Phone Comparisons: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Vs Apple IPhone 15 Pro Max

This time around, we’re comparing Samsung’s best phone with one of Apple’s ‘Pro Max’ offerings. We’ll be comparing the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max. We’ve already compared the iPhone 16 Pro Max with the best of Samsung, and now it’s time to do the same with the model that arrived a year earlier. These two phones are vastly different, no doubt about it, but they’re both powerful large-format offerings.

As per usual, we will first list their specifications and will then move to compare their designs, displays, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio output. These two devices are so different that their designs are very easy to differentiate, there’s very little they have in common. With that being said, let’s get to it, shall we?

Specs

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, respectively

– Screen size:
6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (flat, adaptive 120Hz, HDR10+, 2,600 nits max brightness)
6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion (flat, 120Hz, HDR10, 2,000 nits)
– Display resolution:
3120 x 1440
2796 x 1290
– SoC:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy
Apple A17 Pro
– RAM:
12GB (LPDDR5X)
8GB
– Storage:
256GB/512GB/1TB (UFS 4.0)
256GB/512GB/1TB (NVMe)
– Rear cameras:
200MP (wide, f/1.7 aperture, OIS, multi-directional PDAF, 1/1.3-inch sensor, 0.6um pixel size), 50MP (ultrawide, 120-degree FoV, f/1.9 aperture, Dual Pixel PDAF 0.7um pixel size), 10MP (telephoto, f/2.4 aperture, OIS, 1/3.52-inch sensor size, Dual Pixel PDAF, 1.12um pixel size, 3x optical zoom), 50MP (periscope telephoto, OIS, 1/2.52-inch sensor size, PDAF, 5x optical zoom)
48MP (f/1.78 aperture, second-gen sensor-shift OIS), 12MP (ultrawide, f/2.2 aperture, 120-degree FoV, macro photography), 12MP (telephoto, f/2.8 aperture, 5x optical zoom)
– Front cameras:
12MP (wide, f/2.2 aperture, Dual Pixel PDAF, 1/3.2-inch sensor size, 22mm lens)
12MP (f/1.9 aperture) + TrueDepth
– Battery:
5,000mAh
4,441mAh
– Charging:
45W wired, 15W wireless (Qi2 Ready), 4.5W reverse wireless (charger not included)
20W wired, 15W wireless (MagSafe & Qi2), 7.5W wireless (Qi), reverse wired charging (charger not included)
– Dimensions:
162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm
159.9 x 76.7 x 8.25mm
– Weight:
218 grams
221 grams
– Connectivity:
5G, LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.4/5.3
– Security:
In-display fingerprint scanner (ultrasonic) & facial scanning
Face ID (3D facial scanning)
– OS:
Android 15 with One UI 7
iOS 17 (upgradeable)
– Price:
$1,299+
$1,099+ (discounted now)
– Buy:
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (Samsung.com)
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max (Best Buy)

Both of these smartphones are made out of metal and glass. In fact, they both use titanium for their frames. The Galaxy S25 Ultra does have sharper corners, however, and slightly thinner bezels. Those bezels are uniform on both phones, though. You’ll notice a pill-shaped cutout on Samsung’s smartphone, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a pill-shaped cutout on the front, the so-called Dynamic Island.

The front and back sides are flat on both phones. Both of them have a flat frame all around. The Galaxy S25 Ultra includes an S Pen stylus in the bottom-left corner. Samsung’s handset has its power/lock and volume rocker buttons on the right-hand side. The iPhone 15 Pro Max includes a power/lock key on the right, while its volume rocker buttons and the Action key are placed on the left side.

You’ll notice how different their camera setups on the back look. The Galaxy S25 Ultra has five separate protrusions on the back. Four of them are for the phone’s cameras, and all of them protrude directly from the backplate. The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a dedicated camera island, inside of which you’ll find three cameras. Those cameras are placed in the top-left corner on both phones.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra does have a larger display, and it’s slightly taller and wider, while being slightly thinner. Samsung’s phone is also 3 grams lighter, despite the fact it’s large and despite the fact it has a larger battery pack. Both phones are IP68 certified for water and dust resistance.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max: Display

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra includes a 6.9-inch 3120 x 1440 Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X display. That panel is flat and it supports HDR10+ content. It also comes with an adaptive refresh rate (1-120Hz), and a peak brightness of 2,600 nits. The screen-to-body ratio here is around 92%, while the display aspect ratio is 19.5:9. The Gorilla Armor 2 protects this display, a protection from Corning.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max, on the other hand, has as 6.7-inch 2796 x 1290 LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display. That panel is also flat, and it supports an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz. HDR10 content is supported, as is Dolby Vision. The peak brightness here is 2,000 nits. The screen-to-body ratio on this phone is around 90%, while the display aspect ratio is 19.5:9. The Ceramic Shield glass protects this display.

Both of these phones have great displays. They’re not only vivid and bright, but the viewing angles are great too. Both displays offer good touch response, and the blacks are as deep as you’d expect them to be. The display protection is also good on both of them, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra does have one advantage. It fights off glare much better than the iPhone 15 Pro Max thanks to Gorilla Armor 2. It’s a huge difference.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max: Performance

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor. That is an overclocked version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, a 3nm chip. It is backed by 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is fueled by the Apple A17 Pro processor, a 3nm chip. That chip is combined with 8GB of RAM inside of this phone, and NVMe flash storage. Neither phone supports expandable storage, by the way.

The performance both of these phones offer is really good. They are very snappy in daily use, no lag is present whatsoever. They do have different animations, but even if you disable them they’re very snappy. No complaints here, whatever you do will be done in record time, so… we really can’t complain.

Something similar can be said for gaming. Both smartphones can handle even the most demanding games their respective app stores have to offer. If you’re playing truly demanding games both phones will get quite warm, but we did not encounter overheating. Apple’s handset did have some issues wiht that until Apple patched it up a long time ago, since then, no issues whatsoever.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max: Battery

The Galaxy S25 Ultra includes a 5,000mAh battery. Apple’s handset has a 4,441mAh battery on the inside. Android handsets usually have larger battery packs than their iOS counterparts, so this is no surprise. You’ll be glad to know that both of these smartphones deliver when it comes to battery life. They’re both outstanding in that regard and trade blows. It all depends on what you use them for, but they have similar battery life. We would give a tiny advantage to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but… it all depends.

You can get really high screen-on-time levels with both smartphones. Getting over 7-8 hours of screen-on-time is not a problem, and depending on your use, you can go even (considerably) higher than that. We managed to cross the 10-hour screen-on-time level on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Gaming and other battery-intensive tasks will drain the battery quicker, though, of course. It all depends, but one thing is for sure, the battery life is great on both of these handsets.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra supports 45W wired, 15W wireless (Qi2 Ready) and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. The iPhone 15 Pro Max supports 20W wired, 15W MagSafe and Qi2 wireless, and 4.5W reverse wired charging. Samsung’s handset does charge notably faster, you can charge it up in an hour. The iPhone 15 Pro Max takes around an hour and 50 minutes to charge fully. Do note that neither phone comes with a charger in the retail box.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max: Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has four cameras on the back, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max has three. Samsung’s handset includes a 200-megapixel main camera (1/1.3-inch sensor), a 50-megapixel ultrawide unit (120-degree FoV), a 10-megapixel telephoto camera (1/3.52-inch sensor size, 3x optical zoom), and a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (1/2.52-inch sensor size, 5x optical zoom).

The iPhone 15 Pro Max, on the flip side, has a 48-megapixel main snapper (1/1.28-inch sensor size), a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera (1/2.55-inch sensor size, 120-degree FoV), and a 12-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (1/3.06-inch sensor size, 5x optical zoom). Both of these phones do a good job as far as photography is concerned, but they do provide different pictures.

They both kind of lean towards the warmer color tones, but the images do look different. The Galaxy S25 Ultra loves to tune up the saturation a bit more. The details are good on both sides, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra does a better job with high-zoom images. Its periscope telephoto camera is generally a better performer. The Galaxy S25 Ultra loves to brighten up scenes in low light, more than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. It’s all a matter of preference, but they both do a good job in low light.

Audio

Both of these smartphones include stereo speakers. The loudness coming from both sets is good, very good, in fact. They’re on par with a number of other flagships in that regard. The sound quality is also solid.

There is no audio jack on either one of these two phones. You can connect your wired headphones to their Type-C ports, though. The Galaxy S25 Ultra supports Bluetooth 5.4, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max comes with Bluetooth 5.3 support.