Galaxy S23 Ultra vs 14 Pro Max: Which is tougher among both smartphones?
When it comes to offering premium flagship smartphones, Apple and Samsung have been close rivals for more than a decade.
When it comes to offering premium flagship smartphones, Apple and Samsung have been close rivals for more than a decade. While the most premium smartphone offered by Samsung is Galaxy S23 Ultra, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is the most premium device offered by Apple. Both the devices cost more than Rs 1 lakh in India and an average buyer needs to think twice before purchasing either of them. A YouTube channel named PhoneBuff has tested the durability of both devices and showed which one is tougher.
Even though both devices are equally strong when it comes to durability, Samsung Galaxy S23 has a slight edge over the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max. Both the devices were put through four rounds of hardcore drop tests and then the results were declared.
The first round of the drop test consisted of a backdrop from 1.5m. Both smartphones were dropped from a height of 1.5m on concrete. At the end of the first round, the Galaxy’s back which had Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection had few cracks at the bottom as well as the corners. The rear cameras on the other hand had minimal impact. However, the back of the 14 Pro Max received multiple cracks all over its surface. There were even chunks of glass missing from the surface of the 14 Pro Max back panel. One of the cameras also suffered a crack in its lens. This makes the S23 Ultra winner in the first round.
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The second round consisted of a corner drop test and the devices were dropped from a height of 1.5m on concrete. The S23 suffered in the corner test as the drop had a visible impact on the aluminum frame of the smartphone. A deep bend mark was visible on the edge of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. On the other hand, the iPhone 14 Pro Max looks undamaged as the titanium frame didn’t have any marks on it. However, the corner glass at the back of the iPhone does take a hit though. More pieces of glass seemed to be missing in the impact. This round was won by iPhone.
The third round consisted of the face drop round and both devices were impacted by it. The S23 Ultra had impacts on the curved edges of the device and cracks were visible from the top to the bottom of it. On the other hand, the majority of the iPhone’s damage was at the top right glass. Even though both smartphones suffered some serious impact from the test, the dynamic island of the iPhone kept working and the case was similar with the in-display fingerprint sensor of the S23 Ultra. Even though the round was quite tight, the iPhone won the third round.
In the last round, both smartphones were dropped on the steel surface (after removing the concrete layer). The final round of the smartphone shows that the back of the iPhone cracked down further. Chunks of glass were found to be shattered from the back of the device. However, the S23 Ultra did not show any sign of visible damage. This made the S23 Ultra winner in the last round.
Even though both the devices went through a tough time during the test, they remained totally functional at the end of the test. The total points scored by S23 Ultra were 38 (out of 40) while the iPhone 14 Pro Max scored 36 (out of 40). This makes the S23 Ultra winner by a small margin.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra currently costs Rs 124999 for the base variant (12GB RAM + 256GB storage). On the other hand, the iPhone 14 Pro Max costs Rs 1,39,900 for the base variant (128GB storage variant).
(NB: We are in not suggesting users to buy a particular flagship device. They are free to make their own choice.)
Ms Kalinga