The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and the Apple iPhone 13 Pro have many things in common. These two phones sit in the middle of their respective families, have large displays, and are well-balanced in terms of features and their relative pricing. If you're in the market for a $1000 flagship that offers a large display and capable cameras, the iPhone 13 Pro and Galaxy S22 Plus are fantastic choices. The Galaxy S22 Plus is a more powerful version of the standard Galaxy S22, offering a bigger display, a larger battery, and faster-charging speeds. The iPhone 13 Pro, on the other hand, can be described as a lite version of the iPhone 13 Pro Max. It offers pretty much the same specs as the top model in a compact package.

Both flagships are great in their own respect, offering gorgeous OLED displays and powerful camera hardware. But which one is a better buy? We find out in this Galaxy S22 Plus vs iPhone 13 Pro showdown.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus vs iPhone 13 Pro: Specifications

Specification

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus

Apple iPhone 13 Pro

Build

  • Armor aluminum frame
  • Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+
  • IP68 dust and water resistance
  • Stainless steel mid-frame
  • Glass front and back
  • "Ceramic Shield" for front glass

Dimensions & Weight

  • 157.4 x 75.8 x 7.6mm
  • 196g
  • 146.7mm x 71.5mm x 7.65mm
  • 204g

Display

  • 6.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X
  • FHD+ (1080 x 2340)
  • 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate
  • 1750 nits
  • Super Retina XDR OLED:
    • iPhone 13 Pro: 6.1″
    • iPhone 13 Pro Max: 6.7″
  • ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate

SoC

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
  • Exynos 2200
  • Apple A15 Bionic

RAM & Storage

  • 8GB + 128GB
  • 8GB + 256GB
  • 6GB RAM
  • 28GB/256GB/512GB/1TB

Battery & Charging

  • 4,500mAh
  • 45W wired fast charging support
  • 15W wireless charging support
  • 4.5W reverse wireless charging
  • Charger not included
  • 3,095mAh
  • Wireless charging up to 7.5W
  • MagSafe charging up to 15W

Security

Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor

Face ID

Rear Camera(s)

  • Primary: 50MP, 1.0µm, 85° FoV, 23mm, f/1.8, DPAF, OIS
  • Ultra-wide: 12MP, 1.4µm, 120° FoV, 13mm, f/2.2
  • Telephoto: 10MP, 1.0µm, 36° FoV, 69mm, f/2.4, OIS, 3x optical zoom
  • Primary: 12MP wide, f/1.5 aperture, 1.9μm
  • Secondary: 12MP ultra-wide, f/1.8 aperture
  • Tertiary: 12MP telephoto, 3x optical zoom, f/2.8
  • LiDAR camera

Front Camera(s)

10MP, 1.22µm, f/2.2, 80° FoV

12MP TrueDepth camera system

Port(s)

  • USB Type-C
  • No headphone jack
  • No microSD card slot
  • Lightning
  • No headphone jack
  • No microSD card slot

Audio

Stereo speakers

Stereo speakers

Connectivity

  • 5G (mmWave/sub6)
  • 4G LTE
  • Wi-Fi 6E
  • Bluetooth 5.2
  • NFC
  • 5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave)
  • Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA
  • Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2×2 MIMO
  • Bluetooth 5.0

Software

One UI 4.1 based on Android 12

iOS 15

Other Features

  • Promised four Android OS upgrades
  • Promised five years of security patches
  • Five or more years of software support

Design & Display

When it comes to design, the Galaxy S22 Plus and Galaxy S22 Plus couldn't have been more different. The design of the Galaxy S22 Plus has changed little from its predecessor. The same is true for the iPhone 13 Pro. The Galaxy S22 Plus features the familiar Contour Cut camera island that we saw on the Galaxy S21 Plus with Gorilla Glass Victus Plus protecting the front and the back.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus against tree

The iPhone 13 Pro looks identical to the iPhone 12 Pro save for a few smaller changes, such as a larger camera module and a slightly smaller notch. The iPhone 12 Pro is also slightly thicker and heavier, a side effect of the phone packing a larger battery. Both phones are IP68 certified for dust and water resistance, so you're covered on that front no matter which phone you get.

iPhone 13 Pro

The Galaxy S22 Plus offers a wider selection of colors. It comes in Phantom White, Green, Pink Gold, Cream, Sky Blue, Violet, Graphite, and Bora Purple colorways. The iPhone 13 comes in Sierra Blue, Graphite, Gold, Silver, and Alpine Green hues.

The iPhone 13 Pro and Galaxy S22 Plus pack one of the best smartphone displays on the market. Both panels are Samsung-made, so no matter which display you choose, Samsung wins. The Galaxy S22 Plus features a 6.6-inch AMOLED display with 2340 x 1080 (FHD+) resolution and a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. The display can reach a peak brightness of 1750 nits and supports HDR10 and HDR10+ content. The phone also has a neat feature called Vision Booster that automatically boosts brightness and contrast for the best viewing experience when using the display under direct sunlight.

The iPhone 13 Pro has a 6.1-inch 2352 x 1170 Super Retina XDR display with a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1200 nits. The iPhone 13 Pro panel uses LTPO technology that can dynamically scale refresh rate between 10Hz to 120Hz. In addition to HDR10+, the panel also supports Dolby Vision content.

Both displays are excellent, but we think the Galaxy S22 Plus is better for watching content as it's bigger and more immersive and doesn't have an obstructive notch.

Cameras

The iPhone 13 Pro and Galaxy S22 Plus both pack a triple rear camera system on the back. The Galaxy S22 Plus has a 50MP f/1.8 main shooter with OIS, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree field-of-view, and a 10MP f/2.2 telephoto lens that offers 3x lossless zoom.

The iPhone 13 Pro offers a 12MP f/1.5 main camera with sensor-shift OIS, a 12MP f/1.8 ultra-wide with a 120-degree field-of-view, and a 12MP f/2.8 telephoto shooter with 3x optical zoom. In addition, it also has a LiDAR depth sensor for portraits.

In terms of video recording, the Galaxy S22 Plus can shoot videos at up to 8K at 24fps, while the iPhone 1 Pro maxes out at 4K 60fps. For selfies, the iPhone 13 Pro has a 12MP shooter with Center Stage support. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S22 Plus uses a 10MP f/2.2 front shooter.

Both phones produce excellent photos in all lighting conditions with a high dynamic range and great detail. However, both phones take a different approach when it comes to image processing. While Apple prefers more natural, true-to-life shots, Samsung likes warmer tones and slightly oversaturated colors. Let's take a look at some image samples from both devices.

Galaxy S22 Plus image samples:

iPhone 13 Pro image samples

While still photography is a close call, the video performance is where the iPhone 13 Pro really shines. As we noted in our review, the iPhone 13 Pro's video footage doesn't exhibit micro-jitters and glitches that we commonly see on Android phones. And the new Cinematic mode is truly a game changer and further cement the iPhone 13 Pro as one of the best phones for video shooting.


Performance

iPhones have always remained far ahead of Android flagships in terms of raw power, and that trend continues with the iPhone 13 Pro.

Samsung offers the Galaxy S22 Plus in two different chipsets depedening on the market. So Europe gets Samsung's in-house Exynos 2100 chipset while the rest of the world, including the US and India, gets a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. Be tested both variants and found that the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered model is superior to the Exynos 2200-equipped model in almost every area, including benchmarks, sustained performance, app opening speeds, and power consumption.

The iPhone 13 Pro uses the blazing fast A15 Bionic chipset, featuring two Avalanche cores running at 3.23GHz and four Blizzard cores clocked at 1.82GHz in a Hexa-core setup.

In benchmarks, the iPhone 13 Pro blows the Galaxy S22 Plus out of the water. It posted 1,731 on single core and 4,792 on multi-core in Geekbench, while the Galaxy S22 Plus Snapdragon variant only managed 1,216 and 3,126, respectively. Apple controls both hardware and software, which is why iPhones usually outperform Android phones on benchmarks and raw performance.

In day-to-day tasks, both phones perform admirably. You're unlikely to encounter performance hiccups or slowdowns when opening apps, multitasking, scrolling through social media, or playing graphics-intensive games.

As for memory and storage options, the Galaxy S22 Plus packs 8GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB storage. Meanwhile, the iPhone 13 Pro has 6GB of RAM and storage options starting from 128GB and going all the way up to 1TB.


Battery Life, Charging, and Software

The Galaxy S22 Plus packs a 4,500mAh battery to the rather small 3,095mAh cell. However, specs and numbers don't paint the full picture here. Despite the smaller battery, the iPhone 13 Pro delivers better endurance than the Galaxy S22 Plus. As we noted in our review, even with heavy use, the phone would often last the whole day with still around 15% juice left in the tank. On lighter use days, it would make it to the end of the day with around 30% to 40% still left. The Galaxy S22 Plus isn't too far behind either and will also easily get you through a day on a full charge.

The Galaxy S22 Plus takes the lead in the charging speed, offering 45W fast wired charging compared to the iPhone 13 Pro's 23W charging speed. However, none of the phones come with a charger inside the box. As you would expect, wireless charging support is available on both phones. The Galaxy S22 Plus offers 15W Qi wireless charging. Meanwhile, the iPhone 13 Pro can be wirelessly charged at 15W using a MagSafe charger and at 7.5W with a Qi-compatible charger.

The iPhone 13 Pro ships with iOS 15 out of the box. The Galaxy S22 Plus runs Samsung's custom skin One UI 4.1 on top of Android 12. Apple hasn't officially confirmed how long it plans to support the iPhone 13 Pro. But if the history is any indication, iPhone 13 Pro users can count on five or more years of software updates. The Galaxy S22 Plus is pretty close with promised four years of OS updates and five years of security updates.

In terms of biometrics, the iPhone 13 Pro comes with Face ID, while the Galaxy S22 Plus has an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner. Both phones also offer dual stereo speakers, NFC, and 5G connectivity.


The Galaxy S22 Plus and iPhone 13 Pro both offer premium designs, powerful hardware, and long software support. The pricing is also the same, with both starting at $1000. However, the Galaxy S22 Plus routinely sees deals and discounts and can be picked up for a lower price.

The Galaxy S22 Plus offers a gorgeous display, powerful cameras, and flagship-level performance.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus

The Galaxy S22 Plus offers a gorgeous display, powerful cameras, and flagship-level performance.

The iPhone 13 Pro packs 6.1-inch XDR ProMotion display and new A15 Bionic chip.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro

The iPhone 13 Pro packs 6.1-inch XDR ProMotion display and new A15 Bionic chip.

If you already own some Apple devices, say a Mac or iPad, the iPhone 13 Pro might be a better choice and provide a more cohesive experience. The iPhone 13 Pro beats the Galaxy S22 Plus in the performance, video performance, and battery departments. However, the Galaxy S22 Plus has a bigger, better display and faster charging speed. The camera performance and software are a close call.

There's no clear winner in the Galaxy S22 Plus vs iPhone 13 Pro comparison. It all comes down to your personal preference, priorities, and use case, especially on which side of the Android vs iOS debate you stand on. Note that the iPhone 13 Pro has been superseded by the iPhone 14 Pro, which brings many notable upgrades including Dynamic Island and a 48MP main camera.