which is the smartphone of the year?

The title of smartphone of the year is hotly contested, but in the eyes of the general public, two brands are the big favorites: Samsung and Apple. With the launch this Wednesday of the new Galaxy, the South Korean firm is responding to Apple and its iPhone 17 generation, launched last September.

With the S26 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max, both companies are going all out, offering the best technology of the moment to their customers. Put face to face, which of these two smartphones deserves the title of phone of the year?

To try to answer this question, we are going to compare these two models on 6 distinct criteria: their level of performance, their autonomy, the quality of the photo/video unit, the operating system, the design and the screen as well as their value for money.

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© Unsplash / Georgiy Lyamin

Performance

Apple has been producing its own chips for the iPhone for years. Perfectly integrated into the Apple ecosystem, they offer unparalleled performance. With the iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple is taking another step forward. The firm adds a vapor chamber to the back of the phone. The objective: to better dissipate the heat produced by the chip and thus keep it within the correct thermal operating window. Chip level, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has the A19 Pro, engraved in 3 nanometers.

Samsung, for its part, is partnering with Qualcomm (like 90% of smartphone manufacturers in the world). The Galaxy S26 Ultra also has a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip engraved in 3 nanometers. Only the Galaxy S26 and 26+ benefit from a 2 nanometer chip, the Exynos 2600, designed internally by Samsung.

Autonomy

Another very important criterion when you want to compare two smartphones with each other: autonomy. Hard to say stricto sensu that one phone is more durable than another, especially based solely on their respective technical sheets. However, these data allow us to form an idea. Because on paper, the nuance is clear.

Samsung equips its S26 Ultra with a 5000 mAh battery. Apple does just slightly worse (4823 mAh) with its iPhone 17 Pro Max, the version with the SIM card drawer. If you bet on a 100% eSim version, not sold in France, the battery rises to 5088 mAh. So no big difference between the two phones. But once put into real conditions, things are very different.

Apple assures that its iPhone 17 Pro Max is capable of operating for 37 hours in “video playback” mode before turning off. Samsung for its part puts forward the figure of only 30 hours. A difference of 23% in favor of the iPhone.

Photo/Video

This is the number 1 criterion for thousands of people. A smartphone in 2026 must above all be capable of taking high-quality photos. When it comes to the S26 Ultra and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, both manufacturers have gone above and beyond to provide the best possible experience. Samsung places three lenses on the back of its smartphone. The main module offers 200 Mp; the ultra-wide angle is limited to 50 Mp with an aperture of f/1.0 to bring in maximum light. Finally, the telephoto periscope allows photos up to x5 in optical zoom with 50 Mp.

© Apple

On the Apple side, the apple is getting closer to these figures. The iPhone 17 Pro Max has a 48MP main camera, just like the ultra-wide angle and the telephoto lens. The optical zoom reaches x8 on the Apple phone. Exclusive to iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. On the front camera, Apple is relying on an 18 Mp sensor, Samsung for its part is relying on its 12 Mp lens.

BONE

Without a doubt the most difficult point to decide. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra runs on OneUI 8.5, based on Android 16. For its part, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has its own operating system, iOS 26. The two software are very different. Both very fluid, they are appreciated by users for the basic functionalities, but also the recent additions linked to AI.

This has been one of the strong points of Galaxy smartphones for years. Galaxy AI integration is now much more advanced than Apple Intelligence. It will be interesting to see if Apple is able to respond in the coming months with the arrival of iOS 27 in September in particular.

Screen and design

The iPhone 17 Pro Max and the S26 Ultra have one thing in common: they are large smartphones. Apple, like Samsung, is banking on a diagonal of 6.9 inches. Two OLED screens occupy the front of the phone, with a very similar resolution (2868 x 1320 pixels for Apple and 3120 x 1440 pixels for Samsung). The real difference is in the brightness.

Samsung does much better than Apple by reaching 2600 nits with its S26 Ultra. The iPhone 17 Pro Max for its part does not exceed 1000 nits. To operate in complete darkness without burning your retina, both screens can go down to a nit.

Value for money

Last point to take into account before making your choice: the price obviously. You will have understood this by reading the technical sheet of these two smartphones: these are high-end devices. You need a certain budget to afford them. Apple to begin with offers the iPhone 17 Pro Max at a price of €1,479 for 256 GB of storage. Count on an additional 250 euros to double the storage capacity of the phone.

Samsung, for its part, asks €1,469 for its 26 Ultra with 256 GB of storage, 10 euros less than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. During pre-orders, until March 11, get a discount with the 26 Ultra with 512 GB of storage for the same price. The version with 1 TB costs €1769 during this offer.

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By: Keleops AG