The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max are two of the most premium smartphones available on the market today. In terms of pricing, the S21 Ultra starts at $1,099 for the base model with 8GB of ram and 128GB of storage, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max starts at $1099 for the same specifications.

However, there's a key difference between the two phones that sets them apart. The S21 Ultra comes with 16GB of ram, but unlike previous Galaxy phones, it does not have an SD card slot, which means you can't expand its storage capacity. On the other hand, the iPhone 12 Pro Max has no such limitation and starts at $10.99 for 112GB of storage, going up to $13.99 for 512GB.

When it comes to size, the S21 Ultra just edges out the iPhone in terms of display. It features a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a hole punch camera and a resolution of 3200 x 1440 at 515 PPI. The screen also has a variable refresh rate that shifts between 10 to 120 Hertz depending on what you're doing, such as watching a video, playing a game, or reading static text on the screen.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max, on the other hand, has a 6.7-inch Super Retina OLED display with a resolution of 2778 x 1284 at 458 PPI and a refresh rate of 60 Hertz. Both screens support HDR, and both phones are available in various colors - the S21 Ultra comes in Phantom Black and Phantom Silver in the US, while the iPhone Pro Max is available in Silver, Graphite, Gold, and Pacific Blue.

Both phones offer 5G connectivity and top-of-the-line processors. The S21 Ultra packs Samsung's newest Snapdragon 888 processor or Exynos 2100 chip, depending on your country, while the iPhone Pro Max uses Apple's latest A14 Bionic chip. Both phones are water-resistant, rated at IP68, but while the S21 Ultra is rated for a depth of 1.5 meters for 30 minutes, the iPhone was tested to a depth of 6 meters for 30 minutes.

Next up are the all-important cameras on both phones. The iPhone 12 Pro Max packs three 12-megapixel cameras on the rear - an ultra-wide angle lens at f/2.4, a wide lens at f/1.6, and a telephoto lens with 2.5x optical zoom at f/2.2. It also has a LiDAR sensor for better focusing in low light and AR applications. On the front, it has Apple's True Depth camera with a 12-megapixel sensor and an aperture of f/2.2.

The S21 Ultra, on the other hand, packs in an extra lens on the back for a quad-camera array. There's a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle lens at f/2.2, a 108-megapixel wide-angle lens at f/1.8, and two 10-megapixel telephoto lenses - one with 3x optical zoom at f/2.4 and another with 10x optical zoom at f/4.9. The final sensor is what Samsung calls "Laser Autofocus," similar to the Note 20 Ultra from last year. On the front, it has a 40-megapixel camera with an aperture of f/2.2.

Both phones offer optical image stabilization and let you capture 4K video at 60fps on both the front and all the rear cameras. The iPhone 12 Pro Max can record Dolby Vision HDR video, while the S21 Ultra can record in HDR10+. The S21 Ultra also has a trick up its sleeve - it can record in 8K at 24 frames per second.

In terms of add-ons, the S21 Ultra will be compatible with Samsung's S Pen stylus, made famous by the Note line of phones. You'll be able to use an existing S Pen or buy a newly updated standalone S Pen or S Pen Pro. The iPhone Pro Max, on the other hand, doesn't come with any add-ons.

When it comes to battery life, Apple doesn't disclose battery capacity, but from unofficial tear-downs, it's believed to be 3600 milliamp hours. In CNET's latest test, it lasted 19 hours and 52 minutes. The S21 Ultra has a 5000 milliamp hour battery, but its real-world battery drain will have to wait until we get our hands on the phone.

Ultimately, beyond deciding whether you prefer Android or iOS, there are many other features to weigh up on these two premium phones. Be sure to check out our full reviews to see how these phones perform in the real world and help decide which one is right for you.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enif you're looking to buy a new phone then you might be trying to choose between the new samsung galaxy s21 ultra and apple's flagship iphone 12 pro max let's break down the specs and put these two top of the line phones head to head let's start with the price and for both phones you're looking at over a thousand us dollars out of the gate the s21 ultra starts at 1199 us for the baseline model and goes up to 1379 for the 512 gigabyte model which also comes with 16 gigabytes of ram but unlike previous galaxy phones there's no sd card slot on any of the new s21 models so no expandable storage by comparison the baseline iphone 12 pro max is a hundred dollars cheaper at 10.99 for 112 gigabytes of storage going up to 13.99 for the 512 gigabyte model when it comes to size the s21 ultra just edges out the iphone with a bigger display it has a 6.8 inch dynamic amoled display with a hole punch camera with a resolution of 3200 by 1440 at 515 ppi the screen also has a variable refresh rate that shifts between 10 to 120 hertz depending on what you're doing like watching a video playing a game or reading static text on screen the iphone 12 pro max has a 6.7 inch super retina oled display with a resolution of 27.88 by 1284 at 458 ppi and a refresh rate of 60 hertz both screens also support hdr the pro max comes in silver graphite gold and pacific blue while the s21 ultra is available in phantom black and phantom silver in the us both phones offer 5g connectivity and top of the line processes with the s21 ultra packing snapdragon's newest 888 processor or exynos 2100 chip depending on your country the iphone pro max uses apple's latest a14 bionic chip both phones are water resistant rated at ip68 but while the s21 ultra is rated for a depth of 1.5 meters for 30 minutes the iphone was tested to a depth of 6 meters for 30 minutes next up the all-important cameras the iphone 12 pro max packs three 12 megapixel cameras on the rear an ultra wide angle lens at f 2.4 a wide lens at f 1.6 and a telephoto lens with 2.5 x optical zoom at f 2.2 it also has a lidar sensor for better focusing in low light and ar applications on the front the iphone 12 pro max has apple's true depth camera with a 12 megapixel sensor and an aperture of f 2.2 the s21 ultra packs in an extra lens on the back for a quad camera array there's a 12 megapixel ultra wide angle lens at f 2.2 a 108 megapixel wide angle lens at f 1.8 and two 10 megapixel telephoto lenses one with a 3x optical zoom at f 2.4 and a second with 10x optical zoom at f 4.9 you can even go out to 100x zoom which is a combination of optical and digital zoom with some processing to improve sharpness and detail what samsung calls space zoom and that final sensor you can see on the back is what samsung is calling laser autofocus which is similar to the note 20 ultra from last year on the front the s21 ultra has a 40 megapixel camera with an aperture of f 2.2 both phones offer optical image stabilization and let you capture 4k video at 60 fps on both the front and all the rear cameras the iphone 12 pro max can record dolby vision hdr video and the s21 ultra can record in hdr 10 plus the s21 ultra has one more trick up its sleeve in that it can record in 8k at 24 frames per second both phones ditch the headphone jack and don't come with a charger in the box so you'll need to bring your own charging brick or buy one separately both phones offer wireless charging though apple has touted its magsafe accessories that work with wireless charging on the promax while samsung also offers reverse charging for accessories in terms of security the iphone uses face id while the s21 ultra unlocks with face recognition or using the fingerprint reader under the screen and when it comes to add-ons the s21 ultra will be compatible with samsung's s pen stylus made famous by the note line of phones you'll be able to use an existing s pen or buy a newly updated standalone s pen or s pen pro as for battery life apple doesn't disclose battery capacity but from unofficial tear downs it's believed to be 3600 milliamp hours and in cnet's latest test it lasted 19 hours and 52 minutes the s21 ultra has a 5 000 milliamp hour battery but stay tuned for the real world battery drain test when we get our hands on the phone so beyond deciding whether you prefer android or ios there are a lot of neat features to weigh up on these two premium phones and remember these are just the specs on paper be sure to check out our full reviews to see how these phones perform in the real world and help decide which one is right for youif you're looking to buy a new phone then you might be trying to choose between the new samsung galaxy s21 ultra and apple's flagship iphone 12 pro max let's break down the specs and put these two top of the line phones head to head let's start with the price and for both phones you're looking at over a thousand us dollars out of the gate the s21 ultra starts at 1199 us for the baseline model and goes up to 1379 for the 512 gigabyte model which also comes with 16 gigabytes of ram but unlike previous galaxy phones there's no sd card slot on any of the new s21 models so no expandable storage by comparison the baseline iphone 12 pro max is a hundred dollars cheaper at 10.99 for 112 gigabytes of storage going up to 13.99 for the 512 gigabyte model when it comes to size the s21 ultra just edges out the iphone with a bigger display it has a 6.8 inch dynamic amoled display with a hole punch camera with a resolution of 3200 by 1440 at 515 ppi the screen also has a variable refresh rate that shifts between 10 to 120 hertz depending on what you're doing like watching a video playing a game or reading static text on screen the iphone 12 pro max has a 6.7 inch super retina oled display with a resolution of 27.88 by 1284 at 458 ppi and a refresh rate of 60 hertz both screens also support hdr the pro max comes in silver graphite gold and pacific blue while the s21 ultra is available in phantom black and phantom silver in the us both phones offer 5g connectivity and top of the line processes with the s21 ultra packing snapdragon's newest 888 processor or exynos 2100 chip depending on your country the iphone pro max uses apple's latest a14 bionic chip both phones are water resistant rated at ip68 but while the s21 ultra is rated for a depth of 1.5 meters for 30 minutes the iphone was tested to a depth of 6 meters for 30 minutes next up the all-important cameras the iphone 12 pro max packs three 12 megapixel cameras on the rear an ultra wide angle lens at f 2.4 a wide lens at f 1.6 and a telephoto lens with 2.5 x optical zoom at f 2.2 it also has a lidar sensor for better focusing in low light and ar applications on the front the iphone 12 pro max has apple's true depth camera with a 12 megapixel sensor and an aperture of f 2.2 the s21 ultra packs in an extra lens on the back for a quad camera array there's a 12 megapixel ultra wide angle lens at f 2.2 a 108 megapixel wide angle lens at f 1.8 and two 10 megapixel telephoto lenses one with a 3x optical zoom at f 2.4 and a second with 10x optical zoom at f 4.9 you can even go out to 100x zoom which is a combination of optical and digital zoom with some processing to improve sharpness and detail what samsung calls space zoom and that final sensor you can see on the back is what samsung is calling laser autofocus which is similar to the note 20 ultra from last year on the front the s21 ultra has a 40 megapixel camera with an aperture of f 2.2 both phones offer optical image stabilization and let you capture 4k video at 60 fps on both the front and all the rear cameras the iphone 12 pro max can record dolby vision hdr video and the s21 ultra can record in hdr 10 plus the s21 ultra has one more trick up its sleeve in that it can record in 8k at 24 frames per second both phones ditch the headphone jack and don't come with a charger in the box so you'll need to bring your own charging brick or buy one separately both phones offer wireless charging though apple has touted its magsafe accessories that work with wireless charging on the promax while samsung also offers reverse charging for accessories in terms of security the iphone uses face id while the s21 ultra unlocks with face recognition or using the fingerprint reader under the screen and when it comes to add-ons the s21 ultra will be compatible with samsung's s pen stylus made famous by the note line of phones you'll be able to use an existing s pen or buy a newly updated standalone s pen or s pen pro as for battery life apple doesn't disclose battery capacity but from unofficial tear downs it's believed to be 3600 milliamp hours and in cnet's latest test it lasted 19 hours and 52 minutes the s21 ultra has a 5 000 milliamp hour battery but stay tuned for the real world battery drain test when we get our hands on the phone so beyond deciding whether you prefer android or ios there are a lot of neat features to weigh up on these two premium phones and remember these are just the specs on paper be sure to check out our full reviews to see how these phones perform in the real world and help decide which one is right for you\n"