Head to head

Apple iPhone 18 vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Full specification and price comparison for Pakistan, updated 6 Jan 2026.

The short answer

The Apple iPhone 18 and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra finish within three points of each other on our combined specification score, so neither is a clear winner. Apple iPhone 18 leads on performance. The Apple iPhone 18 is the cheaper of the two at PKR 384,999 against PKR 389,999.

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The verdict

Spec-derived

Too close to call. These two finish within three points of each other, so the right answer depends on which category matters most to you.

Performance Apple iPhone 18 leads

Gaming score where available, otherwise chipset tier plus usable RAM.

Camera Level

Camera Score where available, otherwise sensor resolution and lens count. Megapixels alone do not measure image quality.

Display Level

Pixel density, refresh rate and panel technology.

Memory & storage Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra leads

Highest advertised RAM and internal storage configuration.

Value for money Level

Combined spec score divided by current Pakistani retail price.

What actually differs

  • Apple iPhone 18 costs PKR 5,000 less.
  • Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra charges 18W faster.
  • Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra ships with 1,012 GB more storage.
  • Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 152 MP higher-resolution main sensor.

Buy the Apple iPhone 18 if…

you care most about performance.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra if…

you care most about memory & storage.

Not enough published data to score: Battery & charging. Those categories are excluded from the overall figure rather than estimated.

Full specification comparison

Specification Apple iPhone 18 Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Price in Pakistan
Retail price PKR 384,999 Cheaper PKR 389,999
Design & build
Release date September 2026 February 17, 2023
Dimensions Not listed 163.4 × 78.1 × 8.9 mm
Weight Not listed 233–234 g (varies slightly by market)
Water resistance IP68 (dust tight, water resistant up to 6m for 30 minutes) IP68 dust and water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 minutes)
Display
Screen size 6.7 inches 6.8 inches Better
Resolution 1290 × 2796 pixels (estimated from panel leaks) 1440 × 3088 pixels (QHD+) Better
Panel type LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED (leaked via display suppliers) 120Hz ProMotion Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz Adaptive (1–120Hz)
Protection Ceramic Shield Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
Performance
Chipset Apple A19 Bionic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy (4nm)
CPU 6-core Apple custom (2 performance + 4 efficiency) (expected) Octa-core 1 × Cortex-X3 @ 3.36 GHz 2 × Cortex-A715 @ 2.80 GHz 2 × Cortex-A710 @ 2.80 GHz 3 × Cortex-A510 @ 2.00 GHz
GPU 5-core Apple GPU (leaked increment) Adreno 740
Operating system iOS 19 (leaked roadmap) Android 13, One UI 5.1 (Upgradable)
Memory & storage
RAM 8 GB (base leak) / 12 GB 8GB / 12GB
Internal storage 8 GB (base leak) / 12 GB 256GB / 512GB / 1TB UFS 4.0 (256GB version may use UFS 3.1 in some markets) Better
Card slot No No
Camera
Main camera 48 MP wide (sensor-shift OIS) 12 MP ultra-wide 12 MP telephoto 3× (non-periscope) 200 MP (Wide), f/1.7, OIS 10 MP (3× Telephoto), OIS 10 MP (10× Periscope Telephoto), OIS 12 MP (Ultra-Wide), 120° Laser Autofocus Multi-directional PDAF LED Flash HDR Panorama Expert RAW Nightography 100× Space Zoom 3× Optical Zoom 10× Optical Zoom Better
Selfie camera 12 MP TrueDepth 12 MP, f/2.2 Dual Pixel PDAF HDR
Video recording 4K@24/30/60fps ProRes Cinematic Mode (8K still NOT leaked by reliable Apple analysts) 8K @30fps 4K @30/60fps 1080p up to 240fps Super Steady Video HDR10+ Video
Battery & charging
Battery capacity Non-removable Li-Ion Li-Ion (non-removable) 5000 mAh
Wired charging Wired fast charging (~27W) MagSafe wireless (~15W) Reverse wireless 45W Wired Fast Charging 15W Wireless Charging 4.5W Reverse Wireless Charging (Wireless PowerShare) Better
Connectivity & extras
SIM 4G LTE/5G Dual Nano-SIM + eSIM (market dependent)
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 7 (leaked via Broadcom roadmap) Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7 (Wi-Fi 7 available on select regional variants) Tri-band Wi-Fi Dual-band support (market dependent) Wi-Fi Direct Mobile Hotspot (Wi-Fi Tethering)
Bluetooth 5.4 5.3, A2DP, LE
NFC Yes Yes
Sensors Face ID accelerometer gyro proximity compass barometer Under-display Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Proximity Sensor Compass (Magnetometer) Barometer Face Unlock (software-based) Auto Brightness Sensor (Ambient Light) Virtual Proximity Sensing Motion & Gesture Recognition Samsung Knox security integration S Pen detection and hover sensing
USB Not listed USB Type-C 3.2 OTG supported

“Better” marks the higher (or, for price and weight, the lower) figure. It is a specification difference, not a judgement about real-world experience.

Questions people ask

Which is better, Apple iPhone 18 or Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra?

Apple iPhone 18 and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra finish within a few points of each other, so neither is a clear winner on paper. Pick the one that leads in the category you care about most.

What is the price of Apple iPhone 18 and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in Pakistan?

Apple iPhone 18 is listed at PKR 384,999 and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra at PKR 389,999. That makes Apple iPhone 18 cheaper by PKR 5,000. Retail prices move often, so treat these as indicative.

Which is better for gaming, Apple iPhone 18 or Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra?

Apple iPhone 18 is the stronger gaming phone here. Apple iPhone 18 runs the Apple A19 Bionic while Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy (4nm).

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Tools that use this data

Camera Score Tool Battery Score Tool Gaming Performance Checker AI Mobile Recommendation Tool All comparisons

Scores are calculated from the published hardware specification of each device using the same formula for every phone on WhatMobilePK — they are not paid placements and they are not laboratory test results. Prices are indicative Pakistani retail prices and change frequently.