iPhone 18 Pro Max in UAE today while Galaxy S27 Ultra leaks heat up flagship camera race: Should you buy or wait?

Today, September 18, Apple's iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models are available for purchase in the UAE. Customers with pre-orders are receiving email notifications for collection times, rather than being able to simply walk into a store and choose any configuration. Day-one buyers can access the phones at Apple Stores in Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Yas Mall, Al Maryah Island, as well as from e& and du on carrier plans.

Meanwhile, another phone's leaks are circulating: Samsung's upcoming Ultra flagship. The Galaxy S27 Ultra is anticipated to launch in the first quarter of 2027, giving Apple an early edge in the upcoming flagship phone comparisons.

The headline feature of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max is the adoption of a variable-aperture main camera. The triple 48MP camera system includes a main lens with six laser-cut blades capable of adjusting continuously across four aperture settings. This modification allows a wider opening of ƒ/1.48, approximately 50% more light than the previous fixed-aperture design.

Apple is also providing users with greater manual control over the Camera app, including aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and a built-in histogram. Variable aperture is not new to smartphones, as Samsung experimented with a two-position variable-aperture camera on the Galaxy S9 in 2018, but Apple's implementation allows for continuous adjustment across its range.

The iPhone 18 Pro models also introduce Apple's A20 Pro chip, based on a 2nm process. The seven-core GPU can deliver up to 40% faster performance compared to the previous generation, while the dual 16-core Neural Engine supports AI workloads. The company has redesigned the vapor-chamber thermal system, offering three times the surface area of the previous iPhone 17 Pro model and up to 40% better sustained performance.

Another noteworthy addition is Apple's Reference Image camera mode, designed to create signed sensor data through Private Cloud Compute. This feature aims to verify that a photograph has not been altered by AI, addressing the growing concern about AI-generated and AI-edited images becoming increasingly challenging to distinguish from authentic photographs.

As for Samsung, the Galaxy S27 Ultra's name, specifications, price, and launch date remain uncertain. The phone is expected to arrive in Q1 2027, potentially between January and March. Reports suggest a design that could shift from the current floating camera-ring to a unified camera module or even a horizontal arrangement akin to the Galaxy S10.

The exact camera specifications are also unclear, with earlier reports pointing to a large 1/1.12-inch 200MP HPA sensor, while a more recent leak suggests Samsung might not use Sony's newly launched 200MP LYT-901 sensor. Battery capacity is rumored to be 5,700mAh, and the phone may feature 12GB or 16GB of RAM. Pricing is still unconfirmed, but estimates place the starting price around $1,300, potentially reflecting higher component costs. An India leak suggests a starting price of approximately Rs. 1,49,990.

When comparing the two flagships, it is too early to draw a definitive conclusion. However, Apple's latest launch highlights several areas that could influence Samsung's next flagship. The camera battle is shifting, as Samsung previously focused heavily on high-resolution sensors and camera hardware. Apple's variable-aperture system, combined with more manual controls in the native Camera app, presents a new hardware-and-software talking point.

Samsung will need to determine how it will respond to this development. Another emerging battleground is AI authenticity, as Apple's Reference Image feature introduces a new aspect to smartphone camera discussions, focusing on the trustworthiness of photographs as original captures. The Galaxy S27 Ultra currently lacks any leaked comparable feature in this area.

Lastly, the timing is crucial, with the iPhone 18 Pro Max available now and Samsung's next Ultra expected in Q1 2027, giving Apple several months to establish its latest camera capabilities in the market.