The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is the latest high-end smartphone from the company, and also its ultra-thin offering. We’ve compared it to all of its immediate siblings, and it’s now time to do the same with the most powerful offering from Apple. In other words, we’ll be comparing the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. Needless to say, these two phones are immensely different.
We’ll kick things off by listing their specs and take things from there. We will be comparing their designs, displays, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio output. They may both be high-end smartphones, but they are a lot different phones aimed at different people, that’s for sure. Let’s see what they have to offer.
Specs
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
Samsung Galaxy S25
| Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge | Samsung Galaxy S25 | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 158.2 x 75.6 x 5.8 mm | 163 x 77.6 x 8.3 mm |
| Weight | 163 grams | 227 grams |
| Display | 6.7-inch LTPO AMOLED 2X | 6.9-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED |
| Refresh rate | 1-120Hz (adaptive) | 1-120Hz (adaptive) |
| Resolution | 3120 x 1440 | 2868 x 1320 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy | Apple A18 Pro |
| RAM | 12GB (LPDDR5X) | 8GB |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB (UFS 4.0) | 256GB/512GB/1TB (NVMe) |
| Main camera | 200MP (wide, f/1.7 aperture, 1/1.56-inch sensor size, OIS, PDAF) | 48MP (wide, f/1.8 aperture, 1/1.28-inch sensor size, 1.22um pixel size, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS) |
| Ultra-wide camera | 12MP (f/2.2 aperture, PDAF) | 48MP (f/2.2 aperture, 1/2.55-inch sensor size, 0.7um pixel size, PDAF) |
| Telephoto camera | N/A | N/A |
| Periscope telephoto camera | N/A | 12MP (f/2.8 aperture, 1/3.06-inch sensor size, 1.12um pixel size, dual pixel PDAF, 3D sensor-shift OIS, 5x optical zoom) |
| Selfie camera | 12MP (wide, f/2.2 aperture) | 12MP (f/1.9 aperture, 1/3.6-inch sensor size, 1.0um pixel size, PDAF, OIS) |
| Battery size | 3,900mAh | 4,685mAh |
| Charging | 25W wired, Qi wireless (charger not included) | 38W wired, 25W MagSafe wireless, 15W Qi2 wireless (charger not included) |
| Colors | Titanium Icyblue, Titanium Silver, Titanium Jetblack | Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, Desert Titanium |
The design differences between these two phones are immediately noticeable. The corners on the iPhone 16 Pro Max are a bit more curved, while both phones include flat displays. The bezels around those displays are very thin on both phones, and also uniform at the same time. The Galaxy S25 Edge has a display camera hole up top, and it’s centered. The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a pill-shaped cutout in the same spot, but it’s much larger. It’s called the ‘Dynamic Island’.
The frame is flat on both smartphones, all around. The Galaxy S25 Edge has all of its physical buttons on the right-hand side. The power/lock button sits below the volume up and down keys. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, has more buttons and a different placement too. The power/lock button sits on the right, along with the Camera control key. On the left, you’ll find the volume up and down buttons, along with the Action button.
If we flip them around, you’ll notice that their camera islands are both in the top-left corner. However, they look noticeably different. The Galaxy S25 Edge has two vertically-aligned cameras, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max has its well-known placement of three rear cameras. The backplate is flat on both of these smartphones, and yes, both camera setups do protrude on the back.
Both of these phones utilize titanium for their frame and have glass backs. The iPhone 16 Pro Max does have a larger display, and the device itself is taller and wider. It is also considerably thicker, as the Galaxy S25 Edge is immensely thin at 5.8mm. That is one of its main selling points. The iPhone 16 Pro Max measures 8.3mm, which is also thin, by the way. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is a lot heavier at 227 grams, compared to 163 grams of the Galaxy S25 Edge. Both smartphones are quite slippery, and both are IP68 rated for water and dust resistance.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Display
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge features a 6.7-inch QHD+ (3120 x 1440) Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. That panel offers an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and HDR10+ content is supported. The screen-to-body ratio is at around 92%, while the display aspect ratio is 19.5:9. This display is flat, and it’s protected by the Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 protection.
On the flip side, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, includes a 6.9-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display. That panel is also flat, and it supports an adaptive refresh rate (1-120Hz). HDR10 content is supported, and so is Dolby Atmos. The maximum brightness this display offers is 2,000 nits, while the screen-to-body ratio is around 91%. The display aspect ratio is 19.5:9, while the resolution you’re getting here is 2868 x 1320. The Ceramic Shield glass (2024 edition) protects this display.
With that being said, both of these displays are actually really good. That is not surprising at all, considering that both of these are high-end offerings. The displays are more than sharp enough, while they’re also vivid and have great viewing angles. Both panels also have those inky blacks that users love, not to mention that they both get bright enough. The touch response is also great on both. They do not offer high-frequency PWM dimming, though.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Performance
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor fuels the Galaxy S25 Edge. That is an overclocked variant of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, a 3nm chip, and the most powerful one the company has to offer. That chip is backed by 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM inside of this phone, while UFS 4.0 flash storage is also used here.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, is fueled by the Apple A18 Pro processor. That is a 3nm chip from Apple, and the most powerful one the company has to offer at the moment. That processor is backed by 8GB of RAM and NVMe flash storage inside the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Neither phone supports storage expansion, in case you were wondering.
The day-to-day performance is great on both phones. They’re very smooth and fluid regardless of what you’re doing. They can open apps really fast, jump between them without issue, consume multimedia, serve as browsing and messaging machines, and so on. There’s no lag whatsoever. The iPhone 16 Pro Max does great with games too, even truly demanding ones, while that’s the aspect of the Galaxy S25 Edge that we have to test in order to see. We’re wondering how well the heat dissipation will work. That’s something you’ll be able to read about in our review.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Battery
The Galaxy S25 Edge includes a 3,900mAh battery on the inside. On the other hand, the iPhone 16 Pro Max comes with a 4,685mAh battery. Apple’s iPhones usually have smaller batteries than their Android counterparts, notably smaller, so this is saying a lot. Yes, that battery inside the Galaxy S25 Edge is quite tiny for that phone, especially considering the device’s size. The one inside the iPhone 16 Pro Max is considered rather big for an iPhone.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max offers outstanding battery life, it truly does. The phone is a workhorse, and it could last for two days for many people. Getting truly high screen-on times is not a problem on the phone. What we’ve seen from the Galaxy S25 Edge thus far, in terms of battery life, does not fill us with confidence. We have to properly test it in order to be sure, but it doesn’t seem like it will offer good battery life, which is not surprising. There’s only so much Samsung can do in terms of optimization.
The Galaxy S25 Edge supports 25W wired and 15W wireless (Qi2 Ready) charging. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the flip side, supports 38W wired, 25W MagSafe wireless, 15W Qi2 wireless, and 4.5W reverse wired charging. Neither of these two smartphones comes with a charger in the retail box.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge features a 200-megapixel main camera (1/1.3-inch sensor size), along with a 12-megapixel ultrawide unit (120-degree FoV). Those are the only two cameras on the back of this phone. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, has three. A 48-megapixel main unit (1/1.28-inch sensor size) is backed by a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera (1/2.55-inch sensor size) and a 12-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (1/3.06-inch sensor size, 5x optical zoom).
We did not get a chance to properly test out the Galaxy S25 Edge camera setup yet. You’ll be able to read more about that in our full review. However, it does seem like it’s offering similar performance to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, though a bit different. Some samples from the ‘Edge’ that we’ve seen are actually beating the Galaxy S25 Ultra somehow, which is a good sign if you’re aiming to get the device. Just keep in mind that there are no telephoto cameras of any kind here.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max does a very good job overall. Its images are leaning more towards what you can see in real-life, the ones the Galaxy S25 Edge provides are a bit more… flashy. The iPhone 16 Pro Max does have the advantage of having the periscope telephoto camera, which is good, but it cannot measure up to the best periscope telephoto camera offerings out there. Apple’s handset also does a great job in low-light, it’s a very reliable camera.
Audio
Both of these smartphones come with stereo speakers. The ones on the iPhone 16 Pro Max are actually really good, flagship-level quality when it comes to phones. We didn’t have a chance to properly test the ones on the Galaxy S25 Edge, but we’re a bit worried because of the thinness of the phone.
There is no audio jack on either phone. You can always connect your wired headphones via the Type-C port, if you want. Alternatively, you can use Bluetooth 5.4 on the Galaxy S25 Edge and Bluetooth 5.3 on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
