This iPhone 13 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra face-off is all about finding out which premium flagship phone reigns supreme. And based on our testing, it’s not easy to pick a winner. The iPhone 13 Pro Max delivers improved cameras, a bigger battery, and a brighter display with a 120Hz refresh rate. That latter feature is already included with the Galaxy S21 Ultra, though, with Samsung’s phablet boasting impressive cameras and performance of its own. Plus, the S21 Ultra offers S-Pen support. The Galaxy S21 Ultra remains a very relevant phone even in 2023 with its gorgeous AMOLED screen, powerful processor, and long-range zoom camera, but how does it compare against Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro Max? In this article, we compare these two popular flagships and explore all their differences. Which phone has a longer battery life? And what about the camera quality? We look at that, but we also compare the performance and the general experience of using them.
Display and Design
These two look and feel distinctly different. Both are big phones, but the iPhone is bulkier and weighs more. While the Galaxy has a slightly tapered screen, the iPhone uses a completely flat display and has larger borders around it. The Galaxy also has curved sides, which make it a bit easier to hold, while the iPhone has flat, shiny sides that make it feel bigger than it is. The 13 Pro Max weighs 240g, which is more than the S21 Ultra’s 229 g. Neither phone has a headphone jack, which is hardly a surprise, and the iPhone uses a Lightning port for charging while the Galaxy goes with the industry standard USB-C. When it comes to the screen, you get a 6.7-inch OLED panel with a resolution of 1284 x 2778 pixels on the iPhone, while the Galaxy has a slightly bigger 6.8-inch screen, which also supports a slightly higher 1440p resolution. The screen on the iPhone is just a tad bit wider; it uses a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, while the Galaxy has a narrower screen with a 20:9 aspect ratio. In terms of pure display quality and colors, Samsung has been the leader in the past few years, and the iPhone actually uses a Samsung-made OLED display panel.
Cameras
The iPhone 13 Pro Max might be a big upgrade when it comes to battery capacity and other features, but it cannot quite match the camera versatility of the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Both phones have main and ultra-wide cameras, but while the iPhone only has a single zoom lens at 3X zoom, the Galaxy comes with two zoom lenses, one at 3X zoom and another one at 10X zoom, giving it far more range when zooming.
Here is how these cameras differ in specs:
- Wide camera: 12 12MP on iPhone vs 108MP on Galaxy, 26mm vs 24mm focal length, f/1.5 aperture on iPhone vs f/1.8 on Galaxy
- Ultra-wide camera: 12 12MP on both, 13mm on both, f/1.8 aperture on iPhone vs f/2.4 on Galaxy
- Telephoto camera: 3X zoom on both
- Long-range zoom — 10X periscope camera, *only on Galaxy S21 Ultra
Apple has these brand new sensors and lenses in the iPhone 13 Pro Max, and as you can see, you get a much wider aperture for the main and ultra-wide cameras that help them gather a lot more light and be much more capable at night. In terms of camera features, Apple is adding Photographic Styles, which are filters on steroids that allow you to create a custom look and use it across all your photos, or just once, compared to the standard features that you can use on the Galaxy. You can notice that the Galaxy captures the slightly wider photo with the main camera, and it also usually tends to have these slightly more cheerful colors and a brighter exposure, but that kind of depends on the scene. The iPhone also goes for this more contrasty look with deeper shadows. While both are quite similar at 3X zoom, the Galaxy crushes it with long-range zoom, especially with that 10X periscope lens. In low light, both phones do a very good job, but the Galaxy now has these more muted colors, while the iPhone seems to add an extra bit of saturation to make the image pop more. What Samsung lacks, though, is night mode for the ultrawide camera, while the iPhone captures a lot more light and a much cleaner photo with the ultra-wide snapper.
Audio and Loudspeaker Quality
The Galaxy disappoints with low-quality loudspeakers with no headphone jack on either phone. Apple and Samsung are gently nudging customers towards wireless headphones (or you can use clunky adapters if you really insist on using your old pair of headphones). Both phones feature dual speaker systems with one bottom-firing “main” speaker and a secondary speaker located in the earpiece at the top. But despite this technical similarity, the actual quality of the sound coming from those loudspeakers is vastly different. The Galaxy S21 Ultra in particular is a disappointment, as while it does get loud, its sound feels poorly balanced as it lacks depth. The iPhone has a boomier sound profile with far more definition in the lows (as much as that is possible on a phone), while still maintaining good mids and highs. If you happen to value sound quality, the iPhone is the better option.
Performance comparison
Apple has the lead in performance in the smartphone space, and the new Apple A15 Bionic chip in the iPhone 13 Pro Max is once again the fastest in the industry. The Galaxy comes equipped with the top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip for the US model, while international S21 Ultra models come with a very slightly slower Samsung-made Exynos 2100 processor. While the iPhone has the advantage in processing speeds, the Galaxy comes with 12GB of RAM compared to just 6GB of RAM on the iPhone, which helps keep more apps open in the background and is good for multitasking. Below, you can find A15 benchmarks and how they compare against the Exynos 2100 version of the S21 Ultra.
iPhone 13 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: Specs
Row 0: Cell 0 | iPhone 13 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra |
Starting price | $1,099 | $1,199 |
Screen size | 6.7 inches (2778 x 1284) | 6.9 inches (3200 x 1400) |
Refresh rate | 10Hz–120Hz | 10 -120Hz |
CPU | A15 Bionic | Snapdragon 888 |
RAM | Unknown | 12GB, 16GB |
Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB |
Rear cameras | 12MP wide (f/1.5), 12MP ultra-wide (f/1.8), 12MP telephoto (f/2.8) with 3x zoom; LiDAR sensor | 108MP wide (f/1.8), 12MP ultra wide (f/2.2), 10MP telephoto (3x zoom, f/2.4), 10MP telephoto (10x zoom, f/4.9), laser AF sensor |
Front camera | 12MP TrueDepth (f/2.2) | 40MP (f/2.2) |
Battery size | Unknown | 5,000 mAh |
Battery life (Hrs:Mins) | 12:16 | 10:07 |
Size | 6.3 x 3.1 x 0.3 inches | 6.5 x 2.97 x 0.35 inches |
Weight | 8.5 ounces | 8.08 ounces |
Colors | Graphite, Gold, Silver, and Sierra Blue | Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Navy, Phantom Titanium, and Phantom Brown |
iPhone 13 Pro Max (left) and Galaxy S21 Ultra (right)
The iPhone 13 Pro Max’s 6.7-inch screen stands out in other ways, most notably in how bright it is. We measured 1,038 nits of brightness with the adaptive setting on, topping the S21 Ultra’s 821-nit reading. Apple’s screen is just easier on the eyes, and it really brings out the highlights even in low-light video scenes. The iPhone 13 Pro Max’s display registered 109.3 and 77.4 percent, respectively, of the sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces. The Galaxy S21 Ultra was slightly ahead at 110.9 and 81.4 percent. However, the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s panel was slightly more accurate, with a Delta-E reading of 0.21 versus 0.35 for the Samsung. Lower numbers are better in this test.