Apple iPhone 16 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Apple iPhone 16 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|
| Our rating | 9/10 | 9/10 |
| Battery | 3,582 mAh | 5,000 mAh |
| Wired charging | 25W | 60W |
| RAM (max) | — | 12 GB |
| Storage (max) | 512 GB | 512 GB |
| Screen size | 6.3 in | 6.9 in |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Main camera | 48 MP | 200 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 199 g | 214 g |
| Released | Sep 2024 | Mar 2026 |
Summary: Apple iPhone 16 Pro is ahead on weight (lower is lighter). Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is ahead on battery, wired charging, screen size, main camera.
Display
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|
| Type | Super Retina XDR OLED, ProMotion (120Hz adaptive refresh rate), HDR10, True Tone, Wide color (P3), Haptic Touch | Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 2600 nits (peak) |
| Size | 6.3 inches | 6.9 inches, 115.9 cm2 (~90.7% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 2622‑by‑1206 pixels at 460 ppi | 1440 x 3120 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~500 ppi density) |
| Brightness | 1000 nits (typical), 2000 nits (peak) | — |
| Features | Dynamic Island, Always-On display | Privacy Display |
| Protection | — | Corning Gorilla Armor 2 |
Platform
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|
| OS | iOS 18.x (upgradable to iOS 26.6.1) | Android 16, One UI 8.5 |
| Chipset | Apple A18 Pro | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3 nm) for Galaxy |
| CPU | 6-core CPU (2 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores) | Octa-core (details not specified, assumed high-performance) |
| GPU | 6-core Apple GPU | Adreno (details not specified, assumed high-performance) |
| Neural Engine | 16-core Neural Engine (35 TOPS) | — |
Memory
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|
| RAM | 8 GB LPDDR5X | — |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB NVMe | — |
| Card Slot | No | — |
| Card slot | — | No |
| Internal | — | 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM |
Main Camera
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|
| Triple | 48 MP, f/1.78, 24mm (wide), second-generation sensor-shift OIS, dual-pixel PDAF; 48 MP, 120° (ultrawide); 12 MP, (telephoto), 5x optical zoom | — |
| Features | LiDAR Scanner, Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 5, ProRes video recording, Cinematic mode, Action mode, Spatial Video | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama, Nightvideography |
| Video | 4K@24/25/30/60/100/120fps Dolby Vision HDR | 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS |
| Quad | — | 200 MP, f/1.4, 85˚ (wide), PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; 50 MP, f/1.9, 120˚ (ultrawide); 50 MP, f/2.9 (telephoto), 10x optical zoom; 10 MP, f/2.4 (telephoto), 3x optical zoom |
Selfie Camera
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|
| Single | 12 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), PDAF | 12 MP, f/2.2 (wide), PDAF |
| Features | Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 5 | Dual video call, Auto-HDR, AI ISP |
| Video | 4K@24/25/30/60fps | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps |
Battery
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|
| Type | Li-Ion 3582 mAh, non-removable (13.94 Wh) | Li-Ion 5000 mAh, non-removable |
| Charging | Fast charging (50% in ~30 min with 20W adapter), MagSafe wireless charging up to 25W, Qi2 wireless charging up to 15W, Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W | 60W wired (75% in 30 min), 15W wireless (Qi/PMA), 4.5W reverse wireless |
| Endurance | Video playback: Up to 27 hours; Audio playback: Up to 85 hours | — |
Body
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|
| Dimensions | 149.6 × 71.5 × 8.25 mm (5.890 × 2.815 × 0.325 in) | 163.6 x 78.1 x 7.9 mm (6.44 x 3.07 x 0.31 in) |
| Weight | 199 g (7.0 oz) | 214 g (7.55 oz) |
| Build | Titanium frame, Ceramic Shield front, Textured matte glass back | Glass front (Corning Gorilla Armor 2), glass back, aluminum frame (assumed) |
| SIM | Dual eSIM (US); Dual nano-SIM (Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China); nano-SIM and eSIM (elsewhere) | — |
| Durability | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 min) | — |
Comms
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMO | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 6.0, A2DP, LE |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO |
| NFC | Yes, with reader mode | Yes |
| Radio | No | No |
| USB | USB-C | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG |
Launch
| Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|
| Announced | September 9, 2024 | 2026, February 25 |
| Status | Available. Released September 20, 2024 | Available. Released 2026, March 11 |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Apple iPhone 16 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra?
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra — 3,582 mAh for the Apple iPhone 16 Pro versus 5,000 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Which is lighter, Apple iPhone 16 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra?
Apple iPhone 16 Pro — 199 g for the Apple iPhone 16 Pro versus 214 g for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Which is newer, Apple iPhone 16 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra?
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra — Sep 2024 for the Apple iPhone 16 Pro versus Mar 2026 for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Is the Apple iPhone 16 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra rated higher?
We rate the Apple iPhone 16 Pro 9/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 9/10.
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