The $ 1,199 Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is cheaper than its predecessor, but it is also $ 100 more than one of the best phones that can buy money in the iPhone 12 Pro Max. What do you get for that premium then? Quite a bit, actually.
In fact, Samsung’s flagship phone beats Apple’s flagship in a variety of ways and offers features that the iPhone simply can’t match, from its dual zoom cameras to its optional S Pen support. Samsung has definitely increased its gameplay for this year after a feeble attempt with the Galaxy S20 Ultra from last year.
Of course, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is better in some ways, especially performance and its more durable design. And there are many people who prefer iOS only. However, you should not overlook Samsung’s top-end phone. Here are seven ways the Galaxy S21 Ultra beats the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
A better performance
The Galaxy S21 Ultra screen beats the iPhone 12 Pro Max in a few key ways. First, you get a faster refresh rate that increases by 120Hz while the iPhone is stuck at 60Hz. It ensures smooth scrolling, as well as better performance in games and movies that support 120Hz.
In addition, the S21 Ultra panel is brighter as it has 821 neatly registered, compared to 654 neat for the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Much more powerful zoom
While the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a meager 2.5x optical zoom, the Galaxy S21 Ultra includes two telephoto lenses – one 3x and the other 10x. As a result, with Samsung’s phone you can get much closer to distant topics.
The Space Zoom is so good that it should not fall into the wrong hands. # GalaxyS21Ultra pic.twitter.com/ONJPWtdUZY15 January 2021
With digital zoom, the Galaxy S21 Ultra can go up to 100x with its Space Zoom feature, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max is 12x maximum. Based on my testing, you can get very good results on the Samsung up to 30x. And decent recording is possible at higher levels thanks to the new Zoom Lock feature.
Longer battery life
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra makes full use of its 5,000 mAh battery as it lasted 11 hours and 25 minutes during our 5G internet browsing test. It is at 150 nits of screen brightness while the 60Hz screen mode is on. The above runtime places the Galaxy S21 Ultra on our best battery life list.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max endured 10:53 on the same test. Granted, the Samsung dropped to 10:07 with its customizable display mode on (120Hz), but overall you should expect more timeless with the S21 Ultra.
Faster 5G
We plan to do more tests side by side, but based on what I’ve seen so far, the Galaxy S20 Ultra offers faster 5G speeds than the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
I started using AT&T, and the S21 Ultra averaged 84 Mbps, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max did not even break 37 Mbps. Elsewhere in the T-Mobile network, the iPhone 12 Pro Max reached 93 Mbps, while the Note 21 Ultra exceeded 160 Mbps.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra does have a newer and more powerful X60 Qualcomm modem, so that may be the difference.
Fingerprint sensor built-in
While Face ID works very well on the iPhone 12 Pro Max, it is useless in shame if you have to wear a mask. And I do not see it going to stop anytime soon.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra has a fingerprint sensor on the screen that is 1.7x larger than the S20 Ultra, making it easier to log in. It is fast and proved accurate during my testing. Allegedly, the iPhone 13 offers an on-screen Touch ID sensor, but the iPhone 12 Pro Max is Face ID only.
The cameras are nicer
Samsung has the ability to pack too many features into its phones, but there are some welcome additions to the S21 Ultra that I think many people will appreciate.
The first is Director’s View, which allows you to use the front and rear cameras to record videos at the same time. I also like that the camera shows a live thumbnail of all the different lens views so you can see if it’s worth switching.
The updated Single Take 2.0 captures a bunch of photos and videos simultaneously and uses AI to highlight the most valuable moments. The new version does things like create a slow motion video from your shots.
S Pen support
The S Pen support on the Galaxy S21 Ultra is more of a bonus – especially since the pen itself is not included with the phone as it is with the Galaxy Note 20. But it’s nice to know that you can act for a optional stylus if you really want it.
With the S Pen you can take notes on the screen, draw and make finer edits to photos. The S Pen costs $ 39 or you can grab a suitcase and pen combination for $ 69.