A few times every year, we get new flagship smartphones that promise to "change our world" or try to help us "reimagine" what a phone is capable of. We've reached a point where just about every launch event is accompanied by a promo video that's been recorded using whatever phone is being announced.
This continued with the Galaxy S25 Ultra despite the only change being an upgraded 50MP ultrawide lens. It also marks the third year that Samsung has relied on the 200MP ISOCELL HP2 as its primary lens. Even still, Samsung's flagship devices are regularly touted as being among the best for mobile photography.
So, with that in mind, we decided to put those claims to the test against the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Pixel 9 Pro. I also included the Galaxy S24 Ultra just to see whether it's really worth upgrading, purely for the cameras.
Before diving in, I want to assure you that all of the pictures you see were taken with the default settings. The images were not manipulated in any way, as to provide as balanced of a comparison as possible.
Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max
Kicking things off, I compared the two phones that will likely dominate the market in 2025: the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The first picture in the gallery makes use of the ultrawide lens from both devices, with the iPhone definitely having a warmer tone.
Besides that, the pictures look fairly similar, capturing the same amount of detail. I have to admit that it was pretty darn cool being able to see the S25 Ultra manage to capture the bird as it was flying in front of me in the top right corner.
In the picture of the birds mostly chilling on the dock, the S25 Ultra again produced a "cooler" image than the iPhone. However, the iPhone's picture is a bit brighter, making it a bit easier to notice a few more details. That being said, there's nothing quite like capturing a bird as it takes off, and it was pure luck that I was able to get this image from the Ultra.
If you can't tell, there's a recurring theme with these phones, with the iPhone producing warmer tones, even if just slightly. Such is the case with the pictures in front of Tudor Hall here in St. Mary's County. There's really not much else to say here other than that I'm pretty happy with both phones so far.
With this image from the Tudor Hall Garden, it was the first time I noticed that the Galaxy S25 Ultra managed a brighter image. It's kind of a difficult picture to process, with the glare from the sunset affecting both phones in some capacity.
The thing about taking pictures on your phone is that they can look pretty good on smaller screens. However, after seeing the iPhone's picture of the sundial, I was surprised to see that it just... doesn't look good. There aren't nearly as many details as the S25 Ultra, which becomes apparent when looking at the hedges surrounding the sundial.
With the last image above, we have another difficult scenario to process. Not only is the sun setting, but the lights from the restaurant are all over the place. When you start trying to pixel-peep, the iPhone actually captures more detail, especially if you look at the "OPEN" sign on the right side of the pictures. However, I'd have to say that the Galaxy S25 Ultra managed to take a picture that better resembled what I was actually seeing.
Last, but not least, the Galaxy S25 Ultra was given a chance to really flex its muscles a bit. Both phones were set to 25x zoom, as that's as far as the iPhone's digital zoom will let you go. Looking at the plaque, the text is legible in the iPhone's picture, but it looks a lot like it was generated by AI. Meanwhile, that's not even close to being the case with the S25 Ultra, as it's obvious that Samsung has the upper hand when it comes to telephoto images.
Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. Pixel 9 Pro
When you're walking around trying to take pictures with four different phones, there's really not much time to analyze what you've captured. At the moment, I didn't realize how similar the pictures are between the Pixel 9 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Even while I was putting together the side-by-side examples, I ended up needing to double-check the pictures just to make sure I wasn't messing anything up.
In fact, a lot of what I said about the iPhone's pictures in the previous section rings true about the Pixel 9 Pro. And that includes the picture of the birds on the dock, as it's brighter than the picture from the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
However, unlike the iPhone, I was actually able to capture the bird spreading its wings before taking off. Considering that both Samsung and Google have had issues with moving subjects, I couldn't be happier to see the improvements made culminating in what we have now.
If you're wondering why a couple of the comparison pictures are different here than the other sections, your guess is as good as mine. When I went back to try and find the pictures on the Pixel, they apparently yeeted themselves from the phone. Thankfully, I took plenty of other pictures to make up for that, but I still don't know what could've happened.
Nevertheless, the Pixel 9 Pro manages to keep up with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, producing images that are both crisp and clean. And while the S25 Ultra looked more "true to life" with the picture of the bar, the Pixel 9 Pro did the same with the image of Duke's.
As for the telephoto digital zoom test, it again was done at 25x in order to keep things the same across all of the devices. That's despite the Pixel 9 Pro and its Super Res Zoom being capable of delivering a 30x digital zoom.
One thing that surprised me about the Pixel 9 Pro is that it managed to make the text on the plaque look both less and more AI-enhanced than the S25 Ultra. There are some artifacts around some of the letters, but the 9 Pro also makes it look like someone went and traced over the words to make them appear bolder. Even still, I was quite impressed with how things turned out, as everything is clear and legible.
Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra
The last phone that I compared the Galaxy S25 Ultra to was its predecessor, the Galaxy S24 Ultra. On paper, the only difference between the two is the former features a 50MP telephoto lens compared to the 10MP sensor on the latter. In theory, that should mean that we end up with pictures that look more similar than the other phones.
And for the most part, that's exactly what we have here. Even in the third image, with both devices using 25x zoom, you'd have a tough time telling them apart if I didn't tell you which picture came from which phone.
If you need any more proof that these phones are using identical hardware, it doesn't get much better than the gallery of images above. With the exception of the sundial, the garden and front of Tudor Hall look practically identical. The differences are even more subtle than I thought they would be, which should make those who decided against upgrading feel good about the decision.
That being said, the super zoom comparison tells a different tale. It was almost like the Galaxy S24 Ultra didn't even try to sharpen the image at all. Instead, it almost feels as though it softened the picture. In fact, the S24 Ultra was the only phone of the four to do this, which definitely surprised me.
For the sake of full disclosure, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is currently running the latest One UI 7 beta. Seeing as the software isn't yet final, there's a non-zero chance that the beta software played a part in how this image was processed.
A sight to behold
Something strange, for me at least, when I was on my way back home. For the first time ever, I actually pulled off to the side of the road to take a picture.
After the weather being quite uncooperative for the past couple of weeks, it was refreshing to have the clouds break and the sun shine through. Add in the fact that the time between sunset and dusk happens to be my favorite time to take pictures, on top of the clouds still clearing out, and it was just one of those "man, the sky looks beautiful moments."
So, I pulled over the car, rolled down the window, and just wanted to see whether any of these phones could recapture what I was seeing.
Out of all four phones that I used after pulling off to the side of the road, I think that the Pixel 9 Pro was the best. There are more details in the clouds, along with more vibrant colors that don't look fake.
While the iPhone seemingly managed to capture more light, the sunset fell victim to Apple's image processing. On the flip side, it's obvious to me that Samsung has made some substantial tweaks to the image tuning with the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
When looking at the two Ultra pictures side-by-side, it just feels like something is off with the S24 Ultra. Again, we might just have to chalk this up to the One UI 7 beta, but we won't be able to know for sure until the final version is released.
Picking a winner
Without burying the lede, I honestly think you couldn't go wrong with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Pixel 9 Pro, or iPhone 16 Pro Max. Unless Samsung manages to work some magic with One UI 7, I don't think the Galaxy S24 Ultra does enough to warrant consideration when it comes to more difficult photos.
However, while I can't pick one device over the other, there is something that helps the Galaxy S25 Ultra stand out. Navigating through Samsung's Camera app is a much easier experience than the others.
Not in terms of just being able to take out your phone and snap a picture. But in actually trying to adjust the zoom, making sure all of your settings are correct, and giving you access to the bucket of tools that Samsung provides. If you just want a point-and-shoot camera, you'll be fine no matter what phone you decide on.
But if you care about more than tapping the shutter button, then Samsung is the clear winner. This might not be the case forever as Google continues to make improvements to its own Camera app. So we'll have to see what the future could bring.
It sure looks like the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the one to beat if you want the best camera experience in a smartphone. But, it's not leaps and bounds ahead of the competition, unlike in previous years.
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