I Tested the Galaxy S26 Ultra Cameras Against the Pixel 11 Pro: One Captures Vibes Better

September just ended, but I’m still reminiscing over my end-of-summer trip to Cape May. It was the perfect weekend getaway to the southernmost town of New Jersey, where the sun beamed through voluminous clouds and the streets were bustling — I even remembered to fold the bed sheets that first morning. 

This was also the perfect opportunity to test and compare the camera quality of the $1,299 Google Pixel 11 Pro XL and the now-$1,400 Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, two of the best Android phones we’ve tested at CNET. 

This year’s flagship models feature iterative hardware updates, with the most notable changes being modifications to camera sensor architectures that allow for more light and, therefore, detail to be captured. This was mostly expected, as my colleague Jeff Carlson found last year’s Samsung and Google models already quite adequate.

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Instead, both companies leaned more into image processing and how their respective AI models could detect and modify subjects to get you an “ideal” shot. Below, I’ll walk you through a gallery of photos I captured throughout my trip that I took under various lighting conditions and with moving subjects to help you determine which phone camera is best for you.

Note that all of these photos were captured using each phone’s native camera settings and were not modified after the fact, except for straightening in Adobe Lightroom. 

Pixel 11 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S26 Ultra: Ultrawide

Let’s begin with ultrawide shots I took before driving through the Garden State Parkway. The first difference I noticed between the Pixel’s 48-megapixel sensor and the Samsung’s 50-megapixel sensor was how they process colors. The Pixel portrays trees, roads and the sky in more neutral, realistic tones, whereas the Samsung leans toward more vibrant, saturated tones. 

The better camera ultimately comes down to the flavor of green and blue you prefer, but if I had to pick a phone based on its color science alone, I would choose the Pixel, as it appears less modified.

One camera is decisively better when you look at the details of the clouds. Samsung wins here with a more balanced exposure and highlights, depicting the ever-random, cotton-ball shapes of clouds. You can clearly distinguish how each cloud merges with another. On the Pixel, however, the clouds are blown out, appearing as a single white blob.

Generally speaking, the Pixel captures photos with a warmer color temperature, as you can see the difference in my wife’s sleeves and the surrounding tree leaves as we walked through the Cape May Zoo. 

If you prefer something cooler, like on the Samsung, you can always tweak things in post or through the new Camera Looks introduced with the Pixel 11 lineup. They’re effectively real-time filters that apply to the phone’s imaging pipeline, giving you creative control before the phone even processes the image. 

In the same photos above, notice how the edges of the ultrawide angle are blurrier on the Samsung. This can be chalked up to a slower shutter speed or less effective stabilization, though it can also be interpreted as giving the photo a more dynamic feel. I would still pick the Pixel in this case.

Pixel 11 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S26 Ultra: Telephoto

The far-distance, telephoto comparison may be the biggest toss-up between the two phones. On paper, Samsung should have the advantage, with an extra 10-MP telephoto (for 3x optical zoom) to accommodate the 50-MP telephoto (for 5x optical zoom). Google, on the other hand, uses a main sensor crop for close-up shots, then switches to its single 48-MP 5x telephoto for longer distances.

In practice, the quality of both phone cameras is quite good, with natural-looking bokeh (background blur) and separation between the subject and what’s behind it. When we walked by a crocodile lounging by the fence, it was a great opportunity to see how well the sensors captured the textures of its rough skin while gradually smoothing out the grass behind the animal.

My ideal shot is somewhere in the middle. I like how natural the colors and background blur on the Pixel, but I prefer the contrast levels on the Samsung, which give the crocodile more depth and detail. For some, Samsung’s output may almost be too sharp. But if what you’re after is as much detail as possible from far away, it’s the superior camera system.

In the middle of the walk, we stopped by a gift shop for souvenirs and snacks. (I also stopped by for the abundance of colors in the room, but that’s between you and me.) I picked up a name tag, swiped over to portrait mode on both phones, then snapped a picture.

The result is the Pixel producing an ever-warmer photo with a generous amount of bokeh and smoother edges around the name tag, while the Samsung produces one with sharper edges and subject isolation, but worse blurring. You can see the artificial processing overworking in Samsung’s photo, with the two B’s in “ABBY” slightly blurred. 

The portrait mode effect can be toned down in both the viewfinder and the gallery afterward, but as I mentioned earlier, I am only comparing photos straight out of the camera’s default settings here.

Pixel 11 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S26 Ultra: Main camera

For lunch, we settled on a Cape May classic: the Lobster House. The half-century-old institution, which is docked by the harbor, is best known for its fresh seafood, including lobster, oyster and fish. And the dim-lit ambiance, an old-school maritime theme with fishing ropes and wooden planks made for a good test of the phones’ dynamic range.

In this first shot at the table, I’m very impressed with the sharpness and contrast from the Samsung. The highlights are managed well, too, with noticeable detail in the ships parked outside. The Pixel’s image is flatter, with just about everything appearing too smooth, and shadows that would otherwise make things more dramatic are lifted.

After the meal, we wandered through Cape May to view the iconic Victorian houses, with their high-gabled roofs and distinctive color schemes that would fit any Roald Dahl movie. In this scenario, both phones produced great-looking photos, juggling the various lines and textures of the houses with the bright sky and commendably well-maintained lawns. 

If there’s one comparison where the difference truly comes down to color fidelity, this is the one. Take your pick.

Pixel 11 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S26 Ultra: Moonshot

A few years ago, a big controversy surrounded the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and its seemingly unimaginable ability to capture clear, detailed photos of the moon. The company reportedly used AI to detect when a moon was in the camera frame, then enhanced the image to fill in details such as craters. Apparently, that’s still a thing, and Google is in on the artificial magic, too.

Compared with Samsung’s 100x Space Zoom, the Pixel’s 120x Pro Zoom produces a brighter image, though not as detailed. There’s simply more surface clarity of the Moon in the Samsung image, likely due to the underexposure. By reducing the overly bright planet at night, the Samsung camera renders its textures more accurately. By the way, I took both of the shots with the devices held in hand, so the electronic stabilization on both devices helped a lot.

There’s no easy way to validate the results of both images, but if I had to choose one for a moonshot, I would pick Samsung.

Which is the better camera?

In most cases, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is the better, more capable camera phone for me. I also prefer a camera that produces social-ready imagery, so the touch of saturation and sharpness makes Samsung’s output more ideal. 

While I based the comparison on camera samples shot with default settings, know that both devices offer creative tools to tweak how images are captured. The Pixel 11 Pro’s Camera Looks, for example, lets you modify colors, tones, and sharpness in ways that can dramatically transform the expression of shots. CNET’s Andrew Lanxon put it to the test during a stay in Paris.

And as you saw above, the better camera phone ultimately comes down to your own preferences for color fidelity, detail, depth and bonus features. The undeniable truth is that you can’t go wrong with either phone.