Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Android Camera Battle

Smartphone cameras carry plenty of accountability. They have to robotically make nice photographs in any state of affairs at a second’s discover. They’re restricted by the physics of small lenses, small sensors and less-than-ideal ergonomics. The images they create must be able to share instantly, with no expectation that the pictures will probably be edited and refined later.

Many telephones hit a couple of of these targets, however a small quantity try to be one of the best smartphone cameras you may pocket. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is one which we have beforehand pitted in opposition to the iPhone 16 Pro, and now it is time to see how that Android cellphone fares in opposition to its latest competitors, Google’s Pixel 10 Pro XL.

I took each telephones to Seattle and close by Mukilteo, Washington, to match how every carried out. Over lots of of images, I saved the digicam settings as near the defaults as potential, sometimes switching between the 12-megapixel taking pictures modes and the high-res 50-megapixel modes the place out there.

Because we’re speaking about pictures, my private preferences as to that are the “best” images may not be those you select, and that is nice. With both digicam, you are going to get good images. But when you’re available in the market for a brand new cellphone and pondering which high-end digicam system is for you, otherwise you wish to try the present cutting-edge for Android cameras, observe alongside.

And for much more Pixel 10 Pro XL images, make sure you observe together with CNET’s Andrew Lanxon on his first-look picture stroll by means of Paris.

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Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Overall efficiency

I wandered round Pike Place Market, a haven for native shopkeepers and scores of late-summer vacationers, the place snapping smartphone photos is a part of the material of the expertise. This nook — a bend in a stairway — is one in all my favourite spots on the market within the morning when mild comes by means of the window. Both cameras have achieved job balancing the publicity between the intense day exterior the window and the combination of brilliant daylight and shadowy corners on the within. Of the 2, I choose the Pixel 10 Pro XL as a result of it is a bit hotter.

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Seattle is thought extra for its clouds than its sunny days, so when the sky is blue, the intense mild can really feel harsh. Here, the S25 Ultra picture pops extra by lightening the shadow areas of the automobile, however virtually an excessive amount of. The Pixel 10 Pro XL picture appears to be like extra pure, though the automobile is darker.

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Just down the road, although, the distinction between the cameras swings within the different path. The Pixel 10 Pro XL brings out all the colourful colours of the flowers, the orange awnings and the intense pink umbrellas. The S25 Ultra’s shot is extra muted. I could not inform if maybe a few of the daylight was hitting the lens from the aspect and inflicting that washed-out look. Both cameras nonetheless did a nice job of retaining particulars within the shadows, although.

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Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Zoom high quality

To be sincere, zooming a lot previous 10x on a cellphone all the time appeared like a futile gesture to me. Pushing previous the optical vary of the telephoto digicam (5x on each cameras) places you into digital zooming territory, the place the digicam upscales a small portion of the sensor so it fills the body. Although digital upscaling has improved lately, whenever you get previous 20x or so, images are likely to develop into a large number of fuzzy enlarged pixels — it is not often value it.

Google determined to take a unique method to excessive zooming on the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL. Up to 30x zoom, it makes use of Google’s Super Res Zoom expertise to upscale and sharpen the outcomes, which typically prove nicely.

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In the acute vary from 30x to 100x, although, the Pixel 10 Pro makes use of generative AI to rebuild the picture primarily based on the unique seize. It takes a couple of seconds for the processing to occur, and it is all achieved on-device, not with help from cloud sources. The outcomes will be spectacular, notably for static topics like buildings or landscapes. But whenever you view them with any scrutiny, it is virtually all the time apparent that the picture has been handled with AI, with a flat, angular look — and it would not deal with most textual content in a photograph in any respect. But that is additionally me scrutinizing the picture; it will not look good printed or seen on a big display, nevertheless it comes throughout completely nice on a cellphone display.

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The Pixel 10 Pro retains each variations of the picture: The authentic seize and the AI-generated one.

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Google says that if the digicam detects individuals in a Pro Res Zoom picture, it will not try to make use of generative AI on them — it might simply create an individual that appears nothing just like the precise individual within the picture. When that occurs, you may inform: In this shot, the sailboat has been rendered (full with a nonsensical guess about lettering on the sail), however the individuals on board are sharpened however nonetheless fuzzy.

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The Galaxy S25 Ultra pictures at 100x are additionally a sizzling mess, however to be sincere, not as dangerous as I anticipated. They’re closely processed to compensate for the upscaling, however… not horrible? I really feel like I’m giving the S25 Ultra a “good job, buddy!” for displaying up and never face-planting when, in actual fact, the images are objectively not nice, however they’re higher than I anticipated.

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Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Low-light conditions

Pike Place Market is a maze of ranges and lengthy, shop-lined corridors and alleys that do not get plenty of direct mild. The infamous Gum Wall — sure, an alleyway the place individuals stick used gum on the brick partitions — is darkish at one finish and brighter on the different relying on the solar’s place within the sky. Neither cellphone fell again into its respective night time mode, and each made acceptable pictures within the midst of plenty of colour and texture. Here once more, I give the sting to the Pixel 10 Pro XL for its heat and brighter general tone. However, in each pictures, the small print on the wall undergo — observe the pixelated “Extra” wrapper at high left. My apologies when you’ve simply misplaced your urge for food; a minimum of images do not embrace the precise aroma of an alley full of 1000’s of fruity gum globs.

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Speaking of colours and textures, this barbershop in a muted hallway lit by what look to be fluorescent ceiling bulbs and a outstanding ring mild is one other instance of every digicam taking a mixed-light state of affairs and making publicity. I give the sting to the Pixel 10 Pro as a result of the neon Open signal hasn’t been became a flat pink, as within the S25 Ultra picture.

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Leaving the bustle of downtown Seattle for the seashore close to the Mukilteo Lighthouse about half an hour north, this seashore at sundown appears to be like significantly better utilizing the ultrawide digicam on the Pixel 10 Pro XL in contrast with the ultrawide on the S25 Ultra. And on this case, I am unable to say that both image impresses. The S25 Ultra shot is nearly too darkish, whereas the Pixel 10 Pro XL picture is just too brilliant, and the bro on the sting would not survive the wide-angle fringe of the body too nicely.

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But what about partaking the precise night time modes? Here, again in Seattle, this guardian troll by Danish artist Thomas Dambo at the National Nordic Museum retains a lot of detail on the Pixel 10 Pro XL, while the S25 Ultra photo comes out a little soft and saturated. (The lights inside the museum change color, hence the blue versus purple hues behind it.) Advantage Pixel.

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And for a true night test, I put both phones on a tripod to capture this section of Shilshole Marina. Once more, the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s Night Sight mode does a better job of getting a balanced exposure that mixes the artificial lights in the foreground and the darkness of the sky with some stars peeking through. The S25 Ultra looks like it’s throwing as much processing at the image as possible, making the brighter areas look overexposed and introducing a lot of noise in the sky.

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Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Portrait modes

One of the improvements Google is touting for the Pixel 10 Pro is in the quality of portrait mode photos, specifically high-res 50-megapixel shots.

In this indoor cafe with screened window light, the Pixel 10 Pro XL is really trying to contain the flyaway wisps of hair, but it’s made them ghostly and more evident instead. Everything else about the photo looks good, from the colors to the soft background — in fact, the hair at her shoulders shows better separation than on top of her head.

On the other hand, the S25 Ultra’s Portrait mode photo has made the top hairs nicely distinct, but the falloff at her shoulders and the general smudge of background make the depth of field in this photo more obviously synthetic. Also, once again, I prefer the tone and warmer temperature of the Pixel photo.

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Outside, the S25 Ultra’s Portrait mode is improved, with more natural blurred areas — note the hair over the subject’s left shoulder that’s slightly blurry but not as soft as the foliage in the background. The flyaway hairs at the top of their head also look natural. The high-resolution Portrait mode version from the Pixel 10 Pro looks entirely natural to my eye, with a soft background and all of their curly hair in focus. Once again, I prefer the Pixel’s version, but they both look good. (Although I probably should have tried Camera Coach to compose the portraits better in the frame without so much space above their head.)

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Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Which is the better camera?

I’ve certainly come down on the side of the Pixel 10 Pro XL for most of these photos, largely due to the warmer white balance and better color fidelity. But as you can see, none of the photos are outright bad. If you’re looking for a new flagship Android phone, both models will fill that need. And if you specifically want a great camera system, right now the Pixel 10 Pro has pushed into the lead.

OK, iPhone 17 Pro, it’s your turn. See you in September.