Samsung Galaxy S22 vs iPhone 14: Which should you buy?

Apple launched the iPhone 14 series on September 7, 2022, with four new phones in the lineup. The standard iPhone 14 is the smallest (no Mini model this time!) and the least expensive iPhone of them all. Naturally, it goes head-to-head with its biggest rival in the Android world, the Samsung Galaxy S22.

Apple and Samsung are two of the biggest competitors in the smartphone space and are constantly trying to one-up each other with their flagship phones. Given that the iPhone 14 and Galaxy S22 are two of the most talked-about premium devices launched this year, it’s only natural to consider them both for your next smartphone purchase. The Samsung vs Apple conundrum is also made more complicated this year with the return of Apple’s “Plus” line with the iPhone 14 Plus, which goes toe-to-toe with the Galaxy S22 Plus.

So how do the two stack up against each other, and which is the right buy for you? Let’s dig into this Samsung Galaxy S22 vs iPhone 14 comparison to help you decide.

Looking for the Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max instead? We’ll be covering both brands’ ultra-premium phones in a separate showdown coming soon.

When comparing display sizes, the Apple iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are nearly the same as the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus. The standard iPhone 14 features a 6.1-inch OLED display, the same as the Galaxy S22. Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 Plus gets a 6.7-inch OLED screen, a tiny bit bigger than the 6.6-inch Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus.

There’s one very big difference between the flagships when it comes to screen specs, however. While the Galaxy S22/S22 Plus and iPhone 14/14 Plus boast HDR displays with similar peak brightness values, the Samsung phones outdo Apple’s devices with their faster refresh rate panels.

Just like their predecessors in the iPhone 13 series, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have 60Hz displays. In contrast, the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus offer smooth and snappy 120Hz displays. If you want that on the latest iPhone, you’ll have to consider spending a lot more to get one of the iPhone 14 Pro models that boast 120Hz “ProMotion” screens.

The front camera placement is also starkly different on both sets of phones. The Samsung Galaxy S22 pair gets a punch-hole, center-aligned selfie shooter, while the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus bring the aging notch design with Apple’s “TrueDepth” camera system for facial recognition, a.k.a. Face ID.

In terms of aesthetics and build materials, the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are identical. The only difference is their size. The story is the same when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus. They share the same build, albeit for the display and battery size.

Samsung and Apple both went with glass backs and aluminum frames on their phones. However, the Galaxy S22 series features Gorilla Glass Victus Plus coverage on the front, while the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus get Apple’s “Ceramic Shield” for damage protection. Ceramic Shield is also made by Corning, the manufacturer of Gorilla Glass. It is exclusive to iPhones, and Apple claims it’s stronger than glass protection on all other phones.

Another design feature the Galaxy S22 and iPhone 14 share is IP68 water and dust protection. So if you pick up either phone, know that you’re getting some of the best in the business when it comes to durability on mainstream flagship smartphones.

All-in-all, both Samsung and Apple have solid, premium designs backing their devices. It comes down to personal preference here, really. Whichever one you choose, you’ll have a good-looking phone in your hands.

The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus use Apple’s proprietary SoC. You get the A15 Bionic processor under the hood, the same as 2021’s iPhone 13 series. Apple’s processor slightly outperforms Qualcomm’s SoC in benchmark tests for CPU scores. That said, you shouldn’t have any issues with real-world performance on both sets of phones. Apple hasn’t declared the RAM size, but reports suggest that the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus get 6GB of RAM. You can, however, opt for higher storage on the iPhones that offer a 512GB model at the top end.

Over on the battery side of things, the Galaxy S22 offers a 3,700mAh bank, while the S22 Plus packs a larger 4,500mAh unit. The former had no trouble lasting beyond a day during our testing, but on days of heavy usage, we found the battery lacking. This issue didn’t exist on the Galaxy S22 Plus, which offered us slightly better battery life than the more premium Galaxy S22 Ultra. The Galaxy S22 Plus and Ultra models also both charge faster than the Galaxy S22, with 45W charging compared to the 25W wired charging speed of the vanilla model. Both phones get 15W wireless charging.

Apple doesn’t declare numbers but claims that the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus can last 20 hours during video playback. The iPhone 13 offered solid all-day battery life thanks to the A15 Bionic’s excellent power management skills. The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus should outdo that since Apple claims they offer longer battery life compared to their predecessors. We’ll obviously test this out when we review the new iPhones. For charging, Apple claims both phones can charge up to 50% in around 30 minutes using the 20W adapter that has to be purchased separately. Both models support MagSafe wireless charging up to 15W and Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W.

The cameras are usually what make or break people’s buying decisions. The Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus get a 50MP primary camera, along with a 10MP telephoto lens and a 12MP ultrawide shooter. The selfie camera is a 40MP unit. The megapixel count may be different, but the results from the main camera on the smaller S22s are practically identical to those of the S22 Ultra’s 108MP primary camera. Pictures display great colors and plenty of detail. All three sensors do a fine job, even at night. We can confidently say you’re getting some of the best camera phones in the business.

We haven’t tested the cameras on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, but we sure do know the configuration. Apple has equipped the phones with a 12MP main camera and a 12MP ultrawide camera. That’s one less rear camera than the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus. There’s no telephoto shooter on the phones, but they offer up to 5x digital zoom. Up front is a 12MP selfie camera. Apple says it has improved low light performance on the phones using a feature it calls Photonic Engine. Essentially Apple’s image processing tech will now work faster than before and produce better colors to ultimately improve nighttime photography. Once again, we’ll have to test this out when we get our hands on the phones.

There’s one hardware-based feature that the iPhone 14 has that the Samsung Galaxy S22 does not — satellite connectivity. The new iPhones support an emergency messaging service that can come in handy when you have no cell signal. Imagine being lost in the woods without being able to reach emergency services. When activated, Apple’s new Emergency SOS feature uses the phone’s antennas to connect to satellite frequencies. You can then pass messages to emergency services in times of need. This is perhaps the only feature the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have that the Galaxies can’t compete with.

The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus come in several colorways, including Midnight, Purple, Starlight, Product Red, and Blue. You get even more options with the Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus that are available in Phantom Black Green, Phantom White, Pink Gold, Graphite, Cream, Sky Blue, and Violet.

The vanilla iPhone 14 is the same price as last year’s iPhone 13. It costs $799, the same as the starting price of the Galaxy S22. Apple charges extra if you want more storage, but we don’t have pricing for all the iPhone 14 storage variants just yet. The Galaxy S22 Plus is $100 more expensive for the base variant than the $899 iPhone 14 Plus. So Apple clearly has an advantage here. That said, you get more RAM on the Samsung phones in any scenario, but the iPhones give more storage going up to 512GB.

We’re not here to settle the iOS vs Android debate. Your choice between the Samsung Galaxy S22 and iPhone 14 will obviously come down to your operating system preference, and that’s for you to decide. If you’re a long-time Android user, it’ll do you good to stick with the Samsung phones. They offer the best-in-class performance and sport a versatile set of cameras that take great pictures. They also feature better displays and larger batteries than the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus.

However, if iOS isn’t a deal breaker for you and you don’t mind 60Hz displays, the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus make for compelling alternatives to the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus. Apple’s A15 Bionic chip may be from last year, but it’s still very powerful. Photography has improved on the new handsets over the iPhone 13 series, and that’s a good thing since the latter already took very good pictures. Satellite connectivity is also an added advantage for those of you who like to get adventurous outdoors.

Another big plus for the iPhones is that Apple supports all its phones for years with major OS updates. Samsung is also one of the best in the software update department and promises its flagships four years of Android updates and five years of security patches. However, Apple still has Samsung beat in this regard.

Which phone do you prefer? Cast your vote in the poll below.