Smartphone with Better Zoom Than iPhone – Review & Comparison

Smartphone manufacturers continue to push the boundaries of zoom capabilities, with several 2025 models offering superior long-range photography compared to Apple’s latest iPhone 17 Pro series. Independent testing reveals that certain Android flagship devices deliver significantly better optical zoom performance through advanced periscope lens systems and larger image sensors.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra from Samsung features a dual telephoto lens setup paired with its 200MP main sensor, providing versatile zoom options that maintain image quality at higher magnifications. According to detailed analysis, its periscope zoom lens offers an effective focal length of 111mm with an f/3.4 aperture, enabling consistent 5x optical zoom without the degradation associated with digital cropping.

OPPO’s Find X8 Pro takes zoom further with a 6x optical periscope lens, the longest among tested 2025 flagships. This system uses a 135mm focal length lens paired with a 50MP sensor and f/4.3 aperture, allowing users to capture distant subjects with greater clarity than competing devices. The phone’s folded optics design enables this extended reach without increasing overall device thickness.

Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra combines a large 1/1.4-inch sensor with a 200MP resolution and f/2.6 aperture in its periscope module. Although its optical zoom factor is rated at 4.3x, the substantial sensor size and wide aperture contribute to strong low-light performance and detail retention when digitally zooming beyond optical limits.

Google’s Pixel 9 Pro XL also features a 5x periscope zoom system with an 113mm focal length and f/2.8 aperture, using a 48MP sensor. While its megapixel count is lower than some rivals, the combination of sensor size and aperture provides competitive results in daylight conditions, though independent tests note limitations in extreme low-light scenarios compared to larger-sensor alternatives.

These advancements highlight a shift in smartphone camera design, where optical zoom quality is increasingly determined by sensor size, lens aperture, and focal length rather than zoom factor alone. Manufacturers are investing heavily in periscope and folded lens technologies to overcome the physical constraints of slim device bodies while delivering professional-grade telephoto capabilities.

For consumers prioritizing zoom performance, the current generation of Android flagships offers measurable advantages over Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro series in long-distance photography. The difference stems from hardware innovations in lens design and sensor technology that allow greater light capture and magnification without relying on software-based image enlargement, which typically reduces sharpness and introduces pixelation.