Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: Battle of the titans
Table of Contents
Table of Contents Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: specs Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: design Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: display Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: performance Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: battery and charging Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: cameras Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: software and updates Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: price and availability Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is coming out at the end of the month as one of the first slim phones in the world, and we're excited to see how people will react to holding a phone that's nearly as thin as a piece of paper. However, it's competing against its thick Apple rival, the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
As we settle into the middle of 2025, it's survival of the fittest — or should we say, 'thinnest'? — and the two phones are competing over who weighs less and how much can deliver more to their users regardless of their size. Here's what we have to say.
Recommended Videos
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: specs
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge iPhone 16 Pro Max Size 159 x 76 x 5.9 mm (6.26 x 2.99 x 0.23 inches) 163 x 77.6 x 8.25 mm (6.42 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches) Weight 163 grams (5.75 ounces) 227 grams (7.99 ounces) Screen size 6.7-inch HDR10+ AMOLED (120Hz) 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display Screen resolution 1440 x 3120 resolution at 513 pixels per inch 2868 x 1320 resolution at 460 ppi Operating system Android 15 under One UI 7 iOS 18 Storage 256GB, 512GB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB MicroSD card slot No No Tap-to-pay services Google Play Apple Pay Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite A18 Pro RAM 12GB 8GB Cameras Rear: 200-megapixel
12MP ultrawide
Front: 12MP Rear: 48MP Fusion (main), f/1.78
48MP ultrawide, f/2.2
12MP telephoto, f/2.8, 5x optical zoom
Front: 12MP, f/1.9 Video Rear: 8K at 30fps, 4K up to 120fps, and 1080p up to 240fps
Front: 4K up to 60 fps, and 1080p up to 60 fps Rear: 4K up to 120fps, and 1080p up to 240fps
Front: 4K up to 60fps, and 1080p up to 120fps Bluetooth 5.3 5.3 Ports USB-C USB-C Biometrics Under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor Face ID Water resistance IP68 IP68 Battery 3,900mAh
25W wired charging
15W wireless charging
Reverse wireless charging 4,685mAh
30W fast charging (50% in 30 minutes)
25W MagSafe wireless
15W Qi2 wireless
4.5W reverse wireless App marketplace Google Play Store App Store Network support 5G 5G Colors Titanium Icy Blue, Titanium Silver, and Titanium Jet Black Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium Price Around $1,300 Starts at $1,199 Available from Unknown Apple, Amazon, Best Buy
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: design
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is as thin as its name suggests, if the exact dimensions listed in the spec chart above are anything to go by. Leaked images have shown the S25 Edge to have a thin frame around the handset and two vertically-aligned cameras on top of the slight camera bump — a detail that is noticeably absent from the rest of the Galaxy S25 lineup. They have also shown the phone to have a microphone on the top and bottom, and a side button beneath the volume button on the right edge of the frame.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is a bit thicker at 8.25mm, with a titanium frame with a brushed metal finish, flat edges, and a matte glass back that make it easier to grip the phone. It has a triple-lens camera layout similar to that of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and a Camera Control button dug into the right side of the frame underneath the power button, which sticks out like the other buttons sitting on the left edge.
Aside from the thickness (or lack thereof), we're waiting to see if the S25 Edge comes out looking the way they do in the leaks. For now, the iPhone 16 Pro Max takes the trophy in the design category.
Winner: iPhone 16 Pro Max
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: display
The Galaxy S25 Edge is rumored to have a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 2,600 nits, a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz, and a 3120 x 1440 QHD+ resolution, which will allow users to access their photos, videos, files, social media, games and more at a lightning-fast pace. The quick access will also be helped by the fact that the S25 Edge's screen will take after the S25 Plus and S25 Ultra and support Dynamic AMOLED 2X and ProScaler, greatly enhancing photo and video quality.
The display on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 0.2 inches bigger than the S25 Edge, given that it sits at the high-end of the iPhone 16 lineup. It has a 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with ProMotion and always-on tech, gives off a 2868 x 1320 resolution and a maximum of 2,000 nits, and has an adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz, same as the S25 Edge.
Though both phones have the smoothest refresh rate, the iPhone 16 Pro Max may be too big for some people to hold because of how large the screen is compared to the S25 Edge — and the iPhone 16 Plus, for that matter, as its display measures the same. You might find an easier time gripping the S25 Edge because its display is smaller. You'll have an even better time viewing videos and photos, as well as playing games, with the higher resolution and the quality bump from ProScaler.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: performance
Visual quality and performance go hand-in-hand, and no tech company knows that better than Samsung and Apple. But since the Galaxy S25 Edge comes out in a week, we'll talk about its performance stats first. This phone runs 12GB of RAM whether you pick the 256GB or the 512GB version, and they house the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, which relies on multi-core performance and has eight CPU cores and an Adreno GPU, which runs everyday tasks as smooth as silk. If you have a tendency to have intense gaming sessions on your phone, you'll be happy to know that the Galaxy S25 Edge has a vapor chamber and new thermal interface material (TIM) to prevent the phone from overheating — and burning your hands — while playing anything on Xbox Game Pass.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 Pro Max operates on the A18 Pro processor, which makes everything run fast and smooth for how little memory it has — 8GB of RAM. You can play resource-heavy games on this phone, but because it has only one CPU core, it will overheat pretty quickly if you play on your phone in a hot environment or use a case that doesn't allow it to cool down as fast as it heats up. That makes the iPhone 16 Pro Max well suited for those who will only use it for light tasks like web surfing, taking pictures and videos, and texting. But for people who want to do more on their phone without breaking a sweat, gaming included, the Galaxy S25 Edge is the way to go.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: battery and charging
The Galaxy S25 Edge has a 3,900mAh battery, which is slightly smaller than the batteries in the rest of the Galaxy S25 lineup, where the base model has a 4,000mAh battery and the S25 Ultra has a 5,000mAh battery. Samsung claims that the S25 Edge supports 25W wired charging, 15W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. However, Samsung didn't exactly mention how fast the phone would charge when it's plugged in.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, has an even bigger battery with 4,685mAh of power capacity. It supports 30W fast charging, reaching 50% charge in 30 minutes or less. It also supports 25W MagSafe wireless charging, 15W Qi2 wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. This shows that a bigger battery doesn't always mean faster charging, it just means it takes little longer to get to full charge. Although, it is tough to call which phone has the best battery and charging time since they're close is size and capacity, and the speed in which in the S25 Edge reaches a full charge, let alone a half charge, has not been determined.
Winner: Tie
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: cameras
Despite the Galaxy S25 Edge having two rear cameras, its main camera has a 200-megapixel lens sitting atop the 12MP ultrawide camera. The latter camera is quite a significant downgrade from the 48MP ultrawide camera found on the S25 Ultra, but that's only because there aren't any other cameras aside from the main one to compensate for it. However, the 200MP camera would provide for high-quality photos and videos, considering how well it captured every detail on the S25 Ultra.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, meanwhile, has a 48MP Fusion camera, a 48MP ultrawide camera, and a 12MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom, balancing out the visual quality of every picture and video it captures. The ultrawide camera provides a 120-degree field-of-view for landscaping and group photos, while the 12MP telephoto helps to capture the tiniest objects up close and personal when zoomed in, like small insects and leaf cells. The 48MP camera ensures every photo and video is crystal clear. We don't know how well the cameras on the S25 Edge will pan out, so the iPhone 16 Pro Max gets the photo finish — for now.
Winner: iPhone 16 Pro Max
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: software and updates
The Galaxy S25 Edge will operate on Android 15 out of the box, with Samsung's One UI 7 layered on top of it. The combined software guarantees enhanced privacy features, improved multitasking, and AI capabilities like Gemini. Just like the other phones in the Galaxy S25 line, Samsung has promised seven years of OS and security updates for the S25 Edge.
As for the iPhone 16 Pro Max, it runs on iOS 18 out of the box, but it can be updated to the latest version. Basically, iOS 18 comes with Apple Intelligence, which will summarize your emails, text messages, social media notifications, and help improve your writing by providing grammar and spelling checks to ensure you get your point across to anyone you're talking to with poise. There's also an advanced Siri that lights an iridescent ring around the display when you say its name. Apple didn't say how many years of OS and security updates the phone would get, as it updates the OS for months at a time.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: price and availability
At launch, the Galaxy S25 Edge will be sold at $1,099 for the 256GB variant, and $1,199 for the 512GB version. As for what colors it will be sold in, it will come in Titanium Icyblue, Titanium Silver, and Titanium Jetblack. No, the first and third colors are definitely not typos.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max has been on the market since September 2024, and its price depends on how much storage space you need. The 256GB variant costs about $1,199, while the 512GB version costs $1,399, and the 1TB variant costs $1,599. It comes in Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: verdict
Although our review has yet to be published, the Galaxy S25 Edge appears to be winning this battle. It's easier for big hands to hold for how slim it is, camera design justifies the overall design of the phone, and the performance it delivers is highly optimal, especially for gamers. Its thinness may make it look fragile, but it has a titanium frame around its circumference and is the first smartphone to have the Gorilla Glass Corning 2 on glass screen, offering the phone double the protection from cracks and scratches if it falls.
Plus, the S25 Edge is a little more affordable than the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which could be helpful information for people who need a new phone but don't want to break the bank for an Apple phone. They say great things come in small packages. In this case, they come in slim packages.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Android Authority
26 minutes ago
- Android Authority
Google should learn from this rumored Apple Watch app upgrade
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority TL;DR Apple's watchOS 26 could bring third-party widgets to the Control Center on Apple Watches. We really hope Wear OS gains this feature eventually as it would be extremely useful. Apple and Google are both working on their next smartwatch operating system updates, namely watchOS 26 and Wear OS 6 respectively. However, it now sounds like Apple is working on a great feature we'd love to see on Wear OS watches. 9to5Mac reports that watchOS 26 will offer third-party widgets in the Control Center. The outlet adds that this would let users 'surface relevant actions or data' from said apps. That would be major news as the Control Center on Apple Watches only supports first-party toggles like cellular functionality, the flashlight, Wi-Fi, and battery-related info. We really hope Google copies this feature and brings it to Wear OS smartwatches in the future. Android phones have long supported third-party tiles in Quick Settings, allowing users to quickly toggle their VPN service, activate Link to Windows, identify songs, and more. So bringing this feature to smartwatches seems like a logical expansion. It's likely too late for this feature to come to Wear OS 6, but the upcoming update still has some notable improvements. This includes a Material 3 Expressive visual style, up to 10% better battery life, and a much-improved always-on display. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nvidia Just Became the World's Most Valuable Company. Here's What May Happen Next.
Nvidia, with a market value of $3.444 trillion, topped software giant Microsoft. This happened a week after Nvidia's report of double-digit revenue growth and strong demand for its artificial intelligence chips. 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia › Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) might be the company everyone's talking about thanks to its dominance in the high-growth area of artificial intelligence (AI), but it remained behind one other tech player, Microsoft, in terms of market value. Until this week. On June 3, Nvidia roared past the software giant to become the world's most valuable company with a market value of $3.444 trillion. Microsoft's market value totaled $3.441 trillion at the close of trading. This happened a week after Nvidia's fiscal 2026 first-quarter earnings report, one that maintained the company's track record of surpassing analysts' estimates and delivering double-digit revenue growth. And even though investors questioned the strength of AI demand and spending in recent months, Nvidia's words -- and comments from its biggest customers -- showed business still is booming. All of this is great news, but can this AI chip powerhouse maintain this position in the market cap top spot? It's important to note that this isn't the first time Nvidia has claimed the title of the world's most valuable company. In fact, just a few months ago, in January, Nvidia's market value surpassed those of Microsoft and smartphone giant Apple. But concerns about technology spending weighed heavily on Nvidia shares in recent months, and that pushed market value lower once again. Now, though, two elements clearly are driving this rebound in the AI giant. First, market sentiment and stock performance have improved in recent weeks on optimism that President Donald Trump's import tariffs won't result in extreme headwinds for corporate earnings. The U.S. struck an initial trade deal with China at lower-than-expected tariff levels and is working on a permanent arrangement. Lower tariffs suggest less strain on companies' budgets and on the consumer's wallet. Second, as mentioned, Nvidia reported strong demand for its latest release, the Blackwell architecture and chip, and noted that customers are rushing to the company for inferencing power. Nvidia's chips -- graphics processing units (GPUs) -- fuel this process that allows large language models to think through problems and generate answers. All of this helped Nvidia report a 69% increase in revenue to $44 billion in the quarter and deliver strong profitability on sales. Even including a charge Nvidia took for canceled sales to China following U.S. export controls, Nvidia's gross margin came in at more than 60%. And excluding the impact of the charge, Nvidia met its forecast of gross margin in the low-70% range. On top of this, forecasts showing the AI market will increase from hundreds of billions of dollars today to trillions of dollars by early next decade suggest there's room for Nvidia and other AI leaders to grow. So, will Nvidia keep its title as the world's biggest company? One potential risk to Nvidia's share price performance -- and market value gains -- is the situation concerning the export of AI chips to China. Today, U.S. restrictions prevent Nvidia from selling its H20 chip -- one that it designed specifically for the Chinese market -- to that country. If Nvidia remains completely blocked from the Chinese market, revenue growth and stock performance could suffer, at least in the short term. But any progress in that area, even small, could act as a catalyst for share gains. Considering all of these elements, the positive and the negative, I think Nvidia may once again remain neck and neck with Microsoft and Apple when it comes to market cap in the months and quarters to come. We might see each of these companies periodically take the top spot. If tariff issues and the China export situation are completely resolved, though, Nvidia could have the advantage. Nvidia's leadership and innovation in the high-growth AI market as well as its double-digit revenue increases quarter after quarter could eventually push it ahead, making it the world's biggest company for the long term. Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $656,825!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $865,550!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Nvidia Just Became the World's Most Valuable Company. Here's What May Happen Next. was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Wall Street Journal
Apple's Growing List of Problems Clouds AI Reboot
It says something about Apple's AAPL -1.08%decrease; red down pointing triangle current status that its trailing position in artificial intelligence isn't the company's biggest problem. It might seem to be next week, though. Investors are glum ahead of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference that kicks off Monday. The stock has slid 20% since the first of the year, which is the worst run the shares have experienced ahead of the company's WWDC event since at least 2010. Apple's big tech peers now use their own annual developer events almost exclusively to tout their progress in AI. But Apple's conference this year is expected to mainly demonstrate how far behind the company is in what is considered a once-in-a-generation technological shift. The Apple Intelligence service introduced at last year's conference is still a work in progress, and the Siri digital assistant is still awaiting a promised AI makeover. That won't be coming next week, at least based on a rare admission Apple made three months ago that its planned Siri upgrade was taking longer than expected. 'Apple will be much more cautious about overpromising and will refrain from showing features that aren't yet ready for prime time,' Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson predicted in a report Thursday. But AI is only one of the significant problems Apple is facing now. Tariffs threaten the profit margins of the company's hardware business. And the president of the U.S. is openly pressuring Apple to effectively undo its two-decade-old business model of exclusively producing its devices overseas. Then there is services, which drive an outsize portion of Apple's bottom line. Legal challenges hang over the fees the company earns from app developers, as well as the payments it receives from Google to make the search engine the default option on Apple's devices. Those fees and payments together comprise a substantial part of Apple's services arm that generates annual gross profit margins of 74%—twice the margins the company's device business commands. 'We caution that Apple has material risks to its revenue growth, margins, and valuation multiple,' Needham analyst Laura Martin wrote in a report on Wednesday, where she downgraded the stock to a 'hold' rating. Against the risk of tariffs, App Store fee reductions and the loss of Google payments, Apple's slow start in AI seems almost a minor worry. The company hasn't been marketing Apple Intelligence as a premium service that would cost users extra—a notable contrast to the approach of Microsoft and Alphabet's GOOGL 0.10%increase; green up pointing triangle Google, which are charging money for most of the generative AI tools sold to their customers. But Apple needs to give customers more reasons to buy its devices, and upgrade them more frequently. Its flagship iPhone business has been in a rut, with revenue growth relatively flat over the past two years and expected to be flat again for the current fiscal year ending in September. The lack of new AI offerings is expected to weigh on the next cycle as well, with Wall Street expecting iPhone revenue growth of only 3% in fiscal 2026, according to FactSet estimates. 'We believe that, for this stock to work, it must have the catalyst of an iPhone replacement cycle, which we do not foresee in the next 12 months,' Needham's Martin wrote in her report. Apple has a lot of very loyal customers—more than 2.35 billion active devices make up its installed base—who won't necessarily bail over a single piece of missing software. But the company that disrupted the smartphone market could be disrupted itself if generative AI creates a new class of devices that obviate the need for a touch screen slab in everyone's pocket. OpenAI just nabbed Jony Ive, the famed Apple designer who crafted the original versions of most of Apple's current product line, as part of an ambition to eventually ship 100 million 'AI companions.' The first devices are expected to come out next year. The famously secretive Apple could very well spring some of its own surprises by then. But it will have to do so while juggling its global supply chain and deftly navigating the legal challenges to its App Store fees and Google payments. Apple isn't even officially a party to the Google case, which might limit its options to shape the outcome. Apple's slow start in AI is a problem, but compared to its other challenges, at least it is more under its control. Write to Dan Gallagher at
