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The Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus was recently announced on January 22, 2025, alongside the Galaxy S25 and the S25 Ultra. It launched at a price that's $100 more than the iPhone 16 Plus, which is its direct competitor. Does the new Galaxy S25 Plus have what it takes to justify the price premium over its competitor?
That's exactly what we plan to determine by comparing the two phones in a head-to-head battle.
Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and solely reflect the writer's opinions.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus vs iPhone 16 Plus: Detailed comparison
In this comparison, we will judge the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus and iPhone 16 Plus in every aspect. This allows us to gain a better understanding of how they perform against each other and which one delivers a better experience.
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Here's everything about the two phones:
Specs comparison
Design and display
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus and iPhone 16 Plus feature superb build quality, thanks to the use of Aluminum and glass for the body's construction. It not only increases the body structure but also makes the body more tactile. The surface texture is smooth and shiny. Both Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus and iPhone 16 Plus have extremely similar build quality, and you won't find anything to complain about.
However, you will feel a difference upon holding the two phones in your hand. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus is thinner and lighter than the iPhone 16 Plus, which is certainly an advantage.
The design of both phones looks great, but we cannot decide which one looks better. It depends on the user's preference.
When it comes to the display, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus takes an edge over the iPhone 16 Plus due to the 120Hz high refresh rate. The Samsung display is manufactured with HOP 3.0 technology, which allows for better efficiency and lower power consumption. For those unaware, HOP stands for Hybrid Oxide and Polycrystalline Silicon, a custom version of the existing LTPO technology.
Performance and cooling
The Galaxy S25 Plus is upgraded with the new Snapdragon 8 Elite, which delivers a similar performance level as the Apple A18 inside the iPhone 16 Plus. You shouldn't find any noticeable difference in performance between the two phones.
However, there will be a significant difference in gaming as the new Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers notably higher performance. It is also paired with a large vapor chamber, which allows the chip to run at peak performance for a long duration.
Here are some performance benchmarks of the two chipsets inside the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus and iPhone 16 Plus:
Memory and storage
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus has 12GB memory, while the iPhone 16 Plus comes equipped with only 8GB. However, due to the way memory management works in various operating systems, the difference in system memory shouldn't have any significant impact on performance.
As for storage, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus comes with 256GB in its base model, while the iPhone 16 Plus sits at 128GB. This gives the former another advantage.
Camera performance
The Galaxy S25 Plus has a triple-camera setup in the back, but the iPhone 16 Plus has only two rear cameras. The former's third camera consists of a telephoto sensor, which can be quite handy sometimes. That said, the primary and ultrawide cameras of the two phones are fantastic and can deliver a similar picture quality in both day and night situations.
You will be hard-pressed to decide which is better in terms of level of detail, dynamic range, white balance, and more. However, the color tone was slightly different between the two phones. The selfie camera's image quality is also a lot similar, and you will struggle to find a difference.
Battery and charging
Due to the presence of a new and efficient chipset, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus is now capable of delivering a significantly better battery life. This places it closer to the iPhone 16 Plus.
As for charging, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus has faster wired charging than the iPhone 16 Plus, but the large battery negates its charging speed advantage. Therefore, both phones will end up taking the same time to fully charge.
That said, the iPhone 16 Plus' magnetic wireless charging is better and charges at a much faster rate than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus. The iPhone 16 Plus wins in this category.
Pricing
The Galaxy S25 Plus starts at $999, while the iPhone 16 Plus begins at $899, which makes the latter more affordable.
Final thoughts on Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus vs iPhone 16 Plus
The Galaxy S25 Plus is the better smartphone choice in almost every way. It offers higher storage, more cameras, a better display, and smoother gaming performance than the iPhone 16 Pro. However, the Galaxy S25 Plus costs $100 more, but we believe it's worth it.
The presence of a 120Hz display is enough to justify that price premium. After all, it's the screen you interact with the most, so having a smoother display is ideal. Therefore, we recommend Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus as the better choice.
However, if you own a lot of Apple devices and need your phone to be synced with them, choose the iPhone 16 Plus instead.
Also read: Apple iPhone 13 is available at the lowest price during the New Year sale on Best Buy
