S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max – Which is Better?

By Josh Teder

I’ve been using the Samsung S25 Ultra for well over the past 6 months. And now that I’ve had a chance to use the new iPhone 17 Pro Max for the past several weeks, I wanted to take you through how these phones compare and which one I think is better.

Weight and Design

The first major difference I’ve noticed between these two phones is their weight. And the S25 Ultra definitely wins this category. It weighs 218 g compared to the 233 g of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I find it just a bit easier to hold and lift in one hand.

Now, that’s not to say it’s as light as something like the iPhone Air, which, if you want to see my thoughts on that, by the way, and how it compares to the iPhone 17 Pro Max, make sure you’re subscribed to the channel, and I’ll leave a link to the video of that comparison here once it’s up.

Camera Systems

The iPhone 17 Pro Max has a triple rear camera system with 48 megapixels across all three cameras, while the S25 Ultra has a quad rear camera system with a 200-megapixel main wide camera, 50-megapixel ultrawide, a 10-megapixel 3x, and a 50-megapixel 5x telephoto, while the iPhone has a 4x telephoto.

Does the extra 3x zoom on the S25 Ultra matter all that much? In my experience, not really. I don’t find myself using that zoom almost ever compared to the 5x telephoto, which better crops into the images it produces due to its higher megapixel count.

Nighttime Photography

For nighttime shots, I’ve noticed the iPhone has netted me better results overall than the S25 Ultra. Though, yes, the S25 Ultra can still fake moon photos, using AI to enhance the image with detail that isn’t actually present in the image you take. They have a blog post detailing exactly what their camera system does in this situation.

Just like with photos, the iPhone’s night mode video has also impressed me a bit more, showing way more light and detail in the same conditions with a better focus.

Selfie Cameras

For selfies in good lighting conditions, they’re pretty equivalent between the two phones. However, in suboptimal conditions, like when the subject is backlit by a bright sky, I found the iPhone preserved the shadows on my face in a way that looked more natural than what the S25 Ultra did. So, a slight but noticeable difference there.

For the selfie cameras, the iPhone has a new 18-megapixel Center Stage camera that automatically zooms out when more people enter your shot. They made the image sensor a square size to accomplish this, so you don’t have to rotate your phone for the wider selfie images. The S25 Ultra has a 12-megapixel selfie camera, but it doesn’t have the new Center Stage feature or an image sensor that’s square in size.

Video Quality

For video quality from the main cameras, it’s hard to notice a difference in quality, but you definitely notice a difference in overall look. Just like with photos, the S25 Ultra skews cooler in tone compared to the iPhone.

For the telephoto cameras, the iPhone did a better job in different scenes for autofocus, like with these moving reeds in the foreground and waves crashing in the background. Though, the iPhone doesn’t always get things right. For example, this video of a rock in water, the S25 Ultra’s color choice was actually more true to life.

Photo Processing Differences

Another thing I noticed for photos is that Samsung’s photos tend to be a tad more sharp, which you can definitely notice when you peek in at the pixels. They also tend to be a bit more saturated, especially with the blue hues that they use for the sky compared to Apple’s, which is a bit more restrained.

I also noticed a few instances where the iPhone actually produced the better, more contrasty photo. Now, sometimes it was the S25 Ultra that did that, but more often than not, in my experience, it’s the iPhone, which was not something I was expecting. Like in this photo of this tree, which looks less washed out, or with this photo of this fallen tree, it was able to get that red hue of the leaves to look more like they did in real life.

“Based on the photos I’ve taken so far, I do have a slight preference for the photos and videos that have come out of the iPhone, just because they’re often a bit closer to what I actually see with my eyes in real life.”

Now, generally, both of these camera systems are pretty comparable, and the differences are mainly going to be in the look and tone of the photos that they create. But overall, based on the photos I’ve taken so far, I do have a slight preference for the photos and videos that have come out of the iPhone, just because they’re often a bit closer to what I actually see with my eyes in real life. But if you disagree or agree, let me know in the comments. It’s really close, but I’m gonna give this one to the iPhone.

Display Technology

The next major difference between these two phones involves their displays. For years now, Samsung has used an exclusive type of glass from Corning called Gorilla Armor, with the S25 Ultra featuring the new Gorilla Armor 2. What makes this glass so great is not only it reduces reflections like with the original Gorilla Armor, but Samsung and Corning were able to also make the display more scratch resistant as well with the new version.

Now, Apple has been trying to catch up to Samsung’s Gorilla Armor for the past few years with our own co-developed glass with Corning called Ceramic Shield. And the iPhone 17 Pro Max has the latest Ceramic Shield 2, which is improved scratch resistance. And for the first time, Apple has actually done something to significantly reduce reflections on the iPhone’s display, though Samsung’s display still reduces them more than Apple’s does.

Battery Life

Just keep in mind as I give you my battery life numbers for both phones that the S25 Ultra has gone through more charge cycles than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. So, for the S25 Ultra, in my testing, its battery life typically reaches somewhere in the 60% range at the end of the day after a normal day of use, which for me includes 1 to 2 and 1/2 hours of screen on time and then 1 to 2 hours of background activity for music and podcasts.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max, so far, I think, has the best battery life of any phone I’ve tested. Even on moderate days with closer to 2.5 hours of screen on time, its battery percentage at the end of the day has been in the low 70% range. So, they are close, but so far the iPhone 17 Pro Max has just slightly edged out the S25 Ultra.

Sponsored: Anker Nano Charger

And speaking of charging, whichever phone you get, when you’re juggling multiple devices most of the time, like I am, I find it useful to have one charger that can just handle it all. That’s where Anker comes in, who sponsored this video.

Their new Nano charger comes with 70 watts of power across three ports. It’s 54% smaller than the original 67-watt MacBook charger, yet it packs even more power with 70 watts of output. The ultrastable, slim design stays in the wall outlet better than those bulky chargers that sag or fall out.

With two USB-C ports and one USB-A port, you can charge up to three devices. Simultaneously connect a single device to any of the USB-C type ports to get full 70 watts, enough to power the iPhone 17 Pro Max from 0 to 50% in 20 minutes or two MacBooks from 0 to 50% simultaneously within 30 minutes.

What really impressed me is how cool this charger stays during use. Anker’s double gallium nitride technology significantly reduces heat generation. It’s the first TÜV Rheinland certified 70W lower temperature mini charger. So, if you need a new charger that you want to be compact, Anker’s got you covered. Get yours today by using the link in the description below.

Audio Quality

Microphone and Call Quality

All right, now here’s an example of what the mics sound like just in a studio environment. No case on the phone. This is what the mics on the S25 Ultra sound like.

All right, and this is how the mics on the iPhone 17 Pro Max sound in a studio environment with no case on the phone. Let me know which one you thought sounded better.

All right, and this is the S25 Ultra. This is what its mics sound like when recorded over a phone call. I’m recording this on the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

All right, and this is how the iPhone 17 Pro Max sounds when being recorded over a phone call. Let me know if you think there’s a difference between them in the comments.

Speaker Performance

For speakers, it’s not even close. The iPhone 17 Pro Max wins hands down with a more well-rounded sound. It doesn’t sound harsh as you increase the volume, and it has better mids and bass.

Now, we’re still talking phone speakers here. So, any earbuds like the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro that I reviewed or the AirPods Pro 3 that I’m currently reviewing, both of these are just going to blow the speakers out of the water. But if you’re going to listen to your phone speakers a lot, the iPhone definitely wins.

Buttons and Controls

Moving on, when it comes to buttons, the iPhone 17 Pro Max actually has two additional physical buttons compared to the S25 Ultra. First is the action button, which I find very useful. It’s a dedicated button for customizable actions like turning on do not disturb, triggering a shortcut, or opening the camera.

Well, until Apple added the camera control button, which in theory is a button that makes sense. It opens up the camera and you can use it to control various parts of the camera, but in reality, it’ll open up the camera when you don’t want it to. And overall, to me, it just hasn’t been that useful outside of just being a shortcut button to open up the camera.

On Android, just double clicking the power button does this. And while yes, you can customize the side key action of holding down the power button to do different things, it’s not as good as having a dedicated button for customizable actions like the action button. So, Apple gets credit here.

Performance

For chip performance, the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s A19 Pro chip bests the S25 Ultra’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip by a good margin in single core performance. However, even though the S25 Ultra has been out for more than 6 months, in my testing, the S25 Ultra edged out the iPhone slightly in multi-core performance.

For graphics on 3DMark Wildlife Extreme, the Galaxy S25 Ultra outperformed the iPhone 17 Pro Max. However, in 3DMark’s Solar Bay Extreme graphics test, which focuses more on ray tracing and reflections, it was the iPhone 17 Pro Max that outperformed the S25 Ultra significantly.

Both phones are generally going to be in like the top 10% of all smartphones for gaming performance, and some game performance will depend on how well optimized a game is for each platform. Overall, I think for chip performance, I’d say it’s a tie.

Connectivity

Now, another part of performance is actually with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Both phones have Wi-Fi 7, the latest Wi-Fi standard currently available. However, because the iPhone 17 Pro Max got Apple’s own custom in-house N1 chip, that means it got Bluetooth 6, which does bring under the hood upgrades that can result in better reliability with less interference in crowded areas, lower latency, and enhanced multistream audio support.

Software and Ecosystem

All right, so those are all the physical and performance differences that I’ve noticed. Now, let’s talk about the differences that stand out with each phone’s operating system as well as overall ecosystem, which are some of the biggest ways these phones feel different from one another.

One UI 8 on Samsung S25 Ultra

At the time of recording, the S25 Ultra runs One UI 8, which includes new features like more on-device processing for some AI features, more clock customizations on the lock screen, the integration of Gemini Live into the Gemini Assistant, and more.

iOS 26 on iPhone 17 Pro Max

While the iPhone 17 Pro Max shipped with iOS 26, which looks pretty radically different from the previous versions with the new liquid glass design, which is this digital material Apple developed to act like a liquid in certain instances while always showing the translucent properties of glass.

This version of iOS also came with some major functionality improvements like call screening where your phone will screen unknown calls before ringing your phone as well as screen unknown texts, and your iPhone will stay on hold for you now as well, which has worked quite well in my experience.

One UI Advantages

In general, in terms of using each phone, their software is somewhat consistent in terms of navigation, but the similarities kind of end there. One UI and the S25 Ultra have quite a few advantages over iOS, like Gemini as the phone’s assistant, which is slower at playing music and doing some tasks. Here’s “Star” by Jalen Boye on YouTube Music. But Gemini overall is way more capable of answering more queries than Siri. Use peppermint extract, not mint, and add crushed candy canes near the end of churning for crunchy pieces.

And one thing I love about One UI is the center swipe for notifications. This is really useful compared to the iPhone where you have to move your finger all the way to the top and swipe down to get to notifications. On iOS, this swiping down from the center actually brings up Spotlight search.

Good Lock is another advantage of One UI. This is an app that you can download from Samsung’s app store to further customize your phone, like creating your own theme with Theme Park or your own lock screen layout or clock face. You can further refine the appearance of your multitasking view, adjust how your notifications look and are grouped, and add more camera options to the camera app via the Camera Assistant.

One UI, of course, works well and gets you ecosystem benefits with other Samsung products as well, like the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro that I reviewed, as well as Samsung laptops, tablets, smartwatches, and appliances.

S Pen

And the S25 Ultra, of course, also comes with an S Pen, a stylus that allows you to do things like take notes, handwrite in text boxes, use it as a magnifying glass, and more. And if you’re a fan of the S Pen and you want Samsung to keep it in future Ultra phones, let me know in the comments.

And then of course, because One UI is based on Android, you can sideload apps onto it, making it, at least here in the US, a bit more of an open operating system compared to Apple’s locked-down app store, where Apple exerts so much control over who and what can be distributed to everyone’s iPhone.

iOS and Apple Ecosystem Advantages

And speaking of iPhone, let’s talk about iOS’s advantages. Probably the biggest is the Apple ecosystem features you get if you have other Apple devices. The iPhone is still kind of the center of Apple’s device ecosystem. By having one, you get messages synced to all of your devices, the ability to take phone calls on your Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, etc. You get AirPods automatic switching, iPhone mirroring on Mac, which works better than the version you can use with the S25 Ultra on Windows in my experience. You get the continuity suite of features, AirDrop, music handoff, AirPlay.

Plus, Apple just has more class-leading devices than Samsung like the iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and AirPods. So, even though Samsung has many similar features to the ones I mentioned for Apple, because Apple has those class-leading devices, I think the pull into their ecosystem is a bit stronger.

Also, while iOS is more locked down than Android, apps are still often developed for it first. Take this year’s viral Sora app from OpenAI. When it launched and for weeks after, it was only available for iPhone. Or take an app like Notion Mail. Notion is a really popular service, and right now their mail app is only available for iOS. Even though Android phones are more ubiquitous worldwide, we still have examples of well-known huge companies developing for iOS first, which gives the iPhone an advantage.

Price and Value

Lastly, let’s talk about price and value. Now, while both phones offer top-tier performance, camera systems, displays, and more, there is actually a price difference between them. The S25 Ultra is actually $100 more expensive than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, at least here in the US, though this may not be the case everywhere.

And be sure to check out the products link in the description and pinned comment, which will take you to our website, where I’ve listed all of the products seen in this video, their current prices, as well as links to multiple retailers. And you can click that little eye icon in the top right corner of the product cards to see where else we’ve covered those products, like the review for the S25 Ultra or the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. And be sure to follow our site for new content and updates posted every week in our quick post feed.

The Verdict

So, given that price difference and everything else I’ve discussed, which phone do I think is better? And like every time I do one of these comparisons, it is very close.

“Even though it feels like a brick in my pocket, it’s less comfortable to actually use compared to the S25 Ultra, which really makes me want to give it to the S25 Ultra. I have to give it to the iPhone this time.”

But given the iPhone is more locked down than Android and feels quite a bit heavier, but it is $100 cheaper and some apps are still developed for iOS first in 2025, which is crazy. The camera system has caught up to Samsung’s. The new selfie camera is excellent, and the display, battery life, speakers, and performance are excellent. I think the iPhone 17 Pro Max is the better phone.

Even though it feels like a brick in my pocket, it’s less comfortable to actually use compared to the S25 Ultra, which really makes me want to give it to the S25 Ultra. I have to give it to the iPhone this time.

So, those are my thoughts, but let me know if you think I got it wrong. Am I too obsessed with phone weight? And which phone you think is better down in the comments.

What’s Next

And speaking of the iPhone and weight, Apple just released the iPhone Air, which I’ve been using and comparing to the Pro Max. And if you want to see my thoughts on how these two phones compare, check back on the site later this week for that post!

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For 6 Months Later, I’m Josh Teder. Thanks for reading