Apple & Samsung Are Going Their Separate Ways — Big Design Shake-Up Coming

A well-known tipster has decided to talk about the upcoming flagship smartphones from Apple and Samsung. He talked briefly about the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, while focusing on their designs, as the design divide is upon us.

New tip mentions design divide of Samsung’s and Apple’s upcoming flagships

The information comes from Ice Universe, a well-known tipster. He said that while the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra “are the closest at the moment [in terms of the design]”, the other two upcoming devices will change that up.

He said that the current-gen models have very similar height, width and thickness, but that the upcoming two devices will mark the “beginning of two completely different designs”.

He claims that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will be 8.76mm thick, while the thickness of the Galaxy S26 Ultra will be reduced to 7.Xmm. He also said that the weight difference between the two phones will be even greater.

Currently, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is about 5 grams heavier than the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The tipster says that the weight difference will be even greater, but we don’t know which phone will be heavier.

The weight difference will increase, we’re just not sure which one will be lighter

Considering that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 will get a massive weight reduction, perhaps the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will too? We’ll have to wait and see, but do expect a greater weight difference between the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Apple’s new flagship will arrive first, of course. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is expected to drop in September. The Galaxy S26 Ultra will likely follow in January next year, well, at least if we’re looking at release cycles of current-gen models. There’s a chance things will change a bit, of course, as nothing is set in stone just yet.