Digital camera Champions Face Off: iPhone 16 Professional vs. Galaxy S25 Extremely Leave a comment

While you’re on the lookout for the perfect digicam to hold in your pocket, it’s essential to think about at this time’s top-tier telephones. The imaging capabilities of the iPhone 16 Professional and Galaxy S25 Extremely are among the many greatest cash should buy. And with journey season ramping up, carrying a telephone stands out as the most handy digicam. However for photograph particulars how do these two cellular titans examine?

To search out out, I shot tons of of photographs utilizing each telephones in a wide range of circumstances to see which telephone takes the best-looking pictures. What’s “greatest” is commonly down to private perspective so whereas I will be giving my private tackle every check as an expert photographer and giving my the reason why I favor one over the opposite, you could properly discover that you just favor the opposite. So take a look by means of the vary of examples right here and see should you come to a distinct conclusion. 

Learn extra: Finest Digital camera Cellphone of 2025

All pictures proven have been taken utilizing every telephone’s default digicam mode utilizing default settings, until in any other case said. Whereas pictures from the Galaxy S25 have been uploaded as taken, the iPhone’s pictures have needed to be transformed by means of Adobe Lightroom as our publishing platform does not assist Apple’s default HEIF picture format. This course of does not have an effect on the picture in any method. 

Prepared? Let’s dive in.

Beginning out with a straightforward out of doors scene. Each telephones have carried out an important job capturing an excellent publicity right here and each pictures are full of element. It is troublesome to decide on between them, however the iPhone has the sting for me because it’s achieved a barely hotter picture with extra natural-looking tones. The S25 Extremely’s picture seems too saturated, particularly within the blue sky, which I discover fairly distracting. 

It is a lot the identical story once we change to the ultrawide lenses on each telephones. I favor the hotter tones within the iPhone’s shot, which makes the S25 Extremely’s look fairly chilly by comparability. I additionally favor the lighter shadows on the iPhone’s picture, making it a straightforward win for the iPhone right here. Notably, each telephones are doing job of compensating for the ultrawide lenses on the edges (a operate turned on by default on each telephones); the railing stays straight in every shot and never curving as you’d usually see utilizing a lens this large. 

There’s virtually no distinction between these two out of doors scenes. The blossom seems crisp on each pictures, with glorious general publicity. The iPhone’s picture is once more barely hotter in tone but it surely’s negligible.

The Galaxy S25 takes a straightforward win with this picture of bluebells. The colours are far more vibrant, particularly within the greens on the blades of grass, which look fairly washed out on the iPhone’s picture. It truly seems just like the S25’s digicam lens is barely polarized to cut back reflections and enhance saturation, however I do not know if that is the case. Both method, Samsung takes the win right here.

At 5x zoom issues worsen for the iPhone. Regardless of the bluebells being moderately distant, the telephone appeared unable to realize a pointy deal with the flowers. The S25 Extremely, in the meantime, managed to realize a pointy picture with richer colours. 

I favor the iPhone’s picture right here although. It is brighter and the hotter colours on the bricks on the encircling buildings look far more true to life. 

The iPhone’s picture is once more brighter right here and I favor its colours too. The Galaxy S25 Extremely does have the sting in wonderful element, although. You really want to zoom in to see it however the tiny traces on the constructing are barely sharper on the S25. 

The S25 Extremely does have a bodily benefit over the iPhone with its 10x optical zoom lens, which permits it to zoom in even additional whereas nonetheless sustaining a pin-sharp picture. 

You may nonetheless digitally zoom in with the iPhone to 10x, and the outcomes aren’t dangerous. I favor the colours of the S25 Extremely’s shot right here, however the distinction intimately is not that noticeable.

Zooming in near see the wonderful particulars, the S25 Extremely’s optical zoom picture undoubtedly has a bit extra readability however the digital upscaling on the iPhone’s shot has carried out an important job right here, because the distinction is not immense.

iPhone 16 Professional vs. Galaxy S25 Extremely: Evening modes in contrast

At first look, the one actual distinction between the iPhone’s 5x shot and the S25 Extremely’s 5x shot is the colour steadiness. And actually, I haven’t got a choice between the hotter tone of the iPhone or the extra magenta bias of the S25. 

Nevertheless, once you zoom in near the main points, the iPhone has produced a sharper picture right here, with an odd form of digital blurring across the lamp submit within the S25 Extremely’s picture. So generally the S25 Extremely’s zoom is sharper, different instances it is the iPhone’s. I am glad they’re making this simple for me. 

Once more, the one actual distinction right here is within the shade steadiness and I do not actually know which I favor. The publicity, noise ranges and quantity of element are virtually similar. 

Issues modified after I switched to the ultrawide lenses, although. The S25 Extremely’s shot is unquestionably brighter, capturing extra element within the cobblestones within the foreground and within the buildings within the distance. The iPhone’s picture is far darker general. 

Simply to confuse issues additional, the iPhone’s nighttime picture with its ultrawide lens is noticeably brighter than the S25 Extremely’s on this instance that I shot within the Arctic. I truly needed to double-check the picture metadata to ensure I hadn’t blended these up, however I have never. The iPhone’s picture has captured extra gentle info right here and produced extra element on the ice door to the best. 

The iPhone’s nighttime picture is once more barely brighter right here but it surely’s additionally saved the brilliant highlights on the pub signal below management. On the S25 Extremely’s picture, these highlights are virtually misplaced to pure white however the pretty inexperienced and yellow tones have been retained within the iPhone’s picture. The colours general are noticeably hotter on the iPhone’s shot, nonetheless, which will not be to your style. Right here, I feel they work properly.

However on this instance, the iPhone has produced a weirdly warm-looking picture that I actually don’t love. These heat colours weren’t current on the time of seize and it does not work for the scene, particularly not with such robust orange tones within the sky. The S25 Extremely’s picture is far more balanced general and it is a barely sharper picture too. It is a very simple win for Samsung right here.

Issues do not enhance for the iPhone when utilizing the ultra-wide lens. Its picture is once more stricken by overly heat tones, whereas the S25 Extremely’s shot is each extra color-accurate and brighter. 

iPhone 16 Professional vs. Galaxy S25 Extremely: Which takes higher selfies?

Whereas the Galaxy S25 Extremely’s selfie is barely brighter, I do not like what it is carried out with the colours. My face has been made a bizarre shade of orange and my denim jacket is a a lot deeper blue than it truly is. The pores and skin tones on the iPhone’s shot are far more correct, and its shot is sharper as properly.

Each telephones have a wider-angle mode for the selfie digicam, though the iPhone’s appears to be rather a lot wider. That is undoubtedly price preserving in thoughts should you regularly wish to cram a lot of mates into your group pics. You may in all probability squeeze at the least one or two further mates in should you used the iPhone, or need to resolve who you want least and depart them out of body should you used the S25 Extremely. In any other case, the picture variations are the identical as earlier than. 

iPhone 16 Professional Vs Galaxy S25 Extremely: Which digicam is healthier?

I’ve written many of those comparability items on varied generations of telephones in my 14 years at CNET and I do not keep in mind having carried out one which’s felt this shut. The issue is that neither telephone excels persistently in a single space; the iPhone 16 Professional’s ultra-wide pictures aren’t as vivid because the S25 Extremely’s, besides on these events after they truly are, confusingly. I’ve taken many extra pictures not included right here that each assist a few of my conclusions and argue in opposition to them. Go determine.

However there are some takeaways I can provide with confidence. Usually talking, the iPhone’s colours are extra pure than the S25 Extremely’s, which may generally look overly saturated. This has been the case with virtually each Samsung telephone because the firm began placing cameras in them and it is nonetheless the case at this time. These on the lookout for a extra pure base picture to use your individual filters and results over will likely be higher suited with the iPhone 16 Professional.

However that is much less the case at night time, when the iPhone extra persistently delivers hotter tones that look much less pure than the S25 Extremely’s. So, if night time pictures is necessary to you, the S25 Extremely stands out as the higher possibility. Total, its night time mode pictures from all lenses have been brighter and sharper.

Certain, the S25 Extremely has the prolonged zoom vary however you’d actually need to know you will take advantage of a 10x zoom to justify choosing one over the opposite. Personally, I discover the 5x zoom degree an ideal candy spot and right here the telephones are just about on par. And on these uncommon events you could need to push issues additional, the iPhone’s digital zoom can nonetheless ship sharp outcomes. 

There are different issues for photographers to think about too: Apple’s ProRaw is great and whereas the corporate’s Photographic Kinds will be good for including a artistic look to your pictures, Samsung’s new device for mimicking the colour grade from instance photographs you feed it really works surprisingly properly — I truly assume I’d get extra use out of that general. I have never even gone into video high quality both, which is an entire different article, particularly when you think about each telephones shoot Log video, though solely the iPhone makes use of ProRes. 

Deciding between the telephones primarily based solely on the cameras is nigh on inconceivable. Which one it is best to get will as a substitute come all the way down to the larger query of iOS versus Android; which platform you are already utilizing and which one will work greatest with different items of tech in your life. However for easy image high quality, you could as properly toss a coin.