Apple iPhone 13 vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 13 Manufactured in September, 2021, with display 6.1 with chipsetApple A15 Bionic, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, Manufactured in March, 2026with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 13
  • Lighter design: 174g vs 214g
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 500ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 3227mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 13 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.1 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1170x2532 pixels 1440x3120 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 460 ppi 500 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits 1500 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 87.1 % 91.4 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 13
828 nits
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
2811 nits
sRGB gamut129 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)609 Hzn/a
Response time7.5 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 146.7 mm (5.78 in) 163.6 mm (6.44 in)
Width 71.5 mm (2.81 in) 78.1 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 7.65 mm (0.3 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 174 g (6.14 oz) 214 g (7.55 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Red
- Pink
- White
- Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor No Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 13
87.1 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
91.4 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 13 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A15 Bionic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 3230 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4/2.02 (Blizzard)
- 2/3.23 (Avalanche)
- 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Hexagon
Graphics Apple A15 GPU Adreno 840
GPU Cores 640 1536
GPU Frequency 1338 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 1712.6 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 13
2182
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 13
5142
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
11259
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)21823753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)514211259
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a28787
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 13
1264688
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3720219
CPU3054021094797
GPU4389061447696
Memory218819425113
UX301561752613
NanoReview Score12646883720219
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 13
8702
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
n/a
Max Surface Temp.45.7 °Cn/a
Stability78 %n/a
Graphics Test52 fpsn/a
Graphics Score8702n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 4 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 15 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2) Android 16
OS Size 18 GB n/a
UI Skin n/a One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 3227 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 20 W 60 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (54% in 30 min) Yes (84% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:46 h 0:43 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 13
23:23
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
28:50
Web Browsing09:29 h10:12 h
Video Playback13:58 h21:39 h
Games05:12 h06:42 h
Standby Mode114 h130 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 200 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 16320x12240 pixels
Zoom Digital 141
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Yes (Up to 30 fps)
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 240 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP200 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.4
Focal length26 mm23 mm
SensorSony IMX603Samsung ISOCELL S5KHP2
Sensor size1/1.91/1.3 (0.77)
Pixel size1.7 μm0.6 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Laser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a50 MP
Aperturen/af/2.9
Focal lengthn/a111 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX854
Sensor sizen/a1/2.52 (0.4)
Pixel sizen/a0.7 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/1.9
Focal length14 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX372Samsung ISOCELL S5KJN3
Sensor size1/3.41/2.5 (0.4)
Pixel size1.4 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 13
133
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
160
Video quality
Apple iPhone 13
144
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
153
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 13
125
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
157
Bokeh65165
Preview76n/a
Zoom65n/a

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 23 mm
Sensor Sony IMX514 Samsung ISOCELL S5K3LU
Sensor size 1/3.6 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size n/a 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor Yes No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 13
128
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 13
143
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 6.0
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE
USB type n/a USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHzUMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B11/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B21/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B48/B66/B71)
LTE category18n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 13
83.2 dB
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2021 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date September, 2021 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 800 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 1299
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
- Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included n/a No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

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