Head to head
Apple iPhone 17vsSamsung Galaxy S25
The short answer
Choose the iPhone 17 for peak brightness and more base storage. Choose the Galaxy S25 for battery lifespan. Both cost £799 at UK RRP. The Galaxy S25 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
- £799Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-20
- 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
2 wins for iPhone 171 win for Galaxy S256 gaps borderline4 differences you won’t noticeSame RRP
Verdict: iPhone 17 ahead on 2 rows, Galaxy S25 on 1 row
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the iPhone 17 wins on peak brightness (3,000 nits from the maker against 2,600 nits from GSMArena) and storage (base) (256 GB against 128 GB); the Galaxy S25 wins on battery lifespan (2,000 cycles against 1,000 cycles). 6 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: weight (162 g against 177 g) for the Galaxy S25, RAM (12 GB from the maker against 8 GB from GSMArena) for the Galaxy S25, battery per charge (41 h against 37.27 h) for the iPhone 17, fast charging (40 W from the maker against 25 W from GSMArena) for the iPhone 17, wireless charging (25 W from the maker against 15 W from GSMArena) for the iPhone 17 and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (5,664 against 4,715, both from 3DMark) for the Galaxy S25. The differences in display size, battery capacity, claimed video playback and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) are below the thresholds you would notice. Both state the same refresh rate. 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?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the iPhone 17 wins on peak brightness, 3,000 nits (Apple UK) against 2,600 nits (GSMArena) and storage (base), 256 GB (Apple UK) against 128 GB (Samsung Newsroom UK); the Galaxy S25 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 is ahead, narrowly: battery per charge, 41 h against 37.27 h (both EU energy label), a borderline gap most people would not notice. The iPhone 17 is ahead on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: claimed video playback, 30 h (Apple UK) against 29 h (Samsung UK). The Galaxy S25 is ahead on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 4,000 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 3,692 mAh (GSMArena).
Which is lighter?
The Galaxy S25 is lighter, narrowly: weight, 162 g (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 177 g (Apple UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice.
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 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?
Both cost £799 at UK RRP. Prices from iPhone 17: Apple UK store; Galaxy S25: 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.