Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S26 FE and Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S26 FE vs Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max

80 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
VS
93 out 100
Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Manufactured in September, 2026, with display 6.7 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2500, vs Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max, Manufactured in September, 2026 with chipsetApple A20 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 S26 FE
  • Lighter design: 193g vs 249g
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 5567mAh vs 4900mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.4
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB		 - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB
- 12/2048 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S26 FE and Apple iPhone 18 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.
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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
Smartphones:
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
vs
iPhone 18 Pro Max

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED OLED
Size 6.7 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1320x2868 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 385 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1300 nits 3000 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10+ Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 88.6 % 91.6 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
1857 nits
Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max
n/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 161.6 mm (6.36 in) 163.4 mm (6.43 in)
Width 76.9 mm (3.03 in) 78 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 7.4 mm (0.29 in) 8.75 mm (0.34 in)
Weight 193 g (6.81 oz) 249 g (8.78 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Gray
- Blue
- Purple		 - Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Burgundy
Fingerprint sensor Yes, In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
88.6 %
Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max
91.6 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S26 FE and Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2500 Apple A20 Pro
Max Frequency 3300 MHz 4930 MHz
CPU Cores 10 (1 + 2 + 5 + 2) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 2/1.8 (Cortex-A520)
- 5/2.36 (Cortex-A725)
- 2/2.74 (Cortex-A725)
- 1/3.3 (Cortex-X925)		 4/2.64 ()
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 3 nm 2 nm
Neural Processor Yes Apple Neural Engine
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
2217
Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max
4725
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
7699
Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max
12575
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)22174725
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)769912575
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy S26 FE], [Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
2289696
Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max
2935466
CPU771016882877
GPU7238241051925
Memory356421262172
UX438435738492
NanoReview Score22896962935466

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency n/a 4800 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 17 iOS 27
UI Skin One UI 9 n/a

Battery

Volume 4900 mAh 5567 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 W 60 W
Battery Type n/a Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging Yes, (Wireless) Yes
Fast Charging Yes (69% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 15 min)
Full Charge Time 1:08 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
25:38
Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max
n/a
Web Browsing09:42 hn/a
Video Playback17:42 hn/a
Games06:12 hn/a
Standby Mode117 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 4x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Telephoto: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Depth
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.5 - 4.0
Focal length24 mm24 mm
SensorSamsung ISOCELL S5KGN3n/a
Sensor size1/1.57 (0.64)n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix8 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.8
Focal length75 mm100 mm
SensorOmniVision OV08A10n/a
Sensor size1/4.4 (0.23)1/2.55 (0.39)
Pixel size1 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3L6n/a
Sensor size1/3.0 (0.33)1/2.55 (0.39)
Pixel size1.12 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 18 MP
Photo resolution 3648x2736 pixels 4896x3672 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length 26 mm 20 mm
Sensor CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.2 (0.31) n/a
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1 μm
Autofocus No 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 6E (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 n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*2n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
3G BandsUMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)
LTE category20n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced August, 2026 yr September, 2026 yr
Release Date September, 2026 yr September, 2026 yr
MSRP ($) 699 1299
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included No No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max the clear winner in this comparison.

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