Home Phone comparison Apple iPhone XS and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos) - Which is better?

Apple iPhone XS vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)

52 out 100
Apple iPhone XS
VS
88 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
Apple iPhone XS
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone XS Manufactured in September, 2018, with display 5.8 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos), Manufactured in March, 2026with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2600. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XS
  • Higher pixel density: 458ppi
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
  • Larger display: 6.3in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 167g vs 177g
  • Higher battery capacity: 4300mAh vs 2658mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB		 - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone XS 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.
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
Smartphones:
Apple iPhone XS
vs
Galaxy S26 (Exynos)

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 5.8 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1125x2436 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 458 ppi 411 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 625 nits n/a
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 120 Hz 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 81.1 % 90.9 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone XS
635 nits
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
n/a
sRGB gamut98.8 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time4.4 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone XS]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 143.6 mm (5.65 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 70.9 mm (2.79 in) 71.7 mm (2.82 in)
Thickness 7.7 mm (0.3 in) 7.2 mm (0.28 in)
Weight 177 g (6.24 oz) 167 g (5.89 oz)
Water resistance IP68 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 No Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone XS
81.1 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
90.9 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone XS and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A12 Bionic Samsung Exynos 2600
Max Frequency 2490 MHz 3800 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 10 (1 + 3 + 6)
Architecture - 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)		 - 6/2.75 (C1-Pro)
- 3/3.25 (C1-Pro)
- 1/3.8 (C1-Ultra)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 7 nm 2 nm
Neural Processor Neural Engine AI engine with 32K MAC NPU
Graphics Apple A12 GPU Samsung Xclipse 960
GPU Cores 256 1024
GPU Frequency 1100 MHz 980 MHz
FLOPS 576 GFLOPS 4014.1 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone XS
1307
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
3203
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone XS
3447
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
11056
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13073203
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)344711056
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a27467
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone XS
733639
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
3504102
CPU2025761013874
GPU2175481351843
Memory146853414601
UX166662723784
NanoReview Score7336393504102
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone XS
5698
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
n/a
Max Surface Temp.44.8 °Cn/a
Stability63 %n/a
Graphics Test34 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5698n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone XS]

Memory

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

Software

OS iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2) Android 16
OS Size 11.8 GB 29.5 GB
UI Skin n/a One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 2658 mAh 4300 mAh
Max Charging Power 15 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Qi (10 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 60 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 2:40 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone XS
16:06
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
n/a
Web Browsing05:44 hn/a
Video Playback09:44 hn/a
Games03:54 hn/a
Standby Mode84 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 8160x6120 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2x Optical, 3x
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 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 n/a 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP		 Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm24 mm
SensorApple iSight XSamsung ISOCELL S5KGN3
Sensor size1/2.551/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size1.4 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP10 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.4
Focal length52 mm67 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5K3K1
Sensor size1/3.41/3.94 (0.25)
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX564
Sensor sizen/a1/2.55 (0.39)
Pixel sizen/a1.4 μm
Stabilizationn/aDigital

Front camera

Matrix 7 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 3088x2316 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 32 mm 26 mm
Sensor CMOS Samsung S5K3LU
Sensor size n/a 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
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 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 5.4
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
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes, DP 1.2
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*12
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/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)
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 XS
87.3 dB
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2018 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date September, 2018 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 1000 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 879
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 (Exynos) the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
1 (100%)
0 (0%)
Total Votes: 1

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