iPhone 16 Pro Max vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra

Apple’s newest Professional Max finds itself within the ordinary robust crowd, competing in opposition to the perfect choices from all the massive names within the enterprise. Archrival Samsung has had its final S24 Extremely available on the market for what’s approaching a 12 months now, but it surely stays a productiveness powerhouse with diversified digital camera capabilities. The iPhone 16 Professional Max, then again, brings Apple’s newest silicon, a couple of minor digital camera tweaks, and a few endurance enhancements. So which one is healthier?

Desk of Contents:

For starters, you’ll be able to compare the complete specs sheets or straight proceed with our editor’s evaluation within the following textual content.

Dimension comparability

If the Max and Extremely names do not get the message throughout, the numbers in all probability will – the 2 telephones are giant and heavy. The Professional Max gained a couple of millimeters in peak and a mil in width over the earlier technology, plus it is now a couple of grams heavier. The Galaxy is nearer in dimensions to its predecessor, but it surely’s nonetheless bigger, bulkier, and ever so barely heavier than the iPhone.

The iPhone has an additional button this time round, which provides digital camera performance and/or permits the beforehand accessible motion key to serve functions apart from launching the digital camera. The Galaxy has extra than simply an additional button – it packs a stylus, the S Pen providing tons of performance for each work and play. We reckon the latter is extra helpful.

Colour choices are quite subdued on the iPhone, whereas the Galaxy gives a considerably extra thrilling choice, significantly should you’re to purchase straight from samsung.com, the place some unique brighter colorways could be discovered.

Each telephones make use of titanium in a single kind or one other for his or her frames. We’re not completely positive whose methodology for attaching the uncovered bits to the internals is superior, however in each circumstances, your fingers will probably be touching titanium – presumably completely different alloy compositions, too, however strive telling them aside and you will notice it is not possible.

The Galaxy is protected by Gorilla Armor, Corning’s newest glass that is distinctive in its low reflectivity. In the meantime, the iPhone makes use of a brand new technology of their tailored Ceramic Defend, additionally coming from Corning.

The iPhone carries the identical IP68 ranking for mud and water resistance, however Apple is raring to vow greater resistance than what the usual requires – 6m of depth vs. 1.5m (each for half-hour).

Show comparability

The iPhone’s show grew in dimension this technology; the 16 Professional Max’s 6.9-inch diagonal is now barely bigger than the 6.8-inch S24 Extremely panel. Each screens are a lot sharp, have adaptive excessive refresh charge help, promise tremendous excessive brightness, and are HDR-compliant.

The iPhone’s 460ppi pixel density means it is now bought a 1,320×2,868px decision (density is the basic spec within the Apple world), whereas the Galaxy’s 1,440×3,120px decision leads to a barely greater 505ppi. Each panels have the identical side ratio, at 19.5:9.

In our testing, we measured 1,796nits on the iPhone and 1,447nits on the Galaxy of their respective auto brightness modes, and the iPhone additionally had a bonus in handbook operation (900 vs 755nits). It is a largely immaterial distinction, however nonetheless, the iPhone can go brighter. The Galaxy’s low reflectivity might give it a bonus in sure conditions although, or not less than negate the iPhone’s superior… nittage.

Each telephones help HDR10, however the iPhone can be Dolby Imaginative and prescient succesful, whereas Samsung is insisting on HDR10+ as a substitute. Each can even do HDR in photographs of their galleries in addition to appropriate pictures on the web.

Battery life

Apple upped the battery capability for this 12 months’s Professional Max to 4685mAh, whereas the Galaxy S Extremely mannequin’s battery has been at 5,000mAh since there’s a Galaxy S Extremely.

Even earlier than this 12 months’s iPhone capability improve, Professional Maxes sometimes outlasted competing Galaxies in our testing, and that is additionally the case between the 16 Professional Max and the S24 Extremely.

The iPhone has a notable benefit in internet shopping and video playback, and a much less vital however nonetheless significant edge in gaming. The truth that the Galaxy snatches a victory in voice calls is much less vital, we expect.

Charging pace

The Galaxy might not final so long as the iPhone on a single cost, but it surely does take much less time to high up. Samsung’s hardly on the forefront of speedy charging tech, however the S24 Extremely remains to be considerably faster than the 16 Professional Max – a distinction you will be feeling usually.

Neither telephone comes with a charger bundled, although, so you could be getting vastly completely different outcomes relying on what you plug into your iPhone or Galaxy – or what you slap to their backs, as each telephones additionally help wi-fi charging. The iPhone is rated for as much as 25W with MagSafe chargers and 15W with third-party pads, and the Galaxy maxes out at 15W based on its specs.

Speaker take a look at

Each telephones have stereo audio system, and so they make use of the same old association – one speaker on the underside, one other one above the show that additionally works because the earpiece. Each telephones earned the identical ‘Very Good’ ranking for loudness, with very shut built-in loudness values in our take a look at. Nonetheless, if we needed to decide one, it will be the iPhone.

Efficiency

The iPhone 16 Professional Max makes use of Apple’s latest A18 Professional chipset, whereas the Galaxy S24 Extremely depends on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Meaning the iPhone has cutting-edge silicon, in contrast to the Galaxy, whose chip has simply been changed, and we’ll be seeing extra highly effective Androids within the coming weeks and months. That mentioned, there is a good two to a few months earlier than a Galaxy reveals up with the Snapdragon Elite, so that is nearly as good as you will get from Samsung now.

Apple’s fitted 8GB of RAM on the 16 Professional Max, whereas the Galaxy comes with 12GB, although every working system has its personal specifics in coping with reminiscence, so these numbers do not imply so much in a direct comparability. Storage is extra simple and each telephones begin at 256GB and could be had with as much as a terabyte.

Benchmark efficiency

In benchmarks, the iPhone considerably outperforms the Galaxy beneath uncooked CPU load, whereas the Galaxy has a bonus in GPU checks (extra vital in ray-tracing checks). General, each telephones are a lot highly effective and future proof.

One other side of futureproofing is long-term software program help. Samsung guarantees 7 main OS releases and seven years of safety updates. Apple’s coverage is not as specific, however 5 years of help seems to have been established because the norm. Once more, you will be set for a very long time with one among these.

Digicam comparability

A key side of the iPhone vs. Galaxy rivalry is the digital camera efficiency, and the 2 telephones are among the many higher choices for picture-taking and video seize. Their {hardware} is not as comparable as between another pairs we have seen, however they do share a couple of similarities.

The Galaxy is, by all accounts, higher geared up on the lengthy finish of the zoom vary. Whereas each telephones characteristic 5x optical zoom, the S24 Extremely’s sensor is bigger, and higher-res, plus its 5x digital camera can do some moderately good closeups, in contrast to the iPhone’s. Then there’s the second zoom digital camera of the Galaxy that properly bridges the hole between the primary one and the telephoto.

Talking of primary ones, the Galaxy’s 200MP sensor is definitely that little bit smaller than the iPhone’s 50MP unit, however the distinction is negligible. Trying on the ultrawides, the iPhone’s sensor needs to be just a little higher in idea, however each are the identical dimension – and each have AF on the ultrawide cameras too.

There’s some ‘area of interest’ digital camera performance for every of those, the iPhone having a brand new button this time round, whereas the Galaxy’s S Pen has one thing to supply itself. The 16 Professional Max’s Digicam Management key allows you to launch the app and tweak settings inside it, however is the stylus’ distant shutter launch a extra universally usable characteristic?

Picture high quality

Images from the 2 primary cameras carry every model’s signature strategy to processing. The Galaxy’s output is extra expressive, with brighter exposures and extra vibrant colours, subsequent to the extra restrained iPhone photos. The Galay’s pictures are cleaner and sharper, whereas the iPhone lets extra noise within the remaining outcomes.

Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight photograph samples, 1x

Samsung has caught up with Apple when it comes to 2x zoom outcomes and whereas the 16 Professional Max does a decent job, the S24 Extremely has a little bit of an edge.

iPhone 16 Professional Max daylight photograph samples, 2x

Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight photograph samples, 2x

Then there’s the devoted 3x digital camera that the Galaxy has. With Samsung’s superiority already established at 2x, we figured we would not embarrass the iPhone and solely present the S24 Extremely’s 3x photographs. For those who occur to take quite a lot of photographs across the 70mm focal size (equiv.), maybe the Galaxy is the higher thought.

Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight photograph samples, 3x

At 5x, despite the fact that the iPhone has a digital camera to type of match the Galaxy, the pictures out of the S24 Extremely have an edge intimately and readability. That is earlier than you attempt to shoot small-ish issues from up shut the place the Galaxy has a substantial benefit in minimal focus distance.

iPhone 16 Professional Max daylight photograph samples, 5x

Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight photograph samples, 5x

We might additionally choose the Galaxy’s outcomes at 10x – the iPhone captures comparable element, but it surely’s blotchy rendition is not remotely likable.

iPhone 16 Professional Max daylight photograph samples, 10x

Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight photograph samples, 10x

Evaluating the photographs from the ultrawides, these from the Galaxy simply may be just a little bit sharper, but it surely’s not a distinction that it’s best to make a giant deal out of.

iPhone 16 Professional Max daylight photograph samples, 0.5x

Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight photograph samples, 0.6x

The 2 telephones seize nice selfies, however we might say those from the Galaxy have an edge intimately and so they even have livelier, extra lifelike colours.

Selfie samples: iPhone 16 Professional Max • Galaxy S24 Extremely

At the hours of darkness, it is the Galaxy that returns noisier photographs, however we do not thoughts the additional grain when it comes with loads of element to make up for it. The iPhone’s kinda-sorta strategy to Night time mode means you may be getting 24MP photographs at nighttime (strictly 12MP when Night time mode kicks in), however no matter nominal decision, it is the Galaxy’s photographs that are likely to have higher definition.

iPhone 16 Professional Max low-light photograph samples, 1x

Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light photograph samples, 1x

At 2x, issues are extra of a toss-up between the 2 – element is kind of the identical.

iPhone 16 Professional Max low-light photograph samples, 2x

Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light photograph samples, 2x

Once more, the mere incontrovertible fact that the S24 Extremely has a 3x digital camera, offers it a bonus over the iPhone. However it’s not just like the Galaxy’s 3x pictures are merely higher than nothing – they’re truly fairly strong, despite the fact that it is a comparatively small sensor that is doing the work.

Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light photograph samples, 3x

At 5x at nighttime, the iPhone does alright, however the Galaxy has the higher hand relating to element.

iPhone 16 Professional Max low-light photograph samples, 5x

Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light photograph samples, 5x

The S24 Extremely additionally wins for ultrawide photograph high quality at nighttime, with a significant benefit in definition and element.

iPhone 16 Professional Max low-light photograph samples, 0.5x

Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light photograph samples, 0.6x

Video high quality

Video recording is a type of areas iPhones usually maintain a powerful benefit. On this specific case, we would not say both telephone has a significant benefit when evaluating footage at 1x, 2x or 5x zoom ranges, and the ultrawides are wanting very comparable too, relating to goal properties. The Galaxy is clearly vastly higher at 3x, and has a little bit of an edge at 10x.

Under, we’ve got a couple of framegrabs from the movies taken by the 2 telephones at every focal size so it is simpler to check to 1 one other.

iPhone 16 Professional Max daylight video samples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 5x • 10x

Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight video samples: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 5x • 10x

At the hours of darkness, the Galaxy has a small benefit on the ultrawide finish, whereas the iPhone in some way inches forward on the 5x stage, if solely barely. The principle cameras are roughly on par.

iPhone 16 Professional Max low-light video samples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 5x

Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light video samples: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 5x

Verdict

An iPhone vs Galaxy comparability is one other a type of barely theoretical endeavors – positive, you’ll be able to discover how they stack up, but it surely’s extra possible that you will be selecting one primarily based on ecosystem concerns quite than efficiency within the areas that are not OS-specific. So should you’re into Apple land, get the 16 Professional Max; should you’re an Android die-hard, the Extremely makes all of the sense.

For those who look lengthy and onerous on the numbers and photographs on this web page, you simply would possibly discover a couple of areas the place one is objectively higher than the opposite, although. For instance, whereas the Galaxy isn’t any slouch in battery life, the iPhone gives longer endurance in our testing. Samsung counters have sooner charging. Why cannot we’ve got each on the identical telephone?

The S24 Extremely beats the iPhone in a few extra vital methods, too. One is the S Pen, which opens up many potentialities for productiveness but in addition simply basic usefulness. The opposite key benefit is on the telephoto aspect of the digital camera system, the place the Galaxy fares higher for distant topics at a number of zoom ranges, plus it will possibly additionally do closeups. So should you’re not married to iOS, maybe it is value wanting into getting the S24 Extremely for its extra versatile digital camera system and the built-in stylus.