Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
VS
n/a out 100
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Manufactured in March, 2020, with display 6.9 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 S20 Ultra
  • Higher pixel density: 511ppi
  • Lighter design: 220g vs 221g
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4729mAh
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 3.1
  • Supports DisplayPort

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 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:
Galaxy S20 Ultra
vs
iPhone 17 Pro Max

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED OLED
Size 6.9 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1440x3200 pixels 1320x2868 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 511 ppi 458 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 90.6 % 92.6 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
886 nits
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
sRGB gamut99.2 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time6.2 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 166.9 mm (6.57 in) 163 mm (6.42 in)
Width 76 mm (2.99 in) 77.4 mm (3.05 in)
Thickness 8.8 mm (0.35 in) 8.2 mm (0.32 in)
Weight 220 g (7.76 oz) 221 g (7.8 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Gray		 - White
- Black
- Silver
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
90.6 %
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
92.6 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 990 Apple A19 Pro
Max Frequency 3020 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 800 MHz n/a
FLOPS 1126 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
1159
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
3780
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
3158
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
10772
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)11593780
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)315810772
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
760316
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
2112459
CPU220525510033
GPU225011791934
Memory146451367847
UX168329442645
NanoReview Score7603162112459
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
4320
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Max Surface Temp.38.6 °Cn/a
Stability53 %n/a
Graphics Test25 fpsn/a
Graphics Score4320n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
11163
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Writing score13391n/a
Web score8714n/a
Video editing6104n/a
Data manipulation9006n/a
NanoReview Score11163n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 12 GB
- 16 GB		 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 512 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.0NVMe
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 10.0 (Upgradeable to Android 13) iOS 26
OS Size 23.7 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 5.1 n/a

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 4729 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 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 (100% in 80 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 1:20 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
18:01
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a
Web Browsing06:27 hn/a
Video Playback11:23 hn/a
Games04:23 hn/a
Standby Mode91 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 108 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 12032x9204 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 4x Optical, 5x
Flash 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 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 108 MP
Telephoto: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Depth: 0.3 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
Matrix108 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length26 mmn/a
SensorSamsung Bright S5KHM1n/a
Sensor size1/1.331/1.28
Pixel size0.8 μm1.22 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix48 MP48 MP
Aperturef/3.5f/2.8
Focal length103 mm120 mm
SensorSony IMX586n/a
Sensor size1/2n/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

Front camera

Matrix 40 MP 24 MP
Photo resolution 7864x5200 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length 26 mm n/a
Sensor Samsung S5KGH1 n/a
Sensor size 1/2.65 n/a
Pixel size 0.7 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

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Wi-Fi Direct
- 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 3.1 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo		 - 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 SlotYesNo
2G BandsGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2n/a
3G BandsHSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100n/a
LTE Bands*LTE (B850/B900/B1700/B1900/B2100)n/a
LTE category22n/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 S20 Ultra
84.4 dB
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced February, 2020 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date March, 2020 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1400 n/a
MSRP ($) 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 S20 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

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