Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: All the expected differences

We know we're going to see a Galaxy S25 Edge sooner or later, even if we don't have an exact date. And that means a Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max face-off is looming on the horizon.

It makes sense. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is one of the best phones out there and certainly the most premium model that Apple has to offer. Any phone hoping to compete against the top flagships is going to be measured against the iPhone's blazing performance, bright display and excellent cameras.

Samsung hasn't disclosed much about the Galaxy S25 Edge, not even how thin its new design is supposed to be. But enough details have leaked out so that we can compare this upcoming device to the best iPhone to see what each one has to offer.

As we wait for the final specs of the Galaxy S25 Edge to emerge, here's how a Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max comparison is shaping up.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Price and availability

When the iPhone 16 Pro Max launched last fall, it cost $1,199, the same starting price as the iPhone 15 Pro Max it replaced in Apple's lineup. The base model offers 256GB of storage, but you can upgrade to the 512GB and 1TB models for an extra $200 and $400, respectively.

Even the cheapest iPhone 16 Pro Max remains rather expensive, but you can find some great iPhone 16 series deals that can lower the cost of the phone, especially if you plan to trade-in your current phone.

While some rumors had the Galaxy S25 Edge arriving this month after Samsung teased the phone back in January, new reports suggest there's been a delay. Now it appears the Galaxy S25 Edge might not arrive until June.

There's no real consensus about what price Samsung plans to charge, with initial speculation centering around whether the cost would be in line with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. That phone starts at $1,299 — even more than the iPhone 16 Pro Max. However, a well-known leaker now claims the Edge will be around the same price as the $999 Galaxy S25 Plus.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Design and display

We may not have a Galaxy S25 Edge release date, but we do have a very good idea of what it looks like. Samsung has put the phone on display twice now, first at Galaxy Unpacked in January and later at Mobile World Congress.

Those sneak previews came without specs, though, so people are still wondering how thin the Edge will actually be. Leaks indicate that it’s about 0.25 inches thin, which would be noticeably thinner than the iPhone’s 0.32 inches. When we saw the Galaxy S25 Edge dummy units on display, it was clear that these are no exaggerations, although the camera bump does add a bit of thickness to the device.

We expect the Galaxy S25 Edge to feature the same 2K display seen on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which would be a lower resolution than the 2868 x 1320 display seen on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. If the S25 Edge does feature the same panel as the Ultra, you'd expect similar brightness to the 1,860 nits we measured on that latter phone. That's 20% brighter than the measurement we got from the iPhone 16 Pro Max screen.

You'll get a much larger screen with the 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max, as leakers say the Edge will feature a 6.6-inch panel. The smaller, thinner design plus lighter materials like ceramic could help the Galaxy S25 Edge weigh less than the 8-ounce iPhone 16 Pro Max.

You can get an iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium, Natural Titanium, White Titanium and Black Titanium. Recent Galaxy S25 Edge color leaks indicate the phone will come in Titanium Silver, Titanium Icy Blue and Titanium Jet Black.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Cameras

Both Samsung and Apple repeatedly jostle to produce the best camera phone. Though we place the iPhone 16 Pro high up on that list, the Pro Max shares the same camera setup, with a 48MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide sensor and 12MP telephoto lens that can deliver 5x zooms.

When we tested the iPhone 16 Pro Max against the Galaxy S25 Ultra in a 200-photo camera shootout, the iPhone won raves for its warm colors, bright images in low-light settings and superior separation in portrait shots. That's going to be a tough standard for the Galaxy S25 Edge to beat.

In fact, Samsung's phone may have a handicap out of the gate, as the model Samsung's been showing off only has two rear cameras. We'd assume that means the telephoto lens has been sacrificed for space, leaving the Edge with a main shooter and an ultrawide caamer.

At least the main camera may offer high-resolution shots. A Galaxy S25 Edge rumor claims the phone will adopt the same 200MP main camera found on the S25 Ultra.

Other than that, we would hope that the Galaxy S25 Edge would also adopt the ultrawide lens from the Galaxy S25 Ultra. That's powered by a 50MP sensor instead of the 12MP shooter found on other Galaxy S25 models.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Performance

Finding out what chip Samsung plans to use in the Galaxy S25 Edge will go a long way toward determining how its performance will compare to the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Some rumors have said that Samsung might use an Exynos 2400, an older chip used in the Galaxy S24 released in some parts of the world, as a way to keep the Edge from getting too hot.

Thankfully, a more widely held belief is that Samsung will turn to the same silicon that powers the rest of the Galaxy S25 lineup. That's the Snapdragon 8 Elite, which proved to be quite a formidable chip in our Galaxy S25 benchmark testing, as you can see in the chart below.

Apple's A18 Pro turns in the better single-core score on Geekbench, a test measures CPU performance. But the Snapdragon 8 Elite turned in better multicore performance, and it churned out more frames per second in the 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited test that compares GPU performance.

Leaked benchmarks claiming to show off a Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered Galaxy S25 Edge showed Geekbench numbers slightly below the ones we recorded with the Ultra, though the Edge would still top the iPhone 16 Pro Max's multicore score if these numbers are accurate.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Battery and charging

The Galaxy S25 lineup turned in some very long-lasting times on our battery test, in which we have phones surf the web until they run out of power. Both the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Galaxy S25 Plus rank among the top-performers on our best phone battery life list.

But the Galaxy S25 Edge may have a hard time keeping up. Rumors tip the phone to feature a 3,900 mAh battery, which would be smaller than the power pack inside the standard Galaxy S25.

If that's the case, we'd have a hard time seeing the Edge come close to the iPhone 16 Pro Max's battery time, as Apple's phone lasts a long time in its own right. On our test, the iPhone 16 Pro Max managed to maintain a charge for 17 hours and 17 minutes, roughly 10 hours longer than the average phone. And its battery — which teardowns claim is 4,685 mAh — is a lot bigger than the rumored size of the Galaxy S25 Edge cell.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Software and special features

The iPhone 16 Pro Max runs iOS 18, which has benefitted from Apple Intelligence along with other upgrades to its various apps and features. But while there are some promising additions from Apple's new AI tools, it's certainly not as polished as the Galaxy AI Samsung offers on its phones — and the Galaxy S25 Edge figures to benefit from that.

Specifically, we would expect the Galaxy S25 Edge to launch with One UI 7, the same as the Galaxy S25 series. That would mean that the phone would feature the same Galaxy AI improvements that debuted in January, including the ability to perform multiple actions across different apps with one command. Samsung's AI is a lot further along — something even Apple wouldn't dispute at this point.

Samsung also offers longer support than Apple, with the S25 lineup guaranteed seven years of software and security updates. We imagine that the Galaxy S25 Edge will get a similar guarantee.

In contrast, Apple doesn't provide a roadmap for how long you can expect iOS updates to work on your phone. Typically, iPhones get at least five years, though there are devices released in late 2018 that can still run iOS 18.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: Outlook

The Galaxy S25 Edge may not be a direct competitor to the iPhone 16 Pro, as it sounds from the rumors like the S25 Ultra will remain Samsung's premium phone. (Check out our Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max face-off to see how those phones measure up.) Still, with an ultrathin design and premium main camera, the S25 Edge could be a compelling alternative to the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

A lot will depend on the features and specs that Samsung confirms for its new phone and whether the Edge ends up costing less than the iPhone 16 Pro Max. If that all pans out, Apple better hopes its cameras and battery life win the day over what the Galaxy S25 Edge has to offer.

More from Tom's Guide

• iOS 18.4 just added RCS support for these carriers — is yours included?
• The Samsung Galaxy G Fold could only release in two countries — here’s what you need to know
• I tried this dock to transform my Galaxy S25 into a laptop — here’s what happened