Apple iPhone 8 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 8 Plus Manufactured in September, 2017, with display 5.5 with chipsetApple A11 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 8 Plus
  • Lighter design: 202g 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 2691mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 3/64 GB
- 3/128 GB
- 3/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 8 Plus 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 IPS LCD Dynamic AMOLED
Size 5.5 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1080x1920 pixels 1440x3120 pixels
Aspect ratio 16:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 401 ppi 500 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 625 nits 1500 nits
HDR support No Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 67.4 % 91.4 %
Features n/a - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 8 Plus
615 nits
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
2811 nits
sRGB gamut99.9 %n/a
Response time32 msn/a
Contrast1471:1n/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 158.4 mm (6.24 in) 163.6 mm (6.44 in)
Width 78.1 mm (3.07 in) 78.1 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 7.5 mm (0.3 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 202 g (7.13 oz) 214 g (7.55 oz)
Water resistance IP67 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Silver
- Gold
- Gray
- White
- Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 8 Plus
67.4 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
91.4 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 8 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A11 Bionic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 2390 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4/1.42 (Mistral)
- 2/2.39 (Monsoon)
- 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 10 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Hexagon
Graphics Apple A11 GPU Adreno 840
GPU Cores 192 1536
GPU Frequency 1066 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 409.3 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 8 Plus
1092
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 8 Plus
2921
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
11259
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)10923753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)292111259
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a28787
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 8 Plus
459620
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3720219
CPU945841094797
GPU1516971447696
Memory87118425113
UX116221752613
NanoReview Score4596203720219
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 8 Plus
3432
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
n/a
Max Surface Temp.42.6 °Cn/a
Stability71 %n/a
Graphics Test20 fpsn/a
Graphics Score3432n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 3 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4 LPDDR5X
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 64 GB
- 256 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 11 (Upgradeable to iOS 16.5) Android 16
OS Size 6 GB n/a
UI Skin n/a One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 2691 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 15 W 60 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Qi (7.5 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 30 min) Yes (84% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:25 h 0:43 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 8 Plus
18:45
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
28:50
Web Browsing06:52 h10:12 h
Video Playback10:47 h21:39 h
Games04:11 h06:42 h
Standby Mode99 h130 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 200 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 16320x12240 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2x 141
Flash Quad 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 n/a 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 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
Matrix12 MP200 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.4
Focal length28 mm23 mm
SensorApple iSight Duo CameraSamsung ISOCELL S5KHP2
Sensor size1/31/1.3 (0.77)
Pixel size1.22 μm0.6 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusLaser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/2.8f/2.9
Focal length57 mm111 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX854
Sensor sizen/a1/2.52 (0.4)
Pixel sizen/a0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrixn/a50 MP
Aperturen/af/1.9
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5KJN3
Sensor sizen/a1/2.5 (0.4)
Pixel sizen/a0.7 μm
Stabilizationn/aDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 8 Plus
94
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
160
Video quality
Apple iPhone 8 Plus
89
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
153
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 8 Plus
96
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
157
Bokehn/a165

Front camera

Matrix 7 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 3088x2320 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 32 mm 23 mm
Sensor BSI CMOS Samsung ISOCELL S5K3LU
Sensor size n/a 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 1 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- 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 No USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsHSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4(1700/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66(1700/B2100))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 category16n/a
5G SupportNoYes

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 8 Plus
80.1 dB
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2017 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date September, 2017 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 799 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 1299
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint 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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