Apple iPhone 16 vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 16 Manufactured in September, 2024, with display 6.1 with chipsetApple A18, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos), Manufactured in March, 2026with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2600. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 16
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
  • Larger display: 6.3in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 167g vs 170g
  • Higher battery capacity: 4300mAh vs 3561mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5.3
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 16 and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
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.
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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 6.3 in
Resolution 1179x2556 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 460 ppi 411 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 2000 nits n/a
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 86.4 % 90.9 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 16
1719 nits
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
n/a
sRGB gamut99.7 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)60 Hzn/a
Response time3 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 147.6 mm (5.81 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 71.6 mm (2.82 in) 71.7 mm (2.82 in)
Thickness 7.8 mm (0.31 in) 7.2 mm (0.28 in)
Weight 170 g (6 oz) 167 g (5.89 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Pink
- White
- Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor No Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 16
86.4 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
90.9 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 16 and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A18 Samsung Exynos 2600
Max Frequency 4040 MHz 3800 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 10 (1 + 3 + 6)
Architecture - 4/2.42 (Sawtooth)
- 2/4.05 (Everest)
- 6/2.75 (C1-Pro)
- 3/3.25 (C1-Pro)
- 1/3.8 (C1-Ultra)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 3 nm 2 nm
Neural Processor Neural Engine AI engine with 32K MAC NPU
Graphics Apple A18 GPU Samsung Xclipse 960
GPU Cores 640 1024
GPU Frequency 1490 MHz 980 MHz
FLOPS 1907 GFLOPS 4014.1 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 16
3283
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
3203
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 16
8094
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
11056
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)32833203
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)809411056
Geekbench Compute (GPU)2805527467
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 16
1580390
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
3504102
CPU4391131013874
GPU6111111351843
Memory181791414601
UX348375723784
NanoReview Score15803903504102
3DMark Wild Life

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 18 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.5) Android 16
OS Size 16 GB 29.5 GB
UI Skin n/a One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 3561 mAh 4300 mAh
Max Charging Power 30 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (59% in 30 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 1:42 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 16
29:45
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
n/a
Web Browsing13:44 hn/a
Video Playback18:09 hn/a
Games05:56 hn/a
Standby Mode130 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 8064x6048 pixels 8160x6120 pixels
Zoom 116 Optical, 3x
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 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix48 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.8
Focal length26 mm24 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5KGN3
Sensor size1/1.561/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a10 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a67 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5K3K1
Sensor sizen/a1/3.94 (0.25)
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX564
Sensor sizen/a1/2.55 (0.39)
Pixel size0.7 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 16
149
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 16
154
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
n/a
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 16
147
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
n/a
Bokeh80n/a
Preview84n/a

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/1.9 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 26 mm
Sensor CMOS Samsung S5K3LU
Sensor size 1/3.6 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor Yes No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) 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 5.3 5.4
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes Yes, DP 1.2
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*n/a2
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/B53/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 16
90.4 dB
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2024 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date September, 2024 yr March, 2026 yr
MSRP ($) 799 879
Sensors - 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 No No

Note

Apple iPhone 16:

The US model is eSIM-only, while the international version offers both a physical SIM slot and eSIM support.

* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

No clear favorite identified yet; updates may follow as new data arrives.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
1 (33.33%)
2 (66.67%)
Total Votes: 3

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