Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max Specs Comparison

Availability

Officially announced
Jan 14, 2021	Sep 09, 2025
Prices (MSRP)
12GB/128GB - $1200 | €1399 12GB/256GB - $1250 16GB/512GB - $1380	12GB/256GB - $1199 | €1449 12GB/512GB - $1399 | €1699 12GB/1TB - $1599 | €1949 12GB/2TB - $1999 | €2449

Design

Dimensions
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)	6.43 x 3.07 x 0.34 inches (~0.39 inches with camera bump) 163.4 x 78.0 x 8.75 mm (~9.9 mm with camera bump)
Weight
8.04 oz / 229.0 g Europe version - 227 g	8.22 oz / 233.0 g International version - 231 g
Materials
Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass Victus) Frame: Aluminum	Back: Glass (Ceramic Shield) Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68	Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
2D Face unlock, Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint	3D Face unlock
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key	Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Phantom black, Silver	Silver, Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue

Display

Size
6.8-inch, 89.33% screen-to-body	6.9-inch, 91.60% screen-to-body
Type
Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR, 1500 nits	OLED, Variable 1-120Hz, HDR, 3000 nits
Resolution
3200x1440px, 20:9 ratio, 516 PPI	2868x1320px, 19.5:9 ratio, 458 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus	Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2
Features
	Super Retina XDR, HDR support, Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

PhoneArena Display Test

Bright Max (20% APL)
Untested	2689 (Excellent)
Bright Min
1.5 (Good)	0.9 (Excellent)

Learn more on our PhoneArena Display Test Results page.

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 888 SM8350 (5 nm) Europe version - Exynos 2100 S5E9840	Apple A19 Pro (3 nm)
Processor
Octa-core 1x2.84GHz Kryo 680 3x2.42GHz Kryo 680 4x1.80GHz Kryo 680 Europe version - Octa-core, 1x2.91GHz Cortex-X1, 3x2.81G​Hz Cortex-A78, 4x2.2G​Hz Cortex-A55	Hexa-core
GPU
Adreno 660 Europe version - Mali-G78 MP14	Apple 6-core GPU
Memory
12GB (LPDDR5)/128GB (UFS 3.1) 12GB/256GB 16GB/512GB	12GB/256GB 12GB/512GB 12GB/1TB 12GB/2TB
Storage expansion
not expandable	not expandable
OS
Android (14, 13, 12, 11)	iOS (26.x)

PhoneArena Performance Test

GeekBench 6 Single
1117	3775
GeekBench 6 Multi
3312	9749
3D Mark High
1963	5987
3D Mark Low
1179	3841

Learn more on our PhoneArena Performance Test Results page.

Battery

Type
5000 mAh, Li - Polymer	5088 mAh, Nano SIM model - 4832 mAh, Li - Ion
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, USB Power Delivery, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging Qi and Powermat wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging	Fast charging Qi2 wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging, MagSafe wireless charging
Charge speed
Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 15.0W	Wired: 40.0W Wireless: 25.0W

PhoneArena Battery Tests

Battery Life Estimate

6h 15min

Browsing

14h 43min

Video

8h 52min

Gaming

8h 40min

Battery Life Estimate

7h 46min

Browsing

20h 9min

Video

9h 37min

Gaming

11h 34min

Learn more on our PhoneArena Battery Test Results page

Camera

Rear
Quad camera	Triple camera
Main camera
108 MP (OIS, Laser and PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.33" Pixel size: 0.8 μm	48 MP (Sensor-shift OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.28" Pixel size: 1.22 μm
Second camera
12 MP (Ultra-wide, PDAF) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 1.4 μm	48 MP (Ultra-wide, Sensor-shift OIS) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 0.7 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	48 MP (Telephoto, Periscope, OIS, PDAF) Optical zoom: 4.0x Aperture size: F2.8 Focal Length: 100 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 0.7 μm
Fourth camera
10 MP (Telephoto, Periscope, OIS, PDAF) Optical zoom: 10.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 70 mm Sensor size: 1/3.2" Pixel size: 1.22 μm
Flash
LED	Dual LED
Video recording
8K UHD (24 fps), 4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps), 720p (960 fps) OIS, HDR, Hyperlapse, Video light, EIS	4K UHD (120 fps), 1080p (240 fps) OIS, HDR, 10-bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR, ProRes, Cinematic mode
Front
40 MP (PDAF, HDR) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)	18 MP (Time-of-Flight (ToF), Autofocus, HDR) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)

PhoneArena Camera Tests

N/A

Overall

N/A

Photo

N/A

Video

156

Overall

162

Photo

150

Video

Learn more on our PhoneArena Camera Test Results page

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.1	6.0
WLAN
Wi-Fi 6,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax	Wi-Fi 6,Wi-Fi 6E,Wi-Fi 7 Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax
USB
Type-C, USB 3.2	Type-C, USB 3.2
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hearing aid compatible
M3/T3	M3/T4
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, NavIC, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning, Emergency SOS via satellite (SMS sending/receiving)
Other
NFC, ANT+	NFC, Ultra Wideband (UWB)

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	Dolby Atmos

Cellular

5G Bands
n2, n5, n12, n25, n41, n66, n71, n77, n260, n261, SA, NSA, Sub-6, mmWave	n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n53, n66, n70, n71, n75, n77, n78, n79, n258, n260, n261, SA, NSA, mmWave
LTE Bands
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 66, 71	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71
TDD Bands
38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48	34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53
3G Bands
1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Data Speed
LTE-A Pro Cat 20 (2000/150 Mbit/s)	LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s
SIM type
Nano SIM	eSIM
HD Voice
	Yes
VoLTE
	Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Dec 22, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG998U	Date approved: Sep 09, 2025 FCC ID value: BCG-E8950A
Measured SAR
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	Head: 1.19 W/kg Body: 1.19 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg

Alternative variants

with 256GB storage

Memory	256GB
Colors	Phantom black
Prices (MSRP)	$1250

with 512GB storage

Memory	16GB/512GB
Colors	Phantom black
Prices (MSRP)	$1380

for Europe

System chip	Samsung Exynos 2100 (5 nm)
Processor	Octa-core 1x2.91GHz Cortex-X1 3x2.81G​Hz Cortex-A78 4x2.2G​Hz 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

Discover more

Full Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Specs PA Review Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Review

Full Specs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max Specs PA Review Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max Review