I tested the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Galaxy S25 Ultra cameras, it’s not even close

We’ve put two of the heaviest smartphone camera hitters against each other to find out which one takes the better photos. It’s the Xiaomi 15 Ultra versus the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, and although both scored really highly in their respective reviews, we need to decide which is the one to buy if you’re really into mobile photography.

The camera specs

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra both have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor inside. Samsung says its chip has been given special “For Galaxy” treatment, while Xiaomi has camera experts Leica tweaking the hardware and software to make its camera even more desirable than the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s.

Samsung’s camera is headed up by a massive 200-megapixel main camera, and joined by a 50MP wide-angle, a 50MP 5x optical periscope zoom, and a 10MP 3x optical zoom camera. The Xiaomi 50 Ultra also has a 200MP camera, but it takes 4.3x optical zoom shots. The rest of the camera features a 50MP main camera, a 50MP wide-angle camera, and a 50MP 3x zoom camera.

For this test we directly compared the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 5x optical zoom with the Xiaomi’s 4.3x optical zoom as there’s very little difference between the zoom levels. All the photos were taken over several days in different conditions, and have been resized for friendlier online viewing.

Main camera

It’s important to see the differences between the 15 Ultra and 25 Ultra’s main camera, and the first photo of the tree in a field illustrates them well. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra has a generally warmer tone (all photos were taken using the Leica Vibrant setting), but exposes shots in a different way, resulting in some muted colors. See the grass and the sky for evidence of how the two cameras interpret the same scene.

My personal preference is for the Xiaomi’s photo over the S25 Ultra’s cooler tone. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra also has a stronger depth of field to its close-up photos compared to the S24 Ultra, which I really like, but it doesn’t always match this with accurate focus, as the photo of the daffodil shows. It’s when you get into specific situations, and when you crop down to see more detail that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra extends a lead.

The photo of the shop interior shows where the HDR is more effective on the 15 Ultra, and when you look closely at the items on the shelves, there’s more detail and less pixelation in its photo too. This is an issue with the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera which we noticed in our review, where it introduces a haze and blur to details. I’ve seen it in most of the photos taken for this comparison, and although you do have to look closely, once you know it’s there it’s quite easy to spot. It gives the Xiaomi 15 Ultra an important win.

Winner: Xiaomi 15 Ultra

Wide-angle camera

The wide-angle camera category is harder to judge than the main camera, as both have positive and negative aspects. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s photo of the church has a lot more detail than the S25 Ultra’s, which suffers from the same blur seen in the main camera’s pictures. The stonework has a heavily processed look compared to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s photo.

This is also visible in the wide-angle version of a photo in the main camera category, but I do prefer the way the S25 Ultra handles color and exposure, bringing some much needed pop to the sky. This is important when photographing vistas. But the warmer, earthier tones of the 15 Ultra’s photo are more natural.

However, use the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s wide-angle camera in more challenging light, such as indoors, and it handles things better than the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. The interior of the church shows this off best, with the S25 Ultra’s camera containing a great deal more detail, less blur, and better exposure. Its ability indoors and in lower light saved it from a loss here, but there’s nothing wrong with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s photos.

Winner: Draw

Zoom cameras

We’re going to move through the different zoom range in this category, starting off with a 3x photo. The cat’s fur is a brilliant test of the camera’s sharpness and ability to show detail, and the two are very closely matched. But as with the last two categories, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s hazy photos let it down, and the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s sharper 3x photo is superior.

The next photo was also taken at 3x, and it demonstrates the Xiaomi’s strong depth of field, and its warmer, more natural tones. There’s more texture and detail in the brick work, and it captures the light better than the S25 Ultra too. At 3x, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is definitely the superior camera.

The 5x and 4.3x photos are interesting. There’s so much detail in the aged metal to uncover, along with tiny signs to read in the first photo, and the S25 Ultra gets it right. The colors are much more natural compared to the over exposed Xiaomi’s shot, and there’s more detail in general. It’s the same in the second photo, with less harsh processing, more attractive colors, and while the depth of field isn’t as strong, it’s still pleasing. The 5x mode is better than the Xiaomi’s 4.3x mode.

Get to 10x and the S25 Ultra’s problematic stability issues return, with blur visible in many of its photos. It often beats the Xiaomi 15 Ultra on colors and exposure though, with its photos appearing much more natural, notably in the photo of the duck.

However, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s sharper photos win when there’s more detail required. It’s hard to judge the 10x telephoto zoom category, with each camera having quite strong positive and negatives, leaving us with a tie at this point.

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Surprisingly, given how much Samsung has raved about its 30x and 100x modes in the past, the Xiaomi has the S25 Ultra beaten. Using these two modes as a tie-breaker, the win has to go to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, although it is fairly close between them and both have brilliant telephoto cameras.

Win: Xiaomi 15 Ultra

Night mode

Admittedly I gave the two cameras a hard job in low light. The first photo of the cars was in almost complete darkness and I could only just about make out the color of the 911. Considering how dark it was, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra really did a fantastic job with a less processed, sharper, and more accurately colored image.

The Xiaomi took a better photo of the night sky too, with more pleasing and accurate colors, less banding from the light clouds, and less blur too. Considering this is a handheld photo with a full three-second exposure, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s photo is pretty good.

The final photo does show how the S25 Ultra’s white balance is slightly superior, but in reality the lighting color was somewhere in-between the two photos. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra still beats the S25 Ultra though, due to the excellent treatment of the sky and background.

Winner: Xiaomi 15 Ultra

Xiaomi 15 Ultra takes a comprehensive win

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra has beaten the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in all categories apart from the wide-angle camera, where the Galaxy phone managed to score a draw. Unlike some of the comparisons we do, there are sizable and obvious differences between the two cameras here, and I’ve preferred the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s photos throughout.

The comparison test came after I spent more time with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s camera in Barcelona, Spain following my review. I was looking for the magic Xiaomi claimed was there, which I wasn’t sure about when I first tried the camera. It impressed me more when I spent additional time with it, and its lovely tone and versatility has been highlighted again here.

Xiaomi’s decisive win shows Samsung has work to do on the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera, as the odd blur and lack of sharpness let it down multiple times during the test. For now though, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is well on its way to being the best camera phone you can buy in 2025. You can also see how the Galaxy S25 Ultra compares to the Galaxy S24 Ultra in this test, and how its telephoto cameras compare to several rivals here.