In the last year, I’ve compared dozens of the best phones against each other in my 200 photo shootout series. But while I value how well the best camera phones capture photographs, I’m more of a video guy than anything else.
That’s why I’m doing a 100 video shootout with the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Galaxy S25 Ultra to definitely say which is better for video. Both phones are heavily advertised as premier video recorders due to the myriad of features they offer — super slow motion and cinematic modes.
For this video shootout, I’m grading them in different categories by simultaneously shooting all the videos with both phones. After I captured them, I stitched the videos together side-by-side to show their differences. That way, I can better inspect how they compare.
The videographer in me finds the Galaxy S25 Ultra as the more attractive video camera phone, mainly because of how it offers a manual mode that lets me tune the camera’s settings to my liking — such as the shutter speed, white balance, ISO, and more. Apple doesn’t give that access with the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s native camera app, unless you download or purchase third party apps like Filmic Pro.
I’m not grading them on just the performance of one camera, I’m grading them all — along with how well they stabilize footage and the audio quality. Given that Apple won in my photo shootout, I’m curious how this iPhone 16 Pro Max vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra video shootout will end.
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra video shootout: what you need to know
For this video shootout, I’m grading them on their video performance. While I used a special rig to hold both phones together, I’ve also used them handheld with one hand — all to get the best framing as possible. Once I’ve captured all the videos, I stitched the videos to show them side-by-side.
Just as a refresher, the iPhone 16 Pro Max features a 48MP main shooter, 48MP ultrawide, 12MP 5x telephoto, and a 12MP selfie camera. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25 Ultra packs a 200MP main camera, 50MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x telephoto, 50MP 5x telephoto, and a 12MP selfie camera.
When it comes to video recording, both can shoot at 4K 60fps, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra offers 8K 30fps while the iPhone 16 Pro Max has a native 4K 120fps option. Most people are unlikely to use these modes, but they do offer their own advantages.
With 8K capture on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, this allows for more room in editing to crop the video without much detail loss. Oppositely, I do like the ability to slow down the footage with the iPhone’s 4K 120fps native recording. Just know that both use up a lot of storage.
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Daytime
When you need to record something quick outdoors while the sun’s out, both phones capture excellent footage at 4K 30fps. There are actually minor differences from what I can tell from both phones, unless you pause the clip and inspect each one.
Details are captured very well by the two, like how I can make out the signs and decals all over the approaching MTA bus in the second set of clips. In the shot by the beach, I can tell that the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s footage is noticeably brighter — but then the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s clip looks brighter in the first clip at Bryant Park.
There’s not one that offers a tremendous boost over the other, which is why I’m giving it to both phones.
Winner: Tie
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Ultrawide
Coverage is identical with both phones, as their ultrawide cameras offer the same 120-degree field of view. Yet, I can spot a big difference in how they perform.
Technically, the ultrawide cameras on both devices are upgrades over their predecessors, but the iPhone 16 Pro Max appears to have the superior one.
In the first set of clips, the iPhone 16 Pro Max does better at neutralizing the sun’s reflection in the building — while in the second clip, there’s more definition in the sculpture that’s holding up the lamp when I pan around to the left.
Finally, I like how the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s ultrawide camera delivers a brighter picture, especially in the shot overlooking Bryant Park and surrounding buildings with the sun directly in front of me.
Winner: iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Colors
In just about every clip I recorded, the iPhone 16 Pro Max captured more of my attention with its richer, brighter looking colors. In the second clips with the red flowers, it’s clear that the iPhone 16 Pro Max boosts the shadows to make the overall picture look brighter — while the Galaxy S25 Ultra overexposes the highlights with the greenish flowers next to the red ones.
I see similar results with the third set of clips with the red flower at the beginning, along with the carrots in the fourth shot. The colors through the iPhone also look more accurate compared to the Samsung.
Winner: iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Dynamic range
I tested the iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra dynamic range performance using both their main and ultrawide cameras, but I didn’t enable HDR because that’s a totally different category I’m judging. This is because I prefer the more natural looking tone with their standard capturing mode, whereas HDR tends to amplify colors and can look too artificial.
Based on the videos I shot above, I would say that the iPhone 16 Pro Max offers a wider dynamic range with video. That’s due to how it does better at boosting the shadows in each clip, especially in the shots of Bryant Park with the trees and sun in front of me. Those shadowed areas of the tree and branches are better exposed with the iPhone.
Winner: iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: HDR
With HDR recording enabled on both phones, the clips I recorded look almost similar to one another on the surface. Everything is enhanced, which makes the footage look really attractive and eye-catching due to the increased color saturation and contrast.
However, I prefer how the iPhone 16 Pro Max captures HDR because of the color bleeding that sometimes happens with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. I see it in the first set of videos I shot of my colleague Ryan. You can see the color bleed happening with this shirt, resulting in the pattern of his shirt to appear softer.
Additionally, I noticed how the Galaxy S25 Ultra also overexposes some of the highlights in the fourth set of videos at the deli counter.
Winner: iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Vlogging
For this vlogging test, I’m grading it based on these phones' stabilization, audio recording, and quality. Neither front-facing camera does a better job at minimizing the jitters and shakes while vlogging, but the audio recording is much richer on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The Galaxy S25 Ultra just sounds a bit thinner.
Likewise, I don’t see one front-facing camera producing the better details between the two, but I like how the iPhone 16 Pro Max gives my face a warmer looking tone.
Winner: iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Stabilization
While walking at a normal pace, I tested out the stabilization of the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Galaxy S25 Ultra main and ultrawide cameras.
Even though neither phone can really remove the bobbing that naturally occurs while walking, there’s not one that appears to do a significantly better job at stabilizing the footage over the other.
There are some micro jitters that appear when my arms are jolted in some of the videos, which I find with just about every phone. Overall, though, the stabilization while walking is smooth — but definitely not DJI Pocket 3 good.
Winner: Tie
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Portrait video
One feature I absolutely love having on both phones is portrait video, seeing that it adds that cinematic look by locking the focus on a subject and blurring out the background. Between them, I like how the Galaxy S25 Ultra does a better job of making the shots look natural.
Even while my colleague Ryan in the videos above have great separation from the background, the iPhone 16 Pro Max casts this stronger haze around the edges — making it look artificial at times. The Galaxy S25 Ultra has a more realistic look that I prefer and it does an excellent job of discerning subjects from the background.
Winner: Galaxy S25 Ultra
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Macro
Shooting macro videos with both phones is tough, mainly because there’s no way to get the same framing shooting simultaneously. That’s why for this one, I had to shoot them separately.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is able to get much closer than the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which you can see in the videos above. For the first set of videos, I started off a bit farther away — with the Galaxy S25 Ultra ultimately getting me closer. It’s the same result in the second clip with the green plant that shows more textures.
Winner: Galaxy S25 Ultra
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Slow motion
There are a variety of shooting modes on both phones, but they do have their own unique ones as well. For example, the iPhone 16 Pro Max has a native 4K 120fps recording mode that plays back normally, but can be slowed down by editing the footage — whereas the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 4K 120fps is shot and recorded in slow motion. For this category, however, I’m judging them on their dedicated slow motion modes.
For the absolute slowest footage, you’ll want to shoot at 240fps. However, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has the advantage here because it does it in 1080p, rather than the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s 720p recording.
As a result, there’s more definition with the water fountain footage at Bryant Park above. Likewise, I recorded at 240fps at 5x zoom and the Galaxy S25 Ultra has the better looking footage I’d use.
At 120fps, both phones capture slow motion in 1080p and the iPhone looks more crisp. I personally value 240fps slow motion more, so I’m leaning Galaxy with this one.
Winner: Galaxy S25 Ultra
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Zoom
For my zoom test, I captured video at 2x, 5x, and 10x zoom. Starting at 2x zoom, I have to say that their main cameras mirror one another here with their excellent detail capture and definition — so it’s tough declaring a definitive winner.
At 5x zoom, they iPhone 16 Pro Max and Galaxy S25 Ultra switch over to their dedicated telephoto cameras. This is where I begin to notice the differences, like how the Galaxy S25 Ultra has better definition.
With the clip of my colleague Ryan, I can see slightly more detail with his facial features. And while I also shot him at 10x zoom, I really don’t recommend going this far because the footage isn’t as usable. But again, the Galaxy S25 Ultra comes up with a smidge more definition.
The other clips I shot over on W 40th street by Bryant Park also shows some artifacting happening with the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s footage at 15x zoom, which makes it appear a bit noisy.
Winner: Galaxy S25 Ultra
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Nighttime
Low light is always a challenge for any camera phone, but it’s even harder with video. What’s apparent in all the nighttime videos I recorded above is that the iPhone 16 Pro Max delivers the brighter videos. You can see it most in the shot of the tree in my backyard where it’s better exposed to show more of the details.
When there’s ambient light in the scene, the two perform similarly — but the iPhone continues to deliver slightly more definition. I also tried out their zoom performance as well, and while the iPhone has the brighter video, it does come at the expense of a noisier clip with the lit up gazebo in the first clip. Despite this, the iPhone 16 Pro Max has more of the qualities that make it better for low light.
Winner: iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Verdict
After tallying up the results, the iPhone 16 Pro Max wins more categories in this 100 video shootout. I’m not shocked by this because the result was no different in my 200 photo shootout with the Galaxy 25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max. But to be fair, the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s win isn’t by a huge stretch when I collectively look at their performances.
In several categories, it’s a narrow win for one phone — with the exception of the color round.
I personally still gravitate towards the Galaxy S25 Ultra mainly for the fact that it offers a true manual mode that gives me total control of the camera, like being able to manually adjust the focus or setting the shutter speed to get the look I want.
These are features I crave as a videographer that I’d be willing to compromise on, even though the iPhone 16 Pro Max produces excellent footage.
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