Apple iPhone 17 vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 17 Manufactured in September, 2025, with display 6.3 with chipsetApple A19, 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 17
  • Lighter design: 177g vs 214g
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 500ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 3692mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 17 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 6.3 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1206x2622 pixels 1440x3120 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 460 ppi 500 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 3000 nits 1500 nits
HDR support Yes, Dolby Vision Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 91.1 % 91.4 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
2811 nits

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 149.6 mm (5.89 in) 163.6 mm (6.44 in)
Width 71.5 mm (2.81 in) 78.1 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 8 mm (0.31 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 177 g (6.24 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
- Purple
- White
- Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor No Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 17
91.1 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
91.4 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 17 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A19 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 4100 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores n/a 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture n/a - 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process n/a TSMC
Transistor Size n/a 3 nm
Neural Processor n/a Hexagon
Graphics n/a Adreno 840
GPU Cores n/a 1536
GPU Frequency n/a 1200 MHz
FLOPS n/a 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 17
3720
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 17
10589
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
11259
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)37203753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)1058911259
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a28787
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 17
2116678
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3720219
CPU5101931094797
GPU7929741447696
Memory367866425113
UX445645752613
NanoReview Score21166783720219

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity256 GB256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 26 Android 16
UI Skin n/a One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 3692 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 30 W 60 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (25 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging Yes Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 30 min) Yes (84% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time n/a 0:43 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
28:50
Web Browsingn/a10:12 h
Video Playbackn/a21:39 h
Gamesn/a06:42 h
Standby Moden/a130 h

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 200 MP
Photo resolution 8064x6048 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: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix48 MP200 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.4
Focal length26 mm23 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5KHP2
Sensor size1/1.561/1.3 (0.77)
Pixel size1 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
Matrix48 MP50 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/1.9
Focal length13 mm13 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5KJN3
Sensor size1/2.551/2.5 (0.4)
Pixel size0.7 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
160
Video quality
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
153
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
157
Bokehn/a165

Front camera

Matrix 18 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution n/a 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/1.9 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 23 mm
Sensor n/a Samsung ISOCELL S5K3LU
Sensor size n/a 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Optical 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 6.0 6.0
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
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*n/a1
SIM TypeeSIMNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G Bandsn/aGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 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/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/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)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2025 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date September, 2025 yr March, 2026 yr
MSRP ($) 799 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 No No
* 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?
8 (28.57%)
20 (71.43%)
Total Votes: 28

User comments

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