iPhone 15 Plus vs Galaxy S23 Plus: The Battle of the Pluses

Last year, Apple decided to revive the “Plus” model (retiring the underselling mini), sparking a new rivalry in the smartphone world. Yes, we’re talking about Samsung’s nemesis and main rival, and its long-standing Galaxy S Plus model.

The first new iPhone Plus model did pretty well against its Galaxy Plus rival (you can check out that pair in our detailed comparison), but it’s time to try and predict how the upcoming iPhone 15 Plus will fare against the now outdated Galaxy S23 Plus. Our information is currently based on industry insiders, leaks and rumours, so take it with a healthy grain of salt. Here we go!

iPhone 15 Plus vs Galaxy S23 Plus Expectations:

• iOS 16 vs Android 13
• A16 Bionic vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• The iPhone 15 Plus gets cheaper at $899, as opposed to the $999.99 price tag for the S23 Plus
• The S23 Plus has a third camera (telephoto, with 3x optical zoom)
• The S23 Plus has a 120Hz display, as opposed to the iPhone’s slower 60Hz
• The S23 Plus starts at 256GB of storage, while the iPhone 15 Plus starts at 128GB.
• The S23 Plus has a larger battery and possibly faster wired charging
• The iPhone 15 Plus unlocks with Face ID, while the Galaxy S23 uses an under-display fingerprint scanner

Table of contents:
Design and size
Show differences
Performance
Camera
Sound quality
Battery and charging
Specifications
ResumeRead more:
iPhone 15 Pro Max vs Galaxy S23 Ultra: Expected Differences
iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro: Expected Differences
Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus review

Design and size

Apples and galaxies

The Galaxy S23 Plus and iPhone 15 Plus, as their names suggest, are larger versions of their respective base models, the S23 and iPhone 15. The Galaxy S23 retains the familiar design of its predecessor, but now has no camera island on the rear end. The iPhone 15 Plus also follows in the footsteps of its father, the iPhone 14 Plus.

Both phones offer flat screens, but the iPhone 15 Plus is expected to be squarer like its predecessor, while the Galaxy S23 Plus is slightly rounder and easier to hold. There is also a possible size difference: the iPhone 15 Plus is expected to feature a 6.7-inch OLED display, while the Galaxy S23 Plus will come with a 6.6-inch AMOLED display.

The Galaxy S23 Plus weighs 196 grams, and we expect the iPhone 15 Plus to come very close to that number, as its predecessor weighed 206 grams. As for the colors involved, we know the shades that the Galaxy S23 Plus comes in, and we have an idea about the colors of the iPhone 15 Plus.

Galaxy S23 Plus Colors:
Cream
Lavender
Vegetable
Phantom black

iPhone 15 Plus expected colors:
midnight
starlight
(PRODUCT)RED
dark pink
light blue
yellow

Show differences

Refresh rate is king

Speaking of the screen, the S23 Plus shows a 6.6-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. The iPhone 15 Plus, on the other hand, comes with a slightly larger 6.7-inch OLED display, but only with a 60Hz refresh rate. The resolution of both displays will be roughly the same, as will the PPI (pixel per inch) pixel density, so you shouldn’t notice any major differences in detail between the two phones.

When it comes to brightness, the Galaxy S23 Plus has a rated brightness of 750 nits and up to 1500 nits peak HDR, while the iPhone 15 Plus is expected to mimic the display stats of its predecessor, with a rated brightness of 800 nits and a peak of up to 1200 nits HDR.

All in all, both phones are expected to have equally good displays when it comes to resolution and detail, but the smooth 120Hz of the Galaxy S23 Plus is definitely an advantage over the iPhone 15 Plus. On the other hand, this year’s iPhone 15 Plus is expected to have a pill-shaped cutout supported by the Dynamic Island feature, so that could be a UI advantage for the iPhone.

Performance

A16 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

The Galaxy S23 Plus is equipped with the latest and greatest Qualcomm has to offer: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. And while the gap between the A-series Bionic chipsets and Snapdragon’s flagship processors has narrowed over the years, expect we have a small advantage for the iPhone 15 Plus.

We might be tempted to pull up some benchmarks between the A16 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and you could, but there’s a chance the iPhone 15 Plus will benefit from software improvements and get completely different scores.

It is difficult to compare the hardware between an Android and iOS device, they are different ecosystems and they are optimized differently. If we want to nitpick, the Galaxy S23 Plus comes with more RAM (8GB compared to the 6GB expected for the iPhone 15 Plus), but it really won’t make a difference in speed, both have fast LPDDR5 memory.

When it comes to onboard storage the Galaxy S23 Plus base model starts at 256 GB while the iPhone 15 Plus is expected to start at 128 GB but then again the iPhone is also expected to be cheaper so things line up when we factor in keep up with the price, in terms of memory.

Camera

Pure math

There are three cameras on the back of the Galaxy S23 Plus. These are a 50-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 10-megapixel telephoto with 3x optical zoom.

Three is more than two, that’s simple math, and the iPhone 15 Plus is expected to have the same dual-camera setup as its predecessor: a 48MP main camera (upgraded from 12MP) and a 12MP ultra-wide camera.

Now it is of course not that simple and we will have to test both camera systems side by side to draw meaningful conclusions, but on paper the Galaxy S23 Plus has an advantage. Having a 3x optical zoom is very useful for framing distant objects, taking better portrait shots, etc.

Sound quality

Samsung appears to have made significant improvements to the Galaxy S23 Plus’s speakers compared to its predecessors, though the speaker arrangement remains unchanged, with a downward-firing speaker that works alongside the earpiece to produce a stereo effect when gaming or watch movies in landscape mode.

Moving on to the iPhone 15 Plus, we expect it to have the same downward-firing speaker and an earpiece. However, if we look (or hear) at the speaker on the iPhone 14 Plus, we know that we can also expect loud, rich sound with striking bass from the iPhone 15 Plus.

Naturally, none of these phones have a headphone jack, which isn’t surprising in today’s smartphone landscape. Nevertheless, you can still enjoy your favorite Bluetooth headphones or speakers with ease, or you can opt for a dongle as a backup solution.

Battery and charging

Numbers don’t tell the whole story

The Galaxy S23 Plus comes with a large 4,700mAh battery and support for 45W fast charging. The iPhone 15 Plus is expected to retain the battery capacity of its predecessor, 4,325mAh. Looking at the tests between the S23 Plus and last year’s iPhone 14 Plus, we’ll see that numbers don’t tell the whole story. We expect both phones to be pretty close when it comes to battery life.

Now charging is a big unknown right now, mainly due to the fact that the iPhone 15 Plus will have a USB-C port for the first time in history. This standard allows for faster loading speeds, but it’s not clear whether or not Apple is going to the extreme or taking a much more conservative approach.

Specifications

Resume

We’re looking at two very different devices here, despite their similarity in the naming scheme. First, there’s the Android versus iOS debate, and it’s not something to be taken lightly. If you don’t want to switch platforms, you’re better off sticking with your current one, so one of these phones will do the job.

If you’re looking to make the switch, the Galaxy S23 Plus offers more on paper, with an additional telephoto camera, larger battery, faster charging (possibly), and a brighter screen.