Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Vivo X300 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

A 200MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x telephoto and new 50MP 5x periscope (replacing the old 10MP 10x). Reviewers rate it among the best, with standout zoom and portraits, but image processing remains the polarising point.

• The camera system is 'one of the best in the game' and comes with a fantastic portrait mode.
• One of the best all-around camera packages out there after months of shooting, including an excellent and often-overlooked selfie camera.
• The new 50MP 5x periscope fixes the S23 Ultra's weak 5–10x range; 5x portraits look really good and edge detection is among the best.
• Main camera is a 200MP f/1.7 (HP2) with a 50MP f/3.4 5x periscope, 10MP 3x tele and 12MP ultrawide.
• The Pixel 8 Pro's ultrawide is preferred for sharper detail and more natural white balance than the S24 series ultrawide.
• Owners argue the Pixel still looks 'leagues ahead' on moving subjects despite the headline that Samsung finally beat the Pixel.
• Some Pixel owners find Samsung's camera the 'worst' experience to use even though stills quality is great.
• Eighteen months on, the camera is still excellent — great dynamics, colours, detail, portrait and zoom — and doesn't feel dated.

Vivo X300 Ultra

The reason the X300 Ultra exists: a near-1-inch 200MP 35mm main (Sony Lytia 901), a 200MP 85mm periscope, and the best ultrawide sensor on the market, tuned with Zeiss. Reviewers near-universally rate it the best-equipped camera phone of 2026 — with two important caveats: the 35mm default is divisive, and on raw image quality it's only marginally ahead of the cheaper X300 Pro.

• At the center is a 200MP main that's nearly a 1-inch sensor (Sony Lytia 901), backed by a 200MP 85mm-equivalent periscope telephoto — the phone is focused on camera quality and, even more so, video.
• Featuring three extra-large image sensors, the X300 Ultra's uncompromising camera hardware earned a solid rating — but it's hardly better than the cheaper X300 Pro in actual camera performance despite the top-notch hardware.
• I'm not sure I've seen better results from even 1-inch sensors — it's so close to 1-inch and the 35mm focal length makes for more cinematic-looking shots; the 85mm periscope is the sweet spot for portraits.
• It still holds the record for the best portrait-mode photos on a smartphone, especially at 85mm and 135mm; the 14mm ultrawide is sharp edge to edge.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

5,000mAh with 45W wired and 15W wireless. All-day battery is consistent praise; charging speed versus Chinese rivals is the recurring criticism, and there is a noted One UI update battery-drain bug.

• In a head-to-head battery test it lasted 12h31m, over an hour longer than the iPhone 16 Pro Max's 11h22m.
• 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired (65% in 30 min), 15W wireless and 4.5W reverse wireless.
• Charging is on par with Apple and Google but 'leagues behind rivals out of China' that charge far faster.
• After two years, moderate use still delivers a full day with 25–30% left by bedtime; light use can stretch toward two days.
• Measured battery health was 93% after two years (one heavy year, one moderate), per Samsung's hidden diagnostics.
• A One UI 8.0 update introduced a battery-drain regression, with one user logging only ~3–5 hours screen-on-time on bad days.
• GSMArena flagged that the phone keeps drawing power well past the indicated full state, making it a poor communicator of its charging status.

Vivo X300 Ultra

Vivo grew the silicon-carbon cell 10% to 6,600mAh while keeping the body the same size. Real-world endurance is strong — ~16h active-use score, ~7h heavy screen-on, 13–14 hour days with charge to spare — and 100W wired refills it in under an hour, with 40W wireless.

• Vivo increased the battery by 10% to 6,600mAh despite the phone being practically the same size on paper.
• In our battery test it earned an active-use score of almost 16 hours; 100W charging took it 0–66% in 30 minutes and a full charge in 46 minutes, plus 40W wireless. A charger is in the box except in Europe.
• On the China version I'm finishing entire 13–14 hour days with 25–30% left; the global version keeps the 6,600mAh cell so battery life should comfortably last 12–13 hours of heavy use.
• Getting nearly 7 hours of screen-on time with very heavy usage from the 6,600mAh silicon-carbon unit, with 100W wired and 40W wireless charging support.
• After a 4-hour heavy-usage simulation the phone still had ~45% battery left, which is solid by today's standards, and 100W wired charging takes about 45 minutes to full.