Last month, in DXOMARK’s display test, the Galaxy S25 Ultra ranked first globally, beating all flagships. Now it’s time for the camera test. And surprisingly, the latest Samsung flagship has failed to impress, securing a lower rank than much older phones.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s surprising fall in the DXOMARK camera rankings
Despite its advanced camera specs, which include a 200MP main camera, a 50MP ultra-wide camera, and two telephoto lenses — a 50MP and a 10MP, the Galaxy S25 Ultra ranked 24th in DXOMARK’s comprehensive camera evaluation with a score of 146. What’s surprising here is that it could not even beat older models like the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max (146 points each).
Speaking of the current top-ranked holders in the same camera test, the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra ranks first, scoring 163 points. The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and Honor Magic 6 Pro follow with 158 points each.
However, DXOMARK found a couple of impressive things about the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera, such as good detail in zoom shots, especially at long distances, and natural skin tones in non-challenging scenes. It also did well in exposure and dynamic range in bright light video, video color rendering, and white balance in bright light and indoor conditions.
That said, the test revealed some areas where the Galaxy S25 Ultra fell short. DXOMARK note autofocus instabilities in video mode, the camera struggling with image noise in high-contrast and low-light photos, frequent activation failures in bokeh mode, and exposure adaptation-related issues in video and more.
So, to stay ahead of the competition in terms of cameras, it is high time for Samsung to add advanced camera tech to its flagship lineup. With the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the South Korean giant has implemented its aged 10MP sensor found on the 3x lens. The only upgrade we got this year is for the ultrawide lens — it now uses a 50MP camera.
