Head to head
Apple iPhone 17vsSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The short answer
Choose the Galaxy S25 Ultra for the larger screen, battery capacity and battery lifespan. Choose the iPhone 17 for lower weight and peak brightness. The iPhone 17 is £350 cheaper at UK RRP (£899 against £1,249). The Galaxy S25 Ultra gets security updates until January 2032; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 17, 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 2026-08-20
- Price
- £899Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-10-15
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-20
- 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
2 wins for iPhone 173 wins for Galaxy S25 Ultra4 gaps borderline3 differences you won’t notice£350 apart at RRP
Verdict: Galaxy S25 Ultra ahead on 3 rows, iPhone 17 on 2 rows
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the iPhone 17 wins on weight (177 g against 218 g) and 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 3,692 mAh from GSMArena) 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 Ultra, battery per charge (44.9 h against 41 h) for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, wireless charging (25 W from the maker against 15 W from GSMArena) for the iPhone 17 and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (5,827 against 4,715, both from 3DMark) for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The differences in claimed video playback, fast charging and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) are below the thresholds you would notice. Both state the same refresh rate and storage (base). 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 better than the Galaxy S25 Ultra?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the iPhone 17 wins on weight, 177 g (Apple UK) against 218 g (Samsung Newsroom UK) and 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 3,692 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 Galaxy S25 Ultra is ahead, narrowly: battery per charge, 44.9 h against 41 h (both EU energy label), a borderline gap most people would not notice. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is ahead on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: claimed video playback, 31 h (Samsung UK) against 30 h (Apple UK). The Galaxy S25 Ultra, by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 5,000 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 3,692 mAh (GSMArena).
Which is lighter?
The iPhone 17, by a gap you’d notice: weight, 177 g (Apple UK) against 218 g (Samsung Newsroom UK).
Which has the brighter screen?
The iPhone 17, 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, 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 is £350 cheaper at UK RRP (£899 against £1,249). Prices from iPhone 17: 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.