Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max
How is Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra better than iPhone 17 Pro Max?
Bigger battery capacity: 5000 mAh vs 4832 mAh
More RAM memory capacity in max option: 12GB, 16GB vs 12GB
More megapixels main camera: 108 MP & 12 MP & 10 MP & 10 MP vs 48 MP & 48 MP & 48 MP
More megapixels front camera: 40MP vs 18MP
Better display resolution: 1440 x 3200 px vs 1320 x 2868 px
Lighter: 229 g (8.08 ounces) vs 233 g (8.22 ounces)
Narrower: 75.6 mm (2.98 inches) vs 78 mm (3.07 inches)
More color options: Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Titanium, Phantom Navy, Phantom Brown, Navy vs Silver, Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max
How is iPhone 17 Pro Max better than Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra?
Faster CPU speed: 2 x 3.89 GHz & 4 x 2.2 GHz vs 1 x 2.9 GHz & 3 x 2.8 GHz & 4 x 2.2 GHz
More internal storage in max option: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB vs 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Has a larger display diagonal: 6.9" vs 6.8"
Higher charging speed: 40W vs 25W
Shorter: 163.4 mm (6.43 inches) vs 165.1 mm (6.5 inches)
The phone is 3 years and 9 months newer
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Height
165.1 mm
(6.5 inches)
Width
75.6 mm
(2.98 inches)
Thickness
8.9 mm
(0.35 inches)
Screen size
6.8"
Weight
229 g
(8.08 ounces)
Height
163.4 mm
(6.43 inches)
Width
78 mm
(3.07 inches)
Thickness
8.75 mm
(0.34 inches)
Screen size
6.9"
Weight
233 g
(8.22 ounces)
Height
165.1 mm
(6.5 inches)
Width
75.6 mm
(2.98 inches)
Thickness
8.9 mm
(0.35 inches)
Screen size
6.8"
Weight
229 g
(8.08 ounces)
Height
163.4 mm
(6.43 inches)
Width
78 mm
(3.07 inches)
Thickness
8.75 mm
(0.34 inches)
Screen size
6.9"
Weight
233 g
(8.22 ounces)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Score 4.3
Score 4.6
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Score 4.3
Score 4.6
CNet
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max

TechRadar
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max

Tom's Guide
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max

PCMag
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max

Smartprix
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Show differences
Show differences
Specs
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Design
Weight
229 g (8.08 ounces)
233 g (8.22 ounces)
Thickness
8.9 mm (0.35 inches)
8.75 mm (0.34 inches)
Width
75.6 mm (2.98 inches)
78 mm (3.07 inches)
Height
165.1 mm (6.5 inches)
163.4 mm (6.43 inches)
Is weather-sealed (splashproof)
✔
-
Ingress Protection (IP) rating
IP68
IP68
Waterproof depth rating
1.5 m
6 m
Volume
111.09 cm³
111.52 cm³
Is dustproof and water-resistant
✔
-
Color options
Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Titanium, Phantom Navy, Phantom Brown, Navy
Silver, Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue
Lowest potential operating temperature
-
0 °C
Maximum operating temperature
-
35 °C
French Repairability Index
8.2
-
Water resistance
-
Waterproof
Display
Screen size
6.8"
6.9"
Display type
OLED/AMOLED
OLED/AMOLED
Pixel density
515 ppi
460 ppi
Resolution
1440 x 3200 px
1320 x 2868 px
Refresh rate
120Hz
120Hz
Touch sampling rate
-
120Hz
Brightness (typical)
1500 nits
1000 nits
Has branded damage-resistant glass
✔
✔
Gorilla Glass version
Gorilla Glass Victus
-
Supports HDR10
✔
✔
Supports HDR10+
✔
-
Always-On Display
✔
✔
Supports Dolby Vision
-
✔
Contrast ratio
3000000:1
2000000:1
Has a curved display
✔
-
Has a touch screen
✔
✔
Performance
Internal storage
128GB, 256GB, 512GB
256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB
RAM
12GB, 16GB
12GB
Android version
Android 14
-
CPU speed
1 x 2.9 GHz & 3 x 2.8 GHz & 4 x 2.2 GHz
2 x 3.89 GHz & 4 x 2.2 GHz
GPU clock speed
-
1490 MHz
Has integrated LTE
✔
✔
RAM speed
3200 MHz
-
Semiconductor size
5 nm
-
Supports 64-bit
✔
-
DirectX version
DirectX 12
-
Has integrated graphics
✔
-
OpenGL ES version
3.2
-
Uses big.LITTLE technology
✔
-
CPU threads
8 threads
-
Uses HMP
✔
-
Has TrustZone
✔
-
Maximum memory bandwidth
51.2 GB/s
78.8 GB/s
OpenCL version
2
-
DDR memory version
5
-
Maximum memory amount
16GB
-
Thermal Design Power (TDP)
9W
-
Shading units
-
128
Release date
2021
2025
GPU turbo
854 MHz
-
Has NX bit
✔
-
Memory channels
4
-
Cameras
Main camera
108 MP & 12 MP & 10 MP & 10 MP
48 MP & 48 MP & 48 MP
Front camera
40MP
18MP
Has built-in optical image stabilization
✔
✔
Video recording (main camera)
4320 x 24 fps
2160 x 120 fps
Wide aperture (main camera)
f/1.8 & f/2.2 & f/4.9 & f/2.4
f/1.78 & f/2.2 & f/2.8
Has a dual-tone LED flash
✔
✔
Has a BSI sensor
✔
✔
Has continuous autofocus when recording movies
✔
✔
Has phase-detection autofocus for photos
✔
✔
Supports slow-motion video recording
✔
✔
Has a built-in HDR mode
✔
✔
Has a flash
✔
✔
Has manual exposure
✔
✔
Has a dual-lens (or multi-lens) main camera
✔
✔
Optical zoom
10x
8x
Number of flash LEDs
2
2
Has a CMOS sensor
✔
✔
Has manual ISO
✔
✔
Has a serial shot mode
✔
✔
Has manual focus
✔
✔
Has a front camera
✔
✔
Has laser autofocus
✔
✔
Has manual white balance
✔
✔
Shoots raw
✔
✔
Has touch autofocus
✔
✔
Has manual shutter speed
-
✔
Can create panoramas in-camera
✔
✔
Wide aperture (front camera)
f/2.2
f/1.9
Has timelapse function
✔
✔
Supports Dolby Vision recording
-
✔
Minimum focal length
-
13 mm
Maximum focal length
-
120 mm
Pixel size (main camera)
-
1.22 µm & 0.7 µm & 1.12 µm
Supports HDR10 recording
-
✔
Operating system
Has clipboard warnings
✔
✔
Has location privacy options
✔
✔
Has camera/microphone privacy options
✔
✔
Has theme customization
✔
-
Can play games while they download
✔
-
Has dark mode
✔
✔
Has Wi-Fi password sharing
✔
✔
Has battery health check
✔
✔
Has an extra dim mode
✔
✔
Has focus modes
✔
✔
Has dynamic theming
✔
-
Can offload apps
✔
✔
Has customizable notifications
✔
✔
Has scrolling screenshots
✔
-
Supports split screen
✔
-
Supports instant markup
✔
-
Supports PiP and PaP
✔
-
Can be used as a PC
✔
-
Has sharing intents
✔
✔
Has a child lock
✔
✔
Supports widgets
-
✔
Is free and open source
✔
-
Tracks the current position of a mobile device
✔
✔
Is a multi-user system
✔
-
Has Mail Privacy Protection
-
✔
Can block app tracking
-
✔
Blocks cross-site tracking
-
✔
Has on-device machine learning
-
✔
Has Live Text
-
✔
Has SharePlay
-
✔
Gets direct OS updates
-
✔
Has AirPlay
-
✔
Supports widgets
✔
-
Has Quick Start
-
✔
More languages supported
125
-
Has offline voice recognition
✔
✔
The browser has word wrap
✔
-
Has voice commands
✔
✔
Has full-page screenshots
-
✔
Has PiP
-
✔
Has notification permissions
-
✔
Has media picker
-
✔
Battery
Battery power
5000 mAh
4832 mAh
Has wireless charging
✔
✔
Supports fast charging
✔
✔
Charging speed
25W
40W
Wireless charging speed
15W
30W
Has reverse wireless charging
✔
-
Reverse wireless charging speed
4.5W
-
Has a battery level indicator
✔
✔
Has a rechargeable battery
✔
✔
Battery life
35.5 hours
39 hours
Audio
Has stereo speakers
✔
✔
Has aptX
✔
-
Number of microphones
2
3
Features
Has 5G support
✔
✔
Wi-Fi version
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n)
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n), Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Download speed
3000 MBits/s
10000 MBits/s
Upload speed
422 MBits/s
3500 MBits/s
Has USB Type-C
✔
✔
USB version
3.2
3.2
Has NFC
✔
✔
SIM cards
1 SIM, 1 eSIM
1 SIM, 1 eSIM
Has a fingerprint scanner
✔
-
Has emergency SOS via satellite
-
✔
Bluetooth version
5.2
6
Has a gyroscope
✔
✔
Has GPS
✔
✔
Has a compass
✔
✔
Supports Wi-Fi
✔
✔
Has a cellular module
✔
✔
Has a barometer
✔
✔
Supports Galileo
✔
✔
Has an infrared sensor
-
✔
Has an accelerometer
✔
✔
Supports ant+
✔
-
Head SAR (eu)
0.71W/kg
-
Has crash detection
-
✔
Uses 3D facial recognition
-
✔
Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
iPhone 17 Pro Max