iPhone 16 Pro Max vs. Samsung S24 Ultra: Which is Better in 2024?

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra boasts a stunning 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a QHD+ resolution and adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. The phone’s design features a sleek and premium look, with slim bezels and durable build quality. The S24 Ultra’s display offers vibrant colors, deep blacks, and impressive peak brightness, making it one of the best screens available on a smartphone today.

Rumors suggest the Galaxy S25 Ultra may feature a slightly larger 6.9-inch display, potentially wider but in a narrower body. It’s also expected to be thinner at 8.4mm thick.

On the other hand, the newest iPhone, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, features a slightly larger 6.9-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2868 x 1320 pixels and a 1-120Hz ProMotion refresh rate. This makes it the largest iPhone to date. The display maintains the vibrant colors and deep blacks that OLED technology is known for, while the ProMotion technology ensures smooth scrolling and responsive touch input.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max introduces some notable design changes, including significantly thinner bezels that emphasize the larger screen size. Apple has also implemented a new graphite-clad aluminum substructure, which improves thermal management by 20%, potentially allowing for better-sustained performance during demanding tasks.

Samsung’s S24 Ultra, while retaining its solid, polished design, doesn’t emphasize thermal innovations like Apple. Both devices share a high level of durability with IP68 water and dust resistance.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max comes in four color options: Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and the new Desert Titanium, which appears to be a gold or bronze hue.

On the other hand, Samsung’s S24 Ultra offers more variety with standard colors including Titanium Black, Gray, Yellow, and Violet. Additionally, Samsung provides three exclusive colors available only through its store: Titanium Green, Blue, and Orange.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max measures 6.42 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches and weighs 7.99 ounces, making it slightly lighter than the S24 Ultra, which weighs 8.22 ounces. Though similar in size, the iPhone’s slightly lighter weight may make it more comfortable for prolonged use.

A significant new addition to the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the Camera Control button, located on the bottom right side of the device. This dedicated button not only opens the camera app but also offers pressure-sensitive controls and swipe gestures, giving users more nuanced control over photography and videography without needing to touch the screen.
While the S24 Ultra is renowned for its camera prowess, it lacks a dedicated physical button for camera control, potentially giving the iPhone an edge in terms of ease of use for photographers.

The S24 Ultra features the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, offering significant improvements in speed and efficiency over its predecessor.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max introduces Apple’s A18 Pro chip, boasting 15% more power and 20% better efficiency than the A17 Pro. It’s designed to excel at on-device AI processing, powering features like Visual Intelligence. The chip also enhances camera performance with zero-lag shutter response and 2x faster ray tracing for gaming.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra features a quad-camera setup, including a 200MP main sensor, a 50MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom, a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultra-wide lens.

This versatile camera system has been praised for its ability to capture stunning photos and videos in various scenarios.

Rumors indicate the S25 Ultra may feature an upgraded 50MP ultrawide camera and potentially variable zoom capabilities for its telephoto lens, further enhancing its versatility.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max features a triple-camera setup with a 48MP main sensor with a new quad-pixel sensor, a 12MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom, and an upgraded 48MP ultra-wide lens.

While the Galaxy S24 Ultra has a higher megapixel count and an additional telephoto lens, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is being recognized for its excellent image processing and computational photography capabilities.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max also introduces several new camera features, including the ability to capture 4K video at 120fps with Dolby Vision HDR, applicable to both standard and slow-motion recording. It also features a new Camera Control button, allowing for more precise control over photography and videography functions without touching the screen.

These improvements help the iPhone 16 Pro Max close the gap with the Galaxy S24 Ultra in terms of camera performance.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with a large 5,000mAh battery, which has been delivering excellent battery life for users. Real-world tests and user reports confirm that the Galaxy S24 Ultra can comfortably last a full day or more on a single charge, even with heavy use.

While the S25 Ultra is expected to maintain the same 5,000 mAh battery capacity, improved efficiency from the new chipset could lead to better overall battery life.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max features a larger battery compared to its predecessor at 4,676 mAh. Apple claims this new battery offers the best battery life ever in an iPhone. Apple’s optimization of hardware and software has historically allowed their devices to deliver competitive battery life.

The A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro Max, being 20% more efficient than its predecessor, is expected to contribute to improved battery performance. Additionally, the new graphite-clad aluminum substructure, which improves thermal management by 20%, may also positively impact battery efficiency during intensive tasks.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra runs on the latest version of Android with Samsung’s One UI skin, offering a high degree of customization and a wide range of apps through the Google Play Store.

In contrast, the iPhone 16 Pro Max runs on iOS 18, which brings several new features and improvements to the platform. iOS is known for its smooth performance, timely updates, and tight integration with Apple’s ecosystem, including services like iMessage, FaceTime, iCloud, and the App Store.

A significant addition to the iPhone 16 Pro Max is Apple Intelligence, which includes features like Visual Intelligence. This new AI-powered system allows users to interact with their environment through the camera, offering information and suggestions based on what the device sees. The iPhone 16 Pro Max also introduces enhanced AI-based audio recording capabilities.

Samsung also has a long-established AI functionality through Galaxy AI. When choosing between Galaxy AI vs Apple Intelligence, consider your priorities and use cases.

The A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro Max is specifically designed to handle on-device AI processing, enabling these new features while maintaining user privacy. This represents a significant step forward in Apple’s AI capabilities, bringing it more in line with the established AI features offered by Samsung and other Android manufacturers.