Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus vs Apple iPhone XS Max

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Manufactured in March, 2019, with display 6.4 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 9 Octa 9820, vs Apple iPhone XS Max, Manufactured in September, 2018 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
  • Higher pixel density: 522ppi
  • Lighter design: 175g vs 208g
  • Higher battery capacity: 4100mAh vs 3174mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.1 vs 2
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XS Max
  • Larger display: 6.5in
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB
- 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus and Apple iPhone XS 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

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Super AMOLED OLED
Size 6.4 in 6.5 in
Resolution 1440x3040 pixels 1242x2688 pixels
Aspect ratio 19:9 19.4:9
Pixel density 522 ppi 456 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 1200 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 120 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 87.6 % 85.4 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
789 nits
Apple iPhone XS Max
657 nits
sRGB gamut96.5 %98.8 %
PWM (Flicker)235 Hz240 Hz
Response time4.8 ms11.2 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 157.6 mm (6.2 in) 157.5 mm (6.2 in)
Width 74.1 mm (2.92 in) 77.4 mm (3.05 in)
Thickness 7.8 mm (0.31 in) 7.7 mm (0.3 in)
Weight 175 g (6.17 oz) 208 g (7.34 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Green
- Red
- Silver
- Gold
- Gray
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
87.6 %
Apple iPhone XS Max
85.4 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus and Apple iPhone XS Max In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9820 Apple A12 Bionic
Max Frequency 2730 MHz 2490 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.95 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2.31 (Cortex-A75)
- 2/2.73 (Mongoose M4)
- 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 8 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Yes Neural Engine
Graphics Mali-G76 MP12 Apple A12 GPU
GPU Cores 432 256
GPU Frequency 720 MHz 1100 MHz
FLOPS 607 GFLOPS 576 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
947
Apple iPhone XS Max
1310
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
2460
Apple iPhone XS Max
3458
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)9471310
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)24603458
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
638195
Apple iPhone XS Max
700191
CPU165023198067
GPU197322185355
Memory120939152138
UX154911164631
NanoReview Score638195700191
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
3230
Apple iPhone XS Max
5703
Max Surface Temp.42.5 °C45.2 °C
Stability82 %66 %
Graphics Test19 fps34 fps
Graphics Score32305703
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
8595
Apple iPhone XS Max
n/a
Writing score10100n/a
Web score6612n/a
Video editing5772n/a
Data manipulation6847n/a
NanoReview Score8595n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB
4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz n/a
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 1024 GB
- 64 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.1NVMe
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 9.0 (Upgradeable to Android 12) iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size 46.5 GB 16 GB
UI Skin One UI 4.0 n/a

Battery

Volume 4100 mAh 3174 mAh
Max Charging Power 15 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Qi/PMA (15 W) Yes Qi (10 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (50% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:40 h 03:29 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
16:40
Apple iPhone XS Max
17:28
Web Browsing05:58 h06:43 h
Video Playback11:15 h10:28 h
Games04:15 h04:11 h
Standby Mode80 h87 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2x Optical, 2x
Flash Dual LED Quad LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 240 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 16 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.5 - 2.4f/1.8
Focal length26 mm28 mm
SensorSamsung SAK2L4Apple iSight X
Sensor size1/2.551/2.5
Pixel size1.4 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.4
Focal length52 mm52 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3M3n/a
Sensor size1/3.61/3.4
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix16 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length12 mmn/a
Sensor size1/3.1n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
114
Apple iPhone XS Max
110
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
97
Apple iPhone XS Max
96
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
109
Apple iPhone XS Max
105

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 7 MP
Photo resolution 4320x2432 pixels 3088x2316 pixels
Aperture f/1.9 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 32 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3J1 BSI CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.65 n/a
Pixel size 1.22 μm n/a
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
101
Apple iPhone XS Max
97
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
88
Apple iPhone XS Max
119

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
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 5
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 3.1 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotYesNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsB1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8 (900)HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B66)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)
LTE category2016
5G SupportNoNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
87.8 dB
Apple iPhone XS Max
77.2 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced February, 2019 yr September, 2018 yr
Release Date March, 2019 yr September, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 1000 1100
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
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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