Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
62
out of 100
VS
88
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is powered by Apple A18 Pro and came out 3 years and 8 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
- The rear camera has a 10x optical zoom
- Fingerprint scanner
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- 12% higher pixel density (515 vs 460 PPI)
- CPU with a higher amount of cores (+2)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
- Shows 59% longer battery life (35:01 vs 22:05 hours)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- 63% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1750K versus 1074K)
- Delivers 77% higher peak brightness (1790 against 1013 nits)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
- The phone is 3 years and 8 months newer
- More energy-efficient CPU – Apple A18 Pro
- 2.4x faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 3507 and 1486 points
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate DeviceFacts Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.8 inches | 6.9 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3200 pixels | 1320 x 2868 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 515 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (10-120 Hz) | Yes (1-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 1500 nits | 2000 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 1600 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | - |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 89.5% | 92.3% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | - | 99.6% |
| PWM | - | 240 Hz |
| Response time | - | 1 ms |
| Contrast | - | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 165.1 mm (6.5 inches) | 163 mm (6.42 inches) |
| Width | 75.6 mm (2.98 inches) | 77.6 mm (3.06 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 8.25 mm (0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 227 g (8.01 oz) | 227 g (8.01 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Silver, Gray, Blue | White, Black, Silver, Gold |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
| Repairability | - | Average (2.83/5) |
| Drop resistance | - | Good (C) · 90 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 2100 | Apple A18 Pro |
| Max clock | 2900 MHz | 4040 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
- 4 cores at 2.42 GHz: Sawtooth - 2 cores at 4.05 GHz: Everest |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 3 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Neural Engine |
| Graphics | Mali-G78 MP14 | 6 core Apple GPU |
| GPU shading units | 448 | 640 |
| GPU clock | 854 MHz | 1490 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~765.2 GFLOPS | ~2289 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 6870 | 33340 |
| Single-core score | 1486 | 3507 |
| Multi-core score | 3800 | 8789 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 420330 | 508577 |
| GPU | 186151 | 540541 |
| Memory | 193925 | 191233 |
| UX | 273776 | 509980 |
| Total score | 1074182 | 1750331 |
| Samples | [11 tests] | [4 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | - | 74% |
| Graphics test | - | 13 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 1718 |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Graphics test | - | 28 FPS |
| Section 1 | - | 34 FPS |
| Section 2 | - | 29 FPS |
| Section 3 | - | 21 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 7448 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-10-06 (Nurik) | AnTuTu 12 | 900228 |
| 📘 2026-09-30 -> fh_hxx19 | AnTuTu 12 | 1191592 |
| 📘 2026-09-30 -> fh_hxx19 | AnTuTu 12 | 1191592 |
| 📘 2026-07-22 (Squizzyyy) | AnTuTu 11 | 857016 |
| 📘 2026-06-02 (My name) | AnTuTu 11 | 1271841 |
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-23 -> Rappzzzz | AnTuTu 11 | 2043169 |
| 📘 2026-09-20 (thuanday) | AnTuTu 11 | 2043169 |
| 📘 2026-09-17 (Jonibek) | AnTuTu 11 | 1692383 |
| 📘 2026-07-21 (l1tsemerr) | AnTuTu 11 | 1650968 |
| 📘 2026-04-27 -> hoduyhaodzso1tg | Battery life | SOT 12:58 / – |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5X |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 15) | iOS 18 (Can be upgraded to iOS 27) |
| ROM | One UI 7.0 | - |
| OS size | 26.4 GB | 18 GB |
| OS updates | 2 years | 7 years |
| Security updates | 4 years | 7 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 4685 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 30 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | Yes |
| Bypass charging | - | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (54% in 30 min) | Yes (46% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:11 hr | 1:57 hr |
| Battery cycles | - | 1000 cycles |
| Web browsing | 07:58 hr | 14:34 hr |
| Watching video | 13:59 hr | 22:01 hr |
| Gaming | 05:14 hr | 07:12 hr |
| Standby | 111 hr | 163 hr |
General battery life
Smartphones With Long Battery Life (#14th place)
Main camera
| Matrix | 108 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 12000 x 9000 | 8064 x 6048 |
| Zoom | Optical, 10x | Optical, 5x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 24FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 120FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 120FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 108 MP 2) Telephoto: 10 MP 3) Telephoto: 10 MP 4) Ultrawide: 12 MP |
1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Telephoto: 12 MP 3) Ultrawide: 48 MP 4) Depth |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 108 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 24 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KHM3 | Sony IMX803 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.33" (≈ 0.75 inch) | 1/1.28" (≈ 0.78 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 1.22 micron |
| Autofocus | Laser autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 10 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/4.9 | f/2.8 |
| Focal length | 240 mm | 120 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5K3J1 | Sony IMX913 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.65" (≈ 0.38 inch) | 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.22 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | 13 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX563 | Sony IMX972 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.4 micron | 0.7 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 70 | 160 |
| Preview | 67 | 93 |
| Zoom | 106 | 130 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 40 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 7864 x 5200 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/1.9 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 23 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KGH1 | Sony IMX714 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.65" (≈ 0.38 inch) | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Optical |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | Yes |
DxOMark front camera
| Photo | 133 | 149 |
| Video | 140 | 155 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.2 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | - | Yes |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | - |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | eSIM |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 24 | - |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | January 2021 | September 2024 |
| Release date | February 2021 | September 2024 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1200 | $1199 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | - Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max |
| SAR (head) | 0.71 W/kg | 1.22 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.58 W/kg | 1.45 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
| Bundled charger | - | Not included |
Further details
Notes on iPhone 16 Pro Max:
- The US version of the smartphone exclusively supports eSIM, while the international model features both a physical SIM slot and eSIM capability. In China, the device is available with dual physical SIM card slots only.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 23