Let's put two of the most popular smartphone models in 2021 between Apple and Samsung head to head. The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the top-tier model in the S21 series that Samsung introduced in January 2021. Later that year, Apple responded with the iPhone 13 in September 2021. Which phone can you expect to get the most bang for your buck?

Camera

Truthfully, iPhones normally tend to outperform Galaxy phones in camera quality, but Samsung went big with the Galaxy S21 Ultra. The S21 Ultra offers a 3 lens rear camera system consisting of a 108MP main, 10MP telephoto and 12MP ultra-wide lens. The iPhone 13 has just 2 lenses: a 12MP main and 12MP ultra-wide.

The image resolution in the S21 Ultra is also astoundingly almost 3x more than the iPhone 13 at 12000 x 9000 px compared to 4032 x 3024 meaning you'll get more detail and sharper imagery on bigger photos. You'll also find more zoom capabilities on the Galaxy S21 Ultra and 8K video support compared to just 4K on the iPhone 13.

Battery

The Galaxy S21 Ultra also has a bigger battery capacity at 5000 mAH compared to the iPhone 13's 3227 mAH battery. However, the iPhone 13 on average outlasts the S21 Ultra on a single charge for low usage tasks like web browsing, likely thanks to more efficient processing software.

Display

If you prefer bigger phones, you'll like the Galaxy S21 Ultra which boasts a 6.8-inch AMOLED screen with a 1440 x 3200 px resolution. The smaller iPhone 13 still has a competitive OLED display measuring 6.1 inches with a 1170 x 2532 px resolution, but due to the greater pixel density, you're going to notice better image quality and detail on the Galaxy.

Storage

Both the iPhone 13 and Galaxy S21 Ultra offer the same internal storage options at 128, 256 and 512 GB, but neither offer support for external storage.

Processor

Comparing the processing chips is where things get a little more difficult. The iPhone 13 comes equipped with Apple's A15 Bionic chip, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 875. In general, the iPhone 13 comes out ahead in processing speeds and gaming performance, but the Galaxy S21 Ultra comes standard with significantly more RAM with options for 12 or 16 GB compared to just 4 GB. That means you'll get a much smoother experience if you're used to multitasking and switching between several apps at one time.

Overall, you'll find very capable phones in both the iPhone 13 and the Galaxy S21 Ultra. The S21 Ultra is the better choice if you value streaming media in higher quality or taking more detailed photos and videos. On the other hand, Apple's smoother processing, clean interface and efficient software might make it the better option for most average users.