Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

57 out 100
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
VS
n/a out 100
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Manufactured in August, 2020, with display 6.7 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 990, vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max, Manufactured in September, 2025 with chipsetApple A19 Pro. 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 Samsung Galaxy Note 20
  • Lighter design: 192g vs 221g
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 458ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 4729mAh vs 4300mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
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:
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
vs
iPhone 17 Pro Max

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Super AMOLED OLED
Size 6.7 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1320x2868 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 393 ppi 458 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 600 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 89.1 % 92.6 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
619 nits
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
sRGB gamut99.9 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)250 Hzn/a
Response time6.4 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy Note 20]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 161.6 mm (6.36 in) 163 mm (6.42 in)
Width 75.2 mm (2.96 in) 77.4 mm (3.05 in)
Thickness 8.3 mm (0.33 in) 8.2 mm (0.32 in)
Weight 192 g (6.77 oz) 221 g (7.8 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Green
- Brown		 - White
- Black
- Silver
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
89.1 %
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
92.6 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 990 Apple A19 Pro
Max Frequency 2730 MHz 4300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 2 + 4) n/a
Architecture - 4/2 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2.5 (Cortex-A76)
- 2/2.73 (Exynos M5)		 n/a
Process Samsung n/a
Transistor Size 7 nm n/a
Neural Processor Yes n/a
Graphics Mali-G77 MP11 n/a
GPU Cores 704 n/a
GPU Frequency 550 MHz n/a
FLOPS 1126 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
1148
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
3780
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
3107
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
10772
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)11483780
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)310710772
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
776145
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
2112459
CPU225316510033
GPU239949791934
Memory146041367847
UX164839442645
NanoReview Score7761452112459
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
4317
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Max Surface Temp.38.6 °Cn/a
Stability88 %n/a
Graphics Test25 fpsn/a
Graphics Score4317n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy Note 20]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
10773
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Writing score12721n/a
Web score8280n/a
Video editing5783n/a
Data manipulation7654n/a
NanoReview Score10773n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2400 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity256 GB256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 10 (Upgradeable to Android 13) iOS 26
OS Size 35 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 5.0 n/a

Battery

Volume 4300 mAh 4729 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 30 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 1:05 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
19:26
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Web Browsing07:01 hn/a
Video Playback12:33 hn/a
Games04:55 hn/a
Standby Mode96 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 5x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Up to 24FPS No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 240 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Telephoto: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Depth
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length26 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX555n/a
Sensor size1/1.761/1.28
Pixel size1.8 μm1.22 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix64 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.0f/2.8
Focal length27 mm120 mm
SensorSamsung Bright S5KGW2n/a
Sensor size1/1.72n/a
Pixel size0.8 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSamsung S5K2LAn/a
Sensor size1/2.55n/a
Pixel size1.4 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
123
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
105
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
120
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy Note 20]

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 24 MP
Photo resolution 3872x2592 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length 26 mm n/a
Sensor Sony IMX374 n/a
Sensor size 1/3.2 n/a
Pixel size 1.22 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Optical
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No Yes
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
103
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
95
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a

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 5.4
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- NAVIC		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*2n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900n/a
3G BandsHSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100n/a
LTE Bands*LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2000/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)n/a
LTE category20n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
87.9 dB
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced August, 2020 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date August, 2020 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1000 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 1199
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face 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 Note 20 the clear winner in this comparison.

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