Head to head
Samsung Galaxy S26vsApple iPhone 17
The short answer
Choose the Galaxy S26 for battery life per charge and 3DMark graphics score. Choose the iPhone 17 for peak brightness. The iPhone 17 is £80 cheaper at UK RRP (£799 against £879). The Galaxy S26 gets security updates until February 2033; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 17, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate neither clearly gets them for longer.
- Released
- 2026-03-06endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £879Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy S26 series, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- 2033-02-28Samsung UK spec API — Galaxy S26, retrieved 2026-09-22
- Released
- 2025-09-19endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £799Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-20
2 wins for Galaxy S261 win for iPhone 175 gaps borderline1 difference you won’t notice£80 apart at RRP
Verdict: Galaxy S26 ahead on 2 rows, iPhone 17 on 1 row
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the Galaxy S26 wins on battery per charge (51 h against 41 h) and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (6,531 against 4,715, both from 3DMark); the iPhone 17 wins on peak brightness (3,000 nits from the maker against 2,600 nits from GSMArena). 5 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: RAM (12 GB from the maker against 8 GB from GSMArena) for the Galaxy S26, battery capacity (4,300 mAh from the maker against 3,692 mAh from GSMArena) for the Galaxy S26, battery lifespan (1,200 cycles against 1,000 cycles) for the Galaxy S26, fast charging (40 W against 25 W) for the iPhone 17 and wireless charging (25 W from the maker against 15 W from GSMArena) for the iPhone 17. The difference in weight is below the threshold you would notice. Both state the same display size, refresh rate, storage (base) and claimed video playback. The other 37 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.
True to scale
Outlines from each maker’s published dimensions, drawn to scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. A row the site has no threshold for says whether the two differ, and that it is not ranking them. = marks the same figure on both, ≠ not ranked a difference with no ranking. Every figure carries its source.
Body
Display
Platform
Memory
Camera
Battery
Connectivity
Benchmarks
1 attribute neither phone has a sourced figure for
Google Mobile Services. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.
Questions
Is the Galaxy S26 better than the iPhone 17?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the Galaxy S26 wins on battery per charge, 51 h against 41 h (both EU energy label) and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme, 6,531 against 4,715 (both 3DMark); the iPhone 17 wins on peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Apple UK) against 2,600 nits (GSMArena). Every other row is borderline, too close to notice, or not ranked.
Which has the better battery?
The Galaxy S26, by a gap you’d notice: battery per charge, 51 h against 41 h (both EU energy label). Both state 30 h for claimed video playback (Samsung UK and Apple UK). The Galaxy S26 is ahead, narrowly: battery capacity, 4,300 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 3,692 mAh (GSMArena), a borderline gap most people would not notice.
Which is lighter?
The Galaxy S26 is lighter on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: weight, 167 g (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 177 g (Apple UK).
Which has the brighter screen?
The iPhone 17, by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Apple UK) against 2,600 nits (GSMArena).
Which gets updates for longer?
The Galaxy S26 gets security updates until February 2033; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 17, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate neither clearly gets them for longer. Sources: dates from Samsung UK spec API; Apple’s record from endoflife.date and Apple security releases.
Which is cheaper?
The iPhone 17 is £80 cheaper at UK RRP (£799 against £879). Prices from Galaxy S26: Samsung Newsroom UK; iPhone 17: Apple UK store.
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.