Samsung Galaxy S26 / Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Samsung varies the processor by market: the US, China and Japan versions use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. This entry covers the Exynos 2600 SM-S942B version.

The viewable area is smaller than the rectangular measurement because of the corners and camera hole.

ProMotion changes the refresh rate with the content: 120 Hz smoothness when scrolling and gaming, lower rates on still images to save power. Apple quotes 1000 nits typical, 1600 nits HDR peak, 2000 nits outdoor peak and 1 nit minimum; peaks are not sustained full-screen brightness.

The panel lowers its rate to match the content, slowing down on static images to save power and rising to 120 Hz for scrolling and games.

This is Samsung's peak figure, not a brightness held across the full screen.

Samsung says this GPU supports hardware ray tracing and is up to 50% faster at it than its predecessor.

Samsung states up to 29% better heat dissipation for the S26; this is a figure from the maker's own testing.

Usable space is lower than the total because of preloaded software. Options vary by country and carrier.

The 2x optical-quality zoom uses the centre of the main camera's Adaptive Pixel sensor; it is not a separate lens.

4K at 120 fps allows high-frame-rate 4K footage that can be slowed down. Log recording produces a flat image that leaves more room for colour grading. High-bit-rate ProRes needs an external drive.

Samsung quotes up to 30 hours of video playback; the typical figure was measured by a third-party lab to IEC 61960.

The figure was measured from 0% with a 25 W Samsung adapter and 3 A USB-C cable, screen off. The adapter and cable are sold separately.

PowerShare works only with certain Qi-compatible phones and wearables and may not work below 30% battery.

Wi-Fi 7 speeds need a Wi-Fi 7 router; 6 GHz use varies by country.

USB 3.2 Gen 1 carries up to 5 Gbit/s of data, which speeds up wired transfers of large video files to a computer.

Apple notes that iPhone 16 Pro sold in the US is not compatible with physical SIM cards; models for other markets have a SIM tray.

Band support varies by market.

Weight may vary by country and configuration.

Water and dust resistance can decline over time with normal wear.

Apple says A18 Pro, built on second-generation 3 nm technology, runs the same workload 15% faster with 20% less power than the previous generation; the GPU is up to 20% faster and hardware ray tracing up to 2× faster. The chip also enables faster USB 3 transfers and ProRes recording.

The Pro system covers a 10× optical zoom range from 0.5× to 5×, with digital zoom up to 25×. The 2× image is a 12 MP crop from the centre of the 48 MP main sensor, not a separate camera.

Apple says Camera Control combines a tactile switch, a force sensor and a capacitive surface: a click opens the camera, while a light press and finger slide adjust zoom, exposure or depth of field.

mmWave and satellite services vary by country. Cellular model numbers are A3083 and A3084.

10 Gb/s transfers need a USB 3 cable. Wireless charging power depends on the adapter and charger.