In the realm of the ultra-premium smartphone segment, Samsung’s Galaxy S-series and Apple’s iPhone Pro models take centre stage. The latest offerings in this league are the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, both aiming to provide peak smartphone performance. But which one offers better smartphone photography? This Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs iPhone 15 Pro Max camera comparison aims to answer just that. We put the smartphones’ camera modes across various scenarios to test. Before we get to the results, here’s a glance at their camera hardware.
| Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra | iPhone 15 Pro Max |
| 200MP primary camera | 48MP primary camera |
| 12MP ultra-wide camera | 12MP ultra-wide camera |
| 10MP and 50MP telephoto lens with 3x and 5x optical zoom respectively | 12MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom |
| 12MP selfie camera | 12MP selfie camera |
Table of Contents
Daylight
These daylight shots have been captured by the 200MP and 48MP primary cameras of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max respectively. Both phones use pixel-binning technology, a process that merges pixels to produce images at a lower resolution. The resolution was set at 12MP for both smartphones to keep things balanced. The results look pretty much equal, at least in terms of quality. You get sharp images from both smartphones, with intricate details even around shadowy areas, good contrast level, and remarkable dynamic range.
However, they seem to have different colour profiles. The iPhone 15 Pro Max produces slightly brighter results, with warmer tones, whereas the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra leans towards cooler tones. This gives Samsung smartphones a slight edge, handling details around the brightest part of the images. If you check out the images above, a noticeable sharpness is evident in the Samsung image where the sun is casting its light, in contrast to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Ultrawide
A similar observation can be made in the ultrawide shots from both smartphones. However, I found the ultra-wide image from the iPhone 15 Pro Max more appealing due to its vibrant colours, even though the detail on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s shot were relatively better. Both phones utilise a 12MP ultra-wide snapper with a 120-degree field of view (FoV). That said, neither the iPhone 15 Pro Max nor the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra could keep the distortion around the edges of the frame down.
Winner: iPhone 15 Pro Max
Telephoto 5x
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max both offer up to 5x optical zoom. However, for 5x zoom, the Samsung smartphone switches to its 50MP telephoto lens, whereas the iPhone relies on a smaller 12MP sensor. The details look good on both smartphones, and the colour reproduction on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is closer to reality. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, in contrast, tends to slightly oversaturate colours but compensates with better dynamic range, and sharper and clearer images.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Telephoto 25x
The image quality takes a dip here on both smartphones. While the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra offers up to 100x digital zoom, we decided to test its performance at 25x, which is the maximum zooming capability on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The latter is consistent with its colours, but at this level of zoom, details and sharpness suffer, and noise becomes noticeable even in well-lit areas. On the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, a colour shift can be observed, which looks a bit more oversaturated. However, the images appear sharper compared to those captured by the iPhone with minimal noise.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Macro
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra excels in capturing superior macro shots compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. While the smartphone tends to oversharpen the image, the result is visually pleasing, allowing observers to appreciate intricate details achievable only through close-up shots. In contrast, the iPhone 15 Pro Max produces slightly hazy macro shots. While accurate in terms of colours, the level of detailing is somewhat underwhelming.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Portrait
With either smartphone, you will get flawless portraits of human subjects. Yet, the iPhone 15 Pro Max portraits show better edge detection and more accurate skin tones and colours. In the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra shot above, you may notice fine hair strands appear distorted, likely influenced by its smartphone’s cooler tones. Other than that, the details and bokeh effect are equally good.
Winner: iPhone 15 Pro Max
Selfies
Again you will find the iPhone 15 Pro Max keeping the results more natural compared to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. That being said, the Samsung smartphone doesn’t retain the same cooler tone on the front camera as observed in the primary cameras. While both smartphones exhibit impressive facial detailing, the skin tone looks slightly washed out on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Winner: iPhone 15 Pro Max
Selfie portraits
The selfie portraits retain the same characteristics as the regular selfies on both smartphones. There is no general shift in the facial details and skin tones when switching to portraits. However, I did notice the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra doing a better job with edge detection than the iPhone, even though the latter has an advantage in terms of detail levels.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Lowlight
The low-light shots were captured using the primary cameras of both smartphones, with the image resolution capped at 12MP. The distinction in colour profiles between the two devices is more apparent in this scenario. The iPhone 15 Pro Max maintains a closer-to-reality colour representation, while the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra exhibits a bluish tint across the frame. Nevertheless, the Samsung image displays superior details compared to its counterpart, and, akin to daylight shots, effectively manages light flare. For this reason, we are giving this round to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Night mode
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra night mode shots look even more impressive than the regular lowlight shots. While the iPhone 15 Pro Max also improves with long exposure shots in night mode, it doesn’t quite match the performance of its counterpart. Despite the cooler tones in the Samsung smartphone’s night mode, it delivers cleaner images with respectable sharpness and details.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Lowlight selfies
The low-light selfies from either smartphone are not particularly impressive, as both involve some degree of skin smoothening. While the iPhone 15 Pro Max produces natural colours and slightly better details, the skin tones appear paler compared to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Consequently, the lowlight selfie from the Samsung smartphone appears more visually appealing. The front camera on the Samsung smartphone also effectively manages the light flare well.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a clear winner here, securing victory in eight out of eleven rounds. However, it is not without its nuances. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra stands out for capturing high-quality details and offering impressive zoom shots. However, it leans towards oversaturating colours, which shouldn’t be a concern if you are aiming for Insta-worthy shots. The iPhone 15 Pro Max, on the other hand, produces more accurate shots and shines in portrait and selfie scenarios, but overexposes the shot. As a result, the quality looks a tad underwhelming in comparison to its arch-rival.
Hence, choosing between them ultimately depends on individual preferences and specific photography priorities.
