iPhone vs. Samsung
iPhone 18 Pro Max vs. Galaxy S26 Ultra
Images: Apple, Samsung
Every spec side by side, from Apple's and Samsung's official spec pages. Values marked (reported) aren't published by the maker.
Choose the iPhone 18 Pro Max if…
- You want bigger battery
- You already use a Mac, iPad, Apple Watch or AirPods
Choose the Galaxy S26 Ultra if…
- You want lighter
- You want more memory (ram)
- You prefer Android and Samsung's software
Who wins what
Bigger screenTie
Bigger batteryiPhone 18 Pro Max
LighterGalaxy S26 Ultra
More memory (RAM)Galaxy S26 Ultra
Longer update promiseNot comparable
Lower starting priceTie
Winners are worked out from the published specs below; ties and missing specs are shown honestly.
The key differences, in words
- Screen: iPhone 18 Pro Max: 6.9 in (6.86 in as a rectangle); screen-to-body Not published. Galaxy S26 Ultra: 6.9 in (6.7 in with rounded corners).
- Chip: iPhone 18 Pro Max: Apple A20 Pro (2 nm). Galaxy S26 Ultra: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (3 nm).
- Main cameras: iPhone 18 Pro Max: 48MP Fusion Main, 24 mm, variable aperture f/1.48-f/4.0, 2nd-gen sensor-shift OIS; 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide, 13 mm, f/2.2, 120 deg; 48MP Fusion Telephoto 4x, 100 mm, f/2.8, tetraprism, 3D sensor-shift OIS with autofocus. Optical-quality 2x (48 mm) and 8x (200 mm) crops; 16x optical-quality range, up to 40x digital. Galaxy S26 Ultra: 200MP Wide AF; 50MP Ultra Wide AF; 10MP 3x telephoto AF; 50MP 5x telephoto AF.
- Battery: iPhone 18 Pro Max: 5,567 mAh US eSIM model (reported, China 3C filing via MacRumors); 5,391 mAh SIM-tray model (reported, EU energy label via MacRumors). Galaxy S26 Ultra: 5000 mAh typical (4855 mAh rated).
- Weight: iPhone 18 Pro Max: 249 g. Galaxy S26 Ultra: 214 g.
- Software updates: iPhone 18 Pro Max: —. Galaxy S26 Ultra: 7 years of security updates (Samsung).
If you're leaning iPhone
Buy now · 88 55 days since release; no successor expected soon. See the iPhone 18 Pro Max price, true cost and buy-now score.
Full specifications
| AppleiPhone 18 Pro Max | SamsungGalaxy S26 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying | ||
| Apple price from | $1,299 | — |
| Buy-now score | 88/100 (Buy now) | — |
| Released | Sep 18, 2026 | Mar 11, 2026 |
| Price from | — | $1,299 |
| Launch | ||
| Announced | Sep 9, 2026 | Feb 25, 2026 |
| Released | Sep 18, 2026 | Mar 11, 2026 |
| Status | Available | Available |
| Body | ||
| Dimensions | 163.4 x 78.0 x 8.75 mm | 163.6 x 78.1 x 7.9 mm |
| Weight | 249 g | 214 g |
| Build | Ceramic Shield 2 front, Ceramic Shield back, aluminum unibody frame | Corning Gorilla Armor 2 front, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 back, Armor Aluminum 3 frame |
| SIM | Dual eSIM (2 active, stores 8+); no physical SIM (US model) | — |
| Water/dust | IP68 (6 m for 30 min, IEC 60529) | IP68 (1.5 m for 30 min) |
| Display | ||
| Type | Super Retina XDR OLED, Dynamic Island, Always-On, HDR, True Tone, P3, 2,000,000:1 contrast | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, QHD+, built-in Privacy Display |
| Size | 6.9 in (6.86 in as a rectangle) | 6.9 in (6.7 in with rounded corners) |
| Resolution | 2868 x 1320 px, 460 ppi | 3120 x 1440 px (reported); ppi Not published |
| Refresh rate | ProMotion adaptive, up to 120Hz | Adaptive 1-120Hz |
| Brightness | 1000 nits typical, 1600 nits HDR peak, 3000 nits outdoor peak, 1 nit minimum | 2600 nits peak |
| Protection | Ceramic Shield 2, anti-reflective and oleophobic coatings | Corning Gorilla Armor 2 |
| Platform | ||
| OS | Ships with iOS 27 / current iOS 27 | Android 16, One UI 8.5 (at launch) |
| Chip | Apple A20 Pro (2 nm) | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (3 nm) |
| CPU | 6-core (2 performance + 4 efficiency) | 8-core Qualcomm Oryon (2 prime + 6 performance); 4.74GHz / 3.6GHz on the Galaxy version |
| GPU | 7-core with Neural Accelerators, hardware ray tracing | Adreno 840 (reported) |
| Neural engine | Dual 16-core Neural Engine | Qualcomm Hexagon NPU (reported) |
| Memory | ||
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| RAM | 12GB (reported) | 12GB (256GB/512GB), 16GB (1TB) |
| Main camera | ||
| Lenses | 48MP Fusion Main, 24 mm, variable aperture f/1.48-f/4.0, 2nd-gen sensor-shift OIS; 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide, 13 mm, f/2.2, 120 deg; 48MP Fusion Telephoto 4x, 100 mm, f/2.8, tetraprism, 3D sensor-shift OIS with autofocus. Optical-quality 2x (48 mm) and 8x (200 mm) crops; 16x optical-quality range, up to 40x digital | 200MP Wide AF; 50MP Ultra Wide AF; 10MP 3x telephoto AF; 50MP 5x telephoto AF |
| Features | LiDAR, Adaptive True Tone flash, Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 5, ProRAW, 48MP macro, spatial photos, Photographic Styles 3, Apple Reference Image, pro controls for aperture/shutter/white balance | 3x and 5x optical zoom, 2x and 10x optical-quality zoom, 100x digital Space Zoom, ProVisual Engine |
| Video | 4K Dolby Vision 24/25/30/60 fps (100/120 fps on Main); 1080p up to 240 fps slo-mo; Cinematic 4K60; Action mode 2.8K60; spatial 1080p30; ProRes up to 4K120 (external recording); ProRes RAW, Apple Log 2, ACES, Genlock; four mics | 8K at 30fps; 4K at 120fps (Pro Video) |
| Selfie camera | ||
| Lens | 18MP Center Stage, f/1.9, autofocus, TrueDepth (Face ID) | 12MP Wide AF (85 deg) |
| Video | 4K Dolby Vision 24/25/30/60 fps; Cinematic 4K30; ProRes up to 4K60 (external); 1080p120 slo-mo; Dual Capture | 4K at 60fps |
| Sound | ||
| Speakers | Stereo speakers; Spatial Audio, Dolby Atmos playback | Stereo speakers |
| 3.5mm jack | No | No |
| Connectivity | ||
| Cellular | Apple C2 modem: 5G sub-6 GHz and mmWave (n258/n260/n261), 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE; models A3472/A3473 | 5G (sub-6, mmWave), LTE |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), 2x2 MIMO, Apple N1 chip | Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 6 | v6.0 |
| Positioning | Dual-frequency GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou, NavIC | — |
| NFC | Yes, reader mode, Express Cards with power reserve | Yes |
| UWB | 2nd-gen Ultra Wideband | Yes |
| Satellite | Emergency SOS, Messages, Find My and Roadside Assistance via satellite | — |
| USB | USB-C, USB 3 (10Gb/s), DisplayPort up to 4K HDR | USB Type-C (version Not published) |
| Features | ||
| Biometrics | Face ID | Fingerprint sensor (type Not published) |
| Sensors | LiDAR, barometer, high dynamic range gyro, high-g accelerometer, proximity, dual ambient light, magnetometer | Accelerometer, barometer, fingerprint, gyro, geomagnetic, Hall, proximity, light |
| Other | Action button, Camera Control, Thread, Crash Detection, vapor chamber cooling | Privacy Display; larger vapor chamber; Wireless PowerShare |
| Battery | ||
| Capacity | 5,567 mAh US eSIM model (reported); 5,391 mAh SIM-tray model (reported) | 5000 mAh typical (4855 mAh rated) |
| Video playback | Up to 45 h (40 h streamed); 30 h typical use | Up to 31 hours (Samsung) |
| Wired charging | 50% in about 15 min with 60W+ AVS adapter (Apple); about 52W peak measured (reported) | Up to 60W Super Fast Charging 3.0, about 75% in 30 min |
| Wireless | MagSafe up to 25W, Qi2 up to 25W | Up to 25W Super Fast Wireless Charging; Wireless PowerShare |
| Misc | ||
| Colours | Black, Silver, Glacier, Burgundy | Cobalt Violet, White, Black, Sky Blue; Samsung.com only: Pink Gold, Silver Shadow |
| US price | 256GB $1,299; 512GB $1,499; 1TB $1,899; 2TB $2,499 | Launch: 256GB $1,299.99; 512GB $1,499.99 (reported); 1TB $1,799.99 (reported). A US rise to $1,400 / $1,600 / $2,000 was reported in Oct 2026 (SamMobile); Samsung.com still showed 'From $1,299.99' on 2026-11-12 |
| Software updates | — | 7 years of security updates (Samsung) |
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Sources: Apple iPhone 18 Pro tech specs (covers Pro Max), Apple Newsroom: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, Apple Store: buy iPhone 18 Pro, MacRumors: iPhone 18 Pro battery capacities and RAM (EU label, Xcode 27), MacRumors: iPhone 18 Pro battery capacities revealed by regulatory filings, MacRumors: iPhone 18 Pro Max charging speed test, Samsung US Newsroom: Galaxy S26 series launch + specification table, Samsung US: Galaxy S26 Ultra compare page (lineup, video playback, current price), Google Fi spec page: Galaxy S26 Ultra (US carrier; materials and sensors), Qualcomm product brief: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, SamMobile (reported): Galaxy S26 US price increase, Oct 2026, itechguides (reported): S26 series US launch prices per storage, Wikipedia (reported): Galaxy S26 series display resolution. Spotted an error? Tell us.