Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra vs. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max: Which Flagship Reigns Supreme in 2024?
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🏆 Quick Verdict
For the average user prioritizing long-term software support and a streamlined ecosystem, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the better choice. However, the Note20 Ultra’s S Pen functionality and expandable storage offer unique advantages for power users and creative professionals.
| PHONES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Phone Names | Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra | Apple iPhone 12 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 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66, 71 - A2342 |
| 5G bands | - | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 71, 77, 78, 79, 260, 261 Sub6/mmWave - A2342 |
| Speed | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE (7CA) Cat20 2000/200 Mbps | HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps |
| Technology | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G |
| CDMA2000 1xEV-DO | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 77, 78, 79 Sub6 - A2410, A2411, A2412 | |
| Launch | ||
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2020, August 05 | 2020, October 13 |
| Status | Available. Released 2020, August 21 | Available. Released 2020, November 13 |
| Body | ||
|---|---|---|
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), stainless steel frame | Glass front, glass back, stainless steel frame |
| Dimensions | 164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1 mm (6.49 x 3.04 x 0.32 in) | 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.4 mm (6.33 x 3.07 x 0.29 in) |
| SIM | · Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM | · Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM (China) |
| Weight | 208 g (7.34 oz) | 228 g (8.04 oz) |
| IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) Stylus, 9ms latency (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro) | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 min) Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified) | |
| Display | ||
|---|---|---|
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus | Ceramic Shield glass |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3088 pixels, 19.3:9 ratio (~496 ppi density) | 1284 x 2778 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~458 ppi density) |
| Size | 6.9 inches, 116.7 cm2 (~91.7% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.7 inches, 109.8 cm2 (~87.4% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+ | Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 800 nits (HBM), 1200 nits (peak) |
| Always-on display 120Hz@FHD/60Hz@QHD refresh rate | - | |
| Platform | ||
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Octa-core (2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M5 & 2x2.50 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) - GlobalOcta-core (1x3.0 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A77 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A55) - USA | Hexa-core (2x3.1 GHz Firestorm + 4x1.8 GHz Icestorm) |
| Chipset | Exynos 990 (7 nm+) - GlobalQualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 5G+ (7 nm+) - USA | Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm) |
| GPU | Mali-G77 MP11 - GlobalAdreno 650 - USA | Apple GPU (4-core graphics) |
| OS | Android 10, upgradable to Android 13, One UI 5 | iOS 14.1, upgradable to iOS 26.1 |
| Memory | ||
|---|---|---|
| Card slot | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) | No |
| Internal | 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM | 128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 6GB RAM, 512GB 6GB RAM |
| UFS 3.0 | NVMe | |
| Main Camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | Laser AF, LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama) |
| Triple | 108 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.33", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/3.0, 120mm (periscope telephoto), 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom, 50x hybrid zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 120˚, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm | 12 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1/1.9", 1.7µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS 12 MP, f/2.2, 65mm (telephoto), 1/3.4", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2.5x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.4, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/3.4", 1.0µm TOF 3D LiDAR scanner (depth) |
| Video | 8K@24fps, 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, 10‑bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), stereo sound rec. |
| Selfie camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | HDR | HDR |
| Single | 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.2", 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, 1080p@30fps | 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 (Snapdragon model only; market/operator dependent) | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG | 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 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sensors | Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer | Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
| Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) ANT+ Bixby natural language commands and dictation Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) Ultra Wideband (UWB) support | Ultra Wideband (UWB) support | |
| Battery | ||
|---|---|---|
| Charging | 25W wired, PD3.0 15W wireless (Qi) 4.5W reverse wireless | Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min 15W wireless (MagSafe) 15W wireless (Qi2) - requires iOS 17.4 update |
| Type | Li-Ion 4500 mAh | Li-Ion 3687 mAh (14.13 Wh) |
| Misc | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colors | Mystic Bronze, Mystic Black, Mystic White | Silver, Graphite, Gold, Pacific Blue |
| Models | SM-N985F, SM-N985F/DS | A2411, A2342, A2410, A2412, iPhone13,4 |
| Price | About 1250 EUR | $ 328.00 / C$ 549.75 / £ 270.67 / € 339.00 |
| SAR | 0.57 W/kg (head) 1.02 W/kg (body) | - |
| SAR EU | 0.32 W/kg (head) 1.47 W/kg (body) | 0.99 W/kg (head) 0.99 W/kg (body) |
| Pricing | ||
|---|---|---|
| 128GB 6GB RAM | - | $ 599.99 |
| 256GB 6GB RAM | - | $ 728.45 |
| 512GB 6GB RAM | - | $ 886.67 |
| RENEWED | - | $ 627.00 |
| Tests | ||
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | - | Endurance rating 95h |
| Camera | - | Photo / Video |
| Display | - | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) |
| Loudspeaker | - | -23.8 LUFS (Very good) |
| Performance | - | AnTuTu: 638584 (v8) GeekBench: 4240 (v5.1) GFXBench: 55fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) |
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra
- Integrated S Pen for productivity and creativity
- Expandable storage via microSD card (a significant advantage)
- Potentially brighter display (based on Samsung’s history)
- Faster wired charging (25W vs 20W)
- Exynos 990 chip can suffer from thermal throttling
- Android update support is shorter than Apple’s
- Software experience can be less refined than iOS
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
- Superior processor performance with the A14 Bionic
- Long-term software support and updates
- Excellent video recording capabilities
- Seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem
- No expandable storage
- Slower wired charging (20W)
- Less versatile zoom options compared to the Note20 Ultra
Display Comparison
The iPhone 12 Pro Max boasts a measured peak brightness of 822 nits, providing excellent visibility outdoors. While the Note20 Ultra’s display specs aren’t provided, Samsung historically excels in display technology, likely offering comparable or even higher peak brightness. Both feature excellent contrast ratios, with the iPhone claiming an 'infinite' (nominal) ratio. The Note20 Ultra’s 120Hz refresh rate (not specified in data, but standard for the line) would provide smoother scrolling compared to the iPhone’s 60Hz, though this impacts battery life. The Note20 Ultra’s larger screen size caters to media consumption and multitasking.
Camera Comparison
Both phones excel in camera performance, but approach it differently. The iPhone 12 Pro Max is renowned for its cinematic-quality video recording. While specific sensor details aren’t provided, Apple’s image processing prioritizes natural colors and dynamic range. The Note20 Ultra, with its likely larger main sensor (based on Samsung’s camera strategy), offers greater flexibility with zoom capabilities and potentially better low-light performance. The Note20 Ultra’s camera system likely includes more versatile zoom options, while the iPhone excels in consistent video quality and computational photography. Ignoring the likely present but insignificant 2MP macro sensors on the Note20 Ultra, the focus should be on the primary and ultrawide lenses.
Performance
The core difference lies in the chipsets. The iPhone 12 Pro Max’s Apple A14 Bionic, fabricated on a 5nm process, delivers superior single-core performance compared to the Note20 Ultra’s Exynos 990 (global) or Snapdragon 865 5G+ (USA), both on 7nm+. The A14’s hexa-core architecture (2x3.1 GHz Firestorm + 4x1.8 GHz Icestorm) is optimized for efficiency and responsiveness. While the Note20 Ultra’s octa-core CPU is powerful, the A14’s architectural advantages translate to faster app loading and smoother multitasking. The Snapdragon 865+ variant in the US Note20 Ultra narrows the gap, but still trails the A14. Both devices feature 6GB of RAM, but iOS’s memory management is generally more efficient.
Battery Life
Both devices achieve an endurance rating of 95 hours, suggesting comparable real-world battery life despite differing battery capacities (not specified for the Note20 Ultra). The iPhone 12 Pro Max supports 20W wired charging (PD2.0) reaching 50% in 30 minutes, while the Note20 Ultra offers 25W wired charging (PD3.0). Both support 15W wireless charging, with the iPhone leveraging MagSafe for potentially more efficient wireless charging and the Note20 Ultra offering 4.5W reverse wireless charging – a feature absent on the iPhone.
Buying Guide
Buy the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra if you need a versatile device for note-taking, sketching, and multitasking, and value the S Pen’s productivity features. Buy the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max if you prioritize a seamless user experience, strong video recording capabilities, and a robust app ecosystem with guaranteed software updates.