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

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

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is priced at $1,300, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $1,199. No matter which device you opt for, you’ll be getting some of the best phones on the market. However, there are some major differences that you should consider before making a decision. Here’s how the best of Samsung and Apple compare against each other.

Display and build

The Galaxy S26 Ultra has a 6.9-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate and a 3,120×1,440-pixel resolution. Like last year’s Galaxy S25 Ultra, it has a Corning Gorilla Armor 2 layer on top that reduces reflection and glare. It retains my favorite aspects of the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s screen and tops it with an all-new Privacy Display feature that protects your on-screen content from strangers in public spaces.

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

When you turn on this feature, the narrow pixels radiate light at 90 degrees, which limits the 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 the time of day (through Routines) to automatically trigger Privacy Display. It has two modes: Partial Screen Privacy and Maximum Privacy Protection, where the latter also decreases the brightness for a more effective result.

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

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Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max lacks this feature, though there are plenty of screen protector accessories that reduce a display’s visibility. The Cupertino, California-based company introduced a less reflective screen on its latest iPhones with Ceramic Shield 2, but it doesn’t compare to Samsung’s implementation. You get a 6.9-inch OLED screen with a 2,868×1,320-pixel resolution and a dynamic 120Hz variable refresh rate. Both Samsung and Apple phones are legible in harsh lighting, but the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s lower reflectivity should improve legibility.

Both of them are big phones to hold. The Galaxy S26 Ultra looks similar to its predecessor, but is now easier to hold, thanks to its new design. At 7.9mm and 214 grams, it is slimmer and lighter than the iPhone 17 Pro Max (8.5mm and 233 grams). When compared, the iPhone feels denser 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, with Pink Gold and Silver Shadow available online. On the other hand, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is available in a more vibrant Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue and Silver color options. Extras include an S Pen with the Samsung phone, while Apple offers Camera Control and Action buttons for one-press actions.

Processor, storage and battery life

Samsung’s new phone uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, which is paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Samsung has also redesigned the vapor cooling chamber around its chipset to improve sustained workload performance, a feature we most often hear about in gaming-focused phones designed for intensive use over extended periods. For now, I got to demo some new AI features that let me tell the phone to change settings or book services, which likely benefit from the chip upgrade.

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

While we wait for Apple’s smarter Siri to arrive this year, Samsung has updated its Bixby assistant to provide conversational and contextual information. For instance, you can ask it, “My screen is causing eye strain. What can I do to reduce it?” and it’ll surface Samsung’s Eye Comfort Shield setting to reduce the blue light on your screen. Samsung’s Bixby assistant will function alongside Google’s Gemini, with Samsung demoing Gemini’s upcoming ability to book an Uber ride (AI won’t pay automatically). The Samsung Keyboard will also surface contextual actions based on what you’re doing, among other features that rely on either 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 precise charging speed, it does recharge from 0% to 69% when using a 40-watt charging adapter. The iPhone 17 Pro Max also topped the charts in our recent battery test, which compared 35 phones we tested in 2025.

The cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has a four-camera setup, which is very similar to its predecessor. You get a 200-megapixel f/1.4 (up from f/1.7) primary 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-angle lens. On the front is a 12-megapixel selfie shooter with a wider 85-degree field of view. Samsung says the bigger aperture on two cameras has allowed it to improve nighttime photos and videos, but we’ll need to test it further to form an opinion.

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

The biggest upgrade lies on the front, adjacent to the Dynamic Island. Apple 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” improves the selfie camera on its Galaxy S26 Ultra, but it’ll be hard to match iPhone 17 Pro Max’s quality, which can automatically change frame (between vertical and horizontal) without needing you to change the orientation of your phone.

Check out the chart below to compare more details between the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max.

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