Galaxy S25 Ultra: Can the new 50MP Ultra-Wide Camera beat the iPhone and Pixel?
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The biggest camera upgrade in the Galaxy S25 Ultra has got to be the new ultra-wide camera, if only for the reason that all other cameras have remained the same this year.
So the jump to a 50MP ultra-wide camera on the S25 Ultra, up from a 12MP one on the S24 Ultra, definitely stands out.
But is that really an upgrade you should care about? And how much does this change the quality of the ultra-wide photos?
S25 Ultra vs S24 Ultra Ultra-wide camera comparison
We start with a daytime photo in perfect conditions and while the differences are subtle, they are noticeable.
The new S25 Ultra captures a cleaner image and it deals better with the sunlight hitting the lens. On the older S24 Ultra that results in slightly grayish, washed out colors, while the S25 Ultra does much better.
If you pixel peep, you will also notice that the excessive sharpening we see on the S24 Ultra is no longer present on the S25 Ultra. The detail in the S25 Ultra image is a little softer, but in a pleasing way.
Keep in mind that despite having a 50MP ultra-wide camera, the new Galaxy still captures photos in 12MP resolution by default. So it is not that you get more pixels per se, it is the way they are processed.
Also, you really have to look up close, but there is less noise in the skies on the S25 Ultra.
Here is one more daytime photo captured with the new ultra-wide camera. You can definitely see the older phone having slightly washed out colors, and the subtle improvement that comes with this new camera.
New 50MP ultra-wide camera: closer look at noise levels
Indoors, the new 50MP ultra-wide camera benefits from quad-pixel binning and this results in less noise and cleaner detail.
We have cropped the central part of the same photo taken with the S25 Ultra and S24 Ultra (above), so you can see the difference in noise levels easier.
S25 Ultra ultra-wide camera - Night Photos
At night, the main difference we see is the color science and color temperature. The S24 Ultra often captures greenish tones, while the S25 Ultra does a better job with accurate colors and a proper white balance.
This, however, was not always the case and we occasionally saw some mistakes on the S25 Ultra, but it seemed a bit more consistent than the previous model.
Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Pixel 9 Pro XL
We also noticed that the ultra-wide camera on the Galaxy does not go to extremes with exposure. For example, the Pixel 9 Pro XL above captures a photo that looks just too bright and lacks that night time feel, while the Galaxy strikes a much better balance and has a more natural look to it.
Galaxy S25 Ultra vs iPhone 16 Pro Max
Compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, you can definitely see the Galaxy get the white balance better than the iPhone. This is especially noticeable at night when you have plenty of street lamps that can throw off the white balance.
The image above looks way more realistic on the Galaxy than on the iPhone, in our view.
So what do you think about these uprades?
Is the new 50MP ultra-wide camera on the Galaxy S25 Ultra the exciting upgrade you were hoping to see? Do you even use the ultra-wide camera often?
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