The iPhone 17 Pro has wowed us with its awesome camera setup, it's blistering performance and, yes, its fiery-hot new orange color. But it's not the only elite phone competing for the lofty title of camera champion. Far from it, friend. Samsung's flagship Android phone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, has impressed us again and again with its photography skills, taking on all comers with the sort of reckless confidence I get only after a few rounds of piña coladas. Yum.
To see how these two elite photo phones perform, I took them out on multiple image-capturing missions around Edinburgh, testing them in a variety of conditions and then scrutinizing the results. On that note, it's important to keep in mind that with phones at this level, there often won't be a 'winner' in each test. Many results will come down to personal preference, and indeed that's very much the case here.
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As a professional photographer, I like a more true-to-life image, with natural tones and rich contrast that give me a good baseline to apply my own edits should I want to. I also don't like over-processing that can make an image look too digital and artificial. Some of you may disagree, preferring instead more vibrant images with strong saturation and clarity that can be shared directly to social without any extra effort on your part. Either stance is fine, but it's why tests like these need to be taken with a pinch of salt.
With that said, let's dive in and take a look at the images. All shots were taken in each phone's standard camera app in JPEG (or HEIF for some of the iPhone's images) and have been imported and resized in Adobe Lightroom, but with no additional edits or sharpening applied.
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iPhone 17 Pro vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Main camera tests
Enlarge Image iPhone 17 Pro, main camera. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
Enlarge Image Galaxy S25 Ultra, main camera. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
Like any average day of mine, this test begins with plenty of bread and melted cheese. Both shots look great, with great detail and an even exposure. The colors on the S25 Ultra are marginally richer, which I don't mind here as it helps the food really pop.
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