I shot 200 photos with Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max — there's a clear winner

 Apple or Samsung?

Galaxy S26 Ultra vs iPhone 17 Pro Max.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

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Now that I’ve spent time with the Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max, it’s time to finally determine which is indeed the best camera phone around. Apple’s flagship has remained at the top ever since its release last fall, but Samsung is looking to reclaim the crown.

Apple’s 48MP triple camera setup has proven to be as reliable as ever for a number of different shooting situations, but it also received a big upgrade in the form of its 18MP Center Stage selfie camera. In our iPhone 17 Pro Max review, my colleague Mark Spoonauer showed how it continues to be a master in low light.

Meanwhile, Samsung has stepped up its game too with its quadruple camera system — which consists of a beefy 200MP main camera, 50MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x telephoto, and 50MP 5x telephoto. Around the front, there’s a 12MP selfie shooter. While the specs indicate nothing’s changed, two important upgrades we point out in our Galaxy S26 Ultra review are its wider apertures for the main and 5x telephoto cameras.