Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus vs Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

65 out of 100

73 out of 100

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 12 Pro Max, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 14 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 Note 10 Plus

Has 2x more RAM: 12GB versus 6GB
Modern USB Type-C port
Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1000GB
Supports higher wattage charging (45W versus 18W)
Fingerprint scanner
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
Comes with 613 mAh larger battery capacity: 4300 vs 3687 mAh
Has 2 SIM card slots

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

Shows 28% longer battery life (35:25 vs 27:35 hours)
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
The rear camera has a 2.5x optical zoom
Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
34% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (828K versus 618K)
Delivers 9% higher peak brightness (872 against 798 nits)
The phone is 1-year and 2-months newer
More energy-efficient CPU – Apple A14 Bionic
2.1x faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1990 and 967 points
Ready for eSIM technology

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus and Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

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	60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	No	No
Max rated brightness	700 nits	800 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%	99.4%
PWM	250 Hz	238 Hz
Response time	3.6 ms	8 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

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)	7.4 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight	196 g (6.91 oz)	226 g (7.97 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Rear material	Glass	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	White, Black, Red	Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	No

Chipset	Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9825	Apple A14 Bionic
Max clock	2730 MHz	3100 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 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm
Lithography process	7 nanometers	5 nanometers
Graphics	Mali-G76 MP12	Apple A14 GPU
GPU shading units	432	256
GPU clock	770 MHz	1278 MHz
FLOPS	~651.5 GFLOPS	~654.3 GFLOPS

CPU	182103	234779
GPU	170400	256839
Memory	120562	153144
UX	143370	181729
Total score	618715	828500

Max surface temperature	38.8 °C	45 °C
Stability	97%	75%
Graphics test	20 FPS	47 FPS
Graphics score	3377	7880

Web score	7253	-
Video editing	5833	-
Photo editing	19457	-
Data manipulation	6782	-
Writing score	10979	-

RAM size	12 GB	6 GB
Memory type	LPDDR4X	LPDDR4X
Memory clock	2133 MHz	-
Channels	2	2

Storage size	256 GB	128, 256, 512 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.0	NVMe
Memory card	MicroSD	No
Memory card max size	Up to 1000 GB	-

Operating system	Android 9.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 12)	iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
ROM	One UI 4.0	-
OS size	31.6 GB	16 GB

Capacity	4300 mAh	3687 mAh
Max charge power	45 W	18 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 (55% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:05 hr	1:32 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	07:37 hr	12:04 hr
Watching video	14:19 hr	14:25 hr
Gaming	04:43 hr	07:09 hr
Standby	97 hr	122 hr

Main camera
Matrix	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	4000 x 3000	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Optical, 2x	Optical, 2.5x
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/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.7 micron - 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/2.2 - Focal length: 65 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX613 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - 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/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
Depth lens	Yes	Yes
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 12 Pro Max from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	10 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	3648 x 2736	4290 x 2800
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"	-
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 30 FPS	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

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	No
USB version	3.1	-
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo	GPS, GLONASS, 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

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

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	August 2019	October 2020
Release date	August 2019	November 2020
SAR (head)	0.19 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.4 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
Sensors	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Compass - Fingerprint	- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor
Bundled charger	Yes, 0 W	-

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus vs Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus vs Apple iPhone 12 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