Xiaomi 15 Ultra vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Sample photos comparison!
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is here to put the Galaxy S25 Ultra's top spot in our PhoneArena Camera Score tier list!
Here are the camera specs of these two, summarized for brevity:
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As we just explored in our dedicated Xiaomi 15 Ultra Camera Score article, the two phones are currently tied for the top spot in our rankings. That's because the newcomer packs a pretty impressive camera setup with a 50MP main camera featuring a large 1-inch sensor as well as a massive 200MP periscope with 4.3X optical zoom.
Samsung's Galaxies have held the top spots on our custom camera test for a while now, striking the perfect balance between high still photography and video-recording capabilities. However, as it usually happens, an adept challenger appears, and this year, the Galaxy S25 Ultra undisputed reign was ended fairly quickly by this here major rival.
Here are the camera specs of these two, summarized for brevity:
| Xiaomi 15 Ultra | Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra |
|---|---|
Main camera 50MP F1.63 23mm OIS, Laser Sony LYT-900 Sensor size: 1-inch 3.2μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel | Main camera 200MP F1.7 24mm PDAF, Laser, OIS Samsung ISOCELL HP2 Sensor size: 1/1.3" 0.6µm New ProVisual Engine |
Telephoto camera 50MP F1.8 70mm (3.0X optical zoom) OIS Sony IMX858 Telemacro photography | Telephoto camera 10MP F2.4 67mm (3.0X optical zoom) OIS, PDAF Sony IMX754 Sensor size: 1/3.52" 1.12µm |
Periscope 200MP F2.6 100mm (4.3X optical zoom) OIS HP9 2.24µm pixels | Periscope 50MP F3.4 111mm (5.0X optical zoom) OIS, PDAF Sony IMX854 Sensor size: 1/2.52", 0.7µm |
Ultrawide camera 50MP F2.2 14mm (23º FOV) ISOCELL JN5 sensor 1.28µm pixels | Ultrawide camera 50MP, F1.9, 13mm, 120º FoV ISOCELL S5KJN3 |
Front-facing camera 32MP F2.0 21mm (90º FOV) HDR, Portrait mode | Front-facing camera 12MP F2.2 HDR, Portrait mode |
But enough with the boring specs, what's the difference in quality between the two? Let's take a look at some samples and see for ourselves!
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Main camera
Main camera - Low light
Portraits
Ultrawide
Zoom
Selfies
Connclusion
Well, as a conclusion, we'd say that the Galaxy S25 Ultra might have the upper hand in some scenarios, while the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is stronger in zooming. Both are excellent cameraphones though, and you can't go wrong with either.
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra camera is definitely the more feature-rich one, full of features, functionalities, and customization not seen on the Galaxy, which takes the iPhone approach and boasts a more simple interface that doesn't get in the way.
The main reason why the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is so impressive is the large 1-inch sensor behind the main camera. You still can't beat physics with any software or AI trickeries, and the benefits of a large sensor greatly outweigh most post-processing algorithms. A larger sensor, for example, is very useful in low-light conditions, where it simply soaks in more light. It also can deliver superior dynamic range.
Another area in which the Xiaomi triumphs is in the zoom department. The phone boasts a 200MP sensor with 4.3X optical zoom in front of it, which might sound not that impressive when compared to phones with longer optical zooms.
However, this higher-res sensor can greatly help with cropping: as soon as you step away from the optical zoom range, you get superiour lossless image quality that utilizes the resolution of the sensor. So, essentially you're digitally zooming past a certain point.
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