iPhone 18 Pro Max and Galaxy S26 Ultra comparison comes down to ecosystem
Engadget finds closely matched flagship hardware, with Samsung offering a lighter design, S Pen and longer-range zoom while Apple targets users invested in its ecosystem.
Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro Max and Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra offer similarly positioned flagship hardware, but Engadget’s comparison finds the choice is largely driven by software preference and features. Both are reported to start at US$1,299 for 256GB, although that pricing may not apply in Australia.
Each phone has a 6.9-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The Galaxy is lighter and thinner at 214 grams and 7.9mm, compared with 249 grams and 8.75mm for the iPhone. Apple’s display is reportedly brighter, reaching 3,000 nits against 2,600 nits for Samsung’s screen.
The camera systems take different approaches. The iPhone has three 48-megapixel cameras and introduces a mechanically variable-aperture main camera. The Galaxy pairs a 200-megapixel main sensor with two telephoto lenses offering 3x and 5x zoom, compared with the iPhone’s single 4x telephoto lens. Apple supports 4K video at up to 120 frames per second, HDR and Dolby Vision, while Samsung offers 8K recording.
Both phones reportedly have battery capacities of about 5,000mAh and can reach 50 per cent charge in roughly 15 minutes with a 60W charger. Samsung’s handset uses a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip and comes with 12GB or 16GB of RAM. The iPhone uses Apple’s A20 Pro chip and 12GB of RAM, though Engadget says its performance and efficiency require real-world testing.
The Galaxy also adds an in-screen fingerprint reader, Android and an S Pen, while the iPhone uses Face ID and remains closely integrated with products such as AirPods and Apple Watch. Engadget’s assessment is that neither device is an outright winner: the decision depends on the preferred ecosystem and whether features such as Samsung’s zoom system or stylus are priorities.
