Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) vs Apple iPad Air (WiFi 16GB)
Side by side comparison between Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Apple iPad Air devices, differences, pros, cons and full specifications. What's the better?
,
6.9"
AMOLED
AMOLED
1440x3200
108
MP
MP
40mp
12GB
RAM
RAM
Octa-core
5000
mAh
mAh
(Non removable)
vs
9.7"
IPS
IPS
1536x2048
5
MP
MP
1.2mp
1GB
RAM
RAM
Dual-core
8820
mAh
mAh
(Non removable)
What's the better device? Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS)
The phonemore's choice is much more technical than personal. Therefore, you shouldn't only consider this. Our goal is to help you, but what's important to us may not be important to you. You decide which one is the best! Comment!
37 Advantages 
4 Advantages | 13 Common items in both devices |
| Aluminum frame, glass front/back / Aluminum body, glass front |
| 16 million |
| PDAF: phase detection autofocus on both cameras / Autofocus |
| Capacitive |
| Multitouch |
| Accelerometer |
| Ambient light sensor |
| +6 specs and more in the table below |
Check the comparison table below for more items that are not evaluated in comparison score above.
Highlight differences Clear highlight📱 Model features | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| Model | Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) |
| Other model names | Galaxy S20 Ultra 4G-LTE SM-G988B/Dual-Sim (Exynos, 12GB RAM) | iPad Air A1474 (WiFi), iPad 5 Air, iPad Air 1 |
| Country or region available |  (Global, International) | (Global, International) |
| Brand | Samsung | Apple |
| Release date | 3/15/2020, Announced: 2/11/2020 | 11/1/2013, Announced: 10/22/2013 |
| Depth | 8.8 millimeters (0.35 inches) | 7.5 millimeters (0.3 inches) |
| Size (width x height) | 76 x 166.9 millimeters (2.99 x 6.57 in) | 169.5 x 240 millimeters (6.67 x 9.45 in) |
| Weight | 220 grams (7.7 ounces) | 469 grams (16.42 ounces) |
| Build, materials | Aluminum frame, glass front/back | Aluminum body, glass front |
| Protection against water and others | IP68 certified: water-resistant up to 1.5 meters for 30min and dust-resistant | Not supported |
📲 Display | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| Display type | Dynamic AMOLED | TFT LED-Backlit IPS LCD |
| Screen size | 6.9" inches | 9.7" inches |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~90.6% (screen-to-body ratio) | ~71.6% (screen-to-body ratio) |
| Display resolution | 1440x3200 pixels (20:9) | 1536x2048 pixels (4:3) |
| Touchscreen | Capacitive Multitouch 10-points | Capacitive Multitouch |
| Pixel density (dot pitch) | 509 PPI | 264 PPI |
| Colors | 16 million | 16 million |
| Scratch-resistant glass | Gorilla Glass 6 | Scratch-resistant glass |
| Refresh rate | 120Hz | 60Hz |
| Display features | HDR10+ Always-On Display 120Hz@FHD 60Hz@QHD | Not supported |
🤖 Operating System | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| System version | Android 10 | iOS 7.0 |
| Firmware update | Android 13 | iOS 12 |
| User Interface | One UI 2.5 / 3.1 / 4.1 / 5.0 | feature not registered |
⚙️ Processor | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| Chipset | 64bit: Samsung Exynos 990 (7nm) | 64bit: Apple A7 (APL5698) (28nm) |
| CPU | Octa-core, 3 processors: 2x 2.73GHz Mongoose M5 (Dual-core) 2x 2.5GHz ARM Cortex-A76 (Dual-core) 4x 2GHz ARM Cortex-A55 (Quad-core) | Dual-core, 1 processor: 2x 1.4GHz Cyclone (Dual-core) |
| GPU graphical controller | ARM Mali-G77 MP11 (800MHz) | PowerVR G6430 (4-core, 450MHz) |
| Performance (benchmark) | feature not registered | Basemark X: 13597 |
💽 Memory and storage | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| RAM memory | 12GB LPDDR5 | 1GB LPDDR3 |
| Internal storage | 128GB (104GB available) UFS 3.0 | 16GB (10GB available) eMMC |
| External storage | Until 1TB microSD, microSDXC (hybrid slot/shares the same SIM-2 slot) | Not supported |
📶 Mobile networks | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| Dual-SIM | Dual-SIM Standby - Call active on one sim card (hybrid slot/shares the same microSD slot) | Not supported |
| SIM card | 2 slots (Dual-SIM) nano-SIM (4FF) + e-SIM | Not supported |
| Maximum Download / Upload | 2000/316 Mbps | feature not registered |
| Network technology | 2G, 3G, 4G | feature not registered |
| Frequency, bands | Expand band details Collapse details | |
| GSM MHz band | Quad-Band 850/900/1800/1900 | Not supported |
| Primary 2G network | GSM 850/900/1800/1900 | Not supported |
| Primary 3G network | UMTS 850/900/1700/1900/2100 | Not supported |
| Primary 4G network | LTE Cat20 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 66) TD-LTE (38, 39, 40, 41) VoLTE | Not supported |
| Primary 5G network | Not supported | Not supported |
| Primary data network | GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, TD-LTE, LTE, LTE-A | Not supported |
| Secondary 2G network | GSM 850/900/1800/1900 | Not supported |
| Secondary 3G network | UMTS 850/900/1700/1900/2100 | Not supported |
| Secondary 4G network | LTE Cat20 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 66) TD-LTE (38, 39, 40, 41) VoLTE | Not supported |
| Secondary data network | GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, TD-LTE, LTE, LTE-A | Not supported |
📷 Camera | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| Back camera (main camera) | (quad camera) 108 megapixels 48MP periscope telephoto f/3.5103mm1/2.0"0.8µmPDAFOIS4x-optical-zoom10x-hybrid-zoom 12MP ultrawide f/2.213mm1.4µmSuper-Steady-video 0.3MP TOF 3D f/1.0 | 5 megapixels |
| Main camera resolution | 12000x9000 pixels | 2592x1944 pixels |
| Video recording (primary) | 8K UHD (7680x4320) 24 fps | Full HD (1920x1080) 30 fps |
| Flash | LED flash | Not supported |
| Focal aperture | f/1.8 (aperture) | f/2.4 (aperture) |
| Focal length | 26mm lens | 33mm lens |
| Sensor size | 1/1.33" inches | feature not registered |
| Pixel size | 0.8µm pixel | feature not registered |
| Autofocus | PDAF: phase detection autofocus on both cameras | Autofocus |
| Touch focus | Supported | Supported |
| Image stabilization | OIS: Optical stabilization | EIS: Digital stabilization |
| Zoom | Digital and optical zoom | Only digital zoom |
| Face/smile detection | Face detection, Smile detection | Face detection, Smile detection |
| BSI sensor | Supported | Supported |
| HDR | HDR photo/video on both cameras | HDR photo only main camera |
| Camera extras | 4K@60fps 1080p@240fps 720p@960fps | feature not registered |
📸 Front camera | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| Front camera (secondary) | 40 megapixels | 1.2 megapixels |
| Front camera resolution | 7296x5472 pixels | 1280x960 pixels |
| Video recording (secondary) | 4K UHD (3840x2160) | HD (1280x720) |
| Front flash | Not supported | Not supported |
| Focal aperture | f/2.2 (aperture) | feature not registered |
| Focal length | 26mm lens | feature not registered |
| Sensor size | feature not registered | feature not registered |
| Pixel size | 0.7µm pixel | feature not registered |
🔉 Sound and multimedia | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| Loudspeaker | Stereo sound 32-bit/384kHz Dolby Atmos Tuned by AKG | Supported |
| Active noise cancellation | 2 microphones or more | 2 microphones or more |
| Radio | Not supported | Not supported |
| TV | Not supported | Not supported |
| Video formats | MP4, H.265, H.264, H.263, XviD, MKV | MP4, H.264, MOV |
| Audio formats | MP3, WAV, WMA, eAAC+, FLAC | MP3, WAV, eAAC+ |
🔌 Connectivity | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| USB | USB 3.2 Type-C, USB OTG On-The-Go | USB 2.0 proprietary connector |
| Audio output | Type-C reversible connector | 3.5mm jack |
| TV output | USB Type-C (reversible) | Proprietary TV-out |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 + A2DP/LE | 4.0 + A2DP |
| WiFi | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax [wifi6] (2.4GHz, 5GHz) + MIMO WiFi Direct, hotspot | 802.11 a/b/g/n [wifi4] (2.4GHz, 5GHz) |
| DLNA | Supported | Supported |
| GPS | A-GPS, GeoTagging, GLONASS, GALILEO, BeiDou | Not supported |
| NFC | Supported | Not supported |
| Infrared port | Not supported | Not supported |
🧭 Sensors | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| Sensors | Accelerometer Ambient light sensor ANT+ Barometer Compass Face unlock Fingerprint sensor (under display) Gesture Gyroscope Hall effect Proximity sensor | Accelerometer Ambient light sensor Compass Gyroscope |
| Vibrating alert | Supported | Not supported |
🔋 Battery | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| Battery type | LiPo: li-ion polymer (Non removable) | LiPo: li-ion polymer (Non removable) |
| Battery capacity | 5000 mAh | 8820 mAh |
| Charger, watts | 45W Wired fast charging USB Power Delivery 3.0 | Wired charging |
| Inductive / wireless charging | 15W Qi wireless charging (Qi/PMA) 9W Reverse wireless charging | Not supported |
| Talk time autonomy | feature not registered | 10 hours |
| Standby | feature not registered | feature not registered |
➕ Other features | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| Call control | Voice dialing, Voice recorder, Voice commands | Not supported |
| Messaging | SMS (T9), MMS, E-mail, Push mail | E-mail, Push mail |
| Hands-free calling | Supported | Supported |
| Video calling | Supported | Supported |
| Ringtones | Polyphonic and customized | feature not registered |
| Web browser | HTML, XHTML, HTML5 | HTML, XHTML, HTML5 |
| Antenna | Internal antenna | Internal antenna |
| Qwerty physical keyboard | Not supported | Not supported |
| Miscellaneous | • Colors: Cosmic Black, Cosmic Grey, Cloud White • Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor • Bixby • Samsung DeX • Samsung Pay (MST, NFC) | • Colors: Space Gray, Silver • Retina display • Oleophobic coating • AirDrop file sharing • iCloud service • iCloud Keychain • FaceTime HD |
☢️ Radiation rate | ||
| Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988B/DS) | iPad Air (WiFi 16GB) | |
| SAR 1.6W/kg (USA, Mexico, etc.) | 0.74W/kg (head), 1.12W/kg (body) | feature not registered |
| SAR 2W/kg (Europe, UK, etc.) | 0.319W/kg (head), 1.557W/kg (body) | feature not registered |