iPhone 13 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3

The iPhone 13 Professional Max continues with the flat-edge design of the iPhone 12 sequence, making it look akin to the iPad Professional or (going again additional) the iPhone 5S. The one noticeable distinction it brings in, in comparison with its fast predecessor, is a front-facing notch that’s 20% narrower, given you fractionally extra touchscreen actual property to work with.

Apart from that, its design is arguably fairly conservative. On the very least, there’s little question it’s overshadowed by the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, which, as a foldable cellphone, nonetheless carries a considerable novelty issue. Extra importantly, it does certainly look very modern and complicated, each as a folded-out, tablet-like machine and as a folded-in, narrower smartphone. Its oval-shaped rear digital camera module blends in properly with its physique, and whereas its general design isn’t a lot of a departure from the Z Fold 2, the rareness of fine foldable telephones makes it extra hanging than the iPhone 13 Professional Max.

When evaluating the standard of the 13 Professional Max’s show with the Z Fold 3’s foremost (foldable) display, Apple’s machine nearly comes out on high. Its 6.7-inch display has a decision of 2778 x 1284 pixels, figuring out at 458 pixels per inch. Against this, the Z Fold 3’s foremost 7.6-inch show packs 2208 x 1768 pixels, which makes for a barely much less dense 374 ppi. Each telephones additionally supply a refresh charge of 120Hz, thereby offering a really easy visible expertise. That stated, with extra pixels per inch, the 13 Professional Max’s display does look a bit of sharper and extra vivid, though the bigger dimension of the Z Fold 3’s display might doubtlessly flip a number of extra heads.

On the identical time, the Z Fold 3 does clearly present a second, 6.2-inch cowl display, which additionally helps a 120Hz refresh charge and carries 387 pixels per inch. It’s controversial that this makes it superior within the show division, if solely as a result of you’ve gotten extra show to work with.

Whereas the iPhone 13 Professional Max comes with an IP68 score, the Z Fold 3 has been awarded an IPX8 classification. What this implies is that it hasn’t been examined for resistance towards mud (therefore the “X”) however has acquired a water-resistance score. Compared to earlier fashions, the Z Fold 3 additionally consists of “sweeper” bristles alongside its hinge, which ought to maintain infiltration of mud to a workable minimal.

On condition that it lacks the iPhone’s sturdiness, we’re calling this spherical a tie, regardless of the Z Fold 3’s superior design.

Winner: Tie

In the event you’re in america, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 homes the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, which makes use of a 5nm manufacturing course of to pack in additional transistors and make it extra highly effective than the earlier 7nm fashions. The iPhone 13 Professional Max additionally makes use of a 5nm chip, the Apple A15 Bionic, which regardless of possessing solely modest enhancements over the A14, is nearly extra highly effective than its predecessor. This implies it is likely one of the strongest smartphone chips in operation proper now, and with 6GB of RAM, it is going to deal with just about each recreation and app out now, whereas additionally letting you multitask with out friction. So too will the Snapdragon 888 and the Z Fold 3, which harnesses 12GB of RAM, making it simply as highly effective because the 13 Professional Max (iPhones want much less RAM).

Neither the iPhone 13 Professional Max nor the Z Fold 3 comes with a microSD card slot, though assuming that you simply don’t snap photographs like your life relied on it, each present sufficient inner reminiscence to final. That is significantly the case with the iPhone 13 Professional Max, which begins with a 128GB mannequin however could be purchased (for an additional $500) with 1TB of reminiscence, which might be inexhaustible for the typical person. The Z Fold 3 begins with 256GB of inner storage however could be had with 512GB of reminiscence, for an additional $100.

The iPhone 13 Professional Max’s triple-lens rear digital camera setup boasts new {hardware} this time round. It raises its aperture values to f/1.5 for the huge lens and f/1.8 for the ultrawide lens, whereas it provides a 77mm-equivalent telephoto digital camera with an f/2.8 aperture, which supplies you a 3x optical zoom. These updates characterize an advance over the already-great iPhone 12 Professional Max, that means that the 13 Professional Max takes some significantly good photographs. Mainly, the widened apertures on the huge and ultrawide lenses enable for the seize of extra gentle, which in flip leads to extra element and vibrancy. Against this, the narrowed aperture on the telephoto lens permits for a superior zoom, whereas all three lenses are appropriate with Night time mode.

As for the Z Fold 3, it additionally affords a triple-lens rear digital camera setup, that includes a 12MP huge lens, a 12MP ultrawide, and a 12MP telephoto lens. Usually, it takes very spectacular photographs beneath most situations, though it suffers a bit of in low-light environments, one thing which can’t be stated for the 13 Professional Max. That is the primary distinction between the 2 telephones, and it’s one thing that’s not compensated for by the truth that the Z Fold 3 supplies a 4MP digital camera beneath its foremost (foldable) display, in addition to a 10MP digital camera on its cowl display.

Each telephones allow you to seize 4K video at 60 frames per second, though one benefit the iPhone 13 Professional Max has is that it introduces a Cinematic Mode. This allows you to seamlessly shift focus from the foreground to the background, making for very professional-looking photographs. Along with the higher all-around rear digital camera, this supplies Apple’s cellphone with one other win.

Winner: iPhone 13 Professional Max

It’s clear what the Z Fold 3’s foremost particular function is: It folds out, reworking from a extra conventional smartphone to one thing that appears like a pill. This performance makes it extra versatile than the typical smartphone, with the machine significantly suited to multitasking and productiveness. For instance, the power to make use of a number of apps directly means you are able to do things like watch a lecture on YouTube whereas taking notes in one other app. On the identical time, the machine is appropriate with the S Pen, that means it might be among the best telephones obtainable proper now for professionals.

As with the iPhone 13 Professional Max, the Z Fold 3 additionally helps 5G. This encompasses the essential sub-6Hz frequency vary in addition to the sooner mmWave band, that means you will get the quickest attainable speeds on each units. They’re additionally supported by all main carriers, so assuming that you simply stay near a 5G community, they’ll have you ever browsing the net at ultra-speeds very quickly.

Aside from 5G, the iPhone 13 Professional Max doesn’t have an excessive amount of to jot down residence about, regardless of getting all the basics spot-on. Certainly, the one actually new particular function is the aforementioned Cinematic Mode, the enchantment of which can be restricted to cinephiles. There’s additionally the Ceramic Defend glass it makes use of in its show, which makes it 4 instances extra sturdy than the typical smartphone show. Nonetheless, this was additionally current within the iPhone 12 sequence, so it’s hardly new, one thing that may also be stated for such returning options as Face ID and Memojis.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3

The iPhone 13 Professional Max begins at $1,099 for the 128GB mannequin however rises as excessive as $1,599 for the 1TB model. All main carriers help it, whereas it’s additionally obtainable from most main retailers.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 begins at $1,800 for the 256GB mannequin, whereas the 512GB model prices $1,900. As with the iPhone, it’s additionally supported by all main carriers and could be purchased extensively on-line and IRL.