Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus vs Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.8-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus (with Exynos 9 Octa 9825) that was released on August 7, 2019, against the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, which is powered by Apple A15 Bionic and came out 25 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
- Has 2x more RAM: 12GB versus 6GB
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1000GB
- Fingerprint scanner
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- Supports higher wattage charging (45W versus 27W)
- Reverse charging feature
- CPU with a higher amount of cores (+2)
- Weighs 44 grams less
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- 2x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1226K versus 618K)
- Shows 58% longer battery life (43:42 vs 27:35 hours)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Delivers 32% higher peak brightness (1055 against 798 nits)
- The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
- Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
- The phone is 2-years and 1-month newer
- Ready for eSIM technology
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Super AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.8 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3040 pixels | 1284 x 2778 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 495 ppi | 458 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | Yes |
| Max rated brightness | 700 nits | 1000 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 1200 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | Ceramic Shield |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 92.39% | 87.4% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 95.4% | 99.9% |
| PWM | 250 Hz | 238 Hz |
| Response time | 3.6 ms | 8.5 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 162.3 mm (6.39 inches) | 160.8 mm (6.33 inches) |
| Width | 77.2 mm (3.04 inches) | 78.1 mm (3.07 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.65 mm (0.3 inches) |
| Weight | 196 g (6.91 oz) | 240 g (8.47 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Red | Black, Silver, Gold, Blue, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9825 | Apple A15 Bionic |
| Max clock | 2730 MHz | 3230 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 4 cores at 1.95 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 2 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A75 - 2 cores at 2.73 GHz: M4 |
- 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard
- 2 cores at 3.23 GHz: Avalanche |
| Lithography process | 7 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G76 MP12 | Apple A15 GPU |
| GPU shading units | 432 | 640 |
| GPU clock | 770 MHz | 1338 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~651.5 GFLOPS | ~1712.6 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 182103 | 274447 |
| GPU | 170400 | 390073 |
| Memory | 120562 | 190761 |
| UX | 143370 | 363150 |
| Total score | 618715 | 1226350 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 38.8 °C | 45.8 °C |
| Stability | 97% | 82% |
| Graphics test | 20 FPS | 56 FPS |
| Graphics score | 3377 | 9446 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 7253 | - |
| Video editing | 5833 | - |
| Photo editing | 19457 | - |
| Data manipulation | 6782 | - |
| Writing score | 10979 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 12 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 128, 256, 512, 1024 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.0 | NVMe |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1000 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 9.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 12) | iOS 15 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17) |
| ROM | One UI 4.0 | - |
| OS size | 31.6 GB | 13 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4300 mAh | 4352 mAh |
| Max charge power | 45 W | 27 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes, Qi/PMA (15 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (65% in 30 min) | Yes (42% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:05 hr | 1:46 hr |
| Web browsing | 07:37 hr | 14:55 hr |
| Watching video | 14:19 hr | 20:14 hr |
| Gaming | 04:43 hr | 07:34 hr |
| Standby | 97 hr | 140 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Optical, 2x | Optical, 3x |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 240FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 120° |
| Lenses | 4 (12 MP + 12 MP + 16 MP) | 4 (12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.5 - 2.4 - Focal length: 27 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Samsung SAK2L4 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.5 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.9 micron - Sensor: 1/1.66", Sony IMX703 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.1 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.6", Samsung S5K3M3 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.8 - Focal length: 77 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 16 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 12 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.1", Samsung S5K3P9 (ISOCELL CMOS) |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Phase autofocus |
| Depth lens | Yes |
- Pixel size: 1 micron
|
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/1.6 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 23 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.22 microns | 1 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/2.65" | 1/3.6" |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | - |
| USB version | 3.1 | 2 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC * | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM * | 2 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support * | No | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 20 | 18 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | Yes | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | August 2019 | September 2021 |
| Release date | August 2019 | September 2021 |
| SAR (head) | 0.19 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.4 W/kg | 0.98 W/kg |
| Sensors |
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 0 W | - |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max is definitely a better buy.