The Galaxy S25 Ultra is vying for the crown of the world’s best high-end phone this year. But it isn’t just competing with flagships from Chinese brands but also the iPhone 16 Pro Max. While both phones are excellent in their own ways, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is better than the iPhone 16 Pro Max in at least six ways.
Let us check those out.
1. More versatile cameras
The Galaxy S25 Ultra has more versatile camera hardware. Its 200MP primary camera offers more details, while its 10MP telephoto sensor paired with a 3x optical zoom lens can capture better images and videos at mid-zoom levels.
The phone can also capture 8K 30fps videos using the primary (wide-angle), ultrawide, and telephoto cameras.
2. Integrated S Pen stylus
The S Pen comes integrated with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. It offers you greater precision while drawing, sketching, jotting down notes quickly, and signing documents. It has tilt and pressure sensitivity, too. You can also use it to draw professional-looking drawings in your notes using the Sketch to Image feature.
It can be stored in a silo inside the phone, so you don’t need to worry about keeping it safe while traveling. In comparison, no iPhone comes with a stylus.
3. Lighter design and anti-reflective screen
While both phones use titanium for the side frame and have 6.9-inch screens, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is still 9g lighter than the iPhone 16 Pro Max while packing an S Pen and a bigger battery.
Moreover, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s screen is covered by Gorilla Glass Armor 2, which reduces glare and reflections. That makes the phone a lot more legible under direct sunlight or in places where reflections can hurt your viewing experience.
4. Galaxy AI works better than Apple Intelligence
Samsung was the first smartphone brand to bring a suite of AI-powered apps and features. And it is leading in that regard. The Galaxy S25 Ultra, running One UI 7.0, has more effective and useful AI features compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Generative Edit works more effectively while editing images and removing unwanted objects and reflections. The Audio Eraser feature can be extremely useful in removing unwanted noises from videos, and a similar feature is not available on the iPhone.
Watch all those Galaxy AI features in our video below.
5. Faster wired charging
The Galaxy S25 Ultra might have slower charging than phones from Chinese brands, but it is still much faster than the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It can charge at a peak of 45W to top up the battery from 0-70% in just 30 minutes.
Moreover, the Galaxy S25 Ultra charges from 0-100% in just one hour compared to two hours for the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
6. More operating system updates
Apple is famous for offering extended software update support, but Samsung has taken the lead in that department. The Galaxy S25 Ultra will get seven major Android OS updates and security updates for seven years.
While Apple doesn’t usually announce a software support period, iPhones usually get five major iOS updates, and they often lag behind in functionality and features, so Samsung’s latest Ultra flagship has an upper hand here.
