The Samsung Galaxy S25 has arrived. And the iPhone 16 is here to greet it, as we find out how the two biggest names in flagship phones compare. And while a full Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 16 face-off will have to wait until we finish reviewing the new Samsung phone, we can at least look at how the features match up based on what's been revealed about the S25.
Samsung will have its hands full taking on the iPhone 16, which has proven to be an excellent — and affordable — flagship phone. It's also the same cost as the Galaxy S25, making a comparison of the two entry-level flagships ore than apt.
For this comparison, I'm going to focus on the basic Galaxy S25 and iPhone 16, rather than any Pro, Plus or Ultra variants. So let's start digging through the specs and features.
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 16: Specs
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 16: Release date and price
The Galaxy S25 debuted at Galaxy Unpacked, with Galaxy S25 preorders now underway. The phone starts at $799 — the same price Samsung charged for the Galaxy S24 — and it goes on sale February 7.
The iPhone 16 has been out since September 2024, so it's already available from carriers and retailers alike. Like the Galaxy S25, the iPhone 16 costs $799 for its 128GB base model. Upgrading to the 256GB iPhone 16 adds another $100 to the cost, while a 512GB model sells for $1,099.
In contrast, extra storage is much cheaper at Samsung. You can get the 256GB Galaxy S25 for $859, which is just $60 more than the base model.
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 16: Design and display
Samsung made only modest changes to the Galaxy S25, keeping the same overall look that its flagships have offered for a while. That said, the new model is shorter and thinner than its predecessor. It's also 0.2 ounces lighter. Despite rumors touting a slight increase in screen size, you still get a 6.2-inch panel with the Galaxy S25.
The iPhone 16 is still a familiar flat-sided device, with its signature Dynamic Island camera/Face ID cutout. However its rear cameras have changed position to mark the iPhone 16 out as new and different (and to enable Spatial Photo and Video recording), an Action Button has appeared to replace the mute slider with a more versatile key, and a new Camera Control has been added to help users adjust camera settings and take photos without using the on-screen buttons.
There's no change in the listed brightness or refresh rate of the Galaxy S25 from last year's model, and that adaptive 120Hz refresh rate gives Samsung an edge over the locked-in 60Hz display Apple continues to use on its entry-level flagship. The Galaxy S25 also boasts a ProScaler feature that turns to AI to improve image accuracy, though we'll have to watch videos on the S25 and iPhone 16 side-by-side to see what impact this feature has.
The iPhone 16's a particularly colorful phone, on offer in Black, White, Pink, Teal and Ultramarine, but Samsung offer its own rainbow of options for the Galaxy S25. You can choose from Navy, Mint, Icy Blue and Silver Shadow from the main options. Order from Samsung, though, and you can pick from three additional colors — Blueblack, Coralred and Pinkgold.
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 16: Cameras
Samsung made no hardware changes to its Galaxy S25 cameras, instead putting the focus on an upgraded ProVisual Engine for better image processing. We'll see what impact that has after our head-to-head camera testing, but the 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide shooter and 10MP telephoto lens are unchanged from what the S24 featured last year as well as what the S23 offered before that.
Still, Samsung enjoys a hardware edge, simply because the iPhone 16 has no dedicated telephoto lens. Instead, the 48MP main camera on Apple's device can crop in on shots to effectively create a 2x zoom. These close-ups look pretty good in our testing, but the Galaxy S25 can offer a 3x optical zoom with its dedicated lens.
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 16: Performance
Samsung had some good news at Unpacked, confirming reports that the Galaxy S25 runs on a Snapdragon 8 Elite system-on-chip. And that's not just the S25 models shipping in North America — Qualcomm's new silicon features in every S25 model. That's a change from last year when Samsung used Exynos chips in the S24 models released outside of North America.
As we've seen when testing other Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered phones, the new Qualcomm chip delivers very powerful performance. Phones like the OnePlus 13 already post better graphics test results and some better CPU numbers than the A18 chipset found in the iPhone 16.
That said, Apple's phone does post a better score than the OnePlus 13 in the Geekbench single-core test measuring CPU performance. The iPhone 16 also transcodes video in Adobe Premiere Rush much faster than Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered devices in our testing.
Samsung could further mix things up by using an optimized version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite in its phones. It's also worth noting that the Galaxy S25 has more RAM than the iPhone 16 — 12GB versus 8GB.
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 16: Battery and charging
Samsung didn't change the battery size from the 4,000 mAh power pack that the Galaxy S24 used. Still, we think the Galaxy S25 might improve upon its predecessor's 13.5-hour result in our battery test, based on the strength of the Snapdragon 8 Elite's power management features. Both phones we've tested that use a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset have wound up on our best phone battery life list, so that bodes well for the latest Samsung devices.
While the iPhone 16 is no slouch when it comes to battery life, it doesn't figure to put up much of a fight against the Galaxy S25. In our test, where we have phones surf the web until they run out of power, the iPhone 16 posted a time of 12 hours and 43 minutes. That's more than 2.5 hours better than the average smartphone result, but its 45 minutes shy of the Galaxy S24's time. Any improvement by the Galaxy s25 will widen that gap.
Charging speeds haven't changed for the Galaxy S25, so the 25W wired charging should match what the iPhone 16 offers. Samsung did nominally add Qi2 wireless charging support to its new phone, but you need to buy a separate to take advantage of that capability.
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 16: Software and AI features
One UI 7 based on Android 15 makes its debut on the Galaxy S25, and it adds a number of AI-friendly features like writing tools, call transcripts and more. You can summon Google's Gemini with a long press of the S25's side button, and the assistant supports cross app actions, where you can access multiple apps at once. It's all part of the expanded Galaxy AI tools on the S25, which include an Audio Eraser feature for getting distracting sound out of the video you've captured and an updated version of Circle to Search.
Apple has been trying to up its own AI game with Apple Intelligence, which launched as part of the iOS 18.1 update last year. Some of Apple's AI tools are similar to what you get with Galaxy AI — including writing tools, summary features, photo-editing and a more advanced Siri. That said, Samsung's updates make its digital assistant far more powerful than what the revamped Siri can currently do.
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 16: Outlook
We're in the process of testing out all the new Galaxy S25 features — especially cameras, performance and battery life — to see what it offers compared with the iPhone 16. Our face-off will also take a closer look at how the different AI tools stack up on each phone.
On paper, it figures to be a very close contest, as all Samsung vs. Apple confrontations tend to be. Check back to see our final Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 16 verdict.
