If you’re looking for a decent flagship under $1000, the iPhone 14 and Galaxy S22 are two of the best options on the market. Both phones have a lot in common. They start at the same price: $799, are relatively small phones, and are the cheapest models in their respective lines. But what is the best buy for the average user? Let’s try to find the answer in this iPhone 14 vs Galaxy S22 showdown.
Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Apple iPhone 14: Specs
Specification Samsung Galaxy S22 Apple iPhone 14 Build
- Glass back
- Aluminum frame
- Medium aluminum frame
- Front and back glass
- “Ceramic Shield” for the front glass
Dimensions and weight
- 146 x 70.6 x 7.6 mm
- 167g for the non-mmWave model
- 168g for the mmWave model
- 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm
- 172 g
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- 6.1-inch AMOLED 2X display
- 2340 x 1080, 425 PPI
- HDR10+ certified
- 120 Hz refresh rate
- Always on screen
- 6.1-inch OLED screen,
- Resolution of 2556 x 1179 pixels at 460 PPI
- 60 Hz refresh rate
- HDR Display, True Tone, Wide Color (P3)
- 800 nits peak brightness, 1200 nits peak brightness (HDR)
I am
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (US, select other regions)
- Samsung Exynos 2200 (most other countries)
RAM and storage
- 128/256 GB internal storage
- 8 GB LPDDR5 RAM
- There is no microSD card slot
- 6 GB of RAM
- 128GB, 256GB, 512GB,
- No microSD card
Battery and charging
- 3,700 mAh battery
- 25W USB PD 3.0 PPS cable charging
- Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 (only available with Samsung Super Fast Wireless Charger and Duo Super Fast Wireless Charger)
- Wireless PowerShare (reverse wireless charging)
- 3,279 mAh for up to 20 hours of video playback
- 20W wired charging
- 15W MagSafe charging
- 7.5W Qi wireless charging
security
- Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor
Rear cameras
- 50MP main (F/1.8, 1.0μm, 85˚ FOV), container
- 12MP Ultra Wide Angle (F/2.2/1.4μm/120˚ FOV)
- 10MP telephoto lens (F2.4/1.0μm/36˚ FOV)
- Primary: 12MP wide, f/1.5 aperture, 1.9μm
- Sensor change OIS
- Seven-element lens
- 5x digital zoom
- Secondary: 12MP ultra wide angle, f/2.4 aperture
Front Camera(s) 10MP (F2.2/1.22μm/80˚ FOV) TrueDepth Camera: 12MP, ƒ/1.9 Port(s)
- USB type C
- No headphone jack
- USB type C
- No headphone jack
audio
- Stereo speakers
- Dual Bluetooth audio
- Stereo speakers
- Dolby Atmos
- spatial audio
Connectivity
- 5G: Non-Standalone (NSA), Standalone (SA), Sub6 / mmWave
- LTE: MIMO 4×4 improved, up to 7CA, LTE Cat.20
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4/5/6GHz)
- Bluetooth v5.2
- NFC
- GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou
- 5G (sub-6 GHz and mmwave)
- Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA
- Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2×2 MIMO
- Bluetooth 5.3
- Ultra Wide Band (UWB)
- NFC
software
- Android 12 with One UI 4.1
- Four major Android OS updates promised
- Five years of security patches
Other characteristics
- Samsung Pay (MST in some countries, NFC)
Design and display
Apple’s iPhone 14 and Galaxy S22 feature familiar designs. This is especially true for the iPhone 14, which looks indistinguishable from its predecessor except for the new colors. It has flat sides and a square camera module on the back. The notch is still there, and so is the lightning port at the bottom.
Talking about the Galaxy S22, it retains the general design of its predecessor, but there are some changes. For one thing, the Galaxy S22 trades the S21’s plastic back for a glass back. Second, it features a color-matched camera island that doesn’t integrate with the mid-frame.
The iPhone 14 is slightly taller than the Galaxy S22 and slightly heavier. Both phones are made of high-quality materials, with aluminum frames and glass backs. In terms of durability, the S22 features Gorilla Glass Victus Plus on the front, while the iPhone 14 has Ceramic Shield protection. In addition, both devices are IP68 certified for dust and water resistance. But even then you should definitely pick up a protective case to protect your shiny new phone from drops and scratches.
No matter which phone you choose, you’ll get a wide range of color options. The Galaxy S22 comes in Phantom Black, White, Rose Gold, Green, Graphite, Sky Blue, Violet, Cream and Bora Purple. Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 is available in Midnight, Purple, Starlight, Blue and Red.
Both the Galaxy S22 and iPhone 14 have 6.1-inch screens, which are considered small by today’s standards. The AMOLED panel of the Galaxy S22 has 1080 x 2340 pixels, a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a maximum brightness of 1300 with HDR10+ support. The iPhone 14 panel offers a higher resolution at 1170 x 2532 pixels and provides 1200 nits brightness and Dolby Vision support. It also supports Apple’s True Tone feature to provide a more readable experience in different lighting conditions.
When it comes to refresh rate, the iPhone 14 is at a disadvantage as it is locked at 60Hz. The Galaxy S22, on the other hand, can scale its refresh rate up to 120Hz for a smoother scrolling experience and dial it down to 48Hz to save battery. The iPhone 14 also doesn’t offer an always-on display similar to the Galaxy S22.
We don’t mince words here. The Galaxy S22 has a superior display. Not only does the Galaxy S22 have a more immersive display thanks to a less distracting punch notch, it’s also smoother and brighter than the iPhone 14’s panel.
camera
On the back of the iPhone 14 is a familiar dual-camera setup consisting of a 12MP f/1.5 main shooter and a 12MP f/2.4 ultra-wide-angle camera. The ultra-wide shooter is unchanged from the iPhone 13, but the main camera has been updated with a faster refresh rate and a larger pixel size for improved light sensitivity. There’s also a new 12MP f/1.9 selfie camera on the front, which promises big improvements in low light.
The Galaxy S22 features a triple camera setup, including a 50MP f/1.8 main shooter, a 10MP f/2.4 telephoto lens, and a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor.
As you can see, the Galaxy S22 has a more versatile camera setup. It features a dedicated 10MP telephoto lens that offers 3x optical zoom and up to 30x digital zoom. Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 lacks a zoom lens, but offers 5x digital zoom from its main camera.
In terms of image quality, both phones are neck and neck. In daylight, the main cameras on both phones deliver sharp images with good detail retention, high dynamic range and great contrast. However, as you can see in the samples attached below, the Galaxy S22 favors saturated colors that look pleasing to the eye, while the iPhone 14’s photos show true colors.
For night and low-light photography, both phones offer a dedicated night mode. The iPhone 14 also benefits from Apple’s new image channel called the Photonic Engine, which the company says delivers 2.5x better mid-to-low light performance in the main camera and up to 2x in the ultra camera big
iPhone 14 camera examples
Galaxy S22 image samples
While there’s no clear winner in still photography, the iPhone 14 takes the lead in the video department. The iPhone lineup has always delivered class-leading video performance, and the iPhone 14 is no different. Regardless of the format or resolution you choose, you’ll get smooth video sequences with rock-solid stabilization. Additionally, the new Action Mode further bolsters the phone’s video capabilities by offering gimbal-like stabilization. One of the advantages that the Galaxy S22 has over the iPhone 14 is that it can record 8K images while the former reaches 4K.
Performance, battery life and software
The iPhone 14 features last year’s A15 Bionic chipset. It’s the first time the standard iPhone doesn’t get Apple’s latest and greatest silicon, with the company reserving the new A16 Bionic chipset for the more expensive Pro models. The processing package of the Galaxy S22 depends on the market. In Europe, you get Samsung’s Exynos 2200 chipset, while other markets get Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Even though the iPhone 14 has an older chipset, it blows the Galaxy S22 out of the water with raw performance. In Geekbench, the iPhone 14 scored 1714 in single-core and 4567 in multi-core, while the Galaxy S22 only posted 1,216 and 3,126, respectively.
While the iPhone 14 dominates the benchmarks, the Galaxy S22 shines in real-world performance, delivering fast and smooth performance thanks to its 120Hz display. System scrolling and navigation feels sluggish on the iPhone 14 due to its 60Hz panel. The difference is only noticeable if you’re coming from a 90Hz or 120Hz display. This shouldn’t be a problem if you’ve never used a high refresh rate display before.
Both phones are available in various storage configurations. The Galaxy S22 is available in 128GB and 256GB variants with 8GB of RAM, while the iPhone 14 is available in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB variants with 6GB of RAM.
Battery life is another area where the iPhone 14 beats the Galaxy S22. The Galaxy S22’s 3,700mAh battery is 300mAh smaller than its predecessor. Samsung thought the smaller screen and more efficient chipset would make up for the Galaxy S22’s reduced battery, but it hasn’t worked out that way, as the phone struggles to last a full day with heavy use. The iPhone 14, on the other hand, is more reliable and you’ll have no trouble getting through a full workday, even with heavy use.
When it comes to charging speed and convenience, Samsung’s flagship has the iPhone 14 in hand. The Galaxy S22 offers a faster 25W wired charging compared to the iPhone 14’s 20W charging speed. Both phones also support wireless charging, though only the Galaxy S22 offers wireless charging reverse
The iPhone 14 continues to use the proprietary Lightning port instead of the universal USB-C port used by all Android phones, including the Galaxy S22. This means you’ll need to carry a separate charging cable for your iPhone while traveling.
On the software front, the iPhone 14 ships with iOS 16 out of the box, while the Galaxy S22 runs Android 12…