Digicam Champions Face Off: iPhone 16 Professional vs. Galaxy S25 Extremely

Whenever you’re on the lookout for the perfect digicam to hold in your pocket, you might want to think about in the present day’s top-tier telephones. The imaging capabilities of the iPhone 16 Professional and Galaxy S25 Extremely are among the many finest cash should buy. And with journey season ramping up, carrying a cellphone would be the most handy digicam. However for photograph particulars how do these two cellular titans evaluate?

To search out out, I shot tons of of images utilizing each telephones in a wide range of circumstances to see which cellphone takes the best-looking pictures. What’s “finest” is usually down to non-public perspective so whereas I will be giving my private tackle every take a look at as an expert photographer and giving my the explanation why I want one over the opposite, you might properly discover that you simply want the opposite. So take a look by way of the vary of examples right here and see in case you come to a unique conclusion. 

Learn extra: Finest Digicam Cellphone of 2025

All pictures proven have been taken utilizing every cellphone’s default digicam mode utilizing default settings, except in any other case acknowledged. Whereas pictures from the Galaxy S25 have been uploaded as taken, the iPhone’s pictures have needed to be transformed by way of Adobe Lightroom as our publishing platform would not help Apple’s default HEIF picture format. This course of would not have an effect on the picture in any manner. 

Prepared? Let’s dive in.

Beginning out with a straightforward out of doors scene. Each telephones have executed a fantastic job capturing a good publicity right here and each pictures are filled with element. It is tough 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 appears to be like too saturated, particularly within the blue sky, which I discover fairly distracting. 

It is a lot the identical story once we swap to the ultrawide lenses on each telephones. I want the hotter tones within the iPhone’s shot, which makes the S25 Extremely’s look fairly chilly by comparability. I additionally want the lighter shadows on the iPhone’s picture, making it a straightforward win for the iPhone right here. Notably, each telephones are doing a great job of compensating for the ultrawide lenses on the edges (a perform 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 huge. 

There’s virtually no distinction between these two out of doors scenes. The blossom appears to be like crisp on each pictures, with wonderful total 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 really appears to be like just like the S25’s digicam lens is barely polarized to cut back reflections and improve saturation, however I do not know if that is the case. Both manner, Samsung takes the win right here.

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

I want 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 want its colours too. The Galaxy S25 Extremely does have the sting in superb element, although. You really want to zoom in to see it however the tiny strains 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 possibly can nonetheless digitally zoom in with the iPhone to 10x, and the outcomes aren’t unhealthy. I want the colours of the S25 Extremely’s shot right here, however the distinction intimately is not that noticeable.

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

iPhone 16 Professional vs. Galaxy S25 Extremely: Night time 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 truthfully, I haven’t got a desire between the hotter tone of the iPhone or the extra magenta bias of the S25. 

Nevertheless, whenever 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 typically the S25 Extremely’s zoom is sharper, different occasions it is the iPhone’s. I am glad they’re making this straightforward for me. 

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

Issues modified once 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 way darker total. 

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 really 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 suitable. 

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 beneath management. On the S25 Extremely’s picture, these highlights are virtually misplaced to pure white however the beautiful inexperienced and yellow tones have been retained within the iPhone’s picture. The colours total are noticeably hotter on the iPhone’s shot, nonetheless, which will not be to your style. Right here, I believe they work properly.

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

Issues do not enhance for the iPhone when utilizing the ultra-wide lens. Its picture is once more affected 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 executed 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 in case you incessantly wish to cram a number of buddies into your group pics. You can in all probability squeeze a minimum of one or two further buddies in in case you used the iPhone, or must resolve who you want least and depart them out of body in case 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 best?

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 executed one which’s felt this shut. The issue is that neither cellphone excels constantly in a single space; the iPhone 16 Professional’s ultra-wide photographs aren’t as shiny because the S25 Extremely’s, besides on these events once they really are, confusingly. I’ve taken many extra pictures not included right here that each help a few of my conclusions and argue in opposition to them. Go determine.

However there are some takeaways I can provide with confidence. Typically talking, the iPhone’s colours are extra pure than the S25 Extremely’s, which may typically look overly saturated. This has been the case with virtually each Samsung cellphone because the firm began placing cameras in them and it is nonetheless the case in the present day. 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 evening, when the iPhone extra constantly delivers hotter tones that look much less pure than the S25 Extremely’s. So, if evening images is essential to you, the S25 Extremely would be the higher possibility. General, its evening mode pictures from all lenses have been brighter and sharper.

Positive, the S25 Extremely has the prolonged zoom vary however you’d really want to know you may benefit from a 10x zoom to justify selecting one over the opposite. Personally, I discover the 5x zoom stage an ideal candy spot and right here the telephones are just about on par. And on these uncommon events you might wish to push issues additional, the iPhone’s digital zoom can nonetheless ship sharp outcomes. 

There are different issues for photographers to contemplate too: Apple’s ProRaw is great and whereas the corporate’s Photographic Types could be good for including a artistic look to your pictures, Samsung’s new instrument for mimicking the colour grade from instance images you feed it really works surprisingly properly — I really assume I’d get extra use out of that total. 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 unattainable. Which one you need to get will as an alternative come all the way down to the larger query of iOS versus Android; which platform you are already utilizing and which one will work finest with different items of tech in your life. However for easy image high quality, you might as properly toss a coin.