Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
VS
Head to head
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $379 | $280 |
| Our rating | 9/10 | 9/10 |
| Battery | 4,352 mAh | 5,000 mAh |
| Wired charging | 20W | 25W |
| RAM (max) | — | 16 GB |
| Storage (max) | 512 GB | 512 GB |
| Screen size | 6.7 in | 6.8 in |
| Refresh rate | — | 120 Hz |
| Main camera | 12 MP | 108 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 240 g | 227 g |
| Released | Sep 2021 | Jan 2021 |
Summary: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is ahead on battery, wired charging, screen size, main camera.
★ Which should you buy? Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs.
Display
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Super Retina XDR OLED, ProMotion, HDR10, Dolby Vision | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1500 nits (peak) |
| Size | 6.7 inches | 6.8 inches, 112.1 cm2 (~89.8% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 2778 x 1284 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~458 ppi density) | 1440 x 3200 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~515 ppi density) |
| Features | 120Hz adaptive refresh rate (10-120Hz), 1000 nits (HBM), 1200 nits (peak) brightness, True Tone, Wide color (P3), Haptic Touch, Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating, Ceramic Shield glass protection | Always-on display, adaptive 10-120Hz refresh rate |
| Protection | — | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus |
Platform
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Apple A15 Bionic (5 nm) | — |
| CPU | Hexa-core (2x3.23 GHz Avalanche + 4x1.82 GHz Blizzard) | — |
| GPU | Apple GPU (5-core graphics) | — |
| Neural Engine | 16-core | — |
| OS | — | Android 11, upgradable to Android 14 |
| Chipset (International) | — | Exynos 2100 (5 nm) |
| Chipset (USA/China) | — | Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm) |
| CPU (Exynos) | — | Octa-core (1x2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3x2.80 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.2 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| CPU (Snapdragon) | — | Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| GPU (Exynos) | — | Mali-G78 MP14 |
| GPU (Snapdragon) | — | Adreno 660 |
Memory
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | 6GB LPDDR4X | — |
| Internal Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB NVMe | 128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM |
| Card Slot | No | No |
| Type | — | UFS 3.1 |
Main Camera
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Modules | Triple 12 MP system: Wide (f/1.5, sensor-shift OIS, dual pixel PDAF), Ultra Wide (f/1.8, 120˚ FOV, PDAF, macro), Telephoto (f/2.8, OIS, 3x optical zoom) | — |
| Features | LiDAR Scanner, Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama), Night mode, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 4, Photographic Styles, Apple ProRAW, Cinematic mode (1080p@30fps) | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama |
| Video | 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, HDR with Dolby Vision, ProRes video recording (up to 4K@30fps for 256GB/512GB/1TB models, 1080p@30fps for 128GB model) | 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS |
| Quad | — | 108 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.33", 0.8µm, PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; 10 MP, f/4.9, 240mm (periscope telephoto), 1/3.24", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom; 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.24", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, Super Steady video |
Selfie Camera
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Modules | 12 MP TrueDepth, f/2.2 aperture | — |
| Features | Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control, Portrait Lighting, Animoji, Memoji, Night mode, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 4 | Dual video call, Auto-HDR |
| Video | 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps |
| Single | — | 40 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8", 0.7µm, PDAF |
Battery
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Li-Ion 4352 mAh, non-removable (16.75 Wh) | Li-Ion 5000 mAh, non-removable |
| Charging | Fast charging (50% in ~30 min with 20W adapter), 15W MagSafe wireless charging, 7.5W Qi wireless charging | 25W wired (PD3.0), 15W wireless (Qi/PMA), 4.5W reverse wireless |
| Endurance | Video playback: Up to 28 hours, Audio playback: Up to 95 hours | — |
Body
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.65 mm (6.33 x 3.07 x 0.30 inches) | 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm (6.50 x 2.98 x 0.35 in) |
| Weight | 240 g (8.46 oz) | 227g (Sub6), 229g (mmWave) (8.01 oz) |
| Build | Glass front (Ceramic Shield), glass back, stainless steel frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), aluminum frame |
| SIM | Nano-SIM and eSIM | — |
| Water & Dust Resistance | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 min) | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) |
Comms
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE | 5.2, A2DP, LE |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BDS, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO |
| NFC | Yes (for Apple Pay) | Yes |
| USB | Lightning, USB 2.0 | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG |
| Radio | — | No |
Launch
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | September 2021 | January 14, 2021 |
| Status | Released September 24, 2021 | Available. Released 2021, January 29 |
| OS | iOS 15, upgradable to latest iOS versions | — |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max or Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra?
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra — 4,352 mAh for the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max versus 5,000 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Which is lighter, Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max or Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra?
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra — 240 g for the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max versus 227 g for the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Which is newer, Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max or Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra?
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max — Sep 2021 for the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max versus Jan 2021 for the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Is the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max or the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra rated higher?
We rate the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max 9/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 9/10.