iPhone vs. Samsung
iPhone 18 Pro vs. Galaxy S26
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 if…
- You already use a Mac, iPad, Apple Watch or AirPods
Choose the Galaxy S26 if…
- You want bigger battery
- You want lighter
- You want a lower starting price
- You prefer Android and Samsung's software
Who wins what
Bigger screenTie
Bigger batteryGalaxy S26
LighterGalaxy S26
More memory (RAM)Tie
Longer update promiseNot comparable
Lower starting priceGalaxy S26
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: 6.3 in (6.27 in as a rectangle); screen-to-body Not published. Galaxy S26: 6.3 in (6.1 in with rounded corners).
- Chip: iPhone 18 Pro: Apple A20 Pro (2 nm). Galaxy S26: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (3 nm).
- Main cameras: iPhone 18 Pro: 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: 50MP Wide AF; 12MP Ultra Wide FF; 10MP 3x telephoto AF.
- Battery: iPhone 18 Pro: 4,288 mAh US eSIM model (reported, China 3C filing via MacRumors); 4,056 mAh SIM-tray model (reported, EU energy label via MacRumors). Galaxy S26: 4300 mAh typical (4175 mAh rated).
- Weight: iPhone 18 Pro: 211 g. Galaxy S26: 167 g.
- Software updates: iPhone 18 Pro: —. Galaxy S26: 7 years of security updates (Samsung).
If you're leaning iPhone
Buy now · 88 55 days since release; iPhone 20 Pro and Pro Max is expected September 2027 (high confidence). See the iPhone 18 Pro price, true cost and buy-now score.
Full specifications
| AppleiPhone 18 Pro | SamsungGalaxy S26 | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying | ||
| Apple price from | $1,199 | — |
| Buy-now score | 88/100 (Buy now) | — |
| Released | Sep 18, 2026 | Mar 11, 2026 |
| Price from | — | $899 |
| Launch | ||
| Announced | Sep 9, 2026 | Feb 25, 2026 |
| Released | Sep 18, 2026 | Mar 11, 2026 |
| Status | Available | Available |
| Body | ||
| Dimensions | 150.0 x 71.9 x 8.75 mm | 149.6 x 71.7 x 7.2 mm |
| Weight | 211 g | 167 g |
| Build | Ceramic Shield 2 front, Ceramic Shield back, aluminum unibody frame | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 front and back, Armor Aluminum 2 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, FHD+ |
| Size | 6.3 in (6.27 in as a rectangle) | 6.3 in (6.1 in with rounded corners) |
| Resolution | 2622 x 1206 px, 460 ppi | FHD+ (exact px and 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 Glass Victus 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 |
| RAM | 12GB (reported) | 12GB |
| 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 | 50MP Wide AF; 12MP Ultra Wide FF; 10MP 3x 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 optical zoom, 2x optical-quality zoom, 30x digital zoom |
| 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 60fps |
| 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 only), LTE |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), 2x2 MIMO, Apple N1 chip | Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 6 | v5.4 |
| 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 (Samsung spec table) |
| 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 | Wireless PowerShare |
| Battery | ||
| Capacity | 4,288 mAh US eSIM model (reported); 4,056 mAh SIM-tray model (reported) | 4300 mAh typical (4175 mAh rated) |
| Video playback | Up to 36 h (33 h streamed); 24 h typical use | Up to 30 hours (Samsung) |
| Wired charging | 50% in about 15 min with 60W+ AVS adapter (Apple); peak wattage Not published | Up to 25W, about 55% in 30 min |
| Wireless | MagSafe up to 25W, Qi2 up to 25W | Up to 15W 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 $1,199; 512GB $1,399; 1TB $1,799; 2TB $2,399 | Launch: 256GB $899.99; 512GB $1,099.99 (reported). A US rise to $1,000 / $1,200 was reported in Oct 2026 (SamMobile) |
| Software updates | — | 7 years of security updates (Samsung) |
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Sources: Apple iPhone 18 Pro tech specs, 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, 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 (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. Spotted an error? Tell us.