It’s nearly been a year since Apple announced the iPhone 11 Pro alongside the cheaper iPhone 11, with three cameras, an A13 Bionic chip, major battery life improvements and much more. It’s been the best performing smartphone on the market, but debatably, the recently-launched Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is a better buy.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has 5G support with sub6 and mmwave to go alongside WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 – unlike the iPhone 11 Pro Max that only supports 4G. However, unless you live in an area that has a fully-fledged 5G cellular network built already, it will likely be years until you can fully take advantage of even sub6 5G.
Although it’s older, Apple’s Pro Max outperforms the Note 20 Ultra by a mile. Even with a measly 4GB of RAM, Apple manages thermal throttling and battery management with its A13 Bionic very well and in demanding tasks, you’ll probably notice a difference. It’s difficult to say, however, if that different is noticeable in daily tasks: probably not – and the Snapdragon 865+ is the fastest chip in any Android smartphone.
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| Galaxy Note 20 Ultra | iPhone 11 Pro Max | |
| Display | 6.9″ Quad HD+ AMOLED 3088×1440 496 ppi HDR10+ certified 120Hz refresh rate | 6.5″ Super Retina XDR OLED 2688×1242 458 ppi HDR certified 60Hz refresh rate |
| Processor | Snapdragon 865+ | Apple A13 Bionic |
| Memory | 12GB RAM (8GB LTE) | 4GB RAM |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | 64GB, 256GB, 512GB |
| Network | WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 & 5G sub6/mmwave | WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 and 4G |
| Software | Android 10 and One UI 2 | iOS 13 |
| Rear Camera | 12MP Ultra-Wide F/2.2 108MP Wide-Angle F/1.8 12MP Telephoto F/3.0 5x Optical Zoom 50x Digital Zoom Night mode HDR | 12MP Ultra-Wide F/2.4 12MP Telephoto F/2.0 12MP Wide F/1.8 2x Optical Zoom 10x Digital Zoom Night mode Smart HDR |
| Video | 8K at 24fps 4K at 60fps Full HD at 120 & 60fps Super Slo-Mo at 960fps 720p | 4K at 60fps Full HD at 30fps & 60fps Slo-Mo at 120fps/240fps 1080p |
| Battery | 4500mAh | 4000mAh |
| Security | Pattern/PIN/Password Fingerprint or Face Recognition | Passcode or Face ID |
The wraparound 6.9″ AMOLED display on the Note 20 Ultra is simply stunning, with thin bezels all around and a hole-punch camera in the top to allow for face unlock and selfies. The smooth performance and premium design is also helped by the 120Hz refresh rate – something the iPhone 11 Pro Max doesn’t have and a feature this year’s iPhones will lack. HDR performance is better on the latter and face unlock much more secure, but the notch isn’t helping Apple’s case of a ‘full-screen display’ compared to the Note.
Battery life will differ depending on how you use your device, but with how large the Note 20 Ultra is, it’s not hard to imagine the battery in the tablet-sized phone can last for longer.
Apple is set to announce up to four new iPhones this year, with an improved design, better cameras and a rumoured huge boost in performance with the A14 chip, so it’s difficult to recommend the iPhone 11 Pro when a refresh is just around the corner. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra offers a rounder package in general, but at over $150 that should be expected.
