Phone comparison · UK prices · October 2026
iPhone Air or Galaxy S26: which should you buy?
The short answer
The iPhone Air is thinner and has the bigger screen. The Galaxy S26 leads on battery life and is smaller. We have no current UK price for the Galaxy S26.
Comparing 2 phones
iPhone AirOverall score 81/100
Galaxy S26Overall score 87/100
Differences in daily life
Battery and charging
Best: Galaxy S26The Galaxy S26 has the bigger battery (4,300 mAh vs 3,149 mAh on the iPhone), which may help it last longer between charges.
It also charges faster by cable (25 W vs 15 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 411 ppi), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Camera
Depends on youThe Galaxy S26 is the only one with a zoom lens (3x), so it can get closer to faraway subjects without cropping the photo.
The iPhone Air'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
Depends on youThe Galaxy S26 is smaller overall (149.6 × 71.7 mm vs 156.2 × 74.7 mm on the iPhone), so it is easier to reach across with one hand.
The iPhone Air has the bigger screen (6.5 inches vs 6.3 inches on the Samsung), which gives more room for videos, maps and reading.
Still can't decide?
Up to 2 quick questions, one tap each.
Scores
| Score | iPhone Air | Galaxy S26 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 47 | 64 |
| Screen | 91 | 88 |
| Camera | 75 | 89 |
| Speed | 92 | 94 |
| Toughness | 95 | 92 |
| Connections and extras | 87 | 93 |
| Overall | 81 | 87 |
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
- Size
- 6.5 inches6.3 inches
- Resolution
- 1260×2736 pixels1080 × 2340 pixels
- PPI
- 460411
- Screen-to-body ratio
- 89.9 %90 %
- 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 Glass Victus 2, Mohs level 5
Core Specifications
- Chipset
- Apple A19 ProQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (United States), Samsung Exynos 2600 (International)
- CPU cores
- 58 (United States), 10 (International)
- Fabrication Technology
- 3 nm3 nm (United States), 2 nm (International)
- CPU max frequency
- 4260 MHz4.6 GHz (United States), 3.8 GHz (International)
- Microarchitecture
- 2x 4.26 GHz – Performance cores 4x X.X GHz – Efficiency cores2x 4.6 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix L, 6x 3.62 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix M (United States), 1x 3.8 GHz – C1-Ultra 3x 3.25 GHz – C1-Pro 6x 2.75 GHz – C1-Pro (International)
- GPU
- Apple A19 Pro GPUQualcomm Adreno 840 @1.20 GHz (United States), Samsung Xclipse 960 @985 MHz (International)
- Storage
- 256GB, 512GB, 1TB256GB, 512GB
- 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 MP50 MP
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 24/25/30/60 fps 1080p @ 25/30/60/120/240 fps4320p @ 24/30 fps, 2160p @ 30/60 fps, 1080p @ 30/60/120/240 fps
- Video Features
- Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), HDR, Stereo Sound Rec10-bit HDR, Gyro-EIS, HDR10+, Stereo Sound Rec
- Features
- PanoramaAuto-HDR, Best Face, Horizon Lock, Panorama
- Lenses
- 48 MP , ƒ /1.6, 26 mm ( Wide-angle ), 1.0 μm , 1/1.56" Sensor size - Dual-Pixel PDAF - sensor-shift OIS50 MP, ƒ/1.8, 24 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.0 μm, 1/1.56" Sensor size, - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), - predictive dual pixel (PDAF) 10 MP, ƒ/2.4, 67 mm ( Telephoto ), 1.0 μm, x3 Optical zoom, 1/3.94" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - predictive dual pixel (PDAF) 12 MP, ƒ/2.2, 13 mm, 120° ( Ultra-wide angle ), 1.4 μm, 1/2.55" Sensor size - 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) - PDAF12 MP, ƒ/2.2, 26 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.12 μm, 1/3.2" Sensor size, predictive 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, Dolby Vision HDR, Gyro-EIS, Stereo Sound RecHDR10+ High Dynamic Range (HDR)
- Features
- Dolby Vision HDR High Dynamic Range (HDR)predictive dual pixel PDAF
General
- Announced
- Tuesday, 09 September 2025Wednesday, 25 February 2026
- Released
- Friday, 19 September 2025Friday, 06 March 2026
Battery
- Capacity
- 3149 mAh4300 mAh
- Wired charging power
- 15W25 W
- Wireless charging power
- 15W15 W
- Fast charging support
- noYes
- Features
- MagSafe fast wireless charging, Qi2 wireless charging, Reverse wired charging, Wired charging from 0-50% in 30 minutes (official specs),Qi2 wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging, Wired charging from 0-55% in 30 minutes (as advertised)
Battery Life Test
- Browsing
- 12:06 hh:mmN/A
- Video watching
- 8:23 hh:mmN/A
- Playing games
- 7:38 hh:mmN/A
Design
- Height
- 156.2 mm149.6 mm
- Width
- 74.7 mm71.7 mm
- Thickness
- 5.6 mm7.2 mm
- Weight
- 165 g167 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
- 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 MHz)n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n26, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n75, n77, n78
- Network_4G bands
- LTE: b1 (2100), b2 (1900), b3 (1800), b4 (1700), b5 (850), b7 (2600), b8 (900), b12 (700), b13 (700), b14 (700), b17 (700), b18 (800), b19 (800), b20 (800), 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)
- Bluetooth support
- Yes, v6.0Yes, v5.4
- USB ports
- USB Type-C 2.0,USB Type-C 3.2, DisplayPort 1.2
- USB connectivity
- USB chargingUSB charging, USB Mass Storage device (UMS)
- GPS features
- BDS, GALILEO, GLONASS, GPS, 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