We couldn’t pass the opportunity to deliver the comparison between the ultimate rivals – the Galaxy and iPhone. Maybe you already know which of the two is your dream phone, but many people would like to know how these two match up against each other in more objective metrics. So, here it is – the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra versus the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max!
The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a larger screen – hence – it is the larger phone. It weighs more, too. But you should keep in mind there is a stylus housed inside its body.
Still, the size difference is mostly marginal. However, the design of the two phones is radically different. Samsung’s signature rectangle shape with right-angled corners and separate camera rings is just as recognizable as the iPhone’s rounded corners and arguably busier camera island. Both companies have had years to perfect these designs – there is nothing radically new here, but we are sure each one will have its own fans.
Both smartphones feature titanium frames, and both offer IP68 ingress protection. The iPhone has extended water protection since Apple claims it can survive in up to 6m deep water for half an hour, compared to 1.5m for the Galaxy.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has a larger display with higher pixel density and supports S-Pen input. It also offers a smaller camera cutout and higher peak brightness.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max display has a higher manual and automatic brightness than the Galaxy; it also offers Dolby Vision support on top of HDR10+ video.
Not to mention that the bigger camera cutout on the iPhone comes with Apple’s FaceID, which works for secure unlocking, and Apple has found a way to add some clever functionality around it with the Dynamic Island.
Overall, both displays are as premium as their makers can offer today. Nobody would be able to see the difference in the pixel density as it is not that major. Both offer outstanding contrast, brightness and color specs.
Before we wrap this section up, we should mention a few issues with the Galaxy S24 Ultra display. One of them is the slight graininess that can be observed at very low brightness levels when you use your phone in a dark setting.
Samsung also received a lot of flak for its muted color rendition, even in the Vivid color mode, but this has since been addressed with a firmware update, and users can now pick their desired level of Vividness with a slider.
So, wrapping up this section, you’d get the Galaxy for the combination of the S-Pen, the built-in fingerprint sensor and the smaller punch-hole selfie cam. You will go for the iPhone Pro Max if you lean into Dolby Vision content and you think you will enjoy the seamless FaceID and Dynamic Island functionality offered by iOS.
Battery life
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is powered by a 5,000mAh battery, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 4,441mAh cell.
Despite the fact that the iPhone has a smaller battery capacity, it managed to beat the Galaxy S24 Ultra in our battery life test. It scored better across all of our test scenarios except for voice calls. And that is why its Active Use score turned out 16:01 hours compared to 13:49 hours for the Galaxy.
Both scores are excellent; it’s just the iPhone does better.
