So, if you find yourself in a situation where you're considering upgrading your smartphone, maybe you've been on Apple iOS since the dawn of time, or vice versa, and you're a lifelong Android user. Are you worried about missing out on features you are used to having, or are you concerned about the learning curve involved in making the switch?

Well, I made this video to help you put your mind at rest…so you can make a better-informed decision & at the same time, help you not waste your money on a roll of the dice.

As you already know, I am comparing the new Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max to what many consider the number 1 alternative to the iPhone, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

THE PRICE

So, let's start with the most painful part of buying a new flagship phone and rip off the band-aid real quick. The price.

So the iPhone 16 Pro max on launch day with 256GB of storage will deplete your bank account by £1199, and around $1199 in europe.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra, despite being released in January 2024, has a higher price tag at £1249, $1299 Even though it's 9 months older, there are some significant advantages that this brings to the table. It'll all make sense if you stick around until the end.

Samsung is aware of the Apple release, so they run various offers to balance the price difference. For example, they're giving away a free Chromebook with your purchase in the UK.

As you know, Apple never gave anything away for free except (screen grab) when they had that antenna issue on the iPhone 4. But on face value, the Galaxy is more expensive.

THE DISPLAY

Ok, the first and most important thing for most people will be the part of the phone you look at every day—the displays.

Apple does, in fact, use Samsung Display panels. But sometimes they get some exclusives. Anyway, let's break this down.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a 6.9" LTPO Amoled panel w 460 ppi, with 2000 nits of peak brightness & it does have the ability to reduce the refresh rate to just 1 hertz when the screen is idle. It does look nice, but it is not massively different from the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

However, Apple has improved the screen-to-body ratio. It's now a 91.4% screen-to-body ratio, resulting in thinner borders around the display. A bitter pill to swallow for some might be the interrupted display, with its quite large camera cut out, but there are upsides to this, and we'll come back to that.

Now, the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It's 0.1" smaller on the diagonal but still feels like a bigger display. It could be due to the angular corners instead of the rounded ones on the iPhone.

It's a Samsung display Amoled, and it's more pixel-dense. At 505 ppi, it has 55 ppi more than the iPhone 16 pro max. It's also brighter by a full 2500nitts. However, the screen-to-body ratio is lower at 88.5% screen-to-body ratio. The punch hold also interrupts the display, but not as much as the iPhone's.

Because it's a single camera, the face unlock on the S24 is 2D. It is fast but less secure than Apple's 3D Face ID.

Regarding the display colours, both phones can look the same if calibrated. However, Apple leans toward warmer hues, especially when True Tone is left on, and Samsung seems to favour cooler tones and a more vivid look by default.

Now, one side note here. It is worth noting that Apple doesn't let you play with the picture quality. With Samsung, you get a lot of freedom if you want it.

But rest assured, if you want it to look its best with minimum input, both Samsung and Apple screens look amazing straight out of the box.

Although the Galaxy does have a secret weapon, which is honestly at the next level, You'll see.

THE BATTERY

Now, only a little can be achieved with speed and power. So let's talk about the battery power and speed of delivery.

So, Apple prefers to keep this kind of thing private. But after digging around a bit on the internet. It is rumoured to be 5.5% bigger than last year's model by 5.5%. And apparently, now 4568mAh

The Galaxy S24 ultra, on the other hand, has a 5000mAh cell. Even though Samsung won the numbers game here, several factors can affect real-world battery efficiency. So don't count the iPhone 16 Pro Max out just yet.

Now let's talk power delivery, aka charging. The iPhone's peak charging speed via a wire is 45W, 15W wirelessly, and there is no reverse charging. And via wire, you can get up to 50% in 30 mins.

Now, on the Galaxy. The peak charge speed is 45 Watts,15w wirelessly, like the iPhone, and it has a slightly slower reverse wireless charging of 4.5w.

By using the most optimal charging method and a fast enough charger, you can get the S24 Ultra to 65% in 30 mins.

So, Samsung has a bigger battery and faster charging. But you could make the case that slower charging rates help preserve battery health for longer.

This is likely why the Galaxy S24u doesn't default to its fastest charging out of the box. But the option to turn it up to 45 watts is always there.

Benchmarks and Thermals

So I mentioned how efficiency affects the battery. Well, let me attempt to explain that simply for you without getting too techy.

The iPhone has a few big advantages in this area. Because it's their own closed-off ecosystem, they can optimize the software and hardware to make the iPhone much less power-hungry than many phones with bigger batteries.

One of the most important aspects of this is silicon. The beating heart and mind on the device. Apple designed this in-house because they've had those 9 extra months to work on it. It should be much more efficient on paper than the Galaxy's S24s chip.

The iPhones A18 pro bionic chip is manufactured using a 3nm process. This opens the door to better efficiency and more performance in the same amount of space than a chip built using a 4nm process

Which the Galaxy S24 ultras SD 8 Gen 3 chip is 4nm chip is. So this time, Apple won the numbers game on the processors, but Samsung had a full 4 GB of extra RAM. The ip16p has just 8GB, and the Samsung base model has 12 GB.

if you think of these chipset configurations like an F1 vehicle. You can give one driver last year's model with better tyres and another this year's model with adequate tyres.

In those scenarios, it's likely the driver who makes the difference.

Which brings me very nicely onto

THE SOFTWARE

This should be one of the most important aspects to consider if you're thinking about jumping from iOS to Android or vice versa.

How different is Android from iOS? Is it a steep learning curve, like trying to learn a new language? Well, it isn't.

App availability is pretty much identical aside from the Apple-exclusive apps like iMovie and GarageBand, iMessage, Apple Wallet, etc.

On the other hand, you get Samsung and Google alternatives, which means you get many more possibilities on the Galaxy.

Apple finally allows you to place apps and widgets anywhere on the Home Screen, and Apple now allows you to customise the look of app icons a little bit.

It's different from the level of customization & freedom that the Galaxy offers on One UI and the truly next-level Good Lock apps.

But If you're one of the people saying I couldn't care less about all that. And I just take the path of least resistance when it comes to switching.

It's important to know that even though Samsung gives you access to all these additional power user tools in their toolbox. You really don't have to use them. And if you're going from Android to Apple and only care a little about custom setups. You definitely won't feel like you're missing out on much.

However, Apple does charge some Apple tax on its App Store apps. Which is quite frustrating.

Both phones for daily use are similar in a lot of ways. Swipe gestures are identical, and apps are virtually identical.

Both phones have quick settings, aka control panels, that allow you to swipe down from the top. Both have notification shades.

The iPhone has an App Library on its last page. The Galaxy has an app drawer that is swiped up from the bottom.

Now before we move on. There are some killer ecosystem features that you need to consider on iOS & AI on the Galaxy. But I'm saving those for the killer features section at the end. But just before we do that, let's do a quick design comparison.

THE DESIGN

One of the reasons you might want to switch. If you might be getting bored of the same old design. I hear you…but on the flip side if that is a ton of people who like the familiarity.

So, the iPhone 16 Pro Max design caters to people who want the same look and feel as they had back in 2019, with some subtle upgrades. So now you get a grade 5 titanium exoskeleton frame USB C charging. More rounded corners slightly larger camera module. The handy action button and now a new camera button. I believe there has also been some upgrades to the microphones.

It's IP68 dust and water-resistant, and you get the dual sim tray in Europe. The weight is 227 grams, which is decent for such a big phone.

Now, the Galaxy. For those who are on an iPhone and bored of the same old design, The Galaxy S24 ultra will be quite refreshing. But it's worth mentioning Samsung, like Apple, have been running with its design since the Galaxy S22 in 2022.

The main difference between the two is the shape of the corners, which are more angular. It also uses Titanium, but a slightly lower grade 2 is used here. This detracts from the premium look and feel. Although it may suggest, it scratches slightly easier.

It's slightly heavier than the iPhone by 5 grams at 232 grams. Like the iPhone, it's an iP68 with a dual sim tray.

The placement of the buttons in comparison is more simplified, and all on the right side. And it has fewer buttons…which is worth considering if you simply must have the action button and camera shutter button.

Now this is a big one. Remember how I said the Galaxy S24 display has a secret weapon? Well, it's actually exclusive to the Galaxy Ultra. It's the Corning Gorilla armour glass, which is as strong and scratch-resistant as the iPhone 16 but has a unique and reflective quality. That makes it way way more viewable in direct sunlight due to the heavy reduction in reflections. This is the best screen glass to date on any phone out there. Dimensions: iPhone is 0.7mm taller, Galaxy is 1.4mm wider and 0.3mm thicker

THE CAMERA

Ok so now let's talk about the shooters. And I'm not going to do a full-on camera comparison here. Because I'm sure you've already seen a few of those. Let me know if you'd like to see one of those from me let me know.

But let's keep this simple for now.

The primary camera on the S24 ultra is 200mp and the iPhone is 48mp. Now megapixels are not everything. The optics and coatings and image processing does make a difference. Also something very important to consider is the actual size of the sensor itself and the pixel sizes, which are in fact both larger on the iPhones primary camera.

So you tell me. Which looks better here.

Now, both phones have periscope zoom lenses: they can do 5x optical zooms, the iphones is 12MP but the Galaxy sensor is 50mp and this sensor doesn’t just have more megapixels, it’s also a larger sensor than the iphones, however the iPhones sensor periscope sensor has a larger pixels. What do you think?

Now one thing you need to know is the Galaxy can go up to 100x digitally. Which might seem gimmicky but for me personally it comes in handy on several occasions when trying to read signs and timetables from far away.

So, that could be considered a win for the Galaxy.

And here's what might be a win for the iPhone: the ultrawide is 48mp, and the Galaxy uses a 12mp sensor. But, like I said before, it's not only the sensor that affects the results because the pixel size this time is larger on the Galaxy. So let me know what you think.

Now, here's where the Galaxy has an advantage. It does have a fourth camera. And it is a dedicated 10mp 3x zoom lens. So how does that compare to the iPhones 3x? When it comes to video, many consider the iPhone the best, but the Galaxy can shoot 8K, whereas the iPhone cannot.

THE KILLER FEATURES

iPhone Camera Button

Alright so now the stuff that I've been dying to show you. It's the killer feature on each phone.

So let's start with the iPhone's newest upgrade. It's the camera shutter button. The half-push to focus didn't roll out with the release. It's coming soon. But right now, you can use it to fire up the camera, slide to zoom & use it to snap a photo.

The Galaxy S PEN

Now, the Galaxy's super is the S Pen. This is truly unique to the Galaxy Ultra and there are a ton of productivity use cases for this. But for me, the fun AI stuff is at the next level. You'll see in a minute.

Satellite Connection

Ok, here's another one. It is satellite connectivity in an emergency when there's no phone signal. It is a rare scenario but could be extremely useful if you're an adventurer.

Ai

Now that Galaxy Ai stuff. There is a lot of it here on the Galaxy. It uses Google's Gemini Nano platform, which you can use to write and rewrite or proofread for you. You can auto transcribe voice recording and summarise, and summarise web pages. You can create images, but the most fun AI feature is the sketch to image. Which is surprisingly good sometimes.

Apple is working with OpenAi ChatGPT, but all the Apple Ai stuff still needs to be ready at launch. By the time it is, Samsung will be very close to their next-generation AI stuff.

The Ecosystem

This is a big one for the iPhone; it is the ecosystem stuff. So, things like Airdrop, if you have a Mac computer, allow you to move big files quickly between Apple devices. Also, the AirPods seamlessly switch between devices, and I particularly like copying and pasting from the phone to the Mac.

Now it is worth mentioning the Galaxy does have quick share which is the equivalent of Airdrop. This works just as quickly for Android devices.

It also works well with Samsung's Galaxy Windows laptops. And, of course, the Galaxy Buds seamlessly switch. And they also have the Galaxy watch and now the Galaxy ring also.

One issue when switching might be if you're already embedded in iOS or Android and have already invested in a smartwatch, earbuds, or headphones from either brand. Even though you can use AirPods with Android devices such as the Apple watch won't work.

However, the Samsung devices will work on iOS but not quite as seamlessly as the official Apple stuff.

Multi-Tasking

Ok, a big win for the Galaxy is the multitasking abilities. You get this edge panel. Which is a great way to hide away tools and apps that are less used. You can create a split screen. That is impossible on the iPhone now.

The 3D Face Unlock

And here's another one for the iPhone. The camera cut out while it is quite distracting. It does make the unlocking of the phone incredibly effortless. Because it's a 3D face unlock, it's very secure, too, and the Dynamic Island interface is a bonus. That some say is gimmicky but… I really like it. Particularly for media controls.

The Sonic Fingerprint Reader

And it's worth noting that the Galaxy's main unlock method is just as secure as the 3D face unlock. It uses the Qualcomm ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. Which is very fast and very secure.

Now, this is huge. It's the software support. The Galaxy Ultra will receive up to 7 years of Google updates. Which is incredible.

Software & Security Updates

Now Apple does offer what they say is at least five years of iOS updates. So that's good, too. But the promised 7 years from Samsung does mean you'll get all the new Android features in 2031…

Now one thing I think Apple does really well is their keyboard. It works well & if you switch from iOS to Galaxy. You might sometimes find the Galaxy keyboard a little tedious. But remember, it has all the AI stuff built in. Here's a little tip if you want to switch. Download and install the Gboard from Google, and it'll make you feel much more at home…

So there's a lot to consider here. And if you are considering the switch. My advice would be to put more weight into form functionality and performance and do me a favour don’t base your decision… on the colour of the bubbles.

So what's it going to be…iPhone or Galaxy? Let me know