Samsung Electronics Co. plans to launch an ultrathin version of its Galaxy S25 phone in the first half of this year, beating Apple Inc. to a promising new category.

At first glance, the Galaxy S25 Ultra looks similar to the phone it replaces, but it's slimmer and lighter than the incumbent device. In terms of dimensions, it's very closely matched with Apple's iPhone 16 Pro Max: there are fractions of a millimetre difference between the two, but Samsung is almost 10g lighter.

On paper, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has the iPhone 16 Pro Max's number. The Galaxy S25 Ultra has 200MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, and 50MP telephoto cameras. The iPhone 16 Pro Max only has 48MP wide, 48MP ultrawise, and 12MP telephoto cameras, respectively. The more megapixels often equates to more detailed and higher resolution photos.