Introduction
We’ve rounded up a bunch of smartphones from around the world that not only carry an Ultra in their name but also provide a truly Ultra cameraphone experience.
The line-up for this photo and video contest, which is unlike anything we’ve done in recent times, includes heavy hitters such as the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra, the Oppo Find X8 Ultra, the vivo X200 Ultra, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, and the Xiaomi 15 Ultra.
vivo X200 Ultra • Huawei Pura 80 Ultra • Xiaomi 15 Ultra • Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra • Oppo Find X8 Ultra
We are looking to settle which is the best cameraphone of the first half of 2025 – something which may be a bit overdue, but we were busy churning out as many phone reviews as possible, so there was hardly a break to do this sort of comparison.
This showdown is not really meant to help with your purchasing decisions; two of our contenders – the Oppo Find X8 Ultra and the vivo X200 Ultra – are not even available outside China. And yet, they’ve managed to capture the minds of the people interested in getting the best cameraphone possible.
And borders and regional availability are not the only limitations you may run into if you are thinking of getting these phones. The Huawei Pura 80 Ultra finds itself in a moderately handicapped software/hardware situation as well – neither its Android core nor its chipset is cutting-edge due to US sanctions. Still, its cameras aren’t lagging behind at all, and it has quickly climbed to the top of the DXO Camera ranking.
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra • Oppo Find X8 Ultra • Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra • vivo X200 Ultra • Xiaomi 15 Ultra
The remaining two options – the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Xiaomi 15 Ultra – will probably be the easiest to buy and will deliver a software experience with the least software limitations, but we’ll have to see if they really stand out camera-wise when compared to the rest of the Ultras.
vivo X200 Ultra • Huawei Pura 80 Ultra • Oppo Find X8 Ultra • Xiaomi 15 Ultra • Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
So, let’s start off with a quick camera specs comparison (as seen below). There are still several 1.0-inch type main cameras in operation. Vivo has moved away from that, while Samsung never seemed to want to be a part of it; however, the others persist. It is worth noting that vivo has chosen to make the X200 Ultra stand out in several ways, one of which is the 35mm focal length of the main camera.
Telephotos have gotten bigger and longer, and having two of them is now the norm, though there are workarounds to the two-tele approach – Huawei is unique in shifting glass left and right, while vivo is throwing megapixels at the problem in its single-tele solution. Not that Xiaomi doesn’t have that exact same sensor in its own dual-tele setup, adopting a ‘more is more’ attitude that we do appreciate. Ultrawides have been losing ground, but vivo is breathing new life into the short end of the focal range with a main-camera-grade sensor.
| Huawei | Oppo | Samsung | vivo | Xiaomi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pura 80 Ultra | Find X8 Ultra | Galaxy S25 Ultra | X200 Ultra | 15 Ultra | |
| Main | 50MP 1.0-inch | 50MP 1.0-inch | 200MP 1/1.3″ | 50MP 1/1.28″ | 50MP 1.0-inch |
| 23mm, f/1.6-f/4.0, OIS | 23mm, f/1.8, OIS | 23mm, f/1.7, OIS | 35mm, f/1.7, OIS | 23mm, f/1.6, OIS | |
| 4K60 | 4K60 | 4K120/8K30 | 4K120 | 4K120/8K30 | |
| UW | 40MP | 50MP 1/2.76″ | 50MP 1/2.5″ | 50MP 1/1.28″ | 50MP 1/2.76″ |
| 13mm, f/2.2 | 15mm, f/2.2 | 13mm, f/1.9 | 14mm, f/2.0, OIS | 14mm, f/2.2 | |
| 4K60 | 4K60 | 4K120/8K30 | 4K120/8K30 | 4K60/8K30 | |
| Tele 1 | 50MP 1/1.28″ | 50MP 1/1.56″ | 12MP 1/3.52″ | 200MP 1/1.4″ | 50MP 1/2.51″ |
| 3.7x, 89mm, f/2.4, OIS | 3.0x, 70mm, f/2.1, OIS | 3.0x, 69mm, f/2.4, OIS | 3.7x, 85mm, f/2.3, OIS | 3x, 70mm, f/1.8, OIS | |
| 4K60 | 4K60 | 4K60 | 4K120 | 4K60/8K30 | |
| Tele 2 | 12.5MP | 50MP 1/1.95″ | 50MP 1/2.52″ | 200MP 1/1.4″ | |
| 10x, 240mm, f/3.6, OIS | 6.0x, 135mm, f/3.1, OIS | 6.0x, 115mm, f/1.7, OIS | 4.3x, 100mm, f/2.6, OIS | ||
| 4K60 | 4K60 | 4K60/8K30 | 4K120/8K30 | ||
| Selfie | 13MP | 50MP 1/2.74″ | 12MP 1/3.2″ | 50MP 1/2.76″ | 32MP 1/3.14″ |
| 21mm, f/2.0, AF | 21mm, f/2.4, AF | 26mm, f/2.2, AF | 24mm, f/2.5, AF | 22mm, f/2.0, FF | |
| 4K60 | 4K60 | 4K60 | 4K60 | 4K60 |
You’ll find a handful of images on the following pages, starting with photos from the ultrawide cameras to super telephoto shots, a bunch of portraits and selfies, some closeups, and a set of video framegrabs. You’ll be looking at the same scenes you’d typically find in the phones’ reviews, but these particular samples were shot specifically with this article in mind. Head over to the next page and remember, we are all about pixel-peeping here. Don’t just look at the photos at fit-to-screen magnification and wonder what we are talking about.