The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra was found to be applying more aggressive sharpening and contrast, reducing natural texture in certain scenes.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra features a quad camera system at the back
Apple and Samsung usually compete for the mantle of the best smartphone on the planet, courtesy of their respective iPhone Pro and Galaxy S lineups each year. The same story continues this year, with the recently launched Galaxy S26 Ultra competing against the iPhone 17 Pro models. However, when pitted against each other, the iPhone 17 Pro outperformed the Galaxy S26 Ultra in DxOMark's comprehensive camera evaluation, despite Samsung's inclusion of the 200-megapixel sensor.
DxOMark's assessment positioned the iPhone 17 Pro over the Galaxy S26 Ultra for camera performance among ultra-premium smartphones. The testing platform evaluated both handsets across several factors, including image capture, video recording, zoom, exposure, colour, and autofocus.
According to the benchmarking website, the iPhone 17 Pro excelled in colour accuracy, consistent exposure, and video quality. Apple's 2025 flagship model also performed well in dynamic range and subject tracking, earning a higher DxOMark score.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra, on the other hand, received praise for its zooming features and high-resolution camera, thanks to its telephoto lenses: a 50-megapixel periscope lens and a 10-megapixel telephoto lens. However, DxOMark observed that the phone sometimes failed to deliver consistent performance, which affected the final rating.
DxOMark's comparison also pointed out several differences in the imaging behaviour of the two flagship handsets. The iPhone 17 Pro was found to produce more natural colour rendering and more consistent exposure across consecutive shots, resulting in a more predictable shooting experience.
In contrast, the Galaxy S26 Ultra sometimes applied more aggressive sharpening and contrast, reducing natural texture in certain scenes.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra secured a total of 157 points in camera ratings, a significant increase compared to its predecessor, Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which secured 151 points. Despite this increase, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is still not in a position to surpass its competitor, iPhone 17 Pro, which is placed higher in the ratings leaderboard with 168 points. What is surprising is that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is even behind other popular models, such as the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, which secured 161 and 163 points, respectively.
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