The top flagships from Samsung and Apple fight it out in this comparison of the newly announced Galaxy S21 Ultra and the iPhone 12 Pro Max that launched at the end of 2020. This is the closest release in recent years from the most popular mobile phone manufacturers in the US. When several months separate the devices, the newer model often has an unfair advantage, but there is no excuse this time.
Samsung usually releases a new Galaxy S series smartphone in February or March, but this year’s update came in January. Apple’s latest iPhone is normally announced in September, but the iPhone 12 was announced in October, making it just three months that separate the two devices and the technology that is contained within, instead of the six months of advances that Samsung usually enjoys. The question is whether this will be represented in the products or if the difference is more than just the continual improvements in the science and manufacturing techniques used for advanced electronics.
Samsung’s new Galaxy S21 Ultra starts at $1,199, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max begins at $1,099. Screen size is roughly the same too, at 6.8 inches for Samsung and 6.7 inches for Apple. Both have crisp, high-contrast OLED displays, but the Galaxy S21 Ultra is significantly brighter at a maximum 1,500 nits versus 1,200-nits for the iPhone. Either will be readable outdoors though. Apple would likely win a durability test since its Ceramic Shield is more advanced than Gorilla Glass Victus. The Apple A14 is a super-powerful processor and will likely retain the title of faster mobile processor unless Samsung has done something to make its Snapdragon 888 outperform the Xiaomi Mi 11, which uses the same chip. However, there are a few more difficult-to-test aspects of mobile chips, such as neural processing, in which Samsung may surpass Apple’s best. Both Samsung’s Exynos 2100 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888, which are used in International and US versions of the Galaxy S21, respectively, reach 26-tera-operations-per-second (TOPS), while the A14 can claim only 11 TOPS. So far, each phone is standing up well in the comparison.
Samsung & Apple Cameras Compared
The iPhone 12 Pro Max has a very advanced camera, but Samsung has had an opportunity to refine its already great 108-megapixel wide-angle camera with an improved re-mosaic process for better combining of pixels from super high-resolution to create sharp standard size photos with excellent color. Nona-binning combines nine smaller pixels into one to improve photo quality when lighting conditions are poor. The Galaxy Note 20 used only four pixels for this process. Solely based on math, this camera should perform much better in low light. The very high-resolution means Samsung can use advanced digital zoom with little loss. The 100x Space Zoom was less than ideal when introduced last year, but has been refined with AI-enhancements and an AI-powered Zoom Lock that stabilizes zoomed images for even better sharpness and stability. Add the 3x and 10x optical zoom to the awesome main camera and Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max has a hard challenge to overcome. It will take hands-on reviews and real-world photos to decide overall photo quality, but Samsung would clearly win in a telephoto contest.
Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra has several special features that Apple does not compete with. This is the first Galaxy S-series phone to offer S-pen compatibility. An iPhone can only use a standard capacitive stylus that simulates a finger. There is no comparison. Anyone that feels drawing or taking hand-written notes with a phone is important should choose the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Samsung also includes a dynamic 10Hz to 120Hz refresh rate that facilitates smooth scrolling, while the iPhone is fixed at 60Hz. Where Apple excels is in the overall integration of hardware, operating system, software, and ecosystem. For iPhone users, it takes more than a few extra features to break that bond. Apple products work seamlessly with one another.
Both the Galaxy S21 Ultra and iPhone 12 Pro Max are amazing smartphones that will serve the most demanding user, offer smooth and responsive performance, and are capable of taking amazing photos and recording stunning videos. The iPhone 12 Pro Max is the best Apple has ever made and it really stretched what was possible in 2020. Samsung managed to match Apple’s best with the Galaxy S21 Ultra despite only three-months between the two flagships.