The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the largest and most expensive product in the Samsung Galaxy S21 line, so of course it is competing directly with the iPhone 12 Pro Max – Apple’s largest and most expensive phone.
Both are large, ultra-modern devices and come with much of what you would expect, including world-class power and almost infinite features. But while they have a lot in common, the specifics of what they offer also vary in several ways.
So, if you’re trying to decide between the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, this article should help, as it compares the two phones in full.
Project
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a slightly curved glass back with a very large camera block in the upper left corner, in the front there is a full-screen design with curved edges and a perforated single-lens camera in the upper center.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max, on the other hand, is much more flat – both in the front and back, but it also has a glass back and is light in the frame, although instead of a cutout on the screen for the selfie camera, it has a considerable notch at the top. Its rear camera block is smaller than the Galaxy S21 Ultra, and is square, while Samsung’s is more rectangular.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max itself is a size similar to the S21 Ultra, reaching 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.4 mm, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm. So the Samsung phone is a little taller and thicker, but a little bit narrower. Both phones weigh exactly the same amount, however, at 228g each.
Both devices are also IP68 certified, which means they are resistant to dust and water. In the case of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the water resistance extends to depths of 6 meters for 30 minutes, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is tested only at depths of 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.
As for colors, you can get the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra in Phantom Black and Phantom Silver, while iPhone 12 Pro Max is available in Graphite, Silver, Gold and Pacific Blue.
Screen
The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is huge, at 6.8 inches. It is a curved OLED screen with 1440 x 3200 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Unlike previous Samsung flagships, you can also run it at full resolution and at the highest refresh rate simultaneously.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max also has a large screen, in fact it is the largest that Apple has ever put on a phone, but it is slightly smaller, at 6.7 inches.
It also uses OLED, but it’s a flat panel and comes in 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’s screen yet, Samsung’s flagships typically have among the best smartphone screens of their launch year, but Apple phones too, and in our review we found that the iPhone 12 Pro Max it had a great and bright screen with excellent color reproduction.
Camera
There is a quad-lens camera on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, with a main sensor 108MP f / 1.8, a 12MP f / 2.2 ultra-wide, a 10MP f / 2.4 telephoto (with 3x optical zoom capability) and a second Telephoto one of 10MP, this time with f / 4.9 aperture and support for 10x optical zoom.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max also has a quad-lens camera, but the specifications are quite different. There is a 12MP f / 1.6 main snapper, a 12MP f / 2.4 ultra-wide, a 12MP f / 2.2 telephoto (with 2.5x optical zoom) and a LiDAR scanner to judge depths and distances – which is particularly useful for devices augmented reality.
At 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 Apple’s camera, we were certainly impressed in our analysis, noting that the camera is “powerful” and performs well even at night. It remains to be seen how the Galaxy S21 Ultra camera will behave at the time of this writing, but we are expecting good things.
Battery life
There is a huge 5,000 mAh battery in the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which surpasses the 3,687 mAh battery in 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 more than a day comfortably, but it was unlikely to reach two. With its slightly sharper and larger screen, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra can consume battery faster, but it also has much more available.
Both phones support fast charging and wireless charging, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra also supports PowerShare Wireless – which allows you to use it to charge other wireless gadgets.
Specifications and features
Both phones are very powerful, as you would expect, although the exact specifications are different. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a Snapdragon 888 chipset (if you are in the USA) or an Exynos 2100 (in most other regions), while the iPhone 12 Pro Max has an A14 Bionic. All three, however, are the top of their range.
One thing that the Galaxy S21 Ultra has much more is RAM, with 12 GB included in the 128 GB and 256 GB models, while the 512 GB model has 16 GB of RAM. The iPhone 12 Pro Max, on the other hand, has only 6 GB of RAM, whichever model you buy (128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB). That said, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is a very fast phone, so we wouldn’t give it much importance.
One feature that these two phones have is 5G, so you’ll be ready to take advantage of the new generation of mobile connectivity, but many of its other features are different.
On the one hand, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a fingerprint reader on the screen, the iPhone 12 Pro Max goes all in 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 magnetically attach to the back of the phone.
Of course, they also have very different operating systems, with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra running Android 11, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max runs iOS 14.
Pricing and availability
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra starts at $ 1,199 / £ 1,149 / AU $ 1,849, for which you will receive a 128 GB model. It is easy to make a direct comparison with the iPhone 12 Pro Max, as it also starts with 128 GB of storage, for which you will pay $ 1,099 / £ 1,099 / AU $ 1,849.
So both phones cost the same amount in Australia, but in the US and the UK the iPhone 12 Pro Max is actually a little bit cheaper, which is not a phrase you hear often. There is not much in this.
As for availability, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is now available, but at the time of writing, you can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which will go on sale on January 29th.
Take away
The iPhone 12 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra really stand out on paper. Both have premium mounts, cutting edge power, 5G, quad-lens cameras, up to 512 GB of storage and equally large screens.
The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is slightly larger and has a higher resolution, has a wider optical zoom, a larger battery and more RAM, as well as support for the S Pen. But with iPhone 12 Pro Max you get MagSafe support, better water resistance and a LiDAR scanner, and in most places the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a slightly lower starting price.
If any of these factors are important to you, this should help with your purchase decision, but you may want to wait for our full Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra test before purchasing.