Head to head
Apple iPhone 17 ProvsSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The short answer
Choose the Galaxy S25 Ultra for the larger screen, battery capacity and battery lifespan. Choose the iPhone 17 Pro for peak brightness. The iPhone 17 Pro is £150 cheaper at UK RRP (£1,099 against £1,249). The Galaxy S25 Ultra gets security updates until January 2032; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 17 Pro, 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
- £1,099Apple 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
1 win for iPhone 17 Pro3 wins for Galaxy S25 Ultra2 gaps borderline4 differences you won’t notice£150 apart at RRP
Verdict: Galaxy S25 Ultra ahead on 3 rows, iPhone 17 Pro on 1 row
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the iPhone 17 Pro wins on peak brightness (3,000 nits from the maker against 2,600 nits from GSMArena); the Galaxy S25 Ultra wins on display size (6.9 in against 6.3 in), battery capacity (5,000 mAh from the maker against 3,998 mAh from GSMArena) and battery lifespan (2,000 cycles against 1,000 cycles). 2 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: battery per charge (47 h against 44.9 h) for the iPhone 17 Pro and wireless charging (25 W from the maker against 15 W from GSMArena) for the iPhone 17 Pro. The differences in weight, fast charging, Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme are below the thresholds you would notice. Both state the same refresh rate, storage (base), RAM and claimed video playback. 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 better than the Galaxy S25 Ultra?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the iPhone 17 Pro wins on peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Apple UK) against 2,600 nits (GSMArena); the Galaxy S25 Ultra wins on display size, 6.9 in (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 6.3 in (Apple UK), battery capacity, 5,000 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 3,998 mAh (GSMArena) and 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 is ahead, narrowly: battery per charge, 47 h against 44.9 h (both EU energy label), a borderline gap most people would not notice. Both state 31 h for claimed video playback (Apple UK and Samsung UK). The Galaxy S25 Ultra, by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 5,000 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 3,998 mAh (GSMArena).
Which is lighter?
The iPhone 17 Pro is lighter on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: weight, 204 g (Apple UK) against 218 g (Samsung Newsroom UK).
Which has the brighter screen?
The iPhone 17 Pro, 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, 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 is £150 cheaper at UK RRP (£1,099 against £1,249). Prices from iPhone 17 Pro: 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.