With smartphone prices climbing rapidly and RAM costs continuing to rise across the industry, buyers are now thinking twice before upgrading every single year. That’s exactly why older flagship phones are suddenly becoming more attractive in 2026. Two devices that still remain relevant today are Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra. Even though both phones are now over a year old, they still deliver flagship-level cameras, premium designs and enough performance to comfortably handle daily use for years. Here’s a closer look at how these two premium smartphones compare in 2026. The iPhone 16 Pro offers a more compact form factor with its 6.3-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display. Apple has equipped the phone with a titanium frame, Ceramic Shield protection and a peak brightness of 2000 nits. Meanwhile, the South Korean tech giant’s Galaxy S24 Ultra goes bigger, it offers a larger 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with sharper QHD+ resolution, Gorilla Armor protection and anti-reflective coating. The display also peaks at 2600 nits, making it slightly brighter outdoors. If you prefer one-handed usage, the iPhone feels easier to manage. But for media consumption and multitasking, Samsung clearly has the advantage. The iPhone 16 Pro runs on Apple’s A18 Pro chipset paired with iOS 18, upgradable to iOS 26.5. Performance remains extremely smooth, especially for gaming. On the other hand, Samsung has equipped the Galaxy S24 Ultra with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor alongside One UI 8.5. The phone also gets Samsung’s long-term software support promise of seven Android upgrades. The iPhone 16 Pro offers Dolby Vision recording, ProRes video support, spatial video capture and one of the most reliable smartphone camera systems available right now. On the other hand, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has a massive 200-megapixel primary sensor, dual telephoto cameras and advanced zoom capabilities. For social media videos and cinematic footage, Apple still feels more polished. But for zoom photography and versatility, Samsung pulls ahead. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 To Launch Soon: Specs, Price And Features Leaked Samsung easily wins on battery size with its 5000 mAh unit, compared to the iPhone’s 3582 mAh battery. iPhone 16 Pro is currently priced at Rs 1,03,990 on BigBasket Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is priced at Rs 1,19,950 on Flipkart If you already use Apple products like a MacBook or iPad, the iPhone 16 Pro still makes a lot of sense in 2026. It offers reliable cameras, smooth software and strong long-term performance. But if you want the bigger display, stronger battery, S Pen support and a more feature-packed camera setup, the Galaxy S24 Ultra feels like the more complete flagship overall. Get Latest News live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Technology Science and around the world. Sparsh has been diving deep into the worlds of technology, science, and gaming for Times Network, bringing readers the latest updates and insights. Hi... View More