Head to head
Samsung Galaxy S25vsApple iPhone 16
The short answer
Choose the Galaxy S25 for peak brightness, video playback time and battery lifespan. The iPhone 16 wins no row by a gap you’d notice. The iPhone 16 is £100 cheaper at UK RRP (£699 against £799). The Galaxy S25 gets security updates until January 2032; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 16, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2031–2035, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate neither clearly gets them for longer.
- Released
- 2025-02-03endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £799Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy S25 series, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- 2032-01-31Samsung UK spec API — Galaxy S25, retrieved 2026-09-22
- Released
- 2024-09-20endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Price
- £699Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-19
3 wins for Galaxy S250 wins for iPhone 164 gaps borderline4 differences you won’t notice£100 apart at RRP
Verdict: Galaxy S25 ahead on 3 rows, iPhone 16 on none
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the Galaxy S25 wins on peak brightness (2,600 nits from GSMArena against 2,000 nits from the maker), claimed video playback (29 h against 22 h) and battery lifespan (2,000 cycles against 1,000 cycles). 4 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: RAM (12 GB from the maker against 8 GB from GSMArena) for the Galaxy S25, battery capacity (4,000 mAh from the maker against 3,561 mAh from GSMArena) for the Galaxy S25, wireless charging (25 W from the maker against 15 W from GSMArena) for the iPhone 16 and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) (8,599 against 7,558, both from Geekbench Browser) for the Galaxy S25. The differences in weight, display size, battery per charge and fast charging are below the thresholds you would notice. Both state the same storage (base). The other 38 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.
True to scale
Outlines from each maker’s published dimensions, drawn to scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. A row the site has no threshold for says whether the two differ, and that it is not ranking them. = marks the same figure on both, ≠ not ranked a difference with no ranking. Every figure carries its source.
Body
Display
Platform
Memory
Camera
Battery
Connectivity
Benchmarks
1 attribute neither phone has a sourced figure for
Google Mobile Services. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.
Questions
Is the Galaxy S25 better than the iPhone 16?
On the figures, the Galaxy S25 is ahead wherever there is a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 2,600 nits (GSMArena) against 2,000 nits (Apple UK), claimed video playback, 29 h (Samsung UK) against 22 h (Apple UK) and battery lifespan, 2,000 cycles against 1,000 cycles (both EU energy label). The iPhone 16 wins no row by such a gap. That is a count of rows, not an overall score.
Which has the better battery?
The Galaxy S25 is ahead on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: battery per charge, 37.27 h against 37 h (both EU energy label). The Galaxy S25, by a gap you’d notice: claimed video playback, 29 h (Samsung UK) against 22 h (Apple UK). The Galaxy S25 is ahead, narrowly: battery capacity, 4,000 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 3,561 mAh (GSMArena), a borderline gap most people would not notice.
Which is lighter?
The Galaxy S25 is lighter on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: weight, 162 g (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 170 g (Apple UK).
Which has the brighter screen?
The Galaxy S25, by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 2,600 nits (GSMArena) against 2,000 nits (Apple UK).
Which gets updates for longer?
The Galaxy S25 gets security updates until January 2032; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 16, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2031–2035, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate neither clearly gets them for longer. Sources: dates from Samsung UK spec API; Apple’s record from endoflife.date and Apple security releases.
Which is cheaper?
The iPhone 16 is £100 cheaper at UK RRP (£699 against £799). Prices from Galaxy S25: Samsung Newsroom UK; iPhone 16: Apple UK store.
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.