Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Which Flagship Phone is Right for You in 2025?

Updated on: 7 February 2025

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: When it comes to premium smartphones, Samsung and iPhone are two of the biggest names in the industry. If you’re looking to choose one of the top flagship phones in 2025, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max are two excellent options. But the question is, which one is the right choice for you? Let’s compare the Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max to help you decide.

Performance: Chipset

When it comes to performance, both the Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max excel in their own ways.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, making it perfect for gaming and heavy tasks.
On the other hand, the iPhone 16 Pro Max features Apple’s A18 Pro (3nm) chipset, which includes two 4.05 GHz prime cores and four 2.42 GHz balanced cores. It also comes with a hexa-core GPU capable of handling AAA video games with hardware-accelerated ray tracing. For long gaming sessions, the phone has a new internal design that dissipates heat more effectively.

Camera: Photography and Videography

Both phones come with impressive camera setups, but they differ in their features.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra boasts a quad-camera setup, including a 200MP main sensor, a 50MP 5x telephoto camera, a 10MP 3x shooter, and a 50MP ultra-wide camera. These features make it a professional-level device for photography and videography, perfect for capturing every detail.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, features a 48MP (f/1.8) primary camera, a 48MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide camera for capturing expansive scenes, a 12MP (f/2.8) sensor, and a 12MP (f/1.9) selfie camera. Together, these features deliver an exceptional photography and videography experience.

AI Features

The Galaxy S25 Ultra runs on One UI 7, which includes the Galaxy AI Core. This smartphone understands natural language better and offers a personalized AI experience. It not only processes text, speech, photos, and videos more efficiently but also executes tasks like multitasking across multiple apps seamlessly, thanks to Gemini’s on-screen awareness.
The Circle to Search feature can now recognize phone numbers or email IDs on the screen. Additionally, One UI 7 brings visual and performance tweaks to enhance the user experience. Most importantly, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will receive seven years of major Android updates (along with security updates).
The iPhone 16 Pro Max comes with iOS 18, which introduces several new features for iPhone users, such as a revamped control center, a dedicated game mode, and native call recording. Apple is focusing on Apple Intelligence features, including writing tools, webpage summaries, ChatGPT-integrated Siri, visual intelligence, Genmoji, and Image Playground. However, Samsung has taken the lead by integrating on-screen awareness into its AI chatbot. For now, Galaxy AI offers more features compared to Apple Intelligence.

Battery Life

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is equipped with a 5,000mAh battery, supporting 45W fast charging and 15W wireless charging.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max features a 4,676mAh battery, which is a significant improvement over previous models.
Both phones can easily last more than a day with light usage.

Conclusion

Choosing between the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max ultimately depends on your preferences. If you prioritize camera versatility, AI features, and long-term software support, the Galaxy S25 Ultra might be the better choice. On the other hand, if you value seamless ecosystem integration, iOS-exclusive features, and optimized performance, the iPhone 16 Pro Max could be the right fit for you. Both phones are top contenders in the flagship category, so you can’t go wrong with either!