Phone comparison · UK prices · October 2026
iPhone 17 Pro Max or Galaxy S26 Ultra: which should you buy?
The short answer
The iPhone 17 Pro Max has a sharper selfie camera. The Galaxy S26 Ultra leads on battery life and is thinner. The iPhone 17 Pro Max costs £200 more than the Samsung.
Comparing 2 phones
iPhone 17 Pro MaxOverall score 90/100
Galaxy S26 UltraOverall score 92/100
What the extra money buys
The iPhone 17 Pro Max costs £200 more than the Samsung.
You get: a sharper selfie camera.
You give up: faster charging by cable, a longer zoom, a higher-resolution main camera and a thinner body.
Worth it if you want a sharper selfie camera. Keep the money if faster charging by cable matters more to you.
Differences in daily life
Battery and charging
Best: Galaxy S26 UltraThe Galaxy S26 Ultra charges faster by cable (60 W vs 25 W on the iPhone), so it tops up quicker with a compatible charger.
Screen
EvenBoth have similar peak brightness (3,000 nits and 2,600 nits) and similar sharpness (460 ppi and 500 ppi), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Camera
Depends on youThe Galaxy S26 Ultra's zoom lens reaches further (5x vs 4x on the iPhone), for closer shots of faraway subjects.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max's selfie camera has more megapixels (18 MP vs 12 MP on the Samsung), so selfies and video calls can look more detailed.
Speed
EvenBoth have similar benchmark results, close enough not to matter much day to day.
Size and weight
Best: Galaxy S26 UltraThe Galaxy S26 Ultra is thinner (7.9 mm vs 8.8 mm on the iPhone), so it feels slimmer in the hand.
Still can't decide?
Up to 3 quick questions, one tap each.
Scores
| Score | iPhone 17 Pro Max | Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 70 | 78 |
| Screen | 91 | 91 |
| Camera | 93 | 97 |
| Speed | 92 | 94 |
| Toughness | 95 | 95 |
| Connections and extras | 98 | 95 |
| Overall | 90 | 92 |
How these scores are made: Each score is calculated from the maker's published specs and benchmark results, using one fixed formula for every phone. We have not tested these phones in the hand. How we score phones
Specs side by side
Display
- Type
- LTPO Super Retina XDR OLEDDynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X
- Resolution
- 1320×2868 pixels1440 × 3120 pixels
- PPI
- 460500
- Screen-to-body ratio
- 90.7 %≈ 90.7 %
- Display features
- Capacitive Touchscreen Dolby Vision HDR10 Multi-touch displayCapacitive Touchscreen, HDR10+, Multi-touch display
- Max rated brightness
- 3000 nits2600 nits
- Screen protection
- Anti-reflective coating, Ceramic Shield 2 Glass, Mohs level 5Corning Gorilla Armor 2 Glass, DX anti-reflective coating, Mohs level 6, Privacy Display
Core Specifications
- Chipset
- Apple A19 ProQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- CPU cores
- 58
- Fabrication Technology
- 3 nm3 nm
- CPU max frequency
- 4260 MHz4.74 GHz
- Microarchitecture
- 2x 4.26 GHz – Performance cores 4x 2.60 GHz – Efficiency cores2x 4.74 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix L, 6x 3.62 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix M
- GPU
- Apple A19 Pro GPUQualcomm Adreno 840 @1.20 GHz
- RAM
- 12GB12GB, 16GB
- Storage
- 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB256GB, 512GB, 1TB
- Storage Type
- NVMeUFS 4.0
- Expandable Storage
- N/ANo
Software
- Operating System
- iOS 26Android 16 (Baklava), with up to 7 major Android upgrades
Main Camera
- Matrix
- 48 MP200 MP
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 24/25/30/60/100/120 fps 1080p @ 25/30/60/120/240 fps4320p @ 24/30 fps, 2160p @30/60/120 fps, 1080p @30/60/120/240 fps
- Video Features
- 10-bit HDR, 3D (spatial) video/audio, Apple Log 2, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), ProRes, ProRes RAW, Stereo Sound Rec10-bit HDR, Gyro-EIS, HDR10+, Stereo Sound Rec
- Features
- PanoramaAuto-HDR, Best Face, Horizon Lock, Laser Autofocus, Panorama
- Lenses
- 48 MP , ƒ /1.6, 24 mm ( Wide-angle ), 1.22 μm , 1/1.28" Sensor size - Dual-Pixel PDAF - sensor-shift OIS 48 MP , ƒ /2.8, 100 mm ( Periscope telephoto ), 0.7 μm , x4 optical zoom, 1/2.55" Sensor size - 3D sensor‑shift OIS - Dual-Pixel PDAF 48 MP , ƒ /2.2, 13 mm , 120° ( Ultra-Wide angle ), 0.7 μm , 1/2.55" Sensor size - PDAF200 MP, ƒ/1.4, 24 mm ( Wide-angle ), 0.6 μm, 1/1.3" Sensor size - Multi-Directional PDAF - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) 10 MP, ƒ/2.4, 67 mm ( Telephoto ), 1.12 μm, x3 optical zoom, 1/3.52" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - PDAF 50 MP, ƒ/2.9, 111 mm ( Periscope telephoto ), 0.7 μm, x5 optical zoom, 1/2.52" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - PDAF 50 MP, ƒ/1.9, 13 mm, 120° ( Ultra-Wide angle ), 0.7 μm - Dual-Pixel PDAF - Super Steady Video
- Flash
- Dual-LED Dual-Tone FlashLED flash
Selfie camera
- Matrix
- 18 MP12 MP
- Lenses
- 18 MP , ƒ /1.9 ( Wide-angle ) - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - PDAFSingle camera: 12 MP (Wide angle) 1.12 μm, 1/3.2" Sensor size, - Dual-Pixel PDAF
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 24/25/30/60 fps 1080p @ 25/30/60/120 fps2160p @ 30/60 fps 1080p @ 30 fps
- Video Features
- 3D (spatial) audio, Apple Log 2, Dolby Vision HDR, HDR, ProRes RAW, Stereo Sound RecHDR10+ High Dynamic Range (HDR)
- Features
- Dolby Vision HDR High Dynamic Range (HDR)Dual-Pixel PDAF
General
- Announced
- Tuesday, 09 September 2025Wednesday, 25 February 2026
- Released
- Friday, 19 September 2025Friday, 06 March 2026
Battery
- Capacity
- 4832 mAh5000 mAh
- Wired charging power
- 25W60 W
- Wireless charging power
- 25W25 W
- Fast charging support
- noYes
- Features
- MagSafe wireless charging, Qi2 wireless charging, Reverse wired charging, Wired charging from 0-50% in 20 minutes (official specs),Qi2.2 wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging, Wired charging from 0-75% in 30 minutes (as advertised)
Battery Life Test
- Browsing
- 15:19 hh:mmN/A
- Video watching
- 8:29 hh:mmN/A
- Playing games
- 9:26 hh:mmN/A
Design
- Height
- 163.4 mm163.6 mm
- Width
- 78 mm78.1 mm
- Thickness
- 8.8 mm7.9 mm
- Weight
- 233 g214 g
- Resistance cert. meaning
- Dust and water-resistant (withstands high-pressure water jets; submersible up to 6m for 30 minutes)Dust-tight and water-resistant (submersible up to 1.5m for 30 minutes)
Network
- SIM cards
- Dual SIMDual SIM (Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM)
- Network Type support
- EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps, 5G, LTE, HSPA5G, LTE (CA), HSPA
- Network_5G bands
- 5G: n1 (2100), n2 (1900), n3 (1800), n5 (850), n7 (2600), n8 (900), n12 (700), n14 (700), n20 (800), n25 (1900), n26 (850), n28 (700), n29 (700), n30 (2300), n38 (2600), n40 (2300), n41 (2500), n48 (3500), n53 (2500), n66 (2100), n70 (2000), n71 (600), n75 (1500), n77 (3700), n78 (3500), n79 (4700), n258 (26000), n260 (39000), n261 (28000 MHz)n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n26, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n75, n77, n78, n257, n258, n260, n261
- Network_4G bands
- LTE: b1 (2100), b2 (1900), b3 (1800), b4 (1700), b5 (850), b7 (2600), b8 (900), b11 (1500), b12 (700), b13 (700), b14 (700), b17 (700), b18 (800), b19 (800), b20 (800), b21 (1500), b25 (1900), b26 (850), b28 (700), b29 (700), b30 (2300), b32 (1500), b34 (2000), b38 (2600), b39 (1900), b40 (2300), b41 (2500), b42 (3500), b48 (3800), b53 (2500), b66 (1700), b71 (600 MHz)b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b7, b8, b12, b13, b14, b17, b18, b19, b20, b25, b26, b28, b29, b30, b32, b38, b39, b40, b41, b48, b66, b71
- Network_2G bands
- GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz CDMA: 800 / 1900 MHzGSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz, CDMA: 800 / 1900 MHz
Connectivity
- WiFi support
- Yes ( Wi-Fi 7 )Yes (Wi-Fi 7)
- USB ports
- USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2, DisplayPort,USB Type-C 3.2, DisplayPort 1.2
- GPS features
- BDS, GALILEO, GLONASS, GPS (L1 & L5), NavIC, QZSSBDS, GALILEO, GLONASS, GPS, QZSS
- Wi-Fi features
- Mobile Hotspot, Tri-bandTri-band, Wi-Fi Direct
Multimedia
- Audio type
- Stereo speakers,High-bitrate audio support, Stereo speakers