Head to head
Apple iPhone 17 Pro MaxvsSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The short answer
Choose the iPhone 17 Pro Max for peak brightness, battery life per charge and video playback time. Choose the Galaxy S25 Ultra for battery lifespan. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is £50 cheaper at UK RRP (£1,199 against £1,249). The Galaxy S25 Ultra gets security updates until January 2032; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate neither clearly gets them for longer.
- Released
- 2025-09-19endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Price
- £1,199Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Released
- 2025-02-03endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £1,249Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy S25 series, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- 2032-01-31Samsung UK spec API — Galaxy S25 Ultra, retrieved 2026-09-22
3 wins for iPhone 17 Pro Max1 win for Galaxy S25 Ultra1 gap borderline5 differences you won’t notice£50 apart at RRP
Verdict: iPhone 17 Pro Max ahead on 3 rows, Galaxy S25 Ultra on 1 row
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the iPhone 17 Pro Max wins on peak brightness (3,000 nits from the maker against 2,600 nits from GSMArena), battery per charge (53 h against 44.9 h) and claimed video playback (37 h against 31 h); the Galaxy S25 Ultra wins on battery lifespan (2,000 cycles against 1,000 cycles). One gap is borderline, a difference most people would not notice: wireless charging (25 W from the maker against 15 W from GSMArena) for the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The differences in weight, battery capacity, fast charging, Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme are below the thresholds you would notice. Both state the same display size, refresh rate, storage (base) and RAM. The other 36 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 iPhone 17 Pro Max better than the Galaxy S25 Ultra?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the iPhone 17 Pro Max wins on peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Apple UK) against 2,600 nits (GSMArena), battery per charge, 53 h against 44.9 h (both EU energy label) and claimed video playback, 37 h (Apple UK) against 31 h (Samsung UK); the Galaxy S25 Ultra wins on battery lifespan, 2,000 cycles against 1,000 cycles (both EU energy label). Every other row is borderline, too close to notice, or not ranked.
Which has the better battery?
The iPhone 17 Pro Max, by a gap you’d notice: battery per charge, 53 h against 44.9 h (both EU energy label). The iPhone 17 Pro Max, by a gap you’d notice: claimed video playback, 37 h (Apple UK) against 31 h (Samsung UK). The Galaxy S25 Ultra is ahead on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 5,000 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 4,823 mAh (GSMArena).
Which is lighter?
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is lighter on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: weight, 218 g (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 231 g (Apple UK).
Which has the brighter screen?
The iPhone 17 Pro Max, by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Apple UK) against 2,600 nits (GSMArena).
Which gets updates for longer?
The Galaxy S25 Ultra gets security updates until January 2032; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036, 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 17 Pro Max is £50 cheaper at UK RRP (£1,199 against £1,249). Prices from iPhone 17 Pro Max: Apple UK store; Galaxy S25 Ultra: Samsung Newsroom UK.
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.