Realme 16 Pro Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Realme 16 Pro Plus Manufactured in January, 2026, with display 6.8 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, 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 Realme 16 Pro Plus
  • Higher refresh rate: 144Hz
  • Lighter design: 198g vs 214g
  • Higher battery capacity: 7000mAh vs 5000mAh
  • Infrared port
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 500ppi
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.4
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Realme 16 Pro 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.
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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 6.8 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1280x2800 pixels 1440x3120 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 453 ppi 500 ppi
Refresh rate 144 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1800 nits 1500 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 91.6 % 91.4 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Realme 16 Pro Plus
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
2811 nits

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 162.5 mm (6.4 in) 163.6 mm (6.44 in)
Width 76.3 mm (3 in) 78.1 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 8.1 mm (0.32 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 198 g (6.98 oz) 214 g (7.55 oz)
Water resistance IP69 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Eco Leather Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Gold
- Gray
- Pink
- White
- Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes, In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Realme 16 Pro Plus
91.6 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
91.4 %

Performance

Testing Realme 16 Pro Plus and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 2800 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 4 + 3) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 3/1.84 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-520))
- 4/2.4 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-720))
- 1/2.8 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-720))
- 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Yes Hexagon
Graphics Adreno 722 Adreno 840
GPU Cores 512 1536
GPU Frequency 1150 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 1177.6 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Realme 16 Pro Plus
1374
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Realme 16 Pro Plus
4363
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
11259
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13743753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)436311259
Geekbench Compute (GPU)782028787
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Realme 16 Pro Plus
1436204
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3720219
CPU5175651094797
GPU3233711447696
Memory223419425113
UX371849752613
NanoReview Score14362043720219

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 16 Android 16
UI Skin Realme UI 7.0 One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 7000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 80 W 60 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes Yes (84% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time n/a 0:43 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Realme 16 Pro Plus
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 200 MP 200 MP
Photo resolution n/a 16320x12240 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3.5x 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 n/a 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 116 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 2.8 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix200 MP200 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.4
Focal length23 mm23 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5KHP2
Sensor size1/1.56 (0.64)1/1.3 (0.77)
Pixel size0.5 μm0.6 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Laser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix28 MP50 MP
Aperturef/2.8f/2.9
Focal lengthn/a111 mm
Sensor1/2.76Sony IMX854
Sensor sizen/a1/2.52 (0.4)
Pixel size0.64 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MP50 MP
Aperturen/af/1.9
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5KJN3
Sensor size1/4 (0.25)1/2.5 (0.4)
Pixel size1.12 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Realme 16 Pro Plus
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
160
Video quality
Realme 16 Pro Plus
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
153
Overall camera score
Realme 16 Pro Plus
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
157
Bokehn/a165

Front camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 23 mm
Sensor CMOS Samsung ISOCELL S5K3LU
Sensor size 1/2.88 (0.35) 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 0.61 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus n/a Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) 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 5.4 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 No Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* No Yes
Infrared Port Yes No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G Bandsn/aGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G Bandsn/aUMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*n/aLTE (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 n/a Yes

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced January, 2026 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date January, 2026 yr March, 2026 yr
MSRP ($) n/a 1299
Sensors - 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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