iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S24 Ultra

Tom's Guide

In this episode of Photo Shoot|out, we compare 200 photos taken on the iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S24 Ultra Ultra to definitively say which is the best phone for photography. Both phones have a lot in common, including a telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. Only one phone can come out on top. We give you a definitive winner. This is Photo Shoot|out!

Transcript

00:00Apple seldomly lasts the bunch to announce new phones but that's how it is

00:03this year. That can inherently give it the edge, especially when Samsung was the

00:07first to launch its flagship, meaning Apple had a lot of time in its hands to

00:11beat its rival. Today I'm putting what should be the two best camera phones

00:15around in a head-to-head showdown to see which is better for photography. This is

00:20200 photos with the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The iPhone 16 Pro

00:28Max uses a similar triple camera setup as before but this year's change is found

00:33in the ultra-wide. It's now a 48 megapixel one with a wider f2.2 aperture which

00:37means it has better like adding than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Paired with its 48

00:42megapixel main shooter and 12 megapixel telephoto with 5 times optical zoom it's

00:46still a power pack camera system. Meanwhile the Galaxy S24 Ultra set the

00:51bar early in the year in what I want in the camera phone and that's despite the

00:54controversy around its zoom camera which goes from a 10x optical

00:58zoom to a 5x1 instead. Still I've seen that it pulls out incredible results but

01:03it's going to need a lot more to beat the newer iPhone 16 Pro Max. In my hands-on

01:08I talked about the biggest upgrade with the new iPhone 16 is the camera control

01:14button and now that my review is out I still think it's the biggest change and

01:17upgrade. I might be still on the fence about it but let me give you a rundown of

01:21how it works. The most helpful thing about it is that I could quickly launch the

01:25camera press the button you and the phone's locked it jumps right into it so

01:29that if I had the shot I could take it right away. So what does that mean for

01:32the action button? Well now you can program it to do something else. When

01:36you're in the camera app it acts like a shutter key because you do a firm press

01:39take the photo and if you want there's also video but you've got to hold down the

01:43button for the entire time and then once you're done you let go. This is where it

01:47gets a little bit fiddly because now in order to get some of the other modes

01:51you've got a slightly tap it double tap it to get to go into that mode and then

01:55you have to actually use the scrolling method to actually switch between them.

01:59For the average person I like that it gives those controls at their fingertips

02:03but it doesn't quite act like a normal shutter button that I'm used to in a

02:06dedicated mirrorless camera. Also the buttons on the short side so I got to do a

02:10lot more scrolling if I want to get from one zoom to the other. I don't

02:13necessarily think it's an upgrade but it's a good addition. Does the camera

02:18control line take better photos? Maybe. For the shootout I traveled with the two

02:24flagship phones to half moon Bates captors in the same set of photos after

02:28Apple's glow time event in Cupertino. As always I looked through the comparison

02:32photos on a monitor to better tell their differences. I'm excited for this one

02:36because it could effectively show me which is the best camera phone for the

02:39rest of the year. I was on the beach for these shots and it's a perfect spot to see

02:45how their main cameras compare. Look quickly and you might think they're the same

02:49but they're not. If you zoom into the red Adirondack chair there's more detail

02:53with the iPhone especially with the textures around the chair and the

02:57screws around it. And while the Galaxy S24 Ultra delivers an excellent shot it's

03:01too aggressive with the color saturation which gives the iPhone the more true to

03:05life look. Next up I stopped by the brewery in Half Moon Bay with the Tom's

03:10guy team to grab a drink at the bar and it was the perfect place to see how they

03:13handle dynamic range. That's because the inside was pretty dark but the windows

03:18on the outside let in the strong light. My eyes instantly gravitate towards the

03:21strong contrast look with the Galaxy S24 Ultra but when compared to the iPhone

03:2616 Pro Max it blows out the highlights. As a result the outside area loses detail

03:31while the iPhone does a better job of neutralizing the exposure throughout the

03:34shot. This next one's tough because it's so close between them color-wise. In most of the

03:40photos I captured the Galaxy S24 Ultra tends to cast the more saturated colors

03:45but with this mosaic shot I shot down in downtown Half Moon Bay it's an even

03:50matchup. I really like the colors here they're bright and they're punchy to the

03:53eye so for me it comes down to the exposure. The iPhone 16 Pro Max does a

03:58better job because the Galaxy S24 Ultra is a smidge bright resulting the colors

04:03becoming too washed out. Apple wasn't kidding around when it said that the iPhone 16 Pro Max

04:10is much improved with macro photography. Not only was able to get much closer to

04:15the flyer while keeping most of it in focus it also captures more detail. If

04:19you look in the middle you can even make out a hidden spider there. The Galaxy S24

04:24Ultra also captures an incredible shot but the over sharpening effect makes it

04:28look too processed when I zoom into it. Again they're evenly matched in the zoom

04:33department because they carry telephoto cameras with 5x optical zoom lenses. For

04:38these shots I really have to pixel peep because they're similar when I look at

04:42the overall picture. They're evenly exposed for the most part but the iPhone

04:4715 Pro Max does better in the shadows which you can see in the tree in the

04:50lower left. However the Galaxy S24 Ultra shot has a slightly sharper look. It's

04:55hard to see unless you zoom in like the letters underneath the giant eye in the

04:59middle as well as the same tree in the lower left corner. If coverage is an

05:03important to you you'll get more of it with the iPhone 16 Pro Max's 12 megapixel

05:07front-facing camera. At arm's length it offers a wider field of view compared to

05:11the S24 Ultra's 12 megapixel one but when it comes to image quality I prefer the

05:16Samsung because the better details. If you zoom into my face the Galaxy S24 does a

05:21better job of gathering more detail and definition with my facial features like

05:25my eyebrows and a script around my chin. But I will say that the iPhone has a more

05:29even exposure I shot these portrait photos of my colleague Kate who's

05:37showing off her new Apple Watch Series 10 on her wrists. The first thing that

05:41stands out to me are the saturated colors of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. You could

05:46say it gives the photo that extra pop but the iPhone's more true to life. On top of

05:50that the iPhone 16 Pro Max's main camera again pulls in the crisper details in

05:54these shots at one time zoom. Take a look at the band on her Apple Watch. It has

05:58more definition on it while the S24 Ultra looks more smudgy. Both do a great job at

06:03isolating her from the background but I like the softer look of the background

06:07with the new iPhone. Apple's refresh ultra-wide camera mainly gets my

06:11attention in these shots because of its brighter looks and better dynamic range

06:15performance. The colors are more realistic especially when the Galaxy adds a lot

06:20more saturation to the greens in the shot.

06:26These panorams have massive file sizes but rightfully so because they contain a

06:32lot of detail. Overlooking Half Moon Bay itself there's plenty of details

06:35captured in both like the boat in the water and the pink flowers on the right.

06:39The only reason I'm giving to the iPhone 16 Pro Max is because of its even

06:44exposure. The right half of the image retains the same exposure as left while the

06:48Samsung comes out a tad underexposed. And if you zoom into the shadow part of the

06:53bush in the middle the iPhone's better dynamic range performance draws out more

06:57details. At the same brewery from earlier I took these shots of my beer in a

07:02darker part at the bar. I like how the iPhone 16 Pro Max pulls off the brighter

07:07image and how it handles the strong light source that's reflecting off the back.

07:11The Galaxy S24 Ultra looks dark and has this color fringing in the area in the

07:16back where the light reflects from. I also want to share these other low light

07:20shots that my boss took at a park in the late evening. The iPhone again easily

07:24pulls off the brighter shot which I can see with the grass in the foreground and

07:27the sign on the left looks much sharper.

07:29I don't say this often but it pays off to be last. Being the last to release a flagship

07:37in 2024 the iPhone 16 Pro Max benefits from a much improved performance that lets it cruise

07:42to the finish line here. Now before you leave a comment the areas where I see the biggest

07:47improvements is how it performs better with its dynamic range which brightens up the shadows

07:51to draw out the details that are otherwise hidden. I also know that its upgraded ultrawide

07:57camera gets a boost to deliver sharper details and more dynamic range. As for

08:01Galaxy S24 Ultra it's still an excellent camera phone that only loses out by

08:05sliver in each of the categories but then again it's been out since the

08:09beginning of the year. Of course I'm eager to see how Samsung responds back next

08:13year with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. So what do you guys think? Let me know in the

08:16comments below. I know you will. Don't forget to watch our full iPhone 16 Pro and

08:21Pro Max review with Mark on the channel. I'll be following up soon with a photo

08:25shootout against the Pixel 9 Pro XL so keep an eye out for that. Follow us on

08:29social at Tom's Guide. I'm John V. I'll see you in my next video.

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