Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Xiaomi 17 Ultra: The camera comparison

Samsung and Xiaomi launched their flagships within a week of each other, and both say they have brutally good cameras. On paper that looks good. What interests me is how the results are in reality, when I just pull the phone out of my pocket and film or photograph something. All the shots are point and shoot, no studio conditions.

Photos and zoom

One thing runs through all the shots: the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is always a tick brighter. That may be down to the larger sensor, which captures more light. The S26 Ultra, on the other hand, often has a bit more contrast. At zoom, the Xiaomi is clearly brighter and has much more contrast, while the S26 Ultra looks a little washed out. Xiaomi put a big focus on the telephoto lenses, and that is confirmed the closer you zoom in. At 100x zoom neither delivers insanely good quality, and I wouldn’t hang that in my living room. The Xiaomi still brings a bit more color and contour into the picture, though.

Macro

In macro mode it’s the other way around: the S26 Ultra shot is much brighter, sharper and higher in contrast than the one from the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. So brighter doesn’t automatically mean Xiaomi.

Blazing sun

With a plant in blazing sun, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra copes much better. On the S26 Ultra the shot gets washed out. I had the impression there was a haze over it and thought I hadn’t cleaned the lens. But it’s down to the harsh light.

Portrait

Here too, in blazing sun, neither did the very best job. The color difference is big, and you have to decide on a style. The Xiaomi shot is nice and sharp and more realistic, and I recognize my jacket in it. The S26 Ultra somehow puts a cream filter over it. I also like the bokeh effect a little better on the Xiaomi, and it looks more natural. Looking at each photo on its own, though, both take very nice portraits.

Telephoto cameras

At 2x zoom, both do a really good job and conjure up very nice bokeh. The S26 Ultra holds the focus on the foreground a bit better, and the foreground is sharper.

Video recording

Like with the photos: the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is a bit brighter, and the S26 Ultra scores with nice contrast and nice color reproduction. Both take very good footage. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra has caught up a lot in video compared to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. For video stabilization the S26 Ultra is better: it was windy, and the Xiaomi stabilized less well. In a direct comparison I like the videos from the S26 Ultra better. For the plant in extreme sun, though, the Xiaomi video is clearly better.

Low light

On the first shot the Xiaomi does a much better job. It has more contrast, while the S26 Ultra completely blows out the lamp and you can no longer see the structure. In outdoor shots the Xiaomi is brighter as well, but in places looks oversaturated in clouds, colors and the whole scene. The S26 Ultra has a slight blue cast, and the contrasts aren’t as nice. With the plant you have to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea.

In low-light videos the quality of the S26 Ultra is still better. With the Xiaomi you see more image noise, but the rendering is a bit sharper, for example on the sign. For stabilization the S26 Ultra is better positioned here too.

Front camera

In low light neither is any good, again a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea. In daylight the Xiaomi is brighter and the S26 Ultra creamier. I like the shots from the S26 Ultra a bit better because my skin looks more natural. Neither had a beauty filter on. In front-camera videos too, the Xiaomi is a bit brighter, and the S26 Ultra more three-dimensional, natural and nicer.

Verdict

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra has its advantage in zoom shots and overall takes brighter pictures, which isn’t always better. The Galaxy S26 Ultra has its advantage in video recording. In the end it’s personal taste. You can’t go wrong with either phone.