If you bounce between Apple and Samsung (like half the U.S. tech world), this one’s for you. I put the iPhone 17 Pro up against Samsung’s Z Fold 7 and S25 Ultra, covering design, day-and-night cameras, real-world performance, battery, and everyday usability. Spoiler: each phone lands solid punches—but not always where you’d expect.
Design & in-hand feel
Side by side, all three look premium, full stop. Apple stretches a camera bar across the back of the 17 Pro; Samsung keeps the familiar trio of circles on the Ultra and a stacked column on Fold. The Fold’s hinge makes it look chunkier, but a quick “level test” (resting a level across both phones) showed an interesting twist: with the camera humps out of the equation, Z Fold 7 came off slightly thinner than iPhone 17 Pro; add camera stacks back in and the Fold becomes the thiccc boi. Weight-wise, 17 Pro feels the most svelte in the pocket; S25 Ultra, being a big slab, feels every millimeter.
Button layouts matter more than we admit. Apple splits controls—Action + volume on one side, power + camera key on the other—while Samsung clusters power/volume together. If you swap platforms often, your thumbs will need a week to re-learn muscle memory. Also, corners: Apple is rounder this year; Samsung keeps its squared shoulders. My palms prefer Apple’s softened edges; your mileage may vary.
Displays, layouts & quality-of-life
On a lock screen, Apple’s 3D “over/under” clock effect is still the cleanest trick in town. Once unlocked, both platforms now do widgets, stacks, and customizable controls. Samsung still gives you more freedom to size and place folders, sprinkle empty grid space, and tune quick settings; iOS counters with gorgeous “liquid glass” animations and tighter coherence.
Brightness outdoors? All three punch hard in sunlight. Foldables used to be glare magnets; with a proper screen protector, Z Fold 7 stays highly usable. And yes, you can just tap the Fold’s side fingerprint/power key and you’re straight in—no swipe. Small win, big daily feel.
The camera face-off (day, night, and zoom)
Daylight, standard lens. Z Fold 7 carries a 200 MP main; iPhone 17 Pro runs 48 MP across its trio; S25 Ultra brings the usual “everything and the kitchen sink.” In wide shots with complex detail (grass, bark, bricks), the iPhone often looks cleaner at a glance—crisp micro-contrast and balanced HDR. Crop deep and the Fold can sometimes claw back detail thanks to that huge sensor, but it doesn’t consistently look sharper in whole-image viewing.
Mid zoom (4–10x). Apple’s 4x tele this year is the surprise hero. At 4x and 10x, signage edges, roof tiles, and window lines stayed better defined on the 17 Pro than on the Fold’s 10 MP tele. The S25 Ultra’s 10x dedicated optic does well but still doesn’t look as clean as Apple’s 48 MP tele pipeline in several shots. Color science? Samsung leans warmer or more saturated depending on scene; Apple’s a touch bright but keeps edges tidy.
Long zoom (20–40x). Nobody buys a phone for 40x, but we tested anyway. iPhone remains the most pleasant at 40x—with fewer AI squiggles—while the Fold softens. The Ultra can reach farther, of course, but “reach” isn’t the same as “usable.” Count this category closer than spec sheets suggest.
Night shots. On a backyard portrait under warm lights, Pixel-peepers will see 17 Pro stay bright and clean; Z Fold 7 darkens more, with less micro-detail; S25 Ultra usually splits the difference. Street scenes showed Apple keeping blinds, bricks, and tree needles a bit tidier at identical focal lengths, while Samsung sometimes added flare or mush in deep shadows. Bottom line: 17 Pro is the safer pick after dark; Ultra improves on Fold but doesn’t outshine Apple consistently.
Video & microphones
Walking shots at 4K look steady across all three; transitions from shade to sun are smooth. Mic behavior differs: sometimes Samsung grabs more ambience, Apple tends to prioritize voice clarity. You can tune this in post either way; out-of-camera I’d pick 17 Pro for a “shoot and send” clip and Samsung if you plan to sweeten in editing.
Real-world performance (rendering test, not synthetic scores)
Benchmarks are fun; exports pay the bills. I used the same 4K clip and exported from InShot on all devices, matching settings (the iPhone compresses more by design, so the MB target was smaller there). Results were…spicy:
- Z Fold 7 finished first.
- S25 Ultra was a close second.
- Honor Magic V5 (my wild card) followed shortly.
- iPhone 17 Pro came in last—over twice the Z Fold’s time on this run.
Before the pitchforks: background apps were closed; this was the same footage, same timeline. Apple used to dominate creator exports; modern Android silicon with aggressive thermal envelopes and AI assist is flying right now. If rendering time matters to you, Samsung has an edge.
Battery life
- iPhone 17 Pro: the efficiency king. Smaller pack, bigger endurance. I routinely finished with ~70% in my use.
- S25 Ultra: big battery, strong finisher (~60% left for me).
- Z Fold 7: the price of two displays—expect to plug in nightly (~30% by bedtime). If you live in split-screen, carry a charger.
Entertainment & speakers
YouTube on the Fold’s outer screen already feels roomier; open it up and it’s a mini-tablet. Landscape or portrait, the Fold’s speaker separation is excellent because they’re on opposite sides of that big canvas. Volume? S25 Ultra is the loudest; iPhone 17 Pro is close, with the most balanced tonality; the Fold does well considering its skinny chassis.
Multitasking and “living with it”
This is where the Fold flexes—literally. Split screen on the cover display, floating windows inside, app pairs on a sidebar, and quick drag-overs make messaging while browsing dead simple. Apple’s single-app focus is elegant, but when you actually work on your phone, Samsung’s multitasking is a quality-of-life upgrade.
So…which should you buy?
Pick iPhone 17 Pro if you want:
- Consistently clean photos (especially at night and mid-zoom)
- The best battery efficiency here
- Refined haptics, UI polish, and that new telephoto that punches above its spec
Pick S25 Ultra if you want:
- A big canvas without folding, the loudest speakers, and “everything” cameras
- Excellent all-day battery with Samsung’s customization power
Pick Z Fold 7 if you want:
- Real multitasking, a pocketable tablet for video and productivity, and shockingly fast 4K exports
- A unique experience you simply can’t get from a slab—period
If you’re a creator or power user, Samsung’s speed and split-screen superpowers may sway you. If you value camera reliability in tough light and unbeatable battery, the iPhone 17 Pro is still a rock. And if you’ve ever wanted to replace “phone + iPad” with one device, the Fold makes a compelling case. Your move.