TheiPhone 16 Pro Maxand theSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultraare both big phone with big screen , big major power , and big price tags . The cameras are also impressive , but which one of these two archrivals takes better photos ?
I ’ve beenusing the Galaxy S24 Ultra againover the past few weeks and have put it against Apple ’s latest top iPhone to find out . And the results are pretty shocking .
The cameras
Before we count at the phones , countenance ’s look at the numbers behind the cameras , starting with the iPhone 16 Pro Max . There are three camera on the back , starting with the main 48 - megapixel camera with optical range stabilization , which can also take 2x rapid growth photo . It ’s joined by a 12MP telephoto camera for 5x optical zoom photos and a 48MP ultrawide camera with a 120 - degree field of persuasion .
The Galaxy S24 Ultra has four cameras . It ’s led by a main 200MP camera , along with a pair of telephotograph photographic camera — a 10MP photographic camera for a 3x optical zoom and a 50MP periscope zoom for 5x optic guesswork — plus a 12MP ultrawide camera . Unlike previous Galaxy Ultra headphone , the S24 Ultra has “ optical quality ” 10x rapid growth shots , which have test to bejust as good as visual zoom shooter .
For reference , I used the Standard Photographic Style on the iPhone 16 Pro Max for all the photos below , and each phone ’s tv camera was used in auto modality . All the picture were downloaded onto an Apple Mac miniskirt and examined on a colouration - graduate monitor . They have all been resize for friendly online viewing .
Main camera
When using the principal photographic camera , the iPhone 16 Pro Max systematically look at more visually pleasing photos than the S24 Ultra , apart from its farsighted - time issue with exposure on occasion rearing its head . In the first photo of the leafy lane , you’re able to see where it make the camera problem and where the S24 Ultra ’s colors are punchier and more vibrant .
However , as you’re able to see in the 2nd photo of the Aston Martin Valkyrie car , the S24 Ultra ’s eagerness results in racket , which is entirely abstracted from the iPhone ’s pivot - penetrating , more accurately coloured range of a function . Although its exposure can cause issues sometimes , here , it gets it exactly mighty — to the breaker point where I can easily take the Vehicle Identification Number ( VIN ) on the windscreen , which is blurred and scramble in Samsung ’s photo .
The Galaxy S24 Ultra often gets a certain character of pic right , such as the example at the top , but everywhere else , the iPhone improve . The exposure inside the church shows the wondrous tone and heat of the iPhone ’s television camera , rather than the starkness of the S24 Ultra , right down to the people of color of the cushioning on the seats and the wooden beams on the cap .
Take a look at our net photo to see how the iPhone ’s super - sharp focus and depth of area assist it take elaborate , emotional shot , even of the elementary subjects . The foam and bubble on top of the coffee are so sharp , and the astuteness of field of force is exactly right , making for a more naturalistic , attractive photograph than the S24 Ultra ’s photo , which seems less cognizant of its topic .
Winner : Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Ultrawide camera
On paper , the iPhone 16 Pro Max ’s ultrawide camera should easily ameliorate on the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s camera , but in reality , it ’s the opposite . The S24 Ultra ’s ultrawide tv camera shows up the iPhone ’s camera really badly . The first photo of the Ferrari FF was taken indoors in good lighting ( the same environment as the Aston Martin Valkyrie photograph above ) , and the iPhone ’s exposure is full of dissonance and blur , while the Galaxy S24 Ultra avoids most of the same issues to produce a acuate , less blurred image . It ’s not perfect , but it ’s far better than the iPhone ’s photo .
out of doors , thing do n’t improve much for the iPhone 16 Pro Max , but it can still ingrain with its ardent tones . The photograph of the playing area and sky shows the S24 Ultra ’s vivacious colors but overall coldness . However , it has a less noisy foreground and more detail , such as around the fencing post . In the distance , the two cameras introduce some blur and noise .
In the final photo of the church , you may see how much sharper the S24 Ultra ’s ultrawide photograph are , with the stonework on the spire far clearer and less squashy than in the iPhone ’s image . Yes , the S24 Ultra does apply quite a pot of software program enhancement , but it ’s easier to forgive it when the balance and sharpness is right .
achiever : Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
2x zoom and 3x zoom
The two telephone set have different “ shortsighted ” rapid climb , with the iPhone 16 Pro Max offering a 2x optical zoom and the S24 Ultra a 3x optical zoom . you could see illustration of them both here , and we ’ll be judging this category as one rather than two separate categories . The 2x zoom is fairly consistent across both cameras for counterweight and focus , but the iPhone can present some disturbance , while the S24 Ultra ’s picture have a diffused look .
Move on to the 3x soar across the two tv camera , and the iPhone 16 Pro Max ca n’t equalize the S24 Ultra ’s performance . shooting are far noisier and less sharp , while the Samsung sound ’s 3x soar produces excellent exposure with plenty of life and particular . This is to be expected , given Samsung ’s dedicate optical 3x mode .
But because the S24 Ultra ’s 2x mode is n’t awful liken to the iPhone 16 Pro Max ’s 2x shots , it ’s going to win this category for being more various , as you could realistically use both soar on it , but would want to stick with the 2x on the iPhone 16 Pro Max .
5x zoom
Both cameras have 5x ocular rapid growth , and Samsung proceed its run of rapid growth superiority here too . The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a trouble with sharpness and focalize , resulting in grainy , blurry , or noisy double that face bad the more you crop them down . These issues are missing from the S24 Ultra ’s camera , and its photos look groovy at 5x zoom .
Take the wooden Angel Falls as an illustration . Not only are the colours and texture far more realistic in the S24 Ultra ’s picture , but when you crop it down , there ’s item in the wood that the iPhone struggles to capture . The overall sharpness make the profoundness of theater pop more , while the iPhone 16 Pro Max ’s exposure appear flatter .
Photos taken outdoors have like issues , but the iPhone does make headway a few point with in the main more naturalistic colors . Many will like the S24 Ultra ’s fairly saturate colours , which stick around consistent across all lenses . The donkey ’s fur is sharper and more defined in the S24 Ultra ’s photo , and there ’s clearly less noise on the wooden fence station and the red strap . Samsung wins the 5x zoom class , so will it make it three - for - three as we move to the 10x category ?
10x zoom
Neither phone has a 10x ocular zoom , but Samsung does make a point of highlight its visual quality exposure at 10x and does include a shortcut in its camera app . The iPhone does not , and things do take up out quite well .
The horse picture reveals a similar tier of detail , but when you get very close , there ’s far more evidence of software system enhancements in the S24 Ultra ’s exposure , with some haloing seeable along the cavalry ’s back and spike . This glow is not in the iPhone ’s photo at all , give it a more natural appearance .
But the iPhone does not always gain ground here , as see in the next picture of the wooden pub planetary house . The S24 Ultra ’s picture has less noise than the iPhone ’s photo , especially on the green board , and its more active coloring mean the fall leave glow more beautifully .
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is far more consistent when fritter away 10x pic , as the final picture of the car establish . The differences are clear — exact colors , spot - on snowy balance , and no obvious noise . The iPhone ca n’t keep up at 10x zoom .
Night mode
When it came to shooting photos in miserable light , the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s prevue on the phone made me expect the worst , as it did not show a genuinely representative mental image straight after take it . The iPhone did n’t have any such problem , so when I was collecting photos , I feared for the S24 Ultra ’s public presentation . However , the images looked totally dissimilar in the gallery , and at first , the two appear quite evenly matched .
The exterior of the bright lighted pub is a cracking example . The iPhone overexposes in many places while record more detail than the S24 Ultra ’s photos in others . However , in most other areas — the seating and foliage , for case — both cope with the low brightness well . The iPhone ’s photo does have a little more blur , though , and the overexposure hide details , such as in the taphouse ’s signage .
In the photo of the Greenwich Village shop , the iPhone ’s more accurate colours smooth through , and it ’s also less blurry than the S24 Ultra , where the software smooths out a lot of detail , showing both are very sensitive to illume stipulation when taking photos in the dark . The two trade blows like this in all the lowlight images I took , and while the iPhone ’s overexposure often do problems , the S24 Ultra ’s smoothing often did the same .
However , the S24 Ultra was majuscule in hard , harsh lighting conditions . dissipate into the sunset , the S24 Ultra captured the golden glow in the sky , the blue sky , the viridity of the grass , and the view as a whole . The iPhone 16 Pro Max ’s exposure contains so much vestige that it rob it of emotion and detail . The real - world surround was somewhere in between the two , but the S24 Ultra ’s photo is the one I ’d keep or share .
Samsung’s flagship comes out on top
It may total as a cushion to some , but the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra — a phone released at the beginning of the twelvemonth — has taken a triumph in all but one class against the novel Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max . It has by far the superior television camera when you want to take any zoom or ultrawide picture .
It could n’t quite gibe the iPhone 16 Pro Max in the main photographic camera category , though , and I consistently prefer it to the S24 Ultra . Still , it should be noted the iPhone ’s exposure and contrast can still swage the balance of some icon , especially in thought-provoking light . This has affected iPhone cameras for several generation , so it is not unique to the 16 Pro Max .
What ’s very interesting isthatthe iPhone 16 Pro comprehensively quiver the Google Pixel 9 Proin a late trial , rise its top tv camera credentials . Italso showedseveral improvements over the iPhone 15 Pro . The Galaxy S24 Ultra has been a winner from the start by meliorate on its predecessor , beating the Google Pixel 8 Pro , andequaling the performanceof our favorite Android camera speech sound , theXiaomi 14 Ultra .
It may not be the recent on the market , but the Galaxy S24 Ultra continues to take on the very best camera phones and easy holds its own .
