A sneaky improve
The iPhone 17 Professional Max would not deliver main digital camera upgrades or a brand new show, however there’s greater than meets the attention. An aluminum unibody chassis highlights this yr’s redesign with sturdiness and thermal advantages, plus, there’s an A19 Professional chipset beneath the hood.
Professionals
- 6.9-inch show with anti-reflective coating and three,000 nits peak brightness
- Triple-camera system with a trio of 48MP sensors on the again
- Unibody aluminum chassis offers larger sturdiness
- A19 Professional chipset with 12GB reminiscence
- Sq. front-facing digital camera sensor for versatile selfies
Cons
- Decrease-quality zoom photographs as a consequence of new telephoto lens
- Apple Intelligence is not pretty much as good as Galaxy AI
- Large digital camera plateau is not for everybody
- No black colorway
Checking all of the bins
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely tries to cram as many options as attainable right into a 6.9-inch flagship, and it just about achieves its aim. You get 4 rear cameras, an inbuilt stylus, and a 5,000mAh battery to energy all of it.
Professionals
- Quick Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset
- 5 whole cameras make the Galaxy S25 Extremely match for any state of affairs
- Galaxy AI suite and Gemini options are standout
- Nice 6.9-inch AMOLED display screen with S Pen assist
Cons
- Lacks Qi2 or MagSafe assist
- Most likely not as quick as Apple’s A19 Professional
- Costly
- Restricted to 1TB max storage
The iPhone 17 Professional Max is right here, and it brings alongside the primary main iPhone redesign in half a decade — however is that sufficient to beat Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Extremely?
The 2 prime flagships available on the market have fairly a bit in frequent, sporting 6.9-inch shows and the most effective chipsets on iOS and Android, respectively. It is now time to determine whether or not the iPhone 17 Professional Max is sufficient to make longtime Android customers swap, or vice versa.
Apple is altering issues up with a swap again to aluminum and a brand new unibody chassis on the iPhone 17 Professional Max, whereas Samsung doubles down on titanium on the Galaxy S25 Extremely. Let’s break down how these two telephones evaluate that can assist you determine which one is the appropriate purchase.
iPhone 17 Professional Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely: Design and show
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The design of the iPhone 17 Professional Max is radically totally different in comparison with some other iPhone mannequin — although I would forgive you should you thought the cellphone simply seems like an iPhone 16 Professional Max with an oblong digital camera bump. It is truly referred to as the digital camera plateau now, in line with Apple, and it is a part of an aluminum unibody development. Your entire chassis is now one piece, with a single glass insert slotting into the again to facilitate wi-fi charging.
This new iPhone 17 Professional Max construct is designed to reinforce the smartphone’s power and cut back its temperature, addressing a number of drawbacks of the prior fashions’ titanium materials. It is nonetheless IP68-certified, however now options Ceramic Defend 2 glass on the entrance with an anti-reflective coating. This takes clear inspiration from the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely, which added a game-changing anti-glare display screen earlier this yr.
From a design standpoint, each the iPhone 17 Professional Max and the Galaxy S25 Extremely have 6.9-inch screens, however the latter has a flatter and thinner physique. The Galaxy S25 Extremely measures simply 8.2mm thick, whereas the iPhone is 8.75mm thick. Apple’s smartphone can be 15 grams heavier, so by way of type issue, the Galaxy S25 Extremely could really feel higher within the hand.
Each telephones have OLED shows with 120Hz LTPO variable refresh price assist. Apple’s cellphone is barely brighter, with the iPhone 17 Professional Max able to reaching 3,000 nits peak in outside settings. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely tops out at 2,600 nits, which is able to nonetheless be lots shiny.
Notably, the Galaxy S25 Extremely packs an S Pen inside, and you should use the stylus for fast drawings or note-taking. There are even a number of Galaxy AI options that leverage the S Pen for ease of use, like Sketch to Picture. Put merely, the iPhone 17 Professional Max has no equal, both on the primary or third-party market.
iPhone 17 Professional Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely: {Hardware} and specs
The Apple A19 Professional and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipsets are the 2 strongest cellular processors available on the market, they usually’re contained in the iPhone 17 Professional Max and the Galaxy S25 Extremely, respectively. Each telephones make the most of vapor chambers to chill these blazing-fast chips and have optimizations that stability efficiency and effectivity. They every characteristic 12GB of reminiscence by default, however solely the Galaxy S25 Extremely has a 16GB RAM possibility tied to the 1TB storage configuration.
Whereas each handsets begin with 256GB of storage, the iPhone 17 Professional Max introduces a 2TB storage configuration for the primary time. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely can solely be outfitted with as much as 1TB of storage. So, the highest iPhone will get extra storage, however the prime Galaxy will get extra reminiscence.
Class | iPhone 17 Professional Max | Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely |
|---|---|---|
Show | 6.9‑inch (diagonal) all‑display screen OLED show, 2868‑by‑1320-pixel decision at 460 ppi, 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Price, 3,000 nits peak brightness | 6.9-inch QHD+ AMOLED, 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Price |
Processor | Apple A19 Professional | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy |
Reminiscence | 12GB | 12GB |
Storage | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
Entrance Digicam | 18MP, f/1.9 broad | 12MP broad |
Rear Digicam 1 | 48MP Fusion Fundamental: 24 mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture, OIS | 200MP Extensive, AF, OIS |
Rear Digicam 2 | 48MP Fusion Extremely Extensive: 13 mm, ƒ/2.2 aperture and 120° area of view | 50MP Ultrawide, AF, OIS |
Rear Digicam 3 | 48MP, 4x optical zoom, 8x optical-quality zoom | 10MP 3x Telephoto, AF, OIS |
Rear Digicam 4 | N/A | 50MP 5x Telephoto, AF, OIS |
Digicam Options | Adaptive True Tone flash, Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Sensible HDR 5, Subsequent-generation portraits with Focus and Depth Management, Portrait Lighting with six results, Night time mode, Panorama (as much as 63MP), Newest-generation Photographic Types, Spatial photographs, 48MP macro images, ProRAW, Extensive shade seize for photographs and Stay Photographs, Lens correction (Fusion Extremely Extensive), Superior red-eye correction, Auto picture stabilization, Burst mode | HDR Portraits, Selfie AI ISP, Nightography, Excessive-res Macro, Excessive-res Zoom, Log Video |
Battery | 5,088mAh | 5,000mAh |
Charging | 40W wired, 25W MagSafe or Qi2.2 wi-fi | 45W wired, 15W wi-fi, 4.5W reverse-wireless |
Connectivity | 5G, mmWave, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, UWB, Thread, NFC | 5G (sub-6GHz, mmWave), Wi-Fi 7, UWB |
Biometrics | Face ID | Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanner, Face Recognition |
Ingress Safety | IP68, Ceramic Defend 2 (entrance glass), Ceramic Defend (rear class), Aluminum | IP68, Corning Gorilla Armor (entrance glass), Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (rear glass), Titanium |
Dimensions | 163.4 x 78 x 8.75mm | 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2mm |
Weight | 233 grams | 218 grams |
Software program | iOS 26 | One UI 7 w/ Android 15 |
Connectivity leans in favor of the iPhone 17 Professional Max, which helps Bluetooth 6 and Thread along with 5G and Wi-Fi 7. In the meantime, the Galaxy S25 Extremely solely helps Bluetooth 5.4. Samsung has the sting in biometrics, providing an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor and facial recognition.
Battery life and charging are beginning to tip in favor of the iPhone for the primary time. The iPhone 17 Professional Max has a 5,088mAh battery capability, barely increased than the 5,000mAh cell contained in the Galaxy S25 Extremely. It could actually additionally cost as much as 50% in solely 20 minutes. Whereas the Galaxy S25 Extremely helps Qi 2.1 Prepared and desires a case so as to add magnets, the iPhone 17 Professional Max has them built-in and helps Qi2.2 25W.
The Galaxy S25 Extremely has the higher-spec USB-C port, supporting USB 3.2 Gen 1 in comparison with the iPhone 17 Professional Max’s USB 3.0.
iPhone 17 Professional Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely: Cameras
The iPhone 17 Professional Max contains a strong rear digital camera system comprising a trio of 48MP sensors, together with a principal, ultrawide, and telephoto lens. Nevertheless, the telephoto digital camera is an improve in a technique and a downgrade in one other. It is a 48MP lens with 4x optical zoom, however that turns into 8x optical-quality zoom with sensor cropping all the way down to 12MP photographs. Final yr’s iPhone 16 Professional Max may do 5x optical zoom, however did not have the sensor-cropping capabilities of the brand new higher-megapixel sensor.
In any other case, the 48MP major sensor can shoot 24MP and 12MP photographs, with the 48MP ultrawide including a 120-degree field-of-view to get extra within the shot. Apple added a brand new 18MP front-facing digital camera sensor to the whole iPhone 17 lineup, and it is a sq. sensor fairly than a typical 4:3 sensor. This implies you possibly can snap selfies in vertical or horizontal orientations with out bodily shifting the cellphone, which is fairly neat.
On paper, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely has the extra versatile rear digital camera system. You get a 200MP principal digital camera sensor paired with a 50MP ultrawide lens, plus two telephoto lenses providing 3x and 5x optical zoom. That is greater than the iPhone 17 Professional Max provides with bodily lenses, however much less should you account for the 8x optical-quality sensor crop.
Samsung’s front-facing digital camera is a 12MP broad lens, and it would not have any of the enjoyable methods added by the iPhone 17 Professional Max’s sq. sensor.
iPhone 17 Professional Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely: Which do you have to purchase?
The iPhone 17 Professional Max and Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely are each the most effective we have ever seen from the iOS and Android aspect of issues, however they’re additionally unlikely to sway longtime followers. For Apple customers, the Galaxy S25 Extremely’s lack of Qi2 assist might be a deal-breaker. Android customers in all probability will not be impressed by iOS 26 or the iPhone 17 Professional Max’s new {hardware} modifications, even when they’re impactful for iPhone house owners.
On paper, the Galaxy S25 Extremely has extra versatility, with an inbuilt S Pen and 5 whole cameras. The thinner and lighter construct represents the most effective of Samsung’s design and engineering, and even iPhone customers can in all probability admire it. These are the best telephones on all sides of the walled backyard, so it’s going to in all probability come down as to if you wish to use iOS or One UI extra.
Unlikely to vary minds
The iPhone 17 Professional Max is a neat improve for iOS customers, particularly those that’ve been ready for a redesign to improve. Nevertheless, it in all probability will not tempt Android followers who’ve choices just like the Galaxy S25 Extremely which can be extra versatile on paper.
One among a sort
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely is an enigma, offering options you will not discover on some other smartphone. The inbuilt S Pen paired with 5 whole cameras and a flagship Qualcomm processor arguably provides probably the most versatile smartphone expertise ever.
