Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra lands behind Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max on DxOMark camera leaderboard
The detailed DxOMark camera analysis for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra ($1,299 on Amazon) is here, and shows that Samsung has definitely improved the camera system compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, as the score rises from 151 to 157. However, this is only enough for 18th place on the leaderboard behind the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max (161 points), the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL (163 points) and the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra (175 points).
The rather moderate improvement is no surprise, as Samsung has adopted the 50 MP f/1.9 ultra-wide-angle camera with 1/2.5-inch sensor and the 10 MP f/2.4 telephoto camera with triple zoom and 1/3.52-inch sensor unchanged from the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The 200 MP main camera with 1/1.3 inch sensor at least gets a faster lens with an aperture of f/1.4 instead of f/1.7, while the 50 MP periscope telephoto camera with 1/2.52 inch sensor gets an upgrade from f/3.4 to f/2.9
However, the camera can only focus on objects from a distance of 52 centimetres, so the minimum focus distance is roughly doubled. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra can score points in the camera analysis with a mostly accurate white balance, a large dynamic range and effective video stabilization, while macro shots are recorded in great detail.
The main camera and the periscope telephoto camera show less image noise due to the faster lenses, but visible image noise remains a problem in low light. The auto-exposure does not work reliably under all conditions. In portraits in particular, DxOMark criticizes the fact that faces are recorded with comparatively few fine details, while the autofocus does not always focus correctly on a person's eyes
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