Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

70 out of 100

85 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, which is powered by Apple A15 Bionic and came out 8 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21

Fingerprint scanner
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
Has 2 SIM card slots
Reverse charging feature
CPU with a higher amount of cores (+2)
Weighs 71 grams less
Better grip in hands – the body is 6.9 mm narrower

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
Shows 70% longer battery life (43:42 vs 25:44 hours)
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
52% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1226K versus 806K)
Has a 0.5 inch larger screen size
Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
Comes with 352 mAh larger battery capacity: 4352 vs 4000 mAh
Delivers 22% higher peak brightness (1055 against 864 nits)
70% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 2284 and 1340 points
The phone is 8-months newer

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S21 and Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	OLED
Size	6.2 inches	6.7 inches
Resolution	1080 x 2400 pixels	1284 x 2778 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	19.5:9
PPI	421 ppi	458 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	No	Yes
Max rated brightness	800 nits	1000 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR	-	1200 nits
HDR support	Yes, HDR10+	Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass Victus	Ceramic Shield
Screen-to-body ratio	87.2%	87.4%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3

RGB color space	99.5%	99.9%
PWM	240 Hz	238 Hz
Response time	5 ms	8.5 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	151.7 mm (5.97 inches)	160.8 mm (6.33 inches)
Width	71.2 mm (2.8 inches)	78.1 mm (3.07 inches)
Thickness	7.9 mm (0.31 inches)	7.65 mm (0.3 inches)
Weight	169 g (5.96 oz)	240 g (8.47 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Rear material	Plastic	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	White, Gray, Pink, Purple	Black, Silver, Gold, Blue, Green
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	No

Chipset	Samsung Exynos 2100	Apple A15 Bionic
Max clock	2900 MHz	3230 MHz
CPU cores	8 (1 + 3 + 4)	6 (2 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1	- 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard - 2 cores at 3.23 GHz: Avalanche
Lithography process	5 nanometers	5 nanometers
Graphics	Mali-G78 MP14	Apple A15 GPU
GPU shading units	896	640
GPU clock	854 MHz	1338 MHz
FLOPS	~1530.4 GFLOPS	~1712.6 GFLOPS

CPU	150223	274447
GPU	340353	390073
Memory	151885	190761
UX	158712	363150
Total score	806977	1226350

Max surface temperature	38.9 °C	45.8 °C
Stability	66%	82%
Graphics test	34 FPS	56 FPS
Graphics score	5714	9446

Web score	12591	-
Video editing	7113	-
Photo editing	29385	-
Data manipulation	10438	-
Writing score	16561	-

RAM size	8 GB	6 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR4X
Memory clock	2750 MHz	2133 MHz
Channels	2	2

Storage size	128, 256 GB	128, 256, 512, 1024 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.1	NVMe
Memory card	No	No

Operating system	Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)	iOS 15 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
ROM	One UI 5.1	-
OS size	28.1 GB	13 GB

Capacity	4000 mAh	4352 mAh
Max charge power	25 W	27 W
Battery type	Li-Ion	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging	Yes, (wireless)	No
Fast charging	Yes (55% in 50 min)	Yes (42% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:35 hr	1:46 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	07:27 hr	14:55 hr
Watching video	12:26 hr	20:14 hr
Gaming	04:31 hr	07:34 hr
Standby	92 hr	140 hr

Main camera
Matrix	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	4000 x 3000	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Optical, 1.1x	Optical, 3x
Flash	Dual LED	Dual LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	Up to 24FPS	No
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	960 FPS (720p)	240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens	120°	120°
Lenses	3 (12 MP + 64 MP + 12 MP)	4 (12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.76", Sony IMX555 (Exmor-RS 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	- 64 MP - Aperture: f/2.0 - Focal length: 28 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.72", Samsung Bright S5KGW2 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.8 - Focal length: 77 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX563 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Phase autofocus
Depth lens	-	- Pixel size: 1 micron
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 from DxOMark	Photo samples of Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	10 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	3872 x 2592	4032 x 3024
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	26 mm	23 mm
Pixel size	1.22 microns	1 microns
Sensor type	CMOS	Exmor-RS CMOS
Sensor size	1/3.24"	1/3.6"
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
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	5
Bluetooth features	LE, A2DP	LE, A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	-
USB version	3.2	2
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host 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 *	Yes	Yes
Hybrid slot	No	No
LTE Cat *	24	18
5G support	Yes	Yes

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	January 2021	September 2021
Release date	February 2021	September 2021
SAR (head)	0.46 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.51 W/kg	0.98 W/kg
Sensors	- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor

Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Key differences

Review

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Display

Design and build

Performance

Benchmarks

Memory

Software

Battery

Camera

DxOMark camera tests

Connectivity

Sound

Other

Conclusion