Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs iPhone 17 Pro Max: Android or iOS?

Price and Availability

Available in a choice of five colours, including Black, White, Cobalt, Violet and Sky Blue, the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has a starting price of £1279 for its 256GB handset. At the time of writing, it’s only available to pre-order and will officially launch March 11th.

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Perhaps surprisingly, the iPhone 17 Pro Max actually has a lower starting price compared to its Android competitor at £1199/$1199 for the 256GB model. The smartphone also comes in a choice of three colours: Silver, Deep Blue and Cosmic Orange.

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Qualcomm vs Apple chips

One of the biggest differences between the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max is with their respective chips. While the Galaxy S26 Ultra runs on Qualcomm’s custom-made Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, the iPhone 17 Pro Max runs on Apple’s own A19 Pro chip. 

As we’re yet to review either phone, we can’t currently comment on their specific performance. Having said that, we have reviewed some of the best Android phones that run on Qualcomm’s default Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and have found the chip runs impressively quickly and enables the running of AAA games, intensive editing and AI-powered tools too. 

In addition, while we haven’t reviewed the iPhone 17 Pro Max, we have reviewed the smaller iPhone 17 Pro which runs on the same A19 Pro chip. Not only did the iPhone 17 Pro see impressively high scores in our benchmark tests, but we also found it ran even intensive console-like games like Red Dead Redemption fantastically well too. 

With the above in mind, we reasonably expect that you’ll struggle to find any performance issues with either Galaxy S26 Ultra or iPhone 17 Pro Max.

OneUI vs iOS

The next obvious difference between the Galaxy S26 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max is with their respective operating systems. While the Galaxy S26 Ultra runs on Samsung’s OneUI and features the entire Galaxy AI toolkit, the iPhone 17 Pro Max runs on iOS and sports Apple Intelligence. 

We should note that both OneUI and iOS are fairly intuitive operating systems, so the decision between the two may boil down to your own personal preference. However, if AI prowess is what you’re after, then we’d argue that the Galaxy AI boasts the edge over Apple Intelligence. 

Although it’s been nearly two years since Apple Intelligence launched, the toolkit still feels like something of an afterthought. Sure, Writing Assist and Live Translate are useful tools, but Siri certainly doesn’t match up to the prowess of Gemini. Plus, Galaxy AI includes features such as Circle to Search and the newly introduced Now Nudge which offers real-time suggestions that are based on what you’re doing on your phone.

Galaxy S26 Ultra has four rear cameras while iPhone 17 Pro Max has three “fusion” lenses

Considering the iPhone 17 Pro and last year’s Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra have spots on our best camera phones list, it’s fair to assume that iPhone 17 Pro Max and Galaxy S26 Ultra are confident snappers – especially when we look at their specs.

Just like the iPhone 17 Pro, the Pro Max is fitted with three rear 48MP Fusion lenses, including a main, ultrawide and an 8x telephoto. All cameras are brilliant, although we especially appreciate the telephoto as we hailed it as being “the best zoom camera ever on an iPhone”. Not only can you take great photos in all lighting conditions, there’s plenty of pro-level features to further enhance them. For example, there’s Photographic Styles which allows you to warm or cool images and the new Dual Camera mode which lets you capture video from the front camera and rear cameras at the same time.

In comparison, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is fitted with a similar array of rear lenses to the S25 Ultra: a 200MP main, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP 5x telephoto and an additional 10MP 3x telephoto. However, Samsung has made small tweaks to the main and 50MP telephoto lenses to enable brighter images.

As we concluded last year’s S25 Ultra was a solid shooter, and able to offer a great all-round performance, Samsung’s decision to keep things the same is understandable. However, we’ll have to wait and see how the S26 Ultra fares when compared to the likes of the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Both have 6.9-inch displays

If you’re someone who prefers small phones then neither the Galaxy S26 Ultra nor the iPhone 17 Pro Max is likely to suit you, as both sport mighty 6.9-inch displays. However, fortunately you can opt for the iPhone 17 Pro which is just 6.3-inches and boasts more or less the same specs as its Max sibling.

Both displays are also fitted with built-in screen protection, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max sporting Apple’s own Ceramic Shield 2 while the Galaxy S26 Ultra boasts Corning’s Gorilla Armor 2. Although we haven’t compared the two side-by-side, both promise enhanced scratch and drop resistance.

We also praised the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max by hailing the specs as offering “one of the best phone screens around”, thanks to higher brightness, ProMotion technology and brilliant HDR support. 

Otherwise, the Galaxy S26 Ultra has a similar screen spec sheet to the S25 Ultra, with a Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, 1-120Hz refresh rate and S Pen support. However, there is one key new addition to the S26 Ultra and that’s the privacy display.

Essentially, the built-in privacy display is a world-first in a smartphone, and hides itself when it’s viewed at certain angles. That means that while you’ll be able to clearly see the screen, someone next to you won’t be able to. Plus, you can even adjust the level of privacy too, and only block out specific areas of the screen (like the notification pop-up for example).

Galaxy S26 Ultra is slimmer

Not only is the Galaxy S26 Ultra slimmer than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but it actually boasts the title as the slimmest ever Ultra model at just 7.9mm. Sure, it’s not as thin as the S25 Edge, but this level of thickness goes a long way in making the phone feel more comfortable in hand.

In comparison, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is slightly thicker at 8.75mm which is the same as the iPhone 17 Pro. That’s more or less the same thickness as the foldable Honor Magic V5 when it’s closed.

Otherwise, both the Galaxy S26 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max sport an aluminium frame, which is somewhat of a downgrade for the Galaxy as last year’s S25 Ultra boasted titanium. 

Early Verdict

With mighty chips, brilliant camera hardware and stunning displays, both the Galaxy S26 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max are undoubtedly promising additions to our best smartphones guide. However, as we’re yet to review either handset, we’ll refrain from giving a conclusive decision on which handset you should opt for.

Having said that, the decision might boil down to whether you prefer an Android or an iOS smartphone. Remember, you can visit our Android vs iOS guide for more insight into the main differences between the two.

We’ll be sure to update this versus once we review both the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max.