Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max: All Specifications Compared

The Galaxy S26 Ultra, unveiled on Wednesday during the Samsung Unpacked event, is Samsung’s latest premium device. It starts with a lot of improvements in the quality of life. Samsung’s new flagship the phone it still has a lot in common with its predecessor, but is it up against Apple’s high end iPhone 17 Pro Max?

The Galaxy S26 Ultra costs $1,300, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $1,199. Whichever device you choose, you will find the best phones on the market. However, there are significant differences that you should consider before making a decision. Here’s how Samsung and Apple’s flagships compare.

Show and build

The Galaxy S26 Ultra has a 6.9-inch AMOLED display with a dynamic refresh rate of 120Hz and a resolution of 3,120×1,440 pixels. Just like last year Galaxy S25 Ultrait has a Corning Gorilla Armor 2 layer on top that reduces glare and glare. It keeps my favorite features of the Galaxy S25 Ultra screen and tops it off with a new Privacy Display feature that protects your on-screen content from strangers in public places.

Samsung has improved the Privacy Display at the pixel level. It placed wide-angle pixels (emitting light in all directions) and narrow pixels (emitting light straight at you) next to each other.

When you turn this feature on, the small pixels emit light at 90 degrees, which limits viewing angles. As a result, if someone sees your phone from the side, they won’t be able to read your on-screen content. Samsung allows you to select specific apps and time of day (via Routes) to automatically activate the Privacy Screen. It has two modes: Half Screen Privacy and High Privacy Protection, where the latter reduces the brightness for a more effective effect.

Watch this: First Look at the Galaxy S26 Ultra: Camera, Battery and AI updates

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Apple’s Apple 17 Pro Max does not have this feature, although there are many screen protectors that reduce the visibility of the display. The Cupertino, California-based company introduced a less transparent screen to its latest iPhones with the Ceramic Shield 2, but it doesn’t compare to Samsung’s launch. You get a 6.9-inch OLED screen with a pixel resolution of 2,868×1,320 and a variable refresh rate of 120Hz. Both Samsung and Apple phones are visible in strong light, but the low light of the Galaxy S26 Ultra should improve performance.

Both are great phones to hold. The Galaxy S26 Ultra looks the same as its predecessor, but now it’s easier to hold, thanks to its new design. At 7.9mm and 214 grams, it’s thinner and lighter than the iPhone 17 Pro Max (8.5mm and 233 grams). In comparison, the iPhone feels clumsy to hold. Both phones are IP68 rated for dust and water resistance.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra comes in Cobalt Violet, White, Black and Sky Blue colors, while Pink Gold and Silver Shadow are available online. On the other hand, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is available in Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue and Silver color options. Add-ons include the S Pen with Samsung’s phone, while Apple offers Camera Control Buttons and One-Press Actions.

Processor, storage and battery life

Samsung’s new phone uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Samsung has also redesigned the vapor-cooling chamber around its chipset to improve continuous workload performance, a feature we often hear about in gaming-oriented phones designed for heavy-duty use. In the meantime, I got to demo some new AI features that allow me to tell the phone to change settings or reserve services, which could benefit from chip improvements.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max has Apple’s latest A19 Pro chip, which is also faster than the A18 Pro chip installed in last year’s 16 Pro Max. It houses new neural accelerators designed to help it handle AI tasks more efficiently. This iPhone also comes in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB storage models.

While we Wait for Apple’s intelligent Siri to arrive this year, Samsung has updated its Bixby assistant to provide conversational and contextual information. For example, you can ask us, “My screen is causing eye strain. What can I do to reduce it?” and it will display Samsung Eye Comfort Shield settings to reduce blue light on your screen. Samsung’s Bixby assistant will work alongside Google’s Gemini, with Samsung teasing Gemini’s upcoming ability to book Uber rides (the AI ​​won’t pay automatically). The Samsung keyboard will also display contextual actions based on what you’re doing, among other features that depend on Bixby or Gemini.

The S25 Ultra has a 5,000-mAh battery that charges at 60 watts. The iPhone 17 Pro Max has a 5,088-mAh battery and, while Apple doesn’t publish its exact charging speed, it recharges from 0% to 69% when using a 40-watt charging adapter. The iPhone 17 Pro Max has also topped the charts recently battery testwhich compared 35 phones we tested in 2025.

Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has a quad camera setup, very similar to its predecessor. You get a 200-megapixel f/1.4 (up from f/1.7) main camera, a 50-megapixel f/2.9 (up from f/3.4) 5x telephoto sensor, another 10-megapixel 3x f/2.4 telephoto sensor and a 50-megapixel f/1.9 ultrawide lens. On the front is a 12-megapixel selfie camera with a wide 85-degree field of view. Samsung says the large dual-camera aperture allowed it to improve nighttime photos and videos, but we’ll need to test it again to form an opinion.

As for the Apple device, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has three 48-megapixel cameras, including a standard lens, an ultrawide-angle sensor and a 4x telephoto camera capable of shooting stable videos at 8x zoom.

The biggest improvement is at the front, near Dynamic Island. Apple has added a square front camera to its latest iPhones, and it’s been a game changer, at least for me. Samsung says its “AI ISP” is improving the selfie camera on its Galaxy S26 Ultra, but it will be hard to match the quality of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which can automatically change the frame (between vertical and horizontal) without requiring you to change the orientation of your phone.

Check out the chart below for a more detailed comparison between the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max: Details