Early performance and A20 Pro benchmarks

Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max at its recent "Surprise and Shine" event. Both flagship devices are powered by the new A20 Pro chip, built on a power-efficient 2nm process. The A20 Pro processor's CPU frequency reaches up to 4.93GHz, and both models are equipped with 12GB of RAM.

Preliminary Geekbench 6.7 tests were conducted on prototype units identifying themselves as iPhone 19,2 and iPhone 19,3. The single-core scores came in at 4,719 and 4,612, while the multi-core scores reached 12,677 and 11,819. Averaging these figures yields approximately 4,665 for single-core and 12,248 for multi-core performance. This demonstrates a 21-23% improvement in both single-core and multi-core output compared to the average scores of the previous generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The new iPhones will run iOS 27, which is scheduled for release on Monday, September 14. In comparison, early Geekbench results for the upcoming MediaTek Dimensity 9600 show a single-core score of 4,139 and a multi-core score of 13,285. While this puts MediaTek slightly ahead of the A20 Pro in multi-core performance, it falls significantly behind in single-core speeds.

Current benchmark results for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 SoC remain unreliable. Both the Dimensity 9600 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 will become official later this month.

Design and build comparisons

The premium flagship competition for 2026 features the iPhone 18 Pro Max going up against Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra, which launched several months prior. Both devices maintain standard, non-folding rectangular designs featuring large 6.9-inch displays.

Aside from new colors like dark red, the iPhone 18 Pro Max features a classic form factor that looks identical to the iPhone 17 Pro Max. However, the physical profiles differ slightly; the iPhone uses rounder corners, whereas the Galaxy opts for a straighter shape.

Materials also distinguish the two smartphones. Apple designed the iPhone 18 Pro Max with a combination of aluminum and glass on the back, while Samsung chose an all-glass back for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Weight is a notable differentiator, as the Galaxy S26 Ultra weighs just 214 grams, making it noticeably lighter than the 249-gram iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Price and hardware specifications

Both premium devices carry a starting price of $1,299, though the Galaxy S26 Ultra technically costs $1,299.99. The iPhone 18 Pro Max display supports a 2868x1320 resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate. It draws power from a 5,391 mAh battery and offers storage configurations including 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB.

In comparison, the Galaxy S26 Ultra utilizes a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, 12GB of RAM, and a slightly smaller 5,000mAh battery. Samsung's 6.9-inch display features a higher 3120x1440 resolution at 120Hz. Storage options for the Galaxy S26 Ultra max out at 1TB.

The camera arrays also present distinct hardware approaches. Samsung's rear camera setup is headlined by a 200MP wide sensor, supported by a 50MP ultra-wide lens, a 50MP telephoto lens, and a 10MP periscope telephoto lens. The Galaxy S26 Ultra also includes a 12MP front-facing camera.