iPhone 18 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Battle of the flagships

MichaelSeptember 10, 20267 min read

Apple and Samsung’s premium flagship competition for 2026 can finally kick off in earnest.

At its “Surprise and Shine” event, Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro Max, several months after Samsung launched the Galaxy S26 Ultra. These are the two most expensive and feature-packed non-foldable phones that these companies make right now, so we figured we would put together a handy comparison for your sake.

We just started testing the iPhone 18 Pro Max, so there are some necessary limitations to our analysis, but here is our best estimation for how these two flagship smartphones stack up to each other.

iPhone 18 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Price

This one’s easy: Both the iPhone 18 Pro Max and Galaxy S26 Ultra have the same starting price of $1,299. Technically, the S26 Ultra costs $1,299.99, but we aren’t going to hold 99 cents against Samsung.

In either case, that’s a lot of money. But at least there’s no clear advantage in this regard between the two devices. You’re going to spend a minor fortune to get either of these phones, unless you take advantage of carrier deals from T-Mobile or Verizon.

iPhone 18 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Design and specs

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra against blue background

Samsung’s phone is lighter and thinner.
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s specs are as follows:

Display: 6.9-inch display with 3120×1440 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate
Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
RAM: 12GB
Storage: 256/512GB/1TB
Battery: 5,000mAh
Rear cameras: 200MP wide, 50MP ultra-wide, 50MP telephoto, 10MP periscope telephoto
Front camera: 12MP

And the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s go a little something like this:

Display: 6.9-inch resolution with 2868×1320 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate
Processor: A20 Pro
RAM: 12GB
Storage: 256/512GB/1TB/2TB
Battery: 5,391 mAh
Rear cameras: 48MP wide, 48MP ultra-wide, 48MP telephoto
Front camera: 18MP

There are some differences to note here, of course. Samsung’s phone has a higher-resolution display, but photography isn’t all about the megapixels. Apple’s A20 Pro processor and the new variable aperture should result in incredible photographs if you know what you’re doing, and recently, Apple has also had an edge on video quality.

We’ll get to battery and camera differences in a little bit, but as you can see by the numbers, there are some gaps to discuss there, as well. Apple also has a 2TB storage option that Samsung doesn’t offer.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s processor delivered virtually flawless performance in our testing earlier this year, whether handling everyday tasks or more advanced AI processing. We haven’t gotten significant time with the Pro Max yet, but Apple’s history in this regard is very solid. I expect the A20 Pro chip to be just as good or better than the Ultra’s Snapdragon processor.

iphone 18 pro max phones on display at apple park

The camera bar hasn’t changed at all.
Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable

Let’s talk design for a second, too. Samsung’s phone is substantially lighter, as the S26 Ultra comes in at 214g versus the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s weight of 249g. The iPhone is also almost a full millimeter thicker, at 8.75mm against Samsung’s 7.9mm of depth. Their other physical dimensions are close enough to be negligible, but there’s a real likelihood that the S26 Ultra is a more comfortable phone to hold in the hand for most people.

People also care a lot about colors. Samsung offers six colors for the S26 Ultra: Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, Black, White, Silver Shadow, and Pink Gold. In the other corner, Apple’s choices are more limited: Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy. You may very well find one iPhone color you like way more than anything else in the Samsung lineup, as this is a matter of personal taste, but Samsung is objectively offering more choices here.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra has two things the iPhone 18 Pro doesn’t

privacy display in action on galaxy s26 ultra

Privacy Display blacks out a notification on the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

The Galaxy S26 Ultra has one hardware trick you can’t find on any other device: Privacy Display. This feature blacks out the screen for anyone trying to peek at it, letting you browse Instagram, or whatever else you find on the internet, in public. It can even black out portions of the screen, such as specific apps or notifications. This feature isn’t perfect, but it works pretty well, and you won’t find it on any other premium flagship right now.

Finally, don’t forget that the S26 Ultra also comes with a built-in stylus. And yet it still weighs less than the iPhone.

iPhone 18 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: AI features

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra privacy display

Privacy Display is neat.
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Everyone is going all-in on AI for their software suites these days, so let’s discuss that.

On Apple’s side, the big Siri AI update for iOS still isn’t out at the time of publication. It’ll launch alongside the new iPhones, so we’ll have more to say on that soon. It will turn Siri into a bona fide chatbot and AI app powered by Google Gemini, with complete access to your calendar, contacts, and emails. It can use all of that personal context to perform time-saving, context-sensitive actions for you, at least in theory.

There’s also an enhanced Image Playground update to generate more realistic images, along with additional image-editing features, such as the ability to reframe photos. Conveniently, you’ll also be able to use text prompts to generate Shortcuts. That could be nice, assuming it works.

But, let’s be clear: Apple is definitely playing catch-up in the AI race, and Samsung has a multi-year head-start. Galaxy phones like the S26 Ultra have had sophisticated AI photo editing tools for awhile. Samsung’s phone also comes with Gemini, Circle to Search is omnipresent, and the Now Nudge feature.

iPhone 18 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Battery life

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra had an even 5,000mAh battery cell inside of it, which gave it 31 hours of video playback time in our testing. That’s pretty damn good! A battery like that will last you an entire day and then some if you’re not using it for any funny business.

We haven’t properly tested the iPhone 18 Pro Max battery yet, but it has a bigger cell and Apple rates it for an astounding “up to 45 hours” of video playback. We’ll believe it when we see it, but if it’s even close to true, the iPhone 18 Pro Max might have one of the best smartphone batteries in existence.

iPhone 18 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Cameras

A black and white Boston terrier sits on a couch, photographed by Galaxy S26 Ultra

This is how you test a camera.
Credit: Timothy Werth/Mashable

The Galaxy S26 Ultra has a gigantic 200MP main shooter that, in our testing, produced detailed and vivid photographs. Its zoom capabilities are also impressive, as it doesn’t compromise quality very much until you get way up in the 100x zoom range. Nighttime photography is also solid here, if a little too bright and unrealistic-looking at times.

Apple’s alternative isn’t as impressive in terms of raw megapixel numbers, with a trio of 48MP lenses powering its rear camera array. But iPhone Pro cameras are always some of the best in the business, and Apple has added variable aperture this year for even more versatility in difficult photography conditions. We’re looking forward to testing all of that out. At any rate, it would be absolutely shocking if the iPhone 18 Pro Max cameras weren’t at least very good. On top of that, we expect the iPhone 18 Pro Max to be a killer for videography as well.

The everlasting question: iOS or Android?

So, which phone should you buy? We’ll reserve judgment until we’ve finished testing the new iPhone 18 Pro Max. However, the new iPhone doesn’t seem to be a huge upgrade compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

So, barring a huge surprise, we expect the phones to compare very favorably. The right phone for you will come down, as it usually does, whether you prefer Android or iOS.