The new Galaxy S26 Ultra comes with upgraded cameras, faster lenses and Samsung’s promise of even better “nightography.” But can it beat the company that practically defined night photography on smartphones?
To find out, we put the S26 Ultra head-to-head against Huawei’s latest camera powerhouse, the Pura 80 Ultra.
Over the past few days, we captured photos in all kinds of situations, from bright daylight, indoor office scenes and of course plenty of challenging low-light shots. We tested every camera using the default settings to see how these phones perform straight out of the box, and some of the results might surprise you.
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Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Huawei Pura 80 Ultra Camera Specs:
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra
Main camera
200 MP (OIS, PDAF)
Sensor name: Samsung ISOCELL HP2
Aperture size: F1.4
Focal length: 23 mm
Sensor size: 1/1.3″
Pixel size: 0.6 μm
50 MP (OIS, Laser and PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.6/F4.0
Focal length: 22.5 mm
Sensor size: 1″
Second camera
50 MP (Ultra-wide, PDAF)
Sensor name: Samsung JN3
Aperture size: F1.9
Sensor size: 1/2.5″
Pixel size: 0.7 μm
40 MP (Ultra-wide)
Aperture size: F2.2
Focal Length: 13 mm
Third camera
10 MP (Telephoto, OIS, PDAF)
Sensor name: Sony IMX754
Optical zoom: 3.0x
Aperture size: F2.4
Sensor size: 1/3.94″
Pixel size: 1.12 μm
50 MP (Telephoto, Periscope, Sensor-shift OIS, OIS)
Optical zoom: 3.7x
Aperture size: F2.4
Focal Length: 83 mm
Sensor size: 1/1.28″
Fourth camera
50 MP (Telephoto, Periscope, OIS, PDAF)
Sensor name: Sony IMX854
Optical zoom: 5.0x
Aperture size: F2.9
Focal Length: 115 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.52″
Pixel size: 0.7 μm
12.5 MP (Telephoto, Periscope, Sensor-shift OIS)
Optical zoom: 9.4x
Aperture size: F3.6
Focal Length: 212 mm
Front
12 MP (PDAF, HDR)
13 MP
See the full
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Huawei Pura 80 Ultra specs comparison
or compare them to other phones using our
Phone Comparison tool
While the Galaxy has a wide f/1.4 aperture for the main camera lens, it still uses a smaller sensor than the Huawei, so technical advantage is still on Huawei’s side.
Huawei’s innovative lens switching technology also allows it to juggle between a 3.7X and 9.4X lossless quality, while the Galaxy has a 3X and 5X telephoto lens, but not quite the reach of the Pura 80 Ultra.
Let’s see if those specs translate into superior photos for the Huawei camera phone, or if the Galaxy can actually do a better job.
Also read:
Main CameraZoomUltra-wide CameraSelfie
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