There’s a clear winner in our Galaxy S25 Ultra vs iPhone 16 Pro Max camera test

Would it be right if we didn’t put the latest Samsung Galaxy S series against the latest iPhone in a camera test? We don’t think so, which is why we’ve been out taking photos with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max to see which one has the best camera.

Camera specification

The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera has the same 200-megapixel main camera, 50MP telephoto for 5x optical zoom, and 10MP telephoto for 3x optical zoom as the Galaxy S24 Ultra. What’s new, outside of the processor and software driving it, is a new 50MP wide-angle camera. Samsung has collaborated with Qualcomm on a special Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor and uses plenty of AI in the camera for improved results.

A 48MP main camera heads the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s camera setup, and it’s joined by a 12MP telephoto for a 5x optical zoom, and a 48MP wide-angle camera. Apple’s own A18 Pro processor powers it, and both phones make use of optical image stabilization across the main and telephoto cameras. While it was the 16 Pro Max tested here, the camera is the same as the smaller iPhone 16 Pro, so the results should apply to it too.

Main camera

The main camera is the one you’re going to use the most, and throughout my time taking photos with both, there has been one overriding quality difference between them — sharpness. It comes down in the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s favor, as there’s a continued hint of blur and fuzz in the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s photos.

It’s most noticeable when you crop an image, but as it’s there, the keen-eyed may spot it without getting up close and personal. The photo of the church is a good example, as the stone walls and tiled roof aren’t as pin sharp in the S5 Ultra’s photo, and although I prefer the way it has exposed the shot, the iPhone’s colors are more vibrant and natural.

The iPhone’s main camera also always generates a more pleasing depth of field around its subject, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra keeps more of the scene in focus. I tapped to focus on the hot water bottle sign in this photo, and the iPhone makes it clear this was my intention, while the S25 Ultra does not. I prefer being able to frame a shot like this, and find the S25 Ultra’s photos can be quite “flat.” However, some may prefer the S25 Ultra’s wider focal point.

In a photo taken in a flower shop, you can see the two treat colors in a similar way without oversaturating the scene, but the iPhone’s generally sharper photo with its warmer tone is more pleasing. The two cameras never seem to quite get the white balance right, and both lack consistency here. However, in general, while I’ve liked photos taken with both phones, the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s sharper images are my preference.

Winner: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Wide-angle camera

This is where the Galaxy S25 Ultra needs to shine, as the wide-angle camera is the only hardware difference between it and the S24 Ultra. Compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, it’s definitely an improvement, with richer colors and more accurate exposure, but it’s not perfect and there’s still work to be done.

The wide view of a vineyard shows Samsung has amped up the colors but sensibly used the exposure to not make the scene too unrealistic. The iPhone’s exposure washes the foreground out too much, despite showing a little more detail in the shadows. The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s photo is quite heavy-handed with its smoothing though, but the detail in the far distance is less hazy than the iPhone.

There’s a massive difference in tone too, as you can see in this photo of a bridge over a lake. I don’t hate the iPhone’s treatment of the scene, but it’s far from realistic, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra captures it really well. The S25 Ultra’s smoothing works in its favor, avoiding the harsh pixelation found in the iPhone’s photo when you crop it down, but I’d like to see it toned down in future software updates.

Our final wide-angle photo, taken on the same day as the one above, shows the S25 Ultra’s realism and accurate colors, and the amount of additional detail its photos contain. The trees in the background are in sharp focus, while the iPhone’s background are blurred. It’s the same situation with the water. The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s wide-angle camera easily takes the win here.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Telephoto

The telephoto camera was always the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s thing, but this has slowly changed as other brands have caught up, and Samsung itself abandoned the S-series’ defining 10x optical in favor of a hybrid 10x. The camera provides an array of shortcuts — 2x, 3x, 5x, and 10x — but only 3x and 5x are optical. The iPhone’s camera app shows a 2x, and 5x shortcut, and both are optical zooms.

Let’s talk about the 5x zoom first, as this is where both cameras technically match. Straight away the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s white balance is more accurate, and along with the punchier reds and greens, the photo pops more than the iPhone’s image. Crop it down and there’s more detail and less noise from the S25 Ultra too.

How about 10x? The Galaxy S25 Ultra has the iPhone beaten here too, with less noise (but more smoothing, which may upset some) and sharper focus in its 10x photos, but it’s quite a close thing. You really notice the differences when you examine the photos closely or crop them down. At first glance, the iPhone 16 Pro Max does a very good job at a zoom range it’s not supposed to provide, and it’s still surprisingly usable.

Use the 2x on the iPhone and the 3x on the Galaxy S25 Ultra and not much changes. This lowlight shot shows both handle exposure and tone in a similar way, but there’s a lot more grain in the iPhone’s photo, and the S25 Ultra takes the sharper photo, opposite to how the main cameras performed. The iPhone 16 Pro Max’s telephoto ability is decent, but it can’t match the Samsung phone.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Night mode

Before getting started with the photos, it’s worth mentioning the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s incredibly dark on-screen preview for lowlight images, which makes you think the photo isn’t going to come out. Luckily, it is not representative of the end result. The iPhone’s previews are exactly like the final photo and generally, the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s lowlight photos are warmer than the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s photos, which border on harsh sometimes, as you can see in the first photo.

Both can struggle with noise, which the S25 Ultra compensates for with more smoothing than the iPhone. Neither is preferable, but it can make Samsung’s photos look more polished at a glance. However, when you crop the images down both photos have the same level of detail.

The final photo shows the slight differences between the two cameras in low light, and neither is really better than the other, revealing similar levels of detail, and maintaining basically the same colors and tone. Only marginal exposure changes are visible, which don’t affect the overall look of the photo. Both are very good in low light.

Winner: draw

Photo editing and AI

Both smartphones feature extensive photo editing capabilities. The iPhone’s Photographic Styles are available “live” and can be changed after you’ve taken the photo, but only if you’re saving images in the HEIF format. Samsung’s interpretation is more flexible. A range of filters are available in the editing app, more can be downloaded from the Galaxy Store, and I like the way it has added granular editing using sliders. It’s more intuitive than Apple’s system, and can really change the way a photo looks.

Both use AI to change photos. Apple has its Playground app, while Samsung adds its AI into the Gallery app, and its Sketch to Image feature is a fun addition, where the AI adds an element to a photo based on your own basic sketch. Lightroom is also available for both operating systems, and there aren’t obvious differences in the way they operate, and a subscription is needed to access in-depth features.

Both editing suites are feature-packed and relatively easy to use. It’s simple to change the look of your photos, but the AI features are gimmicks used solely for fun, and I doubt many people will consistently use them.

Winner: draw

The Galaxy S25 Ultra beats the iPhone

The Galaxy S25 Ultra has beaten the iPhone 16 Pro Max in our camera comparison, despite losing in the critical main camera category. This causes some problems, as the main camera is likely the one everyone will use the most, and therefore the quality here will be most important. I’m not taking anything away from the Galaxy S25 Ultra, as it’s obvious it has the superior wide-angle and telephoto cameras, but if you rarely use either of them, the iPhone 16 Pro Max may be the better choice.

However, taken as an overall camera system — which is what this test is about — the Galaxy S25 Ultra is more versatile, and goes on to equal the iPhone 16 Pro Max in every other category. It’s a worthy winner.