Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

 

While Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra is in a league of its own in terms of hardware with the 10x optical periscope zoom, the giant 5000mAh battery, and the 5nm Snapdragon 888 with integrated 5G modem, it's the S21+ that is the actual direct competitor for Apple's 2020 flagship, the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

 

They both start at similar prices, lack periscope zoom (not that any iPhone will have it soon), and sport the same screen diagonals. Will the Galaxy S21+ be a fine match for the iPhone 12 Pro Max that is proving more and more popular on the market by the day? Let's find out...

Galaxy S21 Plus vs iPhone 12 Pro Max price, colors and storage:

• £949 vs £1099 for 128GB
• Black vs Graphite
• Violet vs Pacific Blie.
• Silver
• Red/Pink (in Korea) vs Gold

Fair is fair - the Galaxy S21+ offers more features, like a display with high 120Hz refresh rate, at a tad lower price. Its fused camera island corner design is also more interesting than what the cartoonish matte/gloss undertaking that the iPhone 12 Pro Max offers.

Galaxy S21 Plus vs iPhone 12 Pro Max colors:

The iPhone 12 Pro Max, however, offers the toughest Ceramic Shield display cover glass of any phone out there, and is the most water-resistant general purpose handset as well, being able to withstand submergence in up to the whopping twenty feet of water. Still, we like how Samsung blends the camera corner with the sides better, making for one elegant and uninterrupted look.

Galaxy S21 Plus vs iPhone 12 Pro Max specs and display size

• 6.7" 1080p 120Hz vs 6.7" 1284p 60Hz displays
• Snapdragon 888/Exynos 2100 vs Apple A14 5nm chipsets
• Integrated vs standalone 5G modem
• 8GB vs 6GB RAM

Galaxy S21 Plus vs iPhone 12 Pro Max camera

• 12 MP main sensors
• 64MP crop vs 12 MP telephoto zoom cameras
• 12MP ultrawide-angle cameras

The iPhone 12 Pro Max ships with the largest camera sensor that Apple has ever put in a phone, yet its pixels are still a tad smaller than those in, say, the S20+ main sensoir which found its way into the S21+ as well. Did Apple drop the ball in the camera department as in the display panel refresh rate metric.

Galaxy S21 Plus vs iPhone 12 Pro Max battery life and charging speeds

4800mAh vs 3617mAh

25W (up to 45W) vs 20W fast wired charging

15W wireless charging

 

Samsung took a note of the surpisignly robust sales of the middle child in the S20 series, and paid special attention to the S21+, equipping it with a battery nearly as large as the one in the S21 Ultra. At 4800mAh, with the help of the integrated 5nm chipset and 5G modem that is now using a new, more frugal antenna isolation, the pack promises long hours of battery life even at 120Hz display refresh, and it delivers.