iPhone vs. Samsung
iPhone Air 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 Air if…
- You want lighter
- You already use a Mac, iPad, Apple Watch or AirPods
Choose the Galaxy S26+ if…
- You want bigger screen
- You want bigger battery
- You prefer Android and Samsung's software
Who wins what
Bigger screenGalaxy S26+
Bigger batteryGalaxy S26+
LighteriPhone Air
More memory (RAM)Tie
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 Air: 6.5 in (6.55 in as a rectangle); screen-to-body Not published. Galaxy S26+: 6.7 in (6.5 in with rounded corners).
- Chip: iPhone Air: Apple A19 Pro. Galaxy S26+: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (3 nm).
- Main cameras: iPhone Air: 48MP Fusion Main, 26 mm, f/1.6, sensor-shift OIS; optical-quality 2x Telephoto (12MP, 52 mm crop from Main). Up to 10x digital. No ultra wide. Galaxy S26+: 50MP Wide AF; 12MP Ultra Wide FF; 10MP 3x telephoto AF.
- Battery: iPhone Air: 3,149 mAh (reported, Apple EU energy label via MacRumors). Galaxy S26+: 4900 mAh typical (4755 mAh rated).
- Weight: iPhone Air: 165 g. Galaxy S26+: 190 g.
- Software updates: iPhone Air: —. Galaxy S26+: 7 years of security updates (Samsung).
If you're leaning iPhone
Wait if you can · 43 419 days since release; this line usually refreshes every ~364 days (past its usual refresh). See the iPhone Air price, true cost and buy-now score.
Full specifications
| AppleiPhone Air | SamsungGalaxy S26+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying | ||
| Apple price from | $1,099 | — |
| Buy-now score | 43/100 (Wait if you can) | — |
| Released | Sep 19, 2025 | Mar 11, 2026 |
| Price from | — | $1,099 |
| Launch | ||
| Announced | Sep 9, 2025 | Feb 25, 2026 |
| Released | Sep 19, 2025 | Mar 11, 2026 |
| Status | Available | Available |
| Body | ||
| Dimensions | 156.2 x 74.7 x 5.64 mm | 158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm |
| Weight | 165 g | 190 g |
| Build | Ceramic Shield 2 front, Ceramic Shield back, Grade 5 titanium frame | Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic front, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 back, Armor Aluminum 2 frame |
| SIM | Dual eSIM (2 active, stores 8+); no physical SIM | — |
| 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+ |
| Size | 6.5 in (6.55 in as a rectangle) | 6.7 in (6.5 in with rounded corners) |
| Resolution | 2736 x 1260 px, 460 ppi | QHD+ (exact px and ppi Not published) |
| Refresh rate | ProMotion adaptive, up to 120Hz (down to 1Hz Always-On) | 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 Ceramic |
| Platform | ||
| OS | Ships with iOS 26 / current iOS 27 | Android 16, One UI 8.5 (at launch) |
| Chip | Apple A19 Pro | 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 | 5-core with Neural Accelerators, hardware ray tracing | Adreno 840 (reported) |
| Neural engine | 16-core Neural Engine | Qualcomm Hexagon NPU (reported) |
| Memory | ||
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 256GB, 512GB |
| RAM | 12GB (reported) | 12GB |
| Main camera | ||
| Lenses | 48MP Fusion Main, 26 mm, f/1.6, sensor-shift OIS; optical-quality 2x Telephoto (12MP, 52 mm crop from Main). Up to 10x digital. No ultra wide | 50MP Wide AF; 12MP Ultra Wide FF; 10MP 3x telephoto AF |
| Features | True Tone flash, Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 5, Night mode, Portraits, Photographic Styles, 63MP panorama | 3x optical zoom, 2x optical-quality zoom, 30x digital zoom |
| Video | 4K Dolby Vision 24/25/30/60 fps; 1080p slo-mo 120/240 fps; Action mode 2.8K60; Dual Capture 4K30; HEVC/H.264 | 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; 1080p120 slo-mo; Dual Capture | 4K at 60fps |
| Sound | ||
| Speakers | Single speaker (reported) | Stereo speakers |
| 3.5mm jack | No | No |
| Connectivity | ||
| Cellular | Apple C1X modem: 5G sub-6 GHz only (no mmWave), 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE; model A3260 | 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 2 (480Mb/s) | USB Type-C (version Not published) |
| Features | ||
| Biometrics | Face ID | Fingerprint sensor (type Not published) |
| Sensors | 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 | ProScaler; Wireless PowerShare |
| Battery | ||
| Capacity | 3,149 mAh (reported) | 4900 mAh typical (4755 mAh rated) |
| Video playback | Up to 27 h (22 h streamed); 40 h with iPhone Air MagSafe Battery | Up to 31 hours (Samsung) |
| Wired charging | 50% in 30 min with 20W+ adapter (Apple); about 18-19W peak measured (reported) | Up to 45W Super Fast Charging 2.0, about 69% in 30 min |
| Wireless | MagSafe up to 20W, Qi2 up to 20W | Up to 20W Super Fast Wireless Charging; Wireless PowerShare |
| Misc | ||
| Colours | Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue | Cobalt Violet, White, Black, Sky Blue; Samsung.com only: Pink Gold, Silver Shadow |
| US price | 256GB $1,099; 512GB $1,299; 1TB $1,699 (raised from $999 launch price on 2026-09-09) | Launch: 256GB $1,099.99; 512GB $1,299.99 (reported). A US rise to $1,200 / $1,400 was reported in Oct 2026 (SamMobile) |
| Software updates | — | 7 years of security updates (Samsung) |
Add more products to this comparison
Sources: Apple iPhone Air tech specs, Apple Newsroom: Introducing iPhone Air, Apple Store: buy iPhone Air, MacRumors: iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air specs, battery capacities and RAM, MacRumors: iPhone Air has a single speaker, MacRumors: iPhone Air USB-C charging speeds tested, 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.