It’s been a couple of weeks since the Galaxy S23 series was introduced, and in that time we’ve already learned quite a bit about what the presumed best Android phone of 2023 has to offer. But as is the case every year, there’s another contender lurking in the shadows, as Apple’s next flagship iPhone isn’t expected until sometime in September or October. With that in mind, we’re taking a look at a few things the iPhone 15 could “borrow” from the Galaxy S23.
Periscope Telephoto lens, or bust
I was extremely excited to see Apple introduce new cameras into the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, as the 12MP cameras had gotten a bit stale. It’s not like Apple’s photo processing comes anywhere close to what Google was able to do with the same sensor over the span of however many Pixel phones the Sony IMX363 has been used in.
And while an argument can be made that the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra are still neck-and-neck when shooting with the main lens, that’s not the case when it comes to the telephoto sensor. Samsung has been using a periscope lens ever since the Galaxy S20 Ultra was announced, meanwhile, Apple is still using a traditional telephoto.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max utilizes a 12MP telephoto lens with a 3x zoom, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 10MP periscope sensor sports a 10x optical zoom. We’re not talking about trying to take pictures of the moon here. Instead, Apple should make the jump and implement something with a bit more “oomph” for those of us who don’t want to physically get closer just to take a decent picture.
Curved edges (NOT display)
As someone who loved Apple moving back to an iPhone 4-inspired design with the iPhone 12, it’s definitely dated at this point. Those hard edges aren’t terrible if you have a non-Pro Max iPhone, but frankly, my palms are tired of getting dug into every time I take my 14 Pro Max out of my pocket.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra had the opposite problem, as the edges were too rounded, resulting in a phone that was insanely slippery to hold onto. And while I await the arrival of my own Galaxy S23 Ultra, everything I’ve seen suggests that Samsung struck the perfect balance.
We’re overdue for a redesigned iPhone at this point anyways, so Apple should borrow another play from Samsung’s playbook. Ditch the hard 90-degree angle on the back, and just make the phone more comfortable to hold.
Just don’t use a curved display, please.
Higher base storage
This one applies more to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and an “Ultra,” if there is such a thing. But Samsung made the right move with the Galaxy S23+ and S23 Ultra by ditching the 128GB of storage altogether. Both models start with 256GB as a base configuration, with the S23+ also being available with 512GB and the Ultra maxing out at 1TB.
We’ve already touched on how Samsung is using worse (read: slower) storage in the baby S23, which likely facilitated the change in the two larger S23 models. But there’s also another good reason for the paradigm shift and it’s those damn cameras.
The S23 Ultra is using a massive 200MP main wide-angle lens, and while we aren’t expecting anything of the sort from the iPhone 15 Pro Plus Max Ultra, pictures on the 14 Pro Max are already massive. When capturing images in Apple ProRAW, you’re taking up between 50-100MB of storage with every tap of the shutter button. There are ways to combat this, but not everyone wants to constantly prune their photo gallery just to make space for more pictures or videos.
Apple should read the writing on the wall, and leave the 128GB of storage options to the non-Pro iPhone 15 models. For those who love taking mobile photography, we’ve just about reached the same point that we have in the past when phones shipped with 64GB of storage. Samsung led the way, and now it’s Apple’s turn to follow suit.
Landing soon in a Galaxy near you
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra is already shaping up to be one of the best Android phones of the year, and it’s not even released yet. It has everything you could want from a slightly-redesigned chassis to a powerful camera system and even a built-in stylus for those Galaxy Note fans.
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