The iPhone 14 is the newer phone, as the Galaxy S22 has been on the market since February. Still, the iPhone 14 is not the best Apple has to offer, it’s more of an option for users who don’t want a ‘Pro’ phone. Both of these phones are quite compact, and in case you’re considering getting one, we’ll do our best to help you decide. We’ll list their specs first, and will then compare them across a number of categories.
Specs
Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Apple iPhone 14: Design
The Galaxy S22 and iPhone 14 do look quite different, but they do have some things in common, as far as the design is concerned. Both phones are made out of metal and glass, and both of them have flat sides. They do feel a bit different in the hand, but still, they’re in the same ballpark. The iPhone 14 is a bit heavier, but that’s not something you’ll feel in the hand, as the difference is not that big, only about 5 grams. They are about the same height, while the iPhone 14 is slightly wider. The difference in terms of thickness is 0.2mm, so they’re basically the same in that regard. The Galaxy S22 does look more modern, though, at least from the front. It has very thin bezels, and a centered display camera hole. The iPhone 14 comes with a rather noticeable notch at the top of the display, which is an eyesore. The Galaxy S22’s camera island is an extension of the phone’s frame. There are three cameras located on the back, and they’re all protected by metal from that camera island/frame. The iPhone 14 includes two cameras on the back, and they’re located in the top-left corner. Both of these smartphones are quite slippery, so using a case is a good idea. They are also quite compact, and could be great for one-handed use, at least compared to most of the competition. Both phones are also IP68 certified, and feel like quality pieces of tech.
Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Apple iPhone 14: Display
The Galaxy S22 includes a 6.1-inch fullHD (2340 x 1080) Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. That display is flat, and it supports a 120Hz refresh rate. The Galaxy S22’s panel also supports HDR10+ content, and gets more than bright enough. It has a peak brightness of 1,300 nits under automatic settings in bright sunlight. The display aspect ratio of this panel is 19.5:9, and the display is protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus+.
The iPhone 14, on the other hand, has a 6.1-inch fullHD+ (2532 x 1170) Super Retina XDR OLED display. That panel is also flat, and it offers a 60Hz refresh rate. So, this is not a high refresh rate display. It does support HDR10 content, and has Dolby Vision support. It also gets quite bright at 1,200 nits, but also under automatic conditions in bright sunlight. This display has the same aspect ratio as the Galaxy S22’s panel, and it’s protected by the Ceramic Shield glass. Both of these displays look good on paper, but the Galaxy S22 does have one notable advantage, its refresh rate. That is noticeable during usage, even though Apple did adapt this 60Hz panel really well. Both panels do portray really nice, vivid colors, and have excellent viewing angles, so you don’t have to worry about that. They’re also more than sharp enough, and the blacks are deep on both.
Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Apple iPhone 14: Performance
First of all, let’s just mention that there are two quite different Galaxy S22 variants. One is fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, and the other by the Exynos 2200 SoC. Do note that the Exynos model is only sold in Europe. We’ve used only the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 model, and that is the better offering of the two. It offers better performance, throttles less, offers better battery life, and better pictures as well. So, that’s what we’re going to base this on. The iPhone 14 is fueled by the Apple A15 Bionic SoC. Both devices do a great job in regular day-to-day tasks. Both phones can open and close apps really fast, are great for multimedia consumption, and do really well when it comes to photo and image editing, and browsing. What about games? Well, they do really well in those two. One thing to note is that the iPhone 14 does heat up a bit less when running demanding games. It also throttles less. The performance is not affected on the Galaxy S22, though. The Galaxy S22 does skip frames here and there, but it’s not really something that will bother you. Both phones do offer an excellent experience when it comes to performance overall. The iPhone 14 may be a bit smoother overall, but only by a slight margin. Samsung did a really good job optimizing the Galaxy S22.
Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Apple iPhone 14: Battery
The Galaxy S22 includes a 3,700mAh battery. The iPhone 14, on the flip side, has a 3,279mAh unit. Do note that iOS handles battery life differently, so comparing the two doesn’t make sense at all. In fact, the battery capacity on the iPhone 14 is actually good for that device, but the same cannot be said for the Galaxy S22. The Galaxy S22 should have shipped with a larger battery, at least a 4,000mAh unit. Why do I say that? Well, the battery life on that phone is not good. It may last you until the end of the day if you’re a light user, at least that’s what we’ve noticed. Getting 5 hours of screen-on-time was not always possible, even with no gaming included in the equation. We were mostly around 4.5 hours of screen-on-time before the phone died. The battery life also wasn’t very consistent. The iPhone 14, on the flip side, usually can get to over 7 hours of screen-on-time. The iPhone 14 definitely offers better battery life overall. When charging is concerned, things are somewhat similar. The Galaxy S22 offers 25W wired charging support, 15W wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. The iPhone 14 supports 20W wired, 15W MagSafe wireless charging, and 7.5W Qi wireless charging. It does not offer reverse wireless charging. Neither of these two phones comes with a charger in the box, though, so keep that in mind.
Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Apple iPhone 14: Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy S22 includes three cameras on the back. It has a 50-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera. The iPhone 14 has two cameras, two 12-megapixel cameras. Ultrawide cameras on these two phones have the same field of view, a 120-degree FoV. Both phones do offer good performance in the camera department, but they’re not the best out there.
The Galaxy S22 images do tend to look a bit more processed. That phone also tends to offer slightly more saturated images. The results from the iPhone 14 usually look more lifelike, though it tends to overexpose HDR shots at times, and oversharpen the foliage and similar scenes. Truth be said, the Galaxy S22 does that at times. Ultrawide camera shots from the iPhone are more consistent with the main camera shots, in terms of colors. The Galaxy S22 does offer better telephoto shots, which is not surprising considering it actually has a telephoto camera. Low-light shots are good on both phones, though the iPhone may have a slight edge. It is a bit more consistent in low light. Still, the Galaxy S22 can take brighter, and generally more pleasing images at times, so it’s a tossup. The video recording is better on the iPhone 14, in basically every way. They’re both really good in the camera department, overall, but there are better phones out there for taking pictures and videos.
Audio
One thing you’ll notice on both of these phones is that they don’t have audio jacks. Instead, if you want to hook up your wired headphones to them, you’ll need to use the charging ports. On the Galaxy S22, we’re looking at a Type-C port, while the iPhone 14 has a Lightning port. There’s always the option to use a wireless connection via Bluetooth, of course. The Galaxy S22 offers Bluetooth 5.2, while the iPhone 14 supports Bluetooth 5.3. Do note that both devices include stereo speakers. Those speakers are good on both phones. They’re more than loud enough, and offer enough depth for us not to complain too much about either. They’re also well-balanced.
