iPhone 12, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max vs. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 20 lineup

Though no one can predict the future, let alone anything that could happen in 2020, it’s likely that Apple and Samsung have finished releasing their premium 5G phones for this year. In August, Samsung took the wraps off its ultra high-end Note 20 line. The new line includes two devices: the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra. Both sport three rear cameras, generously sized screens and an embedded S Pen smart stylus. After that came Apple, which unveiled its iPhone 12 line in October. 

The iPhone 12 lineup features the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 ProiPhone 12 Pro Max and the iPhone 12 Mini. These phones have Apple’s powerful proprietary A14 Bionic processor and the Pro models include a new lidar scanner in their cameras for depth scanning.

To see how these devices stack up against one another, we put them side-by-side in the spec chart below. Note that because these phones all boast top-tier hardware and big screens, we didn’t include the smaller iPhone 12 Mini.

iPhone 12 lineup vs. Galaxy Note 20 lineup

Apple iPhone 12 Apple iPhone 12 Pro Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Display size, resolution 6.1-inch OLED; 2,532×1,170 pixels 6.1-inch OLED; 2,532×1,170 pixels 6.7-inch OLED; 2,778×1,284 pixels 6.7-inch OLED; 2,400×1,080 pixels 6.9-inch OLED; 3,088×1,440 pixels
Pixel density 460ppi 460ppi 458ppi 393ppi 496ppi
Dimensions (Inches) 5.78×2.82×0.29 in 5.78×2.82×0.29 in 6.33×3.07×0.29 in 6.36×2.96×0.33 in 6.49×3.04×0.31 in
Dimensions (Millimeters) 146.7×71.5×7.4 mm 146.7×71.5×7.4 mm 160.8×78.1×7.4 mm 161.6×75.2×8.3 mm 164.8×77.2×8.1mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams) 5.78oz, 164g 6.66 oz, 189g 8.03 oz, 228g 6.84 oz, 194g 7.33 oz, 208g
Mobile software iOS 14 iOS 14 iOS 14 Android 10 Android 10
Camera 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide) 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (telephoto) 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (telephoto) 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 64-megapixel (telephoto) 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 108-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (telephoto)
Front-facing camera 12-megapixel 12-megapixel 12-megapixel 10-megapixel 10-megapixel
Video capture 4K 4K 4K 8K 8K
Processor Apple A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic Snapdragon 865+ Snapdragon 865+
Storage 64GB, 128GB, 256GB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB 128GB 128GB, 512GB
RAM Undisclosed Undisclosed Undisclosed 8GB 12GB
Expandable storage No No No No Up to 1TB
Battery Undisclosed; Apple lists 15 hours of video playback Undisclosed; Apple lists 17 hours of video playback Undisclosed; Apple lists 17 hours of video playback 4,300mAh 4,500mAh
Fingerprint sensor No (Face ID) No (Face ID) No (Face ID) In-screen In-screen
Connector Lightning Lightning Lightning USB-C USB-C
Headphone jack No No No No No
Special features 5G enabled; MagSafe; water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM) Lidar scanner; 5G enabled; MagSafe; water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM) Lidar scanner; 5G enabled; MagSafe; water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM) S Pen stylus; 5G connectivity; Wireless PowerShare; water resistant (IP68) 120Hz screen refresh rate, 5x optical zoom, 120Hz display; UWB sharing, S Pen stylus; 5G connectivity; Wireless PowerShare; water-resistant (IP68)
Price off-contract (USD) $829 (64GB), $879 (128GB), $979 (256GB) $999 (128GB), $1,099 (256GB), $1,299 (512GB) $1,099 (128GB), $1,199 (256GB), $1,399 (512GB) $800 (128GB) $1,100 (128GB), $1,250 (512GB)
Price (GBP) £799 (64GB), £849 (128GB), £949 (256GB) £999 (128GB), £1,099 (256GB), £1,299 (512GB) £1,099 (128GB), £1,199 (256GB), £1,399 (512GB) £849 (4G), £949 (5G) £929 (5G)
Price (AUD) AU$1,349 (64GB), AU$1,429 (128GB), AU$1,599 (256GB) AU$1,699 (128GB), AU$1,869 (256GB), AU$2,219 (512GB) AU$1,849 (128GB), AU$2,019 (256GB), AU$2,369 (512GB) AU$1,490 (4G), AU$1,649 (5G) AU$1,849 (4G), AU$1,999 (5G)

*prices listed in the chart are as of Nov. 17, 2020

Apple iPhone 12

$729 at Apple

Apple iPhone 12 Pro

$999 at Amazon

Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

$1,199 at Amazon

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

$1,000 at Amazon

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

$1,250 at Amazon

The iPhone 12 Pro Max looks premium in gold

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+23 more


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