The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the largest, most expensive entry in the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, and of course it competes directly with the iPhone 12 Pro Max – Apple’s largest and most expensive phone.
These are both large, ultra-high-end devices, and both have a lot of what you’d expect, including top-level power and near-endless features. But while it may have a lot in common, the details of what they offer can also vary in many ways.
So if you want to decide between the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, this article should help because it fully compares the two phones.
Design
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a slightly curved glass back with a very large camera block in the upper left corner, from the front is a design on the entire screen, with curved edges and a single-lens punch hole camera in the middle center.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max on the other hand is much flatter – both on the front and back, but it also has a glass back and is light at the edge, although it is more like a cut-out on the screen for the selfie camera. has a substantial notch at the top. However, the rear camera block is smaller than the Galaxy S21 Ultra, and it’s square, where Samsung’s more rectangular.
However, the iPhone 12 Pro Max itself is similar to the S21 Ultra and comes in at 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. Samsung’s phone is therefore a bit longer and thicker, but slightly narrower. However, the two phones weigh exactly the same amount, at 228g each.
Both devices also have an IP68 certification, which means they are dust and water resistant. In the case of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, however, the water resistance extends to 30 minutes to 6 meters depth, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is only tested for 30 minutes depth.
In terms of 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 shades.
Screen
The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is 6.8 inches in size. It is a curved OLED screen with a resolution of 1440 x 3200 and a refresh rate of 120Hz. Unlike previous Samsung flagships, you can also run it with full resolution and the highest refresh rate at the same time.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max also has a large screen, which is actually the largest Apple has ever placed on a phone, but it’s slightly smaller at 6.7 inches.
It also uses OLED, but it is a flat screen and it comes in at 1284 x 2778. In terms of pixel density, you are looking at 515 pixels per inch on the Galaxy S21 Ultra and 458 on the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Although we have not yet fully tested the S21 Ultra screen, Samsung’s flagships usually count the best smartphone screens of their release year, but also Apple’s phones, and in our review we found the iPhone 12 Pro Max a wonderful, bright screen with excellent color reproduction.
Camera
There is a four-lens camera on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, with a 108MP f / 1.8 main sensor, a 12MP f / 2.2 ultra-wide, a 10MP f / 2.4 telephoto (with 3x optical zoom) and ‘ a second 10MP telephoto one, this time with an nf / 4.9 aperture and support for 10x optical zoom.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max also has a four-lens camera, but the specifications are completely different. There’s a 12MP f / 1.6 headphone jack, a 12MP f / 2.4 ultra-wide, a 12MP f / 2.2 telephoto (with 2.5x optical zoom) and a LiDAR scanner to assess the depth and distances – which especially handy for augmented reality.
Meanwhile, 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 on Apple’s camera seem less impressive, we were definitely impressed with our review, noting that the camera is ‘powerful’ and even performs well at night. It remains to be seen how the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s camera will perform at the moment, but we expect good things.
Battery life
There is a huge 5,000 mAh battery in the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which dwarfs the 3,687 mAh in the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
We do not know how long the S21 Ultras will still last, but in our tests we found that the iPhone 12 Pro Max lasted comfortably over a day, but probably would not last up to two. With its slightly sharper and larger screen, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra can eat faster through the battery, but then it also has much more available.
Both phones support fast charging and wireless charging, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra also supports Wireless PowerShare, which allows you to charge other devices wirelessly.
Specifications and features
Both of these phones are very powerful, as you would expect, although the exact specifications differ. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a Snapdragon 888 chipset (if you are in the United States) or an Exynos 2100 (in most other regions), while the iPhone 12 Pro Max has an A14 Bionic. However, all three are the best in their series.
However, one thing the Galaxy S21 Ultra has a lot more is RAM, with 12 GB 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, regardless of the model you buy (128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB). That said, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is a very fast phone, so we will not read too much into it.
One feature that both of these phones have is 5G, so you will be ready to take advantage of the new generation mobile connection, but many of their other features differ.
For starters, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a fingerprint scanner on the screen, the iPhone 12 Pro Max would rather go on Face ID.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra also supports Samsung’s S Pen stylus (though 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 many different operating systems, with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra running Android 11, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max runs iOS 14.
Price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra starts at $ 1,199 / £ 1,149 / AU $ 1,849, for which you get a 128 GB model. It’s easy to make a direct comparison with the iPhone 12 Pro Max, as it also starts with 128 GB of storage, for which you pay $ 1,099 / £ 1,099 / AU $ 1,849.
So the two phones cost the same amount in Australia, but in the US and UK, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is slightly cheaper, which is not a sentence you will hear very often. However, there is not much in it.
In terms of availability, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is of course now available, while at the time of writing you can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, and that it will be on sale on January 29th.
Take away
The iPhone 12 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra stand out really well on paper. Both have premium builds, top-end power, 5G, four-lens cameras, up to 512 GB of storage and similar large screens.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra screen has a slightly larger and higher resolution, it has a long distance optical zoom, a larger battery and more RAM, plus support for the S Pen stylus. But with the iPhone 12 Pro Max, you get MagSafe support, better water resistance and a LiDAR scanner, plus in most places the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a slightly lower starting price.
If one of these factors is a major issue for you, it may help to make a purchasing decision, but you may want to wait for our full Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review before purchasing it.