Samsung Galaxy Note10+ vs. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max: A 2024 Flagship Face-Off
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🏆 Quick Verdict
For the average user prioritizing all-around capability and a versatile feature set, the Samsung Galaxy Note10+ emerges as the winner. Its faster 45W charging, expandable storage (not mentioned in data, but a key feature), and S Pen functionality provide a more complete experience, despite the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s slightly brighter display.
| PHONES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Phone Names | Samsung Galaxy Note10+ | Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max |
| Network | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| 3G bands | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 |
| 4G bands | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66 - Global, LATAM | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66 - A2218 |
| EDGE | No | - |
| GPRS | Yes | - |
| Speed | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE (7CA) Cat20 2000/150 Mbps | HSPA, LTE 1.6 Gbps DL, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps |
| Technology | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE |
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66, 71 - Canada | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29, 30, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66, 71 - A2161, A2220 | |
| Launch | ||
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2019, August 07. Released 2019, August 23 | 2019, September 10 |
| Status | Discontinued | Available. Released 2019, September 20 |
| Body | ||
|---|---|---|
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 6), glass back (Gorilla Glass 6), aluminum frame | Glass front (Corning-made glass), glass back (Corning-made glass), stainless steel frame |
| Dimensions | 162.3 x 77.2 x 7.9 mm (6.39 x 3.04 x 0.31 in) | 158 x 77.8 x 8.1 mm (6.22 x 3.06 x 0.32 in) |
| Keyboard | QWERTY | - |
| SIM | · Nano-SIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM | · Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM (China) |
| Weight | 196 g (6.91 oz) | 226 g (7.97 oz) |
| IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) Stylus, 42ms latency (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro) | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 4m for 30 min) Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified) | |
| Display | ||
|---|---|---|
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | Scratch-resistant glass |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3040 pixels, 19:9 ratio (~498 ppi density) | 1242 x 2688 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~458 ppi density) |
| Size | 6.8 inches, 114.0 cm2 (~91.0% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.5 inches, 102.9 cm2 (~83.7% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED, HDR10+ | Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 800 nits (HBM), 1200 nits (peak) |
| Always-on display | - | |
| Platform | ||
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Octa-core (2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M4 & 2x2.4 GHz Cortex-A75 & 4x1.9 GHz Cortex-A55) - EMEA/LATAMOcta-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x1.78 GHz Kryo 485) - USA/China | Hexa-core (2x2.65 GHz Lightning + 4x1.8 GHz Thunder) |
| Chipset | Exynos 9825 (7 nm) - EMEA/LATAMQualcomm SM8150 Snapdragon 855 (7 nm) - USA/China | Apple A13 Bionic (7 nm+) |
| GPU | Mali-G76 MP12 - EMEA/LATAMAdreno 640 - USA/China | Apple GPU (4-core graphics) |
| OS | Android 9.0 (Pie), upgradable to Android 12, One UI 4 | iOS 13, upgradable to iOS 26.1 |
| Memory | ||
|---|---|---|
| Call records | Yes | - |
| Card slot | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) - dual SIM model only | No |
| Internal | 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM | 64GB 4GB RAM, 256GB 4GB RAM, 512GB 4GB RAM |
| Phonebook | 200 entries | - |
| UFS 3.0 | NVMe | |
| Main Camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama) |
| Single | CIF | 13 MP, f/2.2, PDAF |
| Triple | 12 MP, f/1.5-2.4, 27mm (wide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.1, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.6", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom 16 MP, f/2.2, 12mm (ultrawide), 1/3.1", 1.0µm, Super Steady video 0.3 MP, TOF 3D, (depth) | 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.0, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.4", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.4, 120˚, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/3.6" |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS | 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, HDR, stereo sound rec. |
| Selfie camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | HDR | HDR |
| Single | 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF | 12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6", 1.0µm SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor) |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps | 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS |
| Sound | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3.5mm jack | No | No |
| 35mm jack | No | No |
| Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers | Yes, with stereo speakers |
| 32-bit/384kHz audio Tuned by AKG | - | |
| Comms | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX | 5.0, A2DP, LE |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS |
| Radio | FM radio (USA & Canada only) | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.1 | Lightning, USB 2.0 |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot |
| Features | ||
|---|---|---|
| Browser | WAP 2.0 | - |
| Games | Downloadable | - |
| Java | No | - |
| Messaging | SMS, MMS | - |
| Sensors | Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer | Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
| Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) ANT+ Bixby natural language commands and dictation Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) | Ultra Wideband (UWB) support | |
| Battery | ||
|---|---|---|
| Charging | 45W wired, PD3.0 15W wireless (Qi) 4.5W reverse wireless | Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min Wireless (Qi) |
| Stand-by | Up to 450 h | - |
| Talk time | Up to 6 h | - |
| Type | Li-Ion 4300 mAh, non-removable | Li-Ion 3969 mAh, non-removable (15.04 Wh) |
| Misc | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colors | Aura Glow, Aura White, Aura Black, Aura Blue | Matte Space Gray, Matte Silver, Matte Gold, Matte Midnight Green |
| Models | SM-N975F, SM-N975U, SM-N9750, SM-N975U1, SM-N975W, SM-N975N, SM-N975X, SCV45 | A2218, A2161, A2220, iPhone12,5 |
| Price | About 220 EUR | $ 233.00 / C$ 369.75 / £ 226.95 / € 249.00 |
| SAR | 0.35 W/kg (head) 0.70 W/kg (body) | 1.16 W/kg (head) 1.17 W/kg (body) |
| SAR EU | 0.19 W/kg (head) 1.40 W/kg (body) | 0.95 W/kg (head) 0.99 W/kg (body) |
| Pricing | ||
|---|---|---|
| 256GB 4GB RAM | - | $ 874.46 |
| 512GB 4GB RAM | - | $ 1,004.31 |
| 64GB 4GB RAM | - | $ 435.00 |
| RENEWED | - | $ 485.00 |
| Tests | ||
|---|---|---|
| Audio quality | Noise -94.0dB / Crosstalk -95.1dB | Noise -94.3dB / Crosstalk -81.5dB |
| Battery life | Endurance rating 107h | Endurance rating 102h |
| Camera | Photo / Video | Photo / Video |
| Display | Contrast ratio: infinite (nominal) | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) |
| Loudspeaker | -26.0 LUFS (Very good) | -25.6 LUFS (Very good) |
| Performance | AnTuTu: 342208 (v7), 438622 (v8) GeekBench: 10403 (v4.4), 2154 (v5.1) GFXBench: 24fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) | AnTuTu: 459713 (v7), 536883 (v8) GeekBench: 13870 (v4.4), 3503 (v5.1) GFXBench: 57fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) |
Samsung Galaxy Note10+
- 45W SuperFast Charging significantly reduces charging time.
- S Pen offers unique productivity and creative features.
- More versatile camera system with a wider range of modes.
- Exynos variant may exhibit thermal throttling under sustained load.
- Android software updates may be less consistent than iOS.
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
- Exceptional video recording quality and stabilization.
- Long-term software support and consistent updates.
- Optimized performance thanks to Apple’s chip and software integration.
- Slower charging speeds compared to the Note10+.
- Less flexible operating system with limited customization options.
Display Comparison
The iPhone 11 Pro Max boasts a slightly brighter display at 820 nits compared to the Note10+'s 794 nits, offering marginally better visibility in direct sunlight. Both displays share an 'infinite' (nominal) contrast ratio, indicating excellent black levels. However, the Note10+’s display technology isn’t specified, while the iPhone 11 Pro Max utilizes a Super Retina XDR display. While both are excellent, the iPhone’s display is known for its color accuracy, a key benefit for content creators.
Camera Comparison
Both phones excel in photography and videography, but approach it differently. The Note10+ offers a more versatile camera system with a wider range of shooting modes and features. The iPhone 11 Pro Max is renowned for its consistently excellent video quality and natural image processing. While both are described as having 'Photo / Video' capabilities, the iPhone’s video stabilization and dynamic range are generally considered superior. The Note10+’s camera system likely includes a telephoto lens for optical zoom, a feature also present on the iPhone 11 Pro Max, but sensor sizes and lens apertures aren’t specified, making a direct comparison difficult.
Performance
The core difference lies in the chipset architecture. The Note10+ shipped with either the Exynos 9825 (EMEA/LATAM) or the Snapdragon 855 (USA/China). Both are octa-core processors, but the Snapdragon variant generally exhibits better sustained performance and thermal management. The iPhone 11 Pro Max, powered by the Apple A13 Bionic, employs a hexa-core design. Apple’s chip design, coupled with tight software integration, consistently delivers superior single-core performance and efficiency. While the Note10+ offers more RAM (assumed, not specified in data), the A13 Bionic’s optimized architecture mitigates the RAM difference in most real-world scenarios.
Battery Life
The Note10+ has an endurance rating of 107 hours, slightly exceeding the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s 102 hours. However, this doesn’t tell the whole story. The Note10+ supports 45W wired charging with PD3.0, allowing for significantly faster charging speeds than the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s wired PD2.0 charging (50% in 30 minutes). The Note10+ also offers 15W wireless charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging, features absent or less capable on the iPhone. The faster charging speed of the Note10+ is a significant advantage for users who frequently need to top up their battery.
Buying Guide
Buy the Samsung Galaxy Note10+ if you need a phone with a highly versatile camera system, fast charging capabilities, and the productivity benefits of the S Pen. It’s ideal for power users and those who appreciate Android’s customization options. Buy the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max if you prioritize a streamlined user experience, long-term software support, and a consistently excellent video recording experience, and are deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem.