Apple iPhone XR vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone XR Manufactured in October, 2018, with display 6.1 with chipsetApple A12 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 XR
  • Lighter design: 194g 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 2942mAh
  • 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 - 3/64 GB
- 3/128 GB
- 3/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone XR 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 6.1 in 6.9 in
Resolution 828x1792 pixels 1440x3120 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 326 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 Yes Dolby Vision Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 79.9 % 91.4 %
Features n/a - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone XR
635 nits
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
2811 nits
sRGB gamut100 %n/a
Response time32.8 msn/a
Contrast1920:1n/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 150.9 mm (5.94 in) 163.6 mm (6.44 in)
Width 75.7 mm (2.98 in) 78.1 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 8.3 mm (0.33 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 194 g (6.84 oz) 214 g (7.55 oz)
Water resistance IP67 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue
- Red
- Orange
- Yellow
- White
- Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor No Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone XR
79.9 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
91.4 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone XR and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A12 Bionic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 2490 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)
- 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 7 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Neural Engine Hexagon
Graphics Apple A12 GPU Adreno 840
GPU Cores 256 1536
GPU Frequency 1100 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 576 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone XR
1167
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone XR
3020
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
11259
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)11673753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)302011259
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a28787
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone XR
656253
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3720219
CPU2030131094797
GPU1554781447696
Memory134836425113
UX162926752613
NanoReview Score6562533720219
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone XR
5205
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
n/a
Max Surface Temp.42.6 °Cn/a
Stability69 %n/a
Graphics Test31 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5205n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 3 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 64 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2) Android 16
OS Size 11.1 GB n/a
UI Skin n/a One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 2942 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 15 W 60 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Qi (10 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 30 min) Yes (84% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:43 h 0:43 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone XR
20:45
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
28:50
Web Browsing08:01 h10:12 h
Video Playback11:59 h21:39 h
Games04:34 h06:42 h
Standby Mode106 h130 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 200 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 16320x12240 pixels
Zoom Digital 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 Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP200 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.4
Focal length26 mm23 mm
SensorApple iSight XSamsung ISOCELL S5KHP2
Sensor size1/2.551/1.3 (0.77)
Pixel size1.4 μm0.6 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusLaser 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
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 XR
103
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
160
Video quality
Apple iPhone XR
96
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
153
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone XR
101
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
157
Bokehn/a165

Front camera

Matrix 7 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 3088x2316 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 32 mm 23 mm
Sensor CMOS Samsung ISOCELL S5K3LU
Sensor size n/a 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size n/a 1.12 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 60 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 MiMO
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 6.0
Bluetooth features SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE
USB type No USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- OTG
- 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 Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsHSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)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 category12n/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 XR
87.3 dB
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2018 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date October, 2018 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 750 n/a
MSRP ($) 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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