails, but the iPhone still has an advantage.

Camera Features 

Samsung has added photographic styles to their new model, giving you a range of preset options to choose from. The iPhone 13 also features photographic styles with 4 options to choose from:

• •Rich contrast - rich colors and dark shadows for more dynamic photos
• •Vibrant - bright, vivid, natural colors
• •Warm - golden undertones
• •Cool - blue undertones

With both devices, you can adjust plenty of settings manually. This means changing things like tone and warmth to make things look how you want.

Find some nice scenery and try out different settings. You might be able to take some of the best Apple backgrounds using your own phone.

There are also more advanced settings you can control such as ISO and EV (exposure value). If you have a good understanding of photography, you can really get the most out of your phone camera.

Both the Galaxy S22 and the iPhone 13 have a portrait mode, and this is one area where the iPhone stands out as the clear winner. The TrueDepth front camera provides more data than the S22's standard front camera. When taking selfies, you'll notice the sharp edge to the bokeh making images really stand out.

The S22 is by no means bad when it comes to taking selfies, but the difference is easily noticeable. To add to this, the iPhone 13 also has various portrait lighting options to give you more control over how your selfies look.

Video

When it comes to video capture, both devices have the same top specs: 3840 x 2160 (4K UHD) at 60 fps. Although, if you're happy to drop the frame rate of the S22 to 24 fps, it can record video in 8K. Again, these specs aren't a perfect indication of which device is better.

The iPhone 13 features sensor-shift image stabilization, which is one of the biggest stabilization innovations seen on a smartphone in years. It's a technology used on DSLR cameras and removes the blur that comes with unsteady hands.

OIS (optical image stabilization) is common on most smartphones. It allows the lens unit to "float" and adjust position up to 1,000 times a second to provide a stable image. Sensor shift stabilization has a fixed lens unit but includes a sensor that can move up to 5,000 times a second, giving much more stability.

The iPhone 13 also has Dolby Vision HDR recording and a Cinematic mode that's new to this model. As with most other aspects of these phones, they both perform very well, but again the iPhone 13 wins when it comes to video and overall camera quality.

Other Features

Both devices are IP68 rated. This means they're dust resistant and can be submerged in 1.5m deep water for up to 30 minutes without risk of damage.

One feature the S22 has that the iPhone 13 lacks is a fingerprint scanner. Some people prefer to just use a pin to unlock their phone, but with the S22 you have this extra option if it's something you'd like to use. It's completely concealed below the screen.

Price and Value

As both phones have various models the prices vary a bit. The Galaxy S22 starts at $799 for the 128GB version. The Galaxy S22 started shipping on February 25th, 2022. The iPhone 13 was released several months earlier on September 24th, 2021, with the 128GB version having the same price of $799.

As of May 2022, the Galaxy S22 is available from Samsung for $674.99 for the 128GB version, and $724.99 for the 256GB model. The iPhone 13 is currently still sitting at its initial price of $799 for the 128GB model. The 256GB model is available for $899 and the 512GB model for $1099.

If you're looking simply at value, then the Galaxy S22 might be the better choice right now.

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs iPhone 13: Overall Winner

Both of these are very impressive devices, making it hard to pick an overall winner. The S22 has an arguably better design, being smaller overall with the same size screen as the iPhone 13, and it's available in more colors.

Although the iPhone has a better PPI, the S22 still has a better screen. Colors are stronger, and the 120 Hz refresh rate makes for a very smooth viewing experience when watching videos.

Performance-wise, you often wouldn't notice the difference, but during power-intensive activities, the iPhone 13 holds up better. The camera experience is also better with the iPhone 13, and its battery life is a clear advantage.

Overall, we would say the iPhone 13 is the better device, but the Galaxy S22 is still a very impressive handset.

The Right Device for You

This is the hardest question of all. While the iPhone seems better based on our comparisons, personal preference always plays a part. One thing to bear in mind is that, despite being the newer handset, the Samsung Galaxy S22 is cheaper than the iPhone 13, so this could have an impact on your choice.