Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The iPhone 12 Pro Max and the Galaxy S21 Ultra have arrived, representing the crown jewels in Apple and Samsung’s respective flagship strains. Each machine is stacked with the top-of-the-line options reserved for smartphone royalty: blazing-fast processors, crystalline shows, versatile cameras and long-lasting batteries. As anticipated, neither comes low-cost. The iPhone 12 Pro Max will set you again $1,099 (£1,329, AU$1,849) and the Galaxy S21 Ultra is $1,200 (£1,099, AU$1,849). You will not discover a bundled charger inside both field.
Cut by way of the chatter
Subscribe to CNET’s Mobile publication for the most recent telephone information and evaluations.
It’s clear each Apple and Samsung have outdone themselves, however the telephone that is greatest for you’ll rely in your particular person needs and wishes. Let’s discuss by way of the foremost options and evaluate the important thing specs.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Galaxy S21 Ultra has superior zoom; iPhone 12 Pro Max captures extra true-to-life imagesBoth the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Galaxy S21 Ultra take among the greatest cell pictures that cash can purchase. Each boast wonderful cameras able to capturing sweeping landscapes, detailed faraway topics and impossibly crisp pictures, even on darkish nights. But the S21 Ultra produced superior zoomed-in pictures, whereas the iPhone captured essentially the most practical pictures, in accordance with CNET’s Andrew Hoyle, a professional photographer who carried out a complete shootout with each telephones (watch his video under). When it got here to nighttime mode, his assessments indicated no clear winner.Keep in thoughts, the iPhone 12’s Pro fashions even have lidar, a depth sensor that is helpful for auto-focusing in low mild for taking pictures, movies and slow-motion footage, amongst different issues.
Now enjoying:
Watch this:
Galaxy S21 Ultra’s digital camera goes head-to-head with iPhone…
5:12
Camera counts in contrastThe iPhone 12 Pro Max has three rear cameras consisting of a typical, ultra-wide and telephoto, whereas the S21 Ultra has an additional telephoto lens making a complete of 4 rear cameras. On the entrance, the S21 Ultra has a higher-res digital camera than the 12 Pro Max. For specifics, scroll all the way down to our chat under. The Galaxy S21 Ultra (seen in black) contains a quad rear digital camera module.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Long-lasting battery life Apple would not disclose battery measurement for its iPhones, and caught to the identical method for the iPhone 12 Pro Max. But CNET’s Patrick Holland, who reviewed the machine, calls the 12 Pro Max’s battery its “sleeper feature.” According to his assessments, the battery made it by way of a day and a half with no downside. More particularly, when Patrick performed a looped video on airplane mode, the iPhone 12 Pro Max lasted 19 hours, 52 minutes, shut sufficient to the 20 hours of efficiency for this take a look at that Apple has marketed. Meanwhile, a 5,000-mAh battery provides the S21 Ultra with juice. We have not had an opportunity to place it by way of the video loop take a look at, however anecdotally it additionally lasted Patrick a day and half.
Galaxy S21 Ultra has a higher-resolution displayAlthough each telephones characteristic premium OLED panels which are splendidly crisp, the S21 Ultra has the sting by way of decision and refresh price. The S21 Ultra has a large quad-HD-plus decision (3,200×1,440 pixels) and a 120 Hz show. The iPhone 12 Pro Max’s display is 2,778×1,284 pixels and has a 60Hz refresh price, matching the iPhone 11 show. The S21 Ultra additionally has a variable refresh price between 10 and 120Hz, which is set by what’s on the display. The variety of hertz a telephone display is ready to show refers to its variety of frames per second, which determines how briskly and clean the display feels whenever you’re scrolling by way of apps and net pages. It additionally impacts how clean supported video games really feel.
iPhone 12 Pro Max has MagSafe; S21 Ultra has stylus assistApple and Samsung each have distinctive add-on equipment that, if used, can change your day-to-day expertise with the gadgets. The S21, for instance, helps Samsung’s S Pen stylus, which blurs the road between the S collection and the extra professional Note collection. It’s nice for issues like note-taking, drawing and signing paperwork. The iPhone 12 Pro Max, together with its three siblings, have MagSafe, Apple’s proprietary magnetically enabled system that allows you to cost your iPhone wirelessly and fasten MagSafe equipment to the again of the machine.For a spec-by-spec comparability of the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, check out the specs sheet under. iPhone 12 Pro Max vs. Galaxy S21 Ultra specs
Galaxy S21 Ultra
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Display measurement, decision
6.8-inch WQHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 3,200×1,440 pixels
6.7-inch OLED; 2,778×1,284 pixels
Pixel density
515 ppi
458ppi
Dimensions (Inches)
2.97×6.5×0.35 inches
6.33×3.07×0.29 inches
Dimensions (Millimeters)
75.6×165.1×8.9 mm
160.8×78.1×7.4 mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams)
8.07 oz; 229 grams
8.03 oz; 228 grams
Mobile software program
Android 11
iOS 14
Camera
108-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto), 10-megapixel (10x telephoto)
12-megapixel (large), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (telephoto)
Front-facing digital camera
40-megapixel
12-megapixel
Video seize
8K
4K
Processor
Snapdragon 888 64-bit octa-core processor 2.8GHz (max 2.4GHz+1.8GHz)
Apple A14 Bionic
Storage
128GB, 256GB, 512GB
128GB, 256GB, 512GB
RAM
12GB, 16GB
Undisclosed
Expandable storage
None
No
Battery
5,000 mAh
Undisclosed
Fingerprint sensor
In-screen
No (Face ID)
Headphone jack
No
Lightning
Special options
IP68 score, 5G-enabled, 100x Space Zoom, 10W wi-fi charging, 10x optical zoom
Lidar scanner; 5G enabled; MagSafe; waterproof (IP68); wi-fi charging; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM)
Price off-contract (USD)
$1,200 (128GB)
$1,099 (128GB), $1,199 (256GB), $1,399 (512GB)
Price (GBP)
£1,329
£1,099 (128GB), £1,199 (256GB), £1,399 (512GB)
Price (AUD)
AU$1,849
AU$1,849 (128GB), AU$2,019 (256GB), AU$2,369 (512GB)