The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ( left ) and Xiaomi 14 UltraAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

TheXiaomi 14 Ultramay have the best tv camera on a smartphone I ’ve used this twelvemonth , which is quite a assertion to make see the contender it faces . But is it true ?

One of the telephone it needs to bewilder in ordering to unfeignedly claim this deed is the excellentSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra . Samsung ’s most recent top smartphone has already managed to see off itspredecessor in a comparability struggle , as well asthe Google Pixel 8 Pro . Can it also defeat the grand Xiaomi phone ?

The cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has four cameras on the back , with a big 200 - megapixel photographic camera leading the clique . It ’s joined by a 50MP telephoto television camera with a 5x optical zoom , a 10MP telephotograph with a 3x optical soar , and a 12MP wide - angle camera . The Galaxy S24 Ultra can also take picture at 10x rapid climb , but unlike theGalaxy S23 Ultra , these are “ opthalmic quality ” photos rather than a true optical rapid climb .

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a 50MP master camera ( Sony ’s recent LYT-900 1 - inch sensor ) , a 50MP telephoto camera for a 3.2x optical rapid climb , a 50MP periscope telephoto for a 5x optical zoom , and ultimately another 50MP camera taking guardianship of wide of the mark - angle shots . Xiaomi ’s secret weapon is its partnership with Leica , which furnish the lens for the cameras and assist tune up various facial expression of the photographic camera ’s performance , too .

Leica ’s affair helps give Xiaomi ’s tv camera character , and while the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s camera has proven to be excellent , it has never struck me as accept its own unequalled style . This may hurt it during the trial , but it may then win back item through consistency — an issue that has often trace Xiaomi cameras , almost regardless of the mannikin .

For this comparison , each phone was used in automatic mode , and with the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s photographic camera set to the Leica Natural color profile ( it also has the option of a Leica Vibrant background ) . I did n’t use theXiaomi Photography Kit . Photos were examine on a monitor and have been resized here for friendlier online showing .

Main camera

liken the two master cameras is where you really discover the dispute in case between them . It ’s hard to describe , but the mode the Xiaomi 14 Ultra tunes its photos is more visually pleasing in most ( but , crucially , not all ) site . The first pic is a great deterrent example of what I imply .   There ’s nothing incorrect with the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s picture at all , but the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s photo has moreemotionin it . It captures the atmosphere of the room more realistically through its pic and warmth , bringing out more detail in the chairs , drapery , walls , and the woode floor . It’slovely .

The Leica - tune television camera seems to add a pernicious vignette to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s photo that is absent from the S24 Ultra ’s picture without blue-pencil . And a raft of the time , it ’s very in effect at adding atmosphere . But it does n’t always work . The next photo of the bloom demo the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s wonderful whitened equaliser and total lack of noise , but the dark note toward the border of the frame dims the bright pinks visible in the S24 Ultra ’s photo , which some may not prefer .

In the next photo , you’re able to see where the Xiaomi 14 Ultra picks out more detail , exposes more texture , and again capture emotion where the Galaxy S24 Ultra misses out . The walls and the wooden logic gate have been smoothed out by the S24 Ultra , which favors a deeper shadow in the foreground , and it recede the elderly , weathered , and precise look in the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s photograph . The sky has a blue and grey tint compared to Xiaomi ’s whiter sky , something we ’ll see more of next .

There ’s a heat and truth to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s look-alike that ’s perhaps more or less missing in the S24 Ultra ’s exposure of the lake and sky . It ’s a typically Samsung - style image , but its shortcoming are apparent when you liken it to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s photo , from the semblance of the stones in the wall to the depth , ripples , and reflections in the water . I look at the S24 Ultra ’s image and see a right pic , and then I search at the Xiaomi 14 Ultra picture and seea scene . The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is n’t perfect , but it has a unique power to capture life sentence more beautifully and atmospherically than the Galaxy S24 Ultra , and that makes it the winner here .

Winner : Xiaomi 14 Ultra

Wide-angle camera

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s main television camera is fantastic , but the broad - slant camera and its performance ca n’t quite rival it . There ’s a hint of the same optic expressive style , but somehow , it ’s photos are less appealing than the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s wide-eyed - angle picture . This shows how much of a okay line the Xiaomi camera treads when it comes to pic , luminousness , and dynamism . The first photograph of the field and tree highlight how much better the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s photographic camera is at getting these aspects right .

Xiaomi makes better purpose of its 120 - degree field of sight in its wide - slant photo , and it returns photos with more scale than the S24 Ultra . This is evident in the next pic of the chapel service inside the beautiful Petworth House , located in the U.K. and featured throughout this test . However , the S24 Ultra ’s corking level of detail , acuity , and overall warmth make up for this and create a arresting wide - angle pic despite its lower megapixel count .

In the concluding photograph , the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s precise picture makes a big deviation to the tantrum , as the grass , sky , and stone walls of the building are as they were in real life story , while the Xiaomi 14 Ultra takes a gloomy , far less appealing , and less accurate pic . After the achiever of the main camera , the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is have down by its broad - angle photographic camera , and the S24 Ultra easily wins the category .

victor : Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

3x zoom

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a 3.2x optical zoom while the Galaxy S24 Ultra has a 3x optical rapid climb , and in the first part of this extensive zoom compare , the Xiaomi phone takes the win . It gets in somewhat tight , but this is n’t what makes it exceptional . It ’s the amount of detail , clarity , and texture it take out from the picture , which is well beyond what the Galaxy S24 Ultra can produce . However , as will also be seen in the 10x rapid climb category , at first glance , it ’s not at once obviouswhereit succeeds .

I do choose Samsung ’s sky and coloring material , and I admit the brightness is welcome . But when you get in even slightly closer , the detail is fuzzy and lacks sharpness . It ’s easy to see where the Xiaomi earpiece improves even without zooming in just by looking at the numbers on the clock face and the clean lines around the brickwork . There ’s a long way to go in this exam with the telephoto cameras on these two phones , but the Xiaomi 14 Ultra take an other lead-in , at least on a proficient level .

5x zoom

thing swing back in Samsung ’s favour when we whizz along in to 5x . The Galaxy S24 Ultra systematically brightened the setting more effectively than the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and regained the detail it lose in the 3x zoom comparison . I like to expend 5x zoom to frame shots that are n’t potential with the 1x camera , but I still want the same level of color and detail truth . The Galaxy S24 Ultra bear it when equate to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra .

In Samsung ’s photo , the scandalmongering daffodils are perfectly frozen in prison term , the bluebells are vibrant and sharp , and the entire view evince the effect of the Dominicus on the grass and tree luggage compartment . The Xiaomi 14 Ultra ca n’t pit any of these element , and its benighted exposure does n’t really replicate the look of the spring break of the day .

10x zoom

Samsung was once value for its 10x zoom lineament , but it has beenbeaten already by the Vivo X100 Pro , and it ’s about to be beaten again by the Xiaomi 14 Ultra in our first photo . Both phones fritter away “ optical quality ” 10x zoom photos , meaning they use hardware and software system to create the last figure of speech , and as you may see in the photo of the goose , Xiaomi creates a more detailed , less noisy , more colourful pic .

What ’s interesting , and what makes this family hard to approximate , is that the differences are n’t always obvious . The Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s photograph of the sculptured side count good at first glance , with attractive colors and quite a little of detail . But when you zoom in , that detail and grain are actually dissonance and pixelation , which is missing from the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s more or less smoother , but more detailed photo . I wish them both , but Xiaomi doubtlessly took the technically ranking pic .

There are times when Xiaomi gets it wrong , and the Galaxy S24 Ultra balances the conditions well and exhibit the photo for a brighter setting . However , when you analyze them both together , the S24 Ultra ’s photos often have obtrusive bound enhancement , more smoothing , and more noise . In most fate , though , I preferred the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s photo , but it was a close matter .

30x zoom

The 30x zoom remains fair disappointing , regardless of which phone you employ . It ’s entirely potential to tell what you ’re take a exposure of , but they really are n’t ones you ’ll want to share because there ’s so much haphazardness and processing ; it ’s obvious they are digitally enhanced . While I think the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has taken the better photo of the squirrel , I ’ve got many others where the usually brighter S24 Ultra dumbfound it . As neither take what I ’d call “ adept photos , ” and since a firm success never emerge , it ’ll be a haul here .

Winner : Draw

Night mode

Good night mode performance depends a lot on how the software , the processor ’s power ( it ’s aQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3powering both smartphones ) , and the photographic camera ’s hardware come together . Samsung has complete it with the Galaxy S24 Ultra , and it really shows when you equate it to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra . This first image of the car ’s trilled scale in a salesroom was taken at night at 5x zoom . It ’s obviously behind chicken feed and backlit , yet the Samsung phone ’s pic is pin - penetrative and incredibly elaborate and coloured . It ’s vastly superior to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s photo in every way .

In the second photograph , which was conduct in a grim corner with the vigil inside a opprobrious watch winder case , you may see how much perch the Galaxy S24 Ultra rip in and how it enhances the persona to show more item and more accurate colour without increasing racket . you’re able to barely read the Master Chronometer and Swiss Made text in the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s photo , but both are sharp and color - accurate in the S24 Ultra ’s image .

The last effigy was convey in almost complete darkness , with only a fistful of relatively dim streetlights for ambient light . And while both are noisy photos and show smoothing , the S24 Ultra ’s is brighter and more detailed , with much less daze from poor lowlight focus . When I took this photo , the viewfinder testify almost nothing on it at all , illustrating just how much the software package and processor work after pressing the shutter button to make photo taken in almost complete darkness .

Moon mode bonus

This category wo n’t kick in to the final score , but as both phones have a dedicated moon fashion , and there was a full synodic month during the time I was testing the phone , here ’s how each get it . The Xiaomi 14 Ultra sees the lunation as much more starkly gray and white liken to the Galaxy S24 Ultra , which learn a less hopeful photograph . Both wait really right for photos take with a phone , and if I were squeeze to decide which I in person favour , it would be the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s photograph . But with a question sign over how these range of a function are created by the sound , take a success does n’t fit with the test .

Is there a winner?

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra have both won three categories each , and one category has resulted in a draw , meaning both have an equal score and the overall comparison has also resulted in a draw . It ’s a very even split too , as each has had decisive wins , with the 10x rapid growth class being the hardest to adjudicate .

There are a couple of other aspect that should be highlighted before we conclude . The Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s CRT screen crush the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s for visibility , as no matter the conditions , it was incredibly bright and vibrant , allowing me to well and quickly frame my exposure . The Xioami 14 Ultra ’s cover is much dimmer , which makes report hard . If some of my Xiaomi 14 Ultra shot look wonky , this is why . However , you could have a mountain of creative fun with the Xiaomi Photography Kit , should you pay up the surplus required for it , and Samsung does n’t offer anything like it for the S24 Ultra .

What does this all mean for the Xiaomi 14 Ultra becoming the just camera earpiece I ’ve used ? I ’ve taken C of photos with it and the Galaxy S24 Ultra , and for the master tv camera , I ’d take the Xiaomi phone every time . The tone it produces is terrific , and I love the Leica black - and - ashen filter . I also find that I get more originative with it than the Galaxy S24 Ultra . But for almost every other situation , the S24 Ultra is either better or very most as good . The comparing is definitely a draw though , and the good news is I do n’t recall you ’ll be disappointed have either of these fantastic cameras .