Is AI Galaxy S25 Ultra better than iPhone 16 Pro Max?

Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max are both the latest products from Apple and Samsung with powerful AI features that need to be compared.

Samsung has just officially introduced the Galaxy S25 Ultra – the most advanced flagship in the Galaxy S25 series with the ambition of becoming a ‘true AI companion’. The phone impresses at first sight with its luxurious titanium frame, 6.9-inch screen with ultra-thin edges, and is 15g lighter than its predecessor. The brain of the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor, promising to bring an advanced AI experience and a series of unique and unprecedented features.

Samsung AI dominates

Galaxy S25 Ultra stands out with new AI features, notably the ability to perform cross-app actions through Galaxy AI. This is a unique feature that does not currently appear on Apple Intelligence of iPhone 16 Pro Max, giving users more options in taking advantage of artificial intelligence technology.

For example, Galaxy AI can help you find soccer match schedules quickly, automatically add them to your calendar, and send notifications to your friends. It can also extract ingredients and recipes from videos and save them as notes. With this ability, Galaxy AI appears more flexible in meeting complex user needs.

Meanwhile, Apple Intelligence on iPhone 16 Pro Max focuses on data security features. Apple uses Private Cloud Compute to ensure user information is not shared widely. However, Apple’s multi-app action or context processing features are still in the development stage, making Apple’s AI somewhat less flexible than Galaxy AI.

Sketch into an enhanced image

Sketch to Image, one of the standout features in the Galaxy AI toolkit, also received a significant upgrade. With One UI 7, users will easily use voice or text commands to edit AI-generated images from sketches. This feature opens up unlimited creativity, helping your sketches turn into artistic photos easily.

Apple Intelligence also owns a similar tool called Image Playground. However, Apple’s feature focuses more on personalizing content based on context, for example suggesting visual styles that match the user’s preferences. While both of these AI features are impressive, allowing for more customization, Galaxy AI has many advantages, especially for those working in the creative field.

Smart notifications

Samsung also improved the smart notification system on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, providing a more optimal user experience. Galaxy AI will automatically prioritize important notifications, summarize content clearly, and group them for users to manage. This is where Apple Intelligence on iPhone 16 Pro Max still needs improvement, as notifications are often confusing and lack coherence.

Now Bar

A new feature on One UI 7 is the Now Bar that can provide contextual information such as weather forecasts, travel plans or entertainment controls. This feature can support all users’ daily activities from picnics, sports practice to language translation. Currently, the iPhone 16 Pro Max does not have similar features, creating an additional advantage for the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Although the iPhone 16 Pro Max stands out with its single-core processing capabilities and outstanding security features, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has the upper hand in the field of practical AI. Apple Intelligence is still a work in progress and will likely need one or two more major updates to reach the same level of flexibility as Galaxy AI.

Choosing Galaxy S25 Ultra or iPhone 16 Pro Max also depends largely on the ecosystem you are investing in. For those already rooted in the Apple ecosystem, switching to Samsung could cause disruption. On the contrary, if you are familiar with the Samsung ecosystem or want to explore advanced AI features, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is definitely an option worth considering.