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.

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.

Samsung launched the S25 series which comes in three variants — the S25, S25+ and the S25 Ultra. The S25 starts at $799, the S25+ starts at $999 and the S25 Ultra starts at $1,299. Samsung touted improved artificial intelligence features as it looks to stay competitive against Apple and increasingly-competitive Chinese players.