If the latest rumors are to be believed, we could hear official news of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series in January 2025. Naturally, I and many others are thinking about how the base model Galaxy S25 would fare against the iPhone 16, like Samsung and Apple . continue their years-long rivalry.
Although some tangible updates are expected to come to the Galaxy S25, it looks like we could be looking at another incremental update for Samsung's entry-level flagship. That won't be a problem for some users, as the Galaxy S24 already finds a place on our list of the best Samsung phones. Comparatively, the iPhone 16 looks like a big step up from its predecessor, the iPhone 15, and as our iPhone 16 review details, the phone impressed us with its snappy performance, refreshed design, and new camera control button when it launched. in September 2024.
We'll have more detailed comparisons between the Galaxy S25 series and the iPhone 16 lineup once we have official information on Samsung's new phones. But until then, here are my thoughts on what the next round of this famous matchup will look like.
| Header cell: column 0 | Samsung Galaxy S25 Rumored Specs | iPhone 16 specifications |
|---|---|---|
| Show: | 6.2 inch AMOLED | 6.1 inch AMOLED |
| Resolution: | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1179 x 2556 pixels |
| Update frequency: | 120Hz | 60Hz |
| Chipset: | Snapdragon 8 Elite | Apple A18 |
| Rear cameras: | 50 MP wide angle, 12 MP ultra wide angle, 10 MP telephoto lens (3x zoom) | 48MP wide, 12MP ultrawide |
| Front camera: | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| RAM: | 12GB | 8GB |
| Storage: | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB |
| Battery: | 4,000 mAh | 3,561 mAh |
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs iPhone 16: Latest rumors, key features and important updates
Despite the (generally) good-natured rivalry between Apple and Samsung for the top spot in Western phone markets, it looks like we'll be seeing two very similar phones once the Samsung Galaxy S25 launches. The S25 is expected to launch with “significant design changes,” but we don't expect this to overhaul the design language established with the Galaxy S21. We will most likely see a phone with rounded corners, a 6.2-inch OLED display with smaller bezels, and a vertical triple camera setup on the rear panel.
The iPhone 16 offers a similar design: rounded bezels, a 6.1-inch OLED display, and a vertical camera alignment (although the iPhone only has two cameras). Honestly, if design is the main factor when choosing a phone for you, it might depend on the colors on offer: the iPhone comes in incredibly vibrant pink, teal, and ultramarine, along with black and white, while it's rumored to be will launch the Galaxy S25. in a bunch of new colors that focus mainly on the black, silver and blue side, with some potential surprises like rose gold and red coral.
As for the phones' cameras, we expect the entry-level Galaxy S25 to carry forward the S24's 50MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and 10MP 3x telephoto camera; It looks like Samsung is saving camera updates for the Galaxy S25 Ultra this year. . The 3x telephoto lens, if present, will offer the S25 an advantage over the iPhone 16, which has a 48MP main camera and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera. Samsung's camera technology is generally considered class-leading, and we expect the S25 to be a great camera phone; Although, despite lacking optical zoom, the iPhone 16 is also one, thanks in large part to its innovative capacitive camera control button. There has been no news of the S25 having a shutter button.
The real differences between the two phones are likely to be internal. The Samsung Galaxy S25 is expected to launch with the same Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset as the S25 Ultra, a true beast of a chipset that nearly doubled the score of Apple's A18 Pro when our US mobile editor Philip Berne performed comparative performance tests. However, Samsung has been rumored to be using its own Exynos chipsets for the S25, so that's still an area to watch.
The iPhone 16 has the base model's A18 chipset, but thanks to Apple's extensive optimization and big performance improvements on the previous generation A16, it still feels fast and responsive. It's a similar story for RAM; while the S25 will launch with 12GB of RAM (4GB more than the S24's 8GB), while the iPhone 16 gets along just fine with 8GB, although Apple's optimization helps this go further than others. devices.
In terms of storage, at least one tipster has suggested that the S25 will start with 256GB of storage, ditching the 128GB tier entirely, with potential for a new 512GB option. Others suggest that the 128GB and 256GB options will remain unchanged from the S24. The iPhone 16, for comparison, offers 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage tiers.
When it comes to software, we expect the Galaxy S25 to run the rumored One UI 7 Android wrapper at launch, and the iPhone 16 to run iOS 18. The iOS vs Android debate could take up its own article, but when it comes to IA, things feel a little more up in the air. Apple is still slowly rolling out Apple Intelligence features, while One UI 7 could bring a number of improvements to the Galaxy AI toolset. These things are substantially harder to predict than hardware changes that can be inferred from production line leaks and 3D renders.
As always, there will be fans who swear by the Galaxy or the iPhone, and for those people the choice is already obvious despite the lack of official information. For everyone else, this year's showdown between the S25 and iPhone 16 could get tougher with improved performance and design upgrades; Fortunately, we shouldn't have to wait too long to find out.