Both flagships feature 6.9-inch displays, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra wins in most objective comparisons while the iPhone 16 Pro Max costs less.
Performance: The Snapdragon 8 Elite outscored Apple's A18 Pro in Geekbench 6 multi-core tests (9,413 vs 8,387 points). Both feel extremely fast in daily use.
Battery & charging:
- S25 Ultra: 5,000mAh, 0-70% in 30 minutes, full charge in 1 hour
- iPhone: 4,685mAh, full charge in 2 hours
Samsung's charging speed advantage is significant.
Camera: Samsung offers better versatility with its 200MP sensor, dual telephoto lenses (3x and 5x), and superior 5x/10x zoom performance. The 25cm minimum focusing distance vs iPhone's ~1 meter makes a real difference for close-up photography. Samsung also leads in low light.
Display: Samsung's 1440 x 3120 AMOLED with Gorilla Armor 2 anti-reflective coating looks stunning, though the iPhone tested slightly brighter in auto mode (1,796 vs 1,417 nits).
AI capabilities: Galaxy AI is mature with real-time call translation and multi-app voice commands. Apple Intelligence remains in beta with fewer features.
Price:
- iPhone 16 Pro Max: ,199 (256GB)
- Galaxy S25 Ultra: ,299 (256GB)
Bottom line: Most reviewers now rank the S25 Ultra as the better overall phone. Samsung wins on battery, charging, camera versatility, and AI. The iPhone's strengths are ecosystem integration and slightly lower pricing.
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Where this comes from: this answer draws on the product's published specifications and the reviews ShopSavvy collected for it, alongside prices from ShopSavvy's price data.
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