The iPhone 16 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra could have extremely similar designs

The iPhone 15 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra side-by-side
(Image credit: Future)

It’s not unusual for phones from two different brands to have some similarities, but it seems the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra could have more physically in common with each other than most smartphones.

At least, that’s what leaker @UniverseIce claims. According to them, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the iPhone 16 Pro Max will have almost exactly the same screen size, length, width, height, and bezel size.

They add that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will of course not have a Dynamic Island, which in their view will make it appear more ‘Ultra’, but that’s subjective.

Of course, neither of these phones are out yet, so even if @UniverseIce is right, we don’t know exactly what screen sizes and dimensions to expect, but leaks give us some idea.

We’ve heard previously that the iPhone 16 Pro Max will have bezels that measure just 1.15mm, and that these will be the smallest bezels on any phone – albeit perhaps not for long if Samsung is taking a similar approach.

We’ve also heard from numerous sources that it will have a 6.9-inch screen, and @UniverseIce has previously claimed that the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s dimensions will be 163.024 x 77.575 x 8.26mm.

We haven’t heard as much about the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, but previous leaks suggest it could have a 6.86-inch or 6.9-inch screen, similar to what we expect from the iPhone 16 Pro Max. So that’s in line with this latest claim.

Most likely a coincidence

So, if @UniverseIce is right, does that mean Samsung is copying Apple, since the iPhone 16 Pro Max is launching first? Probably not. Samsung will have been working on the Galaxy S25 line for quite a while by this point and it’s unlikely that it knew what Apple’s plans were when it started. Plus, similar dimensions aren’t much of a selling point anyway.

Shrinking the bezels simply makes sense, and is something we often see year to year, and screen sizes on phones have gradually been growing too. So, if this leak proves accurate, it’s likely just a coincidence.

As for exactly how big the iPhone 16 Pro Max and its bezels will be, we should find out on September 9, as that’s when the iPhone 16 series is (almost certainly) launching. The Samsung Galaxy S25 series will probably follow a few months later, in or around January.

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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