Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs iPhone 17 Pro Max: Which one to get?

The Galaxy S26 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max represent the absolute pinnacle of the smartphone market. This ultimate comparison pits Samsung vs Apple to see which flagship reigns supreme. Will the unique Privacy screen and S-Pen versatility outweigh Apple’s refined ecosystem? Check out this HEAD-TO-HEAD for the COMPLETE BREAKDOWN of how these two phones compare in terms of screen quality, battery life and charging speed, chipset performance, and camera image quality, all based on our extensive reviews. ▶ Read our detailed text comparison https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_gala... ▶ Check the phone's prices https://www.gsmarena.com/where-to-buy... https://www.gsmarena.com/where-to-buy... Note: This is an unbiased, non-sponsored review, but sales commissions may be earned if you make a purchase through the link above. ▶ Check out the full phone's specs https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_gala... https://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone... ▶ Check out how the phones sound https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_gala... ▶ Get the GSMArena.com merch here: https://merch.gsmarena.com/ ******************** 00:00 - Galaxy S26 Ultra vs iPhone 17 Pro Max 00:23 - Design and build quality comparison 00:46 - 6.9" LTPO OLED brightness comparison 02:06 - Ultrasonic vs FaceID security 02:29 - Stereo speaker loudness & quality 02:56 - Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 vs Apple A19 Pro 03:21 - Geekbench 6 benchmarks 03:27 - Thermal throttling test 03:39 - One UI 8.0 vs iOS 19 features 04:30 - Battery life endurance test 04:58 - Charging speed: 45W vs 30W 05:28 - 200MP vs 48MP camera specs 05:50 - Main camera daylight photo quality 06:07 - 3X telephoto zoom: Galaxy samples 06:14 - 5X vs 4X optical zoom comparison 06:23 - 10X digital vs 8X digital zoom comparison 06:34 - Ultrawide camera: daylight samples 06:44 - Low-light photography & Night Mode 07:06 - Night zoom: 3X Galaxy samples 07:15 - Low-light 5X vs 4X zoom performance 07:28 - Night zoom: 10X vs 8X zoom quality 07:32 - Ultrawide low-light image quality 07:40 - iPhone 17 Pro Max selfie features 07:49 - Front camera photo quality 07:59 - 4K selfie video & stabilization 08:05 - 4K daylight video test 08:43 - 4K low-light video 09:09 - Which flagship should you buy? 09:17 - Best features of both phones 09:31 - Galaxy S26 Ultra: Why buy it? 09:45 - iPhone 17 Pro Max: Key advantages