iPhone 16 Pro vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: How do their cameras stack up?

iPhone 16 Pro is Apple’s latest flagship smartphone with all the bells and whistles, competing directly with top-tier rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. And if you are in the marker for a new flagship phone, apart from the iPhone, Samsung’s Galaxy series is typically the go-to choice for most consumers, aside from perhaps the Google Pixel line. Given this, it’s only natural to compare one of the most important features of both the iPhone 16 Pro and the Galaxy S24 Ultra—their camera systems. Both devices come equipped with cutting-edge cameras, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Let’s break them down to see which one might better suit your needs.
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For the telephoto lens, both the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max now feature the 5x tetraprism zoom lens (120mm) that first debuted with the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This puts them on a level playing field with the Samsung S24 Ultra’s 5x lens. However, there are significant differences in the sensors themselves.
The iPhone 16 Pro has a 12MP sensor, allowing for digital zoom up to 25x, while the S24 Ultra surpasses this with a 50MP 5x sensor, enabling hybrid digital zoom up to 100x, producing fairly usable images around the 10x-20x range. Additionally, the S24 Ultra has another telephoto lens in the form of a 10MP 3x shooter, covering the focal range between the 1x and 5x lenses.
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For the main wide camera, the iPhone 16 Pro is equipped with a 48MP Fusion camera that outputs images in both 24MP and 48MP, offering excellent detail. Apple also uses the same sensor to provide “optical-quality” 2x zoom images at 12MP. As for the ultra-wide, the device now features a brand-new 48MP shooter, an upgrade from the previous 12MP sensor, which allows for greater detail in landscape and macro shots.
On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra boasts an impressive 200MP primary camera, capable of ultra-detailed shots in 200MP mode, although it defaults to 12MP using pixel-binning technology. For ultra-wide shots, the S24 Ultra has a 12MP shooter with a 113-degree field of view. That said, both phones have highly advanced primary and ultra-wide cameras, and you can’t go wrong with either one.
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iPhones have long been known for their superior video capabilities, and with the iPhone 16 Pro, Apple takes things a step further with 4K 120FPS video recording. Yes, you can even record in ProRes Log. This is a significant benefit for videographers and content creators, as they no longer need to sacrifice resolution in favour of frame rates to slow down footage. You still get all the traditional video modes: 4K 60FPS, 4K 24FPS, 4K 30FPS, and more.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is no slouch when it comes to video recording, even offering 8K recording. It can shoot in 4K 120FPS as well, but the same is not available in Log format, which somewhat limits the extent to which you can tweak the footage in post-production. In fact, Log recording isn’t available at all.