iPhone 11 Pro Max vs Galaxy Note 10 Plus: Which is the best premium smartphone?

Apple recently took the lid off three new iPhones and at the top of that list sits the iPhone 11 Pro Max. It is the most impressive iPhone to date and is a strong contender for the world’s best smartphone. But it doesn’t sit alone at the top of the list.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Pro is an equally impressive smartphone, if not more so. We took the liberty to compare both these ultra-premium smartphones, so you don’t have to.

In terms of design, the iPhone 11 Pro Max features a premium glass finish, but sports a pretty dated design, and is almost indistinguishable from the iPhone X Max. It still has a wide notch as opposed to the punch-hole notch on the Note 10 Plus. The Galaxy Note 10 Pro, on the other hand, sports a new finish and a near-bezel-less screen. On the design front, Samsung wins without question.

Display

The iPhone 11 Pro Max opts for a Super Retina OLED screen, while the Galaxy Note 10 Plus gets a QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED panel. Both these phones have best-in-class displays with little-to-no faults. But we have to have a winner and a loser. The Note 10 Plus’ screen is bigger, has a higher resolution and offers more pixel density than Apple’s Super Retina display, which only has the higher brightness going its way. Additionally, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 Plus set 13 DisplayMate records. This one simply has to go to Samsung.

Performance

The Note 10 Plus is powered by the Snapdragon 855 SoC. Apple, on the other hand, utilises the new A13 Bionic chip. As fast as the Snapdragon 855 chipset might be, it pales in comparison to the A13, both in terms of CPU and GPU performance. Handsets with the SD855+ will have a hard time going up against the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, little alone Snapdragon 855 smartphones.

Camera

Apple has opted for a triple camera setup on the iPhone 11 Pro Max, while the Note 10 Plus packs a quad-camera setup. Apple new camera system is expected to bring several improvements over the last iPhone. Camera performance showcased during Apple’s launch event was impressive, to say the least. Even the front camera gets several enhancements. That being said, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus has the best overall DxOMark camera score for both front and rear cameras. While we’ll just have to wait to test out the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s camera, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus is tried, tested, and proven, and perfected.

 Price

At this point, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus is well-head of the iPhone 11 Pro Max. And that’s bad news for Apple because we have come to price, an area where Apple hasn’t really fared well in the past. The base Galaxy Note 10 Plus variant with 256GB in-built storage is available at Rs 79,990, while the base iPhone 11 Pro Max with 64GB storage is priced at Rs 1,09,900. There’s no question about who’s the winner here.

Verdict

Both the iPhone 11 Pro Max and Galaxy Note 10 Plus are class-leading products and set the standards for future smartphones. But at Rs 30,000 less, the Note 10 Plus offers much greater value for money than the Pro Max. Sure, Apple does deliver better performance than the Note 10 Plus, it doesn’t really matter at these levels. Both the Snapdragon  855 and A13 Bionic chip will deliver high-end performance that will be hard to distinguish between average users. In terms of camera, display, and design, the Galaxy Note 10 quite a lead over the iPhone 11 Pro Max.