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

If you’re in search of the most effective digicam to hold in your pocket, it is advisable to take into account 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 can purchase. And with journey season ramping up, carrying a cellphone stands out as the most handy digicam. However for photograph particulars how do these two cellular titans examine?

To seek out out, I shot a whole bunch of pictures utilizing each telephones in quite a lot of situations to see which cellphone takes the best-looking pictures. What’s “greatest” 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 reason why I choose one over the opposite, you might properly discover that you simply choose the opposite. So take a look by means of the vary of examples right here and see in case you come to a distinct conclusion. 

Learn extra: Greatest Digital camera Telephone of 2025

All pictures proven have been taken utilizing every cellphone’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 manner. 

Prepared? Let’s dive in.

Beginning out with a straightforward outside scene. Each telephones have achieved an excellent job capturing a fair publicity right here and each pictures are filled with 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 after we swap to the ultrawide lenses on each telephones. I choose the hotter tones within the iPhone’s shot, which makes the S25 Extremely’s look fairly chilly by comparability. I additionally choose the lighter shadows on the iPhone’s picture, making it a straightforward win for the iPhone right here. Notably, each telephones are doing an excellent 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 sometimes see utilizing a lens this large. 

There’s nearly no distinction between these two outside 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 really seems 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 fairly far-off, the cellphone appeared unable to realize a pointy give attention to the flowers. The S25 Extremely, in the meantime, managed to realize a pointy picture with richer colours. 

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

The iPhone’s picture is once more brighter right here and I choose its colours too. The Galaxy S25 Extremely does have the sting in wonderful element, although. You actually need 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 may nonetheless digitally zoom in with the iPhone to 10x, and the outcomes aren’t dangerous. I choose 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 achieved an excellent 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 stability. And actually, I haven’t got a choice between the hotter tone of the iPhone or the extra magenta bias of the S25. 

Nevertheless, if you zoom in near the main points, the iPhone has produced a sharper picture right here, with an odd kind 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 simple for me. 

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

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 way 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 really needed to double-check the picture metadata to ensure I hadn’t combined 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 proper. 

The iPhone’s nighttime picture is once more barely brighter right here but it surely’s additionally stored the brilliant highlights on the pub signal beneath management. On the S25 Extremely’s picture, these highlights are nearly 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, nevertheless, 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 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 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 achieved 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 lots wider. That is undoubtedly price retaining in thoughts in case you ceaselessly wish to cram numerous buddies into your group pics. You can most likely squeeze a minimum of one or two additional buddies in in case you used the iPhone, or must determine who you want least and go away 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 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 achieved one which’s felt this shut. The issue is that neither cellphone excels persistently 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 assist a few of my conclusions and argue towards them. Go determine.

However there are some takeaways I may give 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 nearly each Samsung cellphone because the firm began placing cameras in them and it is nonetheless the case at this time. These in search of a extra pure base picture to use your personal filters and results over might 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 images is necessary to you, the S25 Extremely stands out as the higher choice. General, its night time 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 profit from 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 might need 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 excellent and whereas the corporate’s Photographic Kinds may be good for including a inventive look to your pictures, Samsung’s new software for mimicking the colour grade from instance pictures you feed it really works surprisingly properly — I really assume I would get extra use out of that general. I have never even gone into video high quality both, which is a complete 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 you must 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 might as properly toss a coin.