iPhone 17 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: A Detailed Comparison

"...The best of iOS and Android are about to spar off..."

"...does the iPhone 17 Pro Max have what it takes to usurp the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra?..."

"...Let's find out...."

"...It's now time to figure out whether the iPhone 17 Pro Max is enough to make longtime Android users switch, or vice versa...."

"...Apple is changing things up with a switch back to aluminum and a new unibody chassis on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, while Samsung doubles down on titanium on the Galaxy S25 Ultra...."

"...Let's break down how these two phones compare to help you figure out which one is the right buy...."

"...Why you can trust Android Central Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you...."

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"...though I'd forgive you if you thought the phone just looks like an iPhone 16 Pro Max with a rectangular camera bump...."

"...This takes clear inspiration from the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which added a game-changing anti-glare screen earlier this year...."

"...so in terms of form factor, the Galaxy S25 Ultra may feel better in the hand...."

"...Notably, the Galaxy S25 Ultra packs an S Pen inside, and you can use the stylus for quick drawings or note-taking...."

"...There are even a few Galaxy AI features that leverage the S Pen for ease of use, like Sketch to Image...."

"...Put simply, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has no equivalent, either on the first or third-party market...."

"...The Apple A19 Pro and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipsets are the two most powerful mobile processors on the market, and they're inside the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the Galaxy S25 Ultra, respectively...."

"...They each feature 12GB of memory by default, but only the Galaxy S25 Ultra has a 16GB RAM option tied to the 1TB storage configuration...."

"...So, the top iPhone gets more storage, but the top Galaxy gets more memory...."

"...Samsung has the edge in biometrics, offering an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor and facial recognition...."

"...Battery life and charging are starting to tip in favor of the iPhone for the first time...."

"...While the Galaxy S25 Ultra supports Qi 2.1 Ready and needs a case to add magnets, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has them built-in and supports Qi2.2 25W...."

"...The Galaxy S25 Ultra has the higher-spec USB-C port, supporting USB 3.2 Gen 1 compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB 3.0...."

"...However, the telephoto camera is an upgrade in one way and a downgrade in another...."

"...That's more than the iPhone 17 Pro Max offers with physical lenses, but less if you account for the 8x optical-quality sensor crop...."

"...Samsung's front-facing camera is a 12MP wide lens, and it doesn't have any of the fun tricks added by the iPhone 17 Pro Max's square sensor...."

"...The iPhone 17 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra are both the best we've ever seen from the iOS and Android side of things, but they're also unlikely to sway longtime fans...."

"...For Apple users, the Galaxy S25 Ultra's lack of Qi2 support could be a deal-breaker...."

"...Android users probably won't be impressed by iOS 26 or the iPhone 17 Pro Max's new hardware changes, even if they're impactful for iPhone owners...."