iPhone 17 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

If you have a lot of money to spend and want the best of the best with regard to flagship smartphones, Apple and Samsung both have intriguing options offered this year.

I refer, of course, to the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. These are the most high -end and most expensive traditional phones (Read: non -unbeatable), Apple and Samsung are currently manufacturing. Although many competing smartphones can sometimes feel a little similar, these two handsets have in fact have interesting divergence points.

Here’s how they compare themselves.

iPhone 17 pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Price

Our first difference concerns the price of stickers. The iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $ 1,199, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra starts at $ 1,299.

One might think that it would be the end of the conversation with regard to the price, but it should be noted that there is a variant of the iPhone 17 Pro Max which is much more expensive than even the most expensive S25. More specifically, if you get it with the highest storage capacity available, the Pro Max will cost you $ 1,999. It is Two-Grand. In comparison, the largest S25 Ultra S25 storage capacity model is “simply” $ 1,659. There is a reason for this, as we will momentarily discuss it.

iPhone 17 pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Specifications

Samsung has rounded up turns this year.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

Here are the basic specifications of the iPhone 17 Pro Max:

• 6.9 inch display with a 2868×1320 resolution and an adaptive cooling rate 120 Hz

• 3,000 nits pic of brightness

• Puce A19 Pro

• 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 to / 2 to storage

• Battery evaluated up to 33 hours

• Rear cameras: 48MP wide / 48MP Ultrawide / 48MP Telephoto with optical zoom 8x

• Front camera: 18MP

And here are the equivalent specifications for Galaxy S25 Ultra:

• 6.9 -inch AMOLED display with 120 Hz adaptive cooling rate and 3120×1440 resolution

• 2,600 nits luminosity

• Snapdragon 8 Elite for the Galaxy processor

• 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 to Storage

• 5,000 mAh battery

• Rear cameras: 200MP wide, 50 MP Ultrairs, 50MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom

• Front camera: 12MP

Okay, there is a decent amount to discuss here. Let’s start with screens. The two are quite similar in terms of size, resolution and refresh rate, although it must be recognized that the screen of the iPhone 17 Pro Max is brighter with maximum brightness. If you are a type of outdoor, the iPhone could be a better option in this regard.

Beyond that, the main reason why the most expensive iPhone 17 Pro Max costs much more than the most expensive storage capacity is storage capacity. The Apple handset goes up to 2 TB of internal storage, while Samsung leads to 1 TB. It is a fairly large feather in the Apple cap this year and Samsung cannot really compete with this. Hardcore mobile photographers and videographers could look towards iPhone for this reason.

An extremely remarkable advantage that Samsung can claim on Apple is the inclusion of the S-PEN stylus with each S25 Ultra phone. The phone has an integrated load slit for the stylus, and it natively and gently works with applications and interface items. Apple does not include a stylus with iPhone models at the moment. If you prefer to use a stylus, the choice here is easy.

There are also very large differences in terms of cameras, but keep this thought for the moment.

iPhone 17 pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Design

How do you like the new look?
Credit: Apple

The ultra galaxy S25 is very similar to its predecessors. The network of rear cameras is three objectives stacked vertically on top of each other without any kind of bump that houses them, as are the previous S-series phones. Samsung has turned around the edges of S25 Ultra, making it a phone more pleasant to hold than the previous model. S25 Ultra is available in seven colors: Gray, Whitesilver, Silverblue, Black, Pinkgold, Jadegreen and Jetblack. Officially, they also have the word “titanium” in front of them, but you get what I mean.

Apple returned to the drawing board for the physical appearance of the iPhone 17 Pro Max. He always has the same network of triangular cameras as before, but now the objectives live in a large rectangular bump called “tray”. It has been controversial since the phone announcement, as many find it unpleasant to watch. Of course, it is a question of personal taste. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is available in just three colors: silver, cosmic orange and deep blue.

iPhone 17 pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Battery performance and autonomy

It is not really possible to compare the performance directly on these two phones at the moment, because we have not yet properly tested Pro Max. They also have totally different chipsets, with Samsung counting on the Snapdragon 8 elite for Galaxy Chip while Apple’s phone is powered by the Pro Interneian A19 Pro. Samsung’s phone works very well and, if history is an indication, Apple of Apple too. There may be marginal differences, but we cannot say that for sure.

The battery life is also an interesting subject here. Apple did not reveal exactly the size of the battery of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but it is evaluated up to 33 hours on a single load. Samsung’s phone has a 5,000 mAh cell inside which is evaluated up to 31 hours on a load, although it is completed at around 27 hours during my tests. Your mileage can vary.

iPhone 17 pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: cameras

Meet the new camera tray.
Credit: Apple

As we have not yet properly tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max in any title, it is not possible to say with certainty which handset has a better set of cameras. Numerically, however, there are interesting differences.

Apple has packed a trio or 48 MP lenses on the back of the pro max this year. In particular, the telephoto lenses offers up to 8x optical zoom and what Apple calls the 16x optical quality “zoom range”. The selfie camera has also increased to 18 MP with a wider field of vision than previous models, allowing selfies with larger groups of people.

Samsung wins the game of figures this year, if nothing else. Its main shooter is a huge 200MP, while the other two arrive at 50 Mp. The selfie camera is only 12 Mp. Samsung’s optical zoom only goes up to 5x, although you get up to 100x digital zoom. In my tests, I found that zoom shots went well up to around 30x on the Ultra S25. We will see how the iPhone 17 Pro Max is compared when it is in our hands.