The $ 1,199 Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra may be cheaper than its predecessor, but it also costs $ 100 more than one of the best phones that money can buy on the iPhone 12 Pro Max. So what do you get out of this premium? Quite a lot, actually.
In fact, Samsung’s top-of-the-line phone surpasses Apple’s flagship in several ways, offering features that the iPhone simply cannot match, from its dual zoom cameras to the optional S Pen support. Samsung definitely improved its game for this year after a lackluster effort with last year’s Galaxy S20 Ultra.
Obviously, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is superior in some ways, especially in performance and more durable design. And there are many people who simply prefer iOS. But you shouldn’t ignore Samsung’s high-end phone. Here are seven ways the Galaxy S21 Ultra beats the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
A better display
The screen of the Galaxy S21 Ultra beats the iPhone 12 Pro Max in some important ways. First, you get a faster refresh rate that rises 120 Hz, while the iPhone gets stuck at 60 Hz. This provides smooth scrolling, as well as better performance in games and movies that support 120Hz.
In addition, the S21 Ultra’s panel is clearer, as it recorded 821 nits, compared to 654 nits on the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Much more powerful zoom
While the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a measly 2.5x optical zoom, the Galaxy S21 Ultra comes with two telephoto lenses – one 3x and the other 10x. As a result, you can get much closer to distant subjects with the Samsung phone.
Space Zoom is so good that it shouldn’t fall into the wrong hands. # GalaxyS21Ultra pic.twitter.com/ONJPWtdUZYJanuary 15, 2021
With digital zoom, the Galaxy S21 Ultra can go up to 100x with the Space Zoom feature, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max peaks at 12x. Based on my tests, you can get really good results on Samsung up to 30x. And a decent photo is possible at higher levels thanks to the new Zoom Lock feature.
Longer battery life
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra takes full advantage of its 5,000 mAh battery, which lasted 11 hours and 25 minutes in our web browsing battery test above 5G. This means 150 nits of screen brightness with the 60 Hz display mode enabled. The runtime above puts the Galaxy S21 Ultra on our list of best phone battery runtimes.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max resisted 10:53 in the same test. Granted, Samsung dropped to 10:07 with its adaptive display mode (120 Hz), but in general you should expect more time disconnected with the S21 Ultra.
5G faster
We plan to conduct more tests side by side, but based on what I’ve seen so far, the Galaxy S20 Ultra offers 5G faster speeds than the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
I started using AT&T, and the S21 Ultra had an average download rate of 84 Mbps, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max didn’t even reach 37 Mbps. In a different location on the T-Mobile network, the iPhone 12 Pro Max reached 93 Mbps, while the Note 21 Ultra exceeded 160 Mbps.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra has a newer, more powerful Qualcomm X60 modem, so that could be the difference.
Integrated fingerprint sensor
Although Face ID works great on the iPhone 12 Pro Max, it is useless in the audience when you need to wear a mask. And I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra has a fingerprint sensor on the screen that is 1.7x larger than the S20 Ultra, which facilitates login. It is fast and proved to be accurate in my tests. It is rumored that the iPhone 13 offers a Touch ID sensor on the screen, but the iPhone 12 Pro Max is only with facial identification.
Cameras are more fun
Samsung has a knack for including many features in their phones, but there are some welcome additions to the S21 Ultra that I think many people will appreciate.
The first is the Director’s Vision, which allows you to use the front and rear cameras at the same time to record video. I also like the camera to show a live thumbnail of all the different lens views so you can see if it’s worth changing.
The updated Single Take 2.0 records a lot of photos and videos at once, and takes advantage of AI to highlight the most worthy moments to share. The new version does things like creating a slow motion video from your photos.
S Pen Support
S Pen support on the Galaxy S21 Ultra is another bonus – especially since the pen itself is not included with the phone the way it is with the Galaxy Note 20. But it’s good to know that you can jump to an optional pen if you really want.
AS Pen allows you to take notes on the screen, draw and make more precise edits to photos. AS Pen costs $ 39 or you can get a box and a pen combination for $ 69.