Google says the Pixel 10 Professional has world’s greatest cellphone digicam. I examined it towards the S25 Extremely and located a transparent winner.

On the latest Made by Google occasion, Google made a daring promise: the new flagship Pixel 10 Professional has the very best cellphone digicam on the earth.

Now that the cellphone is in my fingers, I needed to place that “world’s best” promise to the take a look at by evaluating it to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely, the earlier title holder. By way of megapixels, Samsung’s flagship has a large head begin with a 200MP important digicam, whereas the Pixel 10 Professional has a 50MP important digicam that is extra in step with the iPhone 16 Professional Max’s 48MP digicam.

However digicam high quality is not all in regards to the megapixel rely. Google stated the Pixel 10 Professional would even have a 100x zoom, superior nighttime images, and an AI “Camera Coach” function, for coaching the boyfriends of the world to take a great couple’s picture (Google’s phrases, not mine).

I needed to place the Pixel 10 Professional and Galaxy S25 Extremely cameras head-to-head to see which one got here out on high. You’ll be able to decide the outcomes for your self with samples from the greater than 500 photographs and movies I shot with the 2 telephones.

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Pixel 10 Professional vs. Galaxy S25 Extremely cameras: Evaluating the {hardware}

Each telephones carry comparable {hardware} to the combination, however there are a couple of notable variations.

The Pixel 10 Professional has:

• 50MP important lens

• 48MP 5x telephoto lens

• 48MP ultrawide lens

• 42MP selfie digicam

In the meantime, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely has:

• 200 MP important lens

• 10MP 3x telephoto lens

• 50MP 5x telephoto lens

• 50MP ultrawide lens

On paper, it will appear to be the Samsung cellphone has the Pixel overwhelmed fingers down, however that is not what the outcomes say. 

I want to say one fairly enormous caveat: a real comparability is barely attainable as a result of I am wanting on the photographs on a Monoprice 32-inch monitor at 100% zoom. On a cellphone display screen or Instagram feed, the photographs from each telephones look wonderful. It is solely whenever you actually dig in that you simply begin to see little variations.

Evaluating the primary cameras

Each telephones have actually nice important cameras with wonderful shade copy and readability. I believe the 200-megapixel lens on the Samsung S25 Extremely does a greater job of capturing the entire scene with readability within the foreground and the background. The Pixel 10 Professional captures the feel of the bushes higher however loses a little bit of readability on the curler coaster within the background. In the meantime, the Pixel captures the celebs on the flag extra distinctly — they’re stars, whereas the Samsung loses some element and makes them look extra like circles. Nevertheless, total, Samsung captured the waving flags only a bit sharper than Google’s cellphone.

For all these comparisons, I’ve put the Pixel 10 Professional photographs on the left and the S25 Extremely photographs on the correct.

Ultrawide cameras

The ultrawide cameras on each telephones lose plenty of element, however that is regular for an ultrawide digicam. Textures get mutilated and grain begins to seep in. I’ve by no means seen an ultrawide digicam that did not try this. The ultrawide digicam of the Pixel 10 Professional captures a bit extra of the scene, which is what an ultrawide is meant to do in spite of everything, so I’ve to present it the nod.

Telephoto 5x

Each telephones come geared up with a 5x periscope telephoto lens. Each of those cameras are wonderful at capturing pictures at 5x optical zoom, which, as a father, I worth excess of ultrawide. Total, I believe Samsung’s picture was extra shade sensible, whereas Google’s appeared to punch up the intense colours to make them pop extra. It is a matter of style, however given the 2, I might in all probability choose the pop of the Pixel 10 Professional, and never only for the alliteration. Each lenses caught actually nice element, as this floral background may very well be difficult for a lesser lens.

Mashable Mild Velocity

Testing the 100x zoom

Now we get to the large kahuna. Samsung has been bragging about its 100x zoom for years now, whereas Google solely lately bought into that recreation.

Famously, Samsung Galaxy S Extremely telephones are recognized for his or her photographs of the moon. Sadly, throughout my testing interval, the moon stayed beneath the horizon for probably the most half. So, I needed to keep on with terrestrial objects. First, I grabbed a photograph from an indication for a experience from about 150 ft away.

You’ll be able to see how far-off I used to be within the first picture. Then simply to make sure, I walked over and took a photograph of the particular signal to indicate you what it ought to seem like up shut:

From there, I zoomed in and let the telephones do their work. You’ll be able to see the outcomes for your self:

It is broadly recognized by now that tremendous zoom smartphone photographs rely upon AI know-how to reinforce photographs and fill in gaps. And neither of those photographs is superb. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely’s picture may be very blurry and blotchy, whereas the Pixel picture seems extra like a portray or crayon drawing. Neither captures the signal completely, however in case you made me select, I might go along with the Pixel 10 Professional’s rendition over Samsung’s, although Samsung bought nearer to the precise colours of the signal.

The following one I attempted was of a pair of bugs, for example, hugging, on a flower about 10 ft away. On this case, the Pixel beat out the Samsung, and it is not even shut. Whereas the Samsung picture seems OK on the cellphone display screen, it does not survive a more in-depth inspection on a 32-inch display screen. The Pixel’s picture is so much sharper with extra element.

Briefly, in case you’re searching for the smartphone with the very best 100x zoom, it is now the Pixel 10 Professional.

What about portrait mode?

Portrait mode is particularly powerful on a cellphone as a result of it tries to copy a phenomenon that comes naturally to a bigger lens — bokeh. It is the blurring of a background whereas the topic of a photograph stays tack sharp and clear. For this one, I borrowed my spouse as a result of she’s cute and I can afford her modeling charges. 

Portrait mode is particularly powerful when there are stray hairs round a topic’s head, and whereas my spouse’s completely coiffed hairdo is past reproach, there are nonetheless a couple of hairs that escaped her consideration. Samsung dealt with these with way more aplomb than the Pixel. The Pixel makes it seem like my spouse was photoshopped into the picture — it is good, nevertheless it’s virtually too good. There are a couple of identifiable stray hairs, however they’re cropped and blurred with the background.

On a cellphone display screen, it seems superb, however blow up the picture and you will see the reality. The best way Samsung labored with these hairs is way nearer to the physics that information a digicam lens.

Digital camera coach

The Pixel 10 Professional has one final trick up its sleeve — a brand new AI software known as Digital camera Coach. This images function (which works within the cloud, not on system) can instruct you on easy methods to take an ideal picture primarily based on what your digicam sees.

Whenever you intention your digicam, there is a digicam with a star icon within the higher proper nook. Faucet that, and the digicam will take within the scene. From there, it’s going to counsel a couple of photographs you possibly can take. As soon as you choose one, it’s going to generate steps that will help you seize the shot, similar to “Step closer to the subject” or “Try increasing the exposure on the shot.”

Here’s a shot I took of an enormous checkerboard at a close-by restaurant (my spouse’s “fee” for serving to). 

There are two issues to learn about this process. First, it takes a little bit of time. It’s going to take about 15 seconds or so to generate the shot previews after which one other few seconds to generate the steps. That is a very long time to maintain a residing topic standing there and smiling, as my household will attest to.

The second caveat: the digicam by no means truly tells you whenever you’ve accomplished a step. Intuitively, you’ll anticipate a digicam to see that you’ve got moved nearer after which transfer to the subsequent step. That is not what occurs right here. Actually, you possibly can advance steps with out following the instructions. It is extra like a digicam suggestion-giver than a digicam coach, however a software program replace might repair this.

For now, the Pixel 10 Professional has the sting.

Total, the Pixel 10 Professional and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely each have ridiculously spectacular digicam arrays. Generally, I most popular the output of the Pixel 10 Professional, however most of what I most popular was software program and post-processing-related, so it is subjective, and it is solely fixable “in post,” as the professionals say.

Total, I am impressed with what’s attainable with 100x zoom, however you will get blended outcomes. Fortuitously, the hits are way more frequent than the misses, and that is thrilling. I am all about that zoom. I am not saying this tech is able to seize your youngsters’ recitals from the again of the room — you continue to have to rely upon a correct digicam for that, however as they are saying, the very best digicam is the one you might have on you, and these cameras impressed me in each means.

How I examined these cellphone cameras

Summer time is gorgeous, and one in all my favourite issues to do through the summer time (even its waning days) is to move to my native amusement park, Six Flags Nice America in Gurnee, Illinois. Residence to plenty of enormous and wonderful curler coasters, it is an ideal place to only strap your self to a chair and get thrown off a cliff.

It is also an ideal place to take a look at cameras. Nice America is stuffed with beautiful surroundings and vibrant colours, nice for testing out all points of an ideal smartphone digicam. However any digicam will be nice when the lighting is sweet, so after the solar went down, I sometimes take a look at issues out at Streamwood’s village corridor, which has plenty of beautiful low-light testing situations I can make the most of.