Versus Engine
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Specs, price and the one trade-off that actually decides it — iPhone 17 Pro Max against Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, side by side.
Cheaper to start
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Starts about $100 lower.
Rated higher
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
9.5 vs 9.4 on our design scale.
Standout
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Best-in-class video capture, including ProRes
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Apple's flagship at $1,199 — the best video capture on a phone, inside a deliberately closed system.
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- Best-in-class video capture, including ProRes
- On-device Apple Intelligence with no cloud round trip
- Industry-leading sustained performance and battery life
Cons
- Most new features deepen ecosystem lock-in rather than standing alone
- Slow adoption of open formats
- Heavy and expensive, with iterative external design
Specifications
- key_features6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED, A19 Pro chip, 48MP Triple Camera system, 12GB RAM
- cpu—
- stylus—
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Samsung's ultimate flagship with extreme zoom capabilities and S-Pen powered AI tools.
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- Incredible display
- S-Pen utility
Cons
- Heavy and bulky
Specifications
- key_features—
- cpuSnapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6
- stylusS-Pen