Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra has outperformed Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max in a real-world app speed test conducted by PhoneBuff, as reported by MacRumors. The test results indicate that the S25 Ultra, equipped with Qualcomm’s overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and 12GB of RAM, surpassed Apple’s A18 Pro-powered device, which runs on 8GB of RAM.
Performance across multiple tasks
According to the publication, the speed test measured how swiftly each smartphone could open and process tasks across a range of applications. Both devices were put through an identical sequence, involving popular apps such as Facebook, Starbucks, Microsoft Office, Snapseed, and various mobile games.
From the outset, the Galaxy S25 Ultra reportedly established a commanding lead in productivity apps, a margin it maintained throughout image editing tasks. Notably, exporting images in Snapseed was completed significantly faster on the Samsung device, the report added.
A particularly striking result emerged in video processing, where the Galaxy S25 Ultra handled LumaFusion video exports approximately 25 per cent quicker than the iPhone 16 Pro Max – an area traditionally dominated by Apple’s hardware.
Gaming and multitasking capabilities
While iPhones have historically excelled in gaming performance, Samsung’s flagship device proved formidable in this category as well. Reportedly the Galaxy S25 Ultra either matched or outperformed the iPhone across most games tested, including Subway Surfers and Flip Diving. However, the iPhone managed to claim narrow victories in Going Balls and Forward Assault.
The first lap of app launches saw the Galaxy S25 Ultra clock in at 2 minutes and 18 seconds, a full 15 seconds ahead of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the report said. Although Apple’s device managed to narrow the margin slightly in the second lap, which evaluates RAM management, Samsung still secured what PhoneBuff described as its “biggest speed test win in years.”
What gives Samsung the edge?
Experts attribute Samsung’s impressive performance to several factors: an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, a 40 per cent larger cooling system, and the combination of Android 15 with One UI 7. The additional 4GB of RAM also appears to have played a crucial role in maintaining app performance and multitasking efficiency.
Both devices deliver outstanding real-world usability, yet the test results suggest Samsung has taken a considerable lead in raw processing power. Apple, however, remains poised to respond with its next-generation devices.
