Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Apple iPhone XS Max

71 out of 100

59 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.9-inch Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (with Exynos 990) that was released on February 11, 2020, against the Apple iPhone XS Max, which is powered by Apple A12 Bionic and came out 17 months before. 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 S20 Ultra

Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
Comes with 1826 mAh larger battery capacity: 5000 vs 3174 mAh
The rear camera has a 4x optical zoom
Modern USB Type-C port
Delivers 35% higher peak brightness (897 against 663 nits)
Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1000GB
Supports higher wattage charging (45W versus 18W)
Has a 0.4 inch larger screen size
Fingerprint scanner
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone XS Max

Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
13% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1320 and 1165 points

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and Apple iPhone XS Max crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	OLED
Size	6.9 inches	6.5 inches
Resolution	1440 x 3200 pixels	1242 x 2688 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	19.4:9
PPI	511 ppi	456 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	No	No
Max rated brightness	800 nits	625 nits
HDR support	Yes, HDR10+	Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 6	Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio	89.9%	85.41%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3

RGB color space	99.2%	98.8%
PWM	240 Hz	240 Hz
Response time	6.2 ms	11.2 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	166.9 mm (6.57 inches)	157.5 mm (6.2 inches)
Width	76 mm (2.99 inches)	77.4 mm (3.05 inches)
Thickness	8.8 mm (0.35 inches)	7.7 mm (0.3 inches)
Weight	220 g (7.76 oz)	208 g (7.34 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Advanced cooling	Vapor chamber	-
Rear material	Glass	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	Black, Gray	Silver, Gold, Gray
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	No

Chipset	Samsung Exynos 990	Apple A12 Bionic
Max clock	2730 MHz	2490 MHz
CPU cores	8 (2 + 2 + 4)	6 (2 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 2.5 GHz: Cortex-A76 - 2 cores at 2.73 GHz: Exynos M5	- 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Tempest - 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex
L3 cache	2 MB	-
Lithography process	7 nanometers	7 nanometers
Graphics	Mali-G77 MP11	Apple A12 GPU
GPU shading units	704	256
GPU clock	800 MHz	1100 MHz
FLOPS	~1126 GFLOPS	~576 GFLOPS

CPU	202750	167833
GPU	219003	157230
Memory	130201	121395
UX	157575	215799
Total score	711852	665855

Max surface temperature	38.6 °C	45.2 °C
Stability	53%	66%
Graphics test	25 FPS	34 FPS
Graphics score	4319	5704

Web score	8802	-
Video editing	6175	-
Photo editing	31559	-
Data manipulation	8779	-
Writing score	12443	-

RAM size	12, 16 GB	4 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR4X
Memory clock	3200 MHz	-
Channels	2	2

Storage size	128, 512 GB	64, 256, 512 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.0	NVMe
Memory card	MicroSD	No
Memory card max size	Up to 1000 GB	-

Operating system	Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)	iOS 12 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
ROM	One UI 4.1	-
OS size	23.7 GB	16 GB

Capacity	5000 mAh	3174 mAh
Max charge power	45 W	18 W
Battery type	Li-Ion	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes, Qi (10 W)
Reverse charging	Yes, (wireless)	No
Fast charging	Yes (100% in 80 min)	Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:20 hr	03:29 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	08:26 hr	09:13 hr
Watching video	11:53 hr	10:50 hr
Gaming	04:13 hr	04:38 hr
Standby	93 hr	80 hr

Main camera
Matrix	108 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	12032 x 9204	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Optical, 4x	Optical, 2x
Flash	LED	Quad 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°	-
Lenses	4 (108 MP + 48 MP + 12 MP + 0.3 MP)	2 (12 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 108 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.33", Samsung Bright S5KHM1 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 28 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.5", Apple iSight X (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens	- 48 MP - Aperture: f/3.5 - Focal length: 103 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/2", Sony IMX586 (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron	-
Depth lens	- 0.3 MP - Aperture: f/1.0 - Pixel size: 5 micron	-
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support
Samples	-	Photo samples of Apple iPhone XS Max from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	40 megapixels	7 megapixels
Image resolution	7864 x 5200	3088 x 2316
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	26 mm	32 mm
Pixel size	0.7 microns	-
Sensor type	CMOS	BSI CMOS
Sensor size	1/2.65"	-
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax)	Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features	- Wi-Fi Direct - 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	SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	No
USB version	3.1	2
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo
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	Yes	No
LTE Cat *	22	16
5G support	Yes	No

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

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	February 2020	September 2018
Release date	March 2020	September 2018
SAR (head)	0.32 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.56 W/kg	0.99 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 S20 Ultra vs Apple iPhone XS Max

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Apple iPhone XS 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