iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: Full Specs, Cameras, Battery, and Price Compared

Apple and Samsung are back in the ring at the high-end of the smartphone market. Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max was unveiled at the ‘Awe-Dropping’ event this week and will compete with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which you can get today. Both introduce impressive high-quality displays, high-powered processors and next-gen cameras, but how do they look side by side?

Design & Display

iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, peak brightness of 3,000 nits, has a 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate with an Always-On display. The display also has Ceramic Shield 2 which Apple claims has 3X better scratch resistance, and 4X better crack resistance.

Galaxy S25 Ultra: 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, peak brightness of 2,600 nits and a variable refresh rate from 1Hz – 120Hz. The display has Corning Gorilla Armor 2 with a slightly rounded corner. The S25 Ultra also runs One UI 7 (Android 15), which means enhanced customization options.

Performance & AI

iPhone 17 Pro Max: Utilizes Apple’s new A19 Pro chipset complete with vapor chamber cooling. Operating system ios 26 also delivers better efficiency and a host of privacy-centric the snippets, as well as Apple Intelligence features that include on-device translation, screenshot recognition, and offline AI efforts.

Galaxy S25 Ultra: Runs on Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy with storage options of up to 1TB. It features Galaxy AI integrated with Google's Gemini AI assistant. Samsung promises 7 years of updates.

Cameras

iPhone 17 Pro Max: The iPhone 17 Pro Max now outs the camera features tripe 48MP Fusion camera system with a new tetraprism telephoto lens that offers a new 8x optical zoom feature. Photonic Engine also enhances low-light shots. The front camera is now an 18MP “Centre Stage” camera which enables the user to take videos in dual-capture style and utilizes adaptive-framing.

Galaxy S25 Ultra: The quad camera system starts with the impressive 200MP main sensor, and supports a 3x and 5x telephoto lens as well as a 50MP ultra-wide with 120° FoV . And for the Selfie camera it has a 12MP. In summary Apple appears to be focused on AI-style photography while Samsung was focused on raw resolution and zoom range.

Battery & Charging

iPhone 17 Pro Max: Apple claims this is now the longest lasting IPhone battery to date. It now has 40W fast charging (50% in 20 minutes).

Galaxy S25 Ultra: The battery capacity is rated at 5,000mAh, supports 45W wired fast charging, 15W wireless charging, and Wireless PowerShare, notably for reverse charging.

Connectivity & Extras

iPhone 17 Pro Max: The iPhone 17 Pro Max supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and with the latest version of AirDrop powered by Apple Intelligence.

Galaxy S25 Ultra: The S25 Ultra supports 5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, UWB, GPS and an upgraded S Pen, arguably giving focus on productivity users.

Pricing in India

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra:

• 256GB -- ₹1,29,999
• 512GB -- ₹1,41,999
• 1TB -- ₹1,65,999

iPhone 17 Pro Max:

• 256GB -- ₹1,49,900
• 512GB -- ₹1,69,900
• 1TB -- ₹1,89,900
• 2TB -- ₹2,29,900

Samsung is less expensive than Apple at every tier so this handset is the cheaper option compared to others in the new flagship premium wireless option.

Verdict

The iPhone 17 Pro Max now has smart AI tools, with advanced video tools, and integrates seamlessly into Apple's ecosystem. The Galaxy 25 Ultra ultimately starts with the impressive 200MP camera that many will say is the best option in terms of zoom and support for long-term software updates.

In the end, the choice is captured between whether you value an intelligent ecosystem from Apple vs. raw hardware power and versatility from Galaxy.