Apple iPhone XS Max vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Specs Comparison

Compare mobile phone specifications of up to three devices at once. Our specs comparison tool helps you find and compare the perfect phone for your needs.

9.3	9.1
Apple iPhone XS Max	Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Released · Sep 21, 2018	Released · Jan 29, 2021
6.5-inch · 2688x1242px	6.8-inch · 3200x1440px
Dual camera	Quad camera
4GB · 64GB	12GB · 128GB
3179 mAh	5000 mAh
	Check prices

Design

Dimensions
6.20 x 3.05 x 0.30 inches 157.5 x 77.4 x 7.7 mm	6.50 x 2.98 x 0.35 inches (~0.37 inches with camera bump) 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm (~9.4 mm with camera bump)
Weight
7.34 oz (208.0 g)	8.04 oz (229.0 g)
Materials
Back: Glass Frame: Stainless steel	Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass Victus) Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68	Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
3D Face unlock	2D Face unlock, Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint
Keys
Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key	Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Gold, Silver, Space gray	Phantom black, Silver

Display

Size
6.5-inch	6.8-inch
Resolution
2688x1242px, 19.5:9 ratio, 458 PPI	3200x1440px, 20:9 ratio, 516 PPI
Technology
OLED	Dynamic AMOLED
Refresh rate
	120Hz (adaptable)
Screen-to-body
84.29 %	89.33 %
Peak brightness
625 cd/m2 (nit)	1500 cd/m2 (nit)
Features
HDR support, Pressure-sensitive, Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	HDR support, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass Victus), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Apple A12 Bionic APL1W81 (7 nm)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SM8350 (5 nm)
Processor
Hexa-core 2490 MHz Vortex and Tempest	Octa-core 1x 2.84GHz Kryo 680 + 3x 2.42GHz Kryo 680 + 4x 1.80GHz Kryo 680
GPU
Apple 4-core GPU	Adreno 660
RAM
4GB (LPDDR4)	12GB (LPDDR5)
Internal storage
64GB	128GB (UFS 3.1)
Storage expansion
not expandable	not expandable
OS
iOS (15.x, 14.x, 13.x, 12.x)	Android (14, 13, 12, 11), One UI

Battery

Capacity
3179 mAh	5000 mAh
Type
Li - Ion	Li - Polymer
Charging
USB Power Delivery, Qi wireless charging	Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, USB Power Delivery, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging, Qi and Powermat wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging
Charge speed
Wired: 15.0W Wireless: 7.5W	Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 15.0W

Battery Life Estimate

Untested

Browsing

8h 33min

Video

5h 25min

Gaming

Untested

Battery Life Estimate

6h 15min

Browsing

14h 43min

Video

8h 52min

Gaming

8h 40min

Camera

Rear
Dual camera	Quad camera
Main camera
12 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, PDAF, CMOS image sensor, BSI sensor) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 26 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 1.4 μm	108 MP (OIS, Laser and PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.33" Pixel size: 0.8 μm
Second camera
12 MP (Telephoto, Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, PDAF, CMOS image sensor, BSI sensor) Optical zoom: 2.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 52 mm Sensor size: 1/3.4" Pixel size: 1 μm	12 MP (Ultra-wide, PDAF) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 1.4 μm
Third camera
	10 MP (Telephoto, OIS, PDAF) Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 70 mm Sensor size: 1/3.2" Pixel size: 1.22 μm
Fourth camera
	10 MP (Telephoto, Periscope, OIS, PDAF) Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 70 mm Sensor size: 1/3.2" Pixel size: 1.22 μm
Flash
Quad LED	LED
Video recording
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (60 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (240 fps), 1280x720 (HD) OIS, Time-lapse video, Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording, Video calling, Video sharing	7680x4320 (8K UHD) (24 fps), 3840x2160 (4K UHD) (60 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (240 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (960 fps) OIS, HDR, Hyperlapse, Video light, EIS
Front
7 MP (Wide Angle, HDR), Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD)	40 MP (PDAF, HDR), Video capture: 3840x2160 (4K UHD) (60 fps)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	5.1
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot	802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,ax(Wi-Fi 6),dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
USB
Lightning	Type-C, USB 3.2
Hearing aid compatible
M3/T4	M3/T3
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer
Other
NFC, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling)	NFC, ANT+

Multimedia

Headphones
No 3.5mm jack	No 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Multiple speakers	Earpiece, Multiple speakers
Features
	32-Bit DAC, Dolby Atmos, aptX, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share	Wireless screen share
Radio
	FM, Stereo, RDS
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation, Video recording	Noise cancellation, Video recording

Cellular

5G
	Bands n2, n5, n12, n25, n41, n66, n71, n77, n260, n261, SA, NSA, Sub-6, mmWave
4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 14(700 PS), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS), 32(1500 L-band), 66(AWS-3), 71(600)	Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 14(700 PS), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 30(2300 WCS), 66(AWS-3), 71(600)
4G (TDD)
Bands 34(2000), 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+), 46	Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+), 46, 48(3600)
3G
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 8(900)	Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 8(900)
Data Speed
LTE-A Pro Cat 16 (1000/150 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, HSUPA, UMTS	LTE-A Pro Cat 20 (2000/150 Mbit/s)
Dual SIM
Yes
SIM type
Nano SIM, eSIM	Nano SIM
HD Voice
Yes
VoLTE
Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Sep 12, 2018 FCC ID value: BCG-E3219A	Date approved: Dec 22, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG998U
Measured SAR
Head: 1.00 W/kg Body: 1.00 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.52 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.00 W/kg	Head: 0.77 W/kg Body: 1.02 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.16 W/kg Phablet: 3.15 W/kg

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 1099	$ 1200 / € 1399
In The Box
EarPods with Lightning Connector, Lightning to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter, Documentation	C to C Data Cable, Ejection Pin

Availability

Officially announced
Sep 12, 2018	Jan 14, 2021

Alternative variants

with 512 GB storage


Internal storage	512GB
MSRP	$ 1449

with 256GB storage


Internal storage	256GB
Colors	Phantom black
MSRP	$ 1250

with 256 GB storage


Internal storage	256GB
MSRP	$ 1249

with 512GB storage


RAM	16GB
Internal storage	512GB
Colors	Phantom black
MSRP	$ 1380

for Europe


System chip	Samsung Exynos 2100 (5 nm)
Processor	Octa-core 1x 2.91GHz Cortex-X1 + 3x 2.81GHz Cortex-A78 + 4x 2.2GHz Cortex-A55
GPU	Mali G78 MP14
Weight	8.01 oz (227.0 g)
5G	Bands SA, NSA, Sub-6
FCC approval	Date approved: Dec 22, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG998B
Measured SAR	Head: 0.16 W/kg Body: 0.72 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.34 W/kg Phablet: 3.86 W/kg

Links

Full specifications
Apple iPhone XS Max Specs	Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Specs
PhoneArena Review
Apple iPhone XS Max Review	Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Review
User Reviews
Apple iPhone XS Max User Reviews	Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra User Reviews