The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra It is the largest and most expensive entry in Samsung Galaxy S21 Range, so it of course directly competes with IPhone 12 Pro Max The biggest and most expensive phone from Apple.
These two phones are very large and sophisticated, and they both come with a lot more than what you’d expect, including first-class power and nearly endless features. But while they have a lot in common, the details of what they present also differ in many ways.
Therefore, if you are trying to choose between the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, this article should help you, as it compares the two phones completely.
the design
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra features a slightly curved glass with a very large camera block in the upper left corner, from the front, there is a full-screen design, with curved edges and a single-hole camera in the upper center.
On the other hand, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is flatter – both on the front and the back, but it also has a back and light glass on the frame, although instead of a hole in the screen for the selfie camera, it has a large notch on top. The rear camera block is smaller than the Galaxy S21 Ultra, and it is square, as Samsung is more rectangular.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max is similar to the size of the S21 Ultra, at 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.4mm, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9mm. So the Samsung phone is a little longer and thicker, but a little narrower. The two phones weigh exactly the same amount, weighing 228 grams each.
Both phones are also IP68 certified, which means they are dust and water resistant. In the case of iPhone 12 Pro Max, water resistance extends to a depth of 6 meters for 30 minutes, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is only tested at depths of 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.
As for the colors, you can get the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra in Phantom Black and Phantom Silver, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max is available in Graphite, Silver, Gold and Pacific Blue.
Monitor
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra screen is a massive 6.8 inch. It is a curved OLED screen with a resolution of 1440 x 3200 and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. Unlike previous Samsung flagship software, you can also run it at full resolution and highest refresh rate simultaneously.
IPhone 12 Pro Max also has a large screen, which is actually the largest screen Apple has ever put in, but it is slightly smaller at 6.7 inches.
This also uses OLED, but it’s a flat screen, and it comes in at a size of 1284 x 2778. In terms of pixel density, you’re looking at 515 pixels per inch on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, and 458 on the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Although we haven’t fully tested the S21 Ultra screen yet, Samsung’s flagship phones are usually among the best smartphone screens in their year of release, as are Apple phones, and in our review we found that the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a brilliant, bright screen with clone Excellent colors.
camera
There is a quad-lens camera on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, with a 108MP f / 1.8 main sensor, one 12MP f / 2.2 ultra-wide, 10MP f / 2.4 telephoto (capable of 3x optical zoom), and a second 10MP telephoto one, this time With f / 4.9 aperture and support for 10x optical zoom.
IPhone 12 Pro Max also has a quad-lens camera, but the specifications are completely different. There’s a 12-megapixel f / 1.6 primary camera, one 12-megapixel f / 2.4 ultra-wide, one 12-megapixel f / 2.2 telephoto (with 2.5x optical zoom) and a LiDAR scanner, for judging depth and distances – which is especially useful for augmenting reality .
On the front, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a 40MP f / 2.2 camera, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a 12MP f / 2.2 camera.
Although the numbers may seem less impressive on the Apple camera, we were definitely impressed in our review, stating that the camera is “powerful” and works well even at night. It remains to be seen how the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s camera will perform at the time of writing, but we are expecting good things.
Battery life
There is a massive 5,000mAh battery in the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which beats the 3687mAh battery on the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
We don’t know how long the S21 Ultra will last yet, but in our tests we found that the iPhone 12 Pro Max lasted for a day comfortably, but it’s unlikely to extend to two. Thanks to its larger, sharper screen, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra might eat the battery faster, but then it became more available as well.
Both phones support fast charging and wireless charging, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra also supports Wireless PowerShare – which lets you use it to charge other gadgets wirelessly.
Specifications and features
Both phones are quite powerful, as you’d expect, despite the exact specifications differ. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has either the Snapdragon 888 chipset (if you are in the US) or the Exynos 2100 (in most other regions), while the iPhone 12 Pro Max has the A14 Bionic chip. All three of these are nonetheless the top of their ranges.
The only thing the Galaxy S21 Ultra has is its RAM, with 12 GB included in the 128 GB and 256 GB models, while the 512 GB model has 16 GB of RAM. On the other hand, iPhone 12 Pro Max has only 6GB of RAM, regardless of which model you buy (128GB, 256GB, or 512GB). However, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is a very fast phone, so we won’t read much about it.
One of the features that both phones have is 5G, so you’ll be ready to take advantage of the new generation of mobile connectivity, but a lot of their other features are different.
For one thing, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has an in-screen fingerprint scanner, the iPhone 12 Pro Max instead works on Face ID.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra also supports Samsung’s S Pen (although it is sold separately), while the iPhone 12 Pro Max supports MagSafe accessories, which you can attach magnetically to the back of the phone.
Of course, they also have very different operating systems, with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra running Android 11While iPhone 12 Pro Max works iOS 14.
Price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra starts at $ 1,199 / £ 1,149 / AU $ 1,849, where you’ll get the 128GB model. It’s easy to make a direct comparison to the iPhone 12 Pro Max, as that also starts with 128GB of storage, for which you’ll pay $ 1,099 / £ 1,099 / AU $ 1,849.
So the cost of the two phones is the same in Australia, but in the US and UK, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is actually a bit cheaper, which isn’t a sentence you’ll hear often. There isn’t much in it though.
As for availability, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is of course available now, while at the time of writing, you can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, with it going on sale on January 29.
Away
IPhone 12 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra stand well with each other on paper. Both have premium designs, high power, 5G cameras, quad lenses, 512GB of storage, and similarly large screens.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra screen is marginally larger and higher in resolution, it has a longer optical zoom, larger battery, more RAM, as well as support for the S Pen. But with the iPhone 12 Pro Max, you get MagSafe support, better water resistance, and a LiDAR scanner, plus the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s startup price is slightly lower in most places.
If any of these factors are a big problem for you, they should help make your purchase decision, but you may want to wait for our full Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review before purchasing.
