Readers crown this Android flagship the best iPhone 18 Pro Max alternative

Earlier this month, we asked readers which Android phone they’d buy instead of Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro. With just shy of a third of the vote in its pocket, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra won that particular battle by a landslide. But what about the larger, pricier Max model? Would the winner remain the same?

To find out, we recently asked readers to vote for their preferred iPhone 18 Pro Max alternative. The results can be viewed below.

My colleague Shimul Sood detailed the five devices she’d consider before opting for the Apple phone, with Samsung, Google, and Motorola represented. However, only one phone garnered more than a third of the support.

Once again, readers would rather opt for the Galaxy S26 Ultra over the iPhone 18 Pro Max and any other Android phone on this list. It’s a slimmer win this time, with just 37.6% of the vote acquired, but it’s a convincing win nonetheless.

Coming in a few steps behind is the Google Pixel 11 Pro XL with a respectable 28.6% share of support. It’s worth noting that the XL performed considerably better against the Pro Max than the Pixel 11 Pro fared against the iPhone 18 Pro in our earlier poll.

Placing third is the Motorola Razr Ultra (2026) with 19.3% of the vote. Even pricier than the iPhone 18 Pro Max and Galaxy S26 Ultra, the Razr packs loads of impressive hardware and a funky design into a clamshell form factor. It’s certainly a left-field pick for a particular buyer, but that’s perhaps the primary reason it didn’t take home the popular vote here.

The remaining ~15% of the ballots were shared by two Samsung phones: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra (9.8%) and the Galaxy Z Flip 8 (4.7%).

Do you agree with your fellow readers? Is the Galaxy S26 Ultra a better phone than the iPhone 18 Pro Max, or is it a tight match-up? Is the Pixel 11 Pro XL a better overall device? Do you feel another device should take home the title? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.