Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: We tested both, and the winner is not so obvious

Check out ZDNET’s list of the best smartphones, and two names usually top the list — Samsung and Apple. That’s no exception with our most recent picks, as the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the iPhone 16 Pro Max take the top two spots. That list will likely be changing soon though, as the Galaxy S25 Ultra is now available. 

Both the 16 Pro Max and the S25 Ultra are their brand’s most impressive phones to date. Both are packed with premium features and high-end specs, and both are the biggest of their lineups. They all feature a whole lot of AI, like it or not.

Also: Samsung’s new Galaxy AI features are what iPhone users wish they got with Apple Intelligence

If you’re already locked into a specific ecosystem, the choice here is simple. But if you’re on the fence or you’re considering switching sides, you have a decision to make.

Fortunately, there’s enough of a difference between these two devices that you can make a choice. If you’re deciding between the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, here’s what you need to know. 

Specifications

You should buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra if…

1. You want a better (more versatile) camera system

Samsung regularly tops our list of best phone cameras and the S25 Ultra is no different. It brings back the 200MP main sensor of the S24 Ultra, a lens that not only tops the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s 48MP lens with ease (especially in zoom) but went down as probably the best phone camera lens last year. The other lenses are mostly comparable, but the fact that Samsung adds an entire extra lens gives it even more of an edge. 

Also: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on: 3 major upgrades I’m looking forward to testing

If you’re a photo enthusiast, the S25 Ultra also allows for more manual controls that approach a DSLR while Apple focuses on ease of use, and the larger sensors mean better photos in low light. In addition, the Galaxy has more AI-driven enhancements like Generative Edit. The 16 Pro Max’s camera is by no means a bad one, and you’ll be able to get plenty of great pictures, but if the camera is the main appeal and you have to have the best, you’ll want to choose the S25 Ultra.   

2. You want a sleeker, lighter phone 

It’s easy to forget that your phone is something you’re carrying in your hand a lot. If you want your phone to have a little less heft, you want the S25 Ultra. The dimensions of these two devices are pretty close to each other, and both are on the heavier and bigger side of phones in general, but the S25 Ultra is slightly thinner, more narrow, and a little lighter. 

The 16 Pro is a heavy phone, coming in at 227 grams compared to the S25 Ultra’s 218. That’s even heavier than the Pixel 9 Pro XL. 

3. You’re all in on AI

Apple Intelligence comes with some big promises, but some of the best features aren’t available yet. Galaxy AI already had fairly robust offerings but Unpacked put even more on the table. Several new features are coming to Galaxy AI and One UI 7, and they’ll be available at the S25 Ultra’s launch. 

Also: I may finally switch from Google Pixel to Samsung Galaxy in 2025 – and hardware has little to do with it

The Personal Data Engine is a highlight, essentially a LLM that learns as you use your phone and serves as an assistant that anticipates your needs. Multi-app commands are also on the way, meaning you can do things like, “Find nearby vegetarian, pet-friendly restaurants and text them to Allison” or “Find next month’s Cubs’ games and add them to my calendar.” 

Apple Intelligence is growing, and will likely introduce similar features, but for now, Samsung has the clear edge. If you want to harness the latest AI, go with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. 

You should buy the iPhone 16 Pro Max if…

1. Speed and fluidity matters

Both of these phones have the best chips available — the Galaxy with the Snapdragon 8 Elite and the iPhone with the A18 Pro. Either of these chips is enough to handle most processing, and the two perform fairly similarly in benchmark tests. The S25 Ultra has 12GB of RAM compared to the 16 Pro Max’s 8GB, but 8GB is sufficient for most tasks. Unless you’re doing some heavy lifting, you probably won’t notice the extra memory.

 Also: We tested the iPhone 16 Pro camera system, and it’s highly underrated – with one tragic flaw

The reason Apple gets the win here is that a large part of app performance comes down to how developers optimize them. Since Apple’s chip only runs Apple devices (the Snapdragon 8 Elite powers multiple phones with more to come) and developers are designing specifically for the iOS platform, there’s a good chance apps will run more smoothly. This means that overall, the 16 Pro Max will have a performance edge.

2. You want to save money, even if you’re buying at retail

It’s not too often that we get to use “Apple” and “saving money” in the same sentence, but here it is. Between the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the latter is cheaper by about $100. This isn’t considering the after-market sales that you can find on the iPhone, which has been out for about four months now, versus the newly released S25 Ultra.

Admittedly, that’s less than 10% of either device, but it’s a rare case when Apple is the cheaper option. For two phones with very similar specs, if it comes down to the money, go with the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

3. You plan on keeping your device for a while and then selling it

This isn’t specific to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, but as a general rule, iPhones keep their value more than any other phone. If you’re the type of person who trades up every year or two, there probably won’t be much of a difference here. 

But if you tend to hold on to your phones for longer or you want to sell your phone yourself when you upgrade, you’ll get more for your iPhone 16 Pro Max when the time comes to move on. A few years ago, data from a popular cell phone trade-in site showed that over a three-year period, flagship Android devices dropped twice as fast as iPhones.   

Alternatives to consider