If the Vivo X300 Pro does this to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, imagine how much better the Vivo X300 Ultra will be

We're patiently waiting for the Vivo X300 Ultra to be launched officially and to land in our hands for in-depth camera reviews and tests. We want to put it up against the world's most popular high-end flagships today: the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

But will that be necessary?

Everything is different now. The Vivo X300 Pro – the X300 Ultra's minor sibling – is doing amazingly well against the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

And the Ultra will surely pack a lot more heat in terms of camera goodness. That's the differentiating factor between a Pro and an Ultra.

As you can see, I'm fairly hyped about the Vivo X300 Ultra. I'm a proud Oppo Find X Ultra user and abuser, but credit where credit is due – Vivo's upcoming flagship seems like a big deal.

Seeing the Vivo X300 Pro in action is the living proof. Here it is against Sammy's S26 Ultra.

Main camera: great colors (at day), superb contrast

The Galaxy once again goes into green territory a bit:



What's with the green tint, Samsung?! Also, take a look at the building's ornaments in the center. The Vivo X300 Pro renders them so much better, they pop out naturally. Samsung's new Ultra may be doing a better job in terms of pulling up the shadows, but that's hardly an advantage here:



It's a moody scene, no direct sunlight in the example below. While Vivo's color rendering seems a bit purple-ish, the shot by the X300 Pro appears more natural to me; the Ultra is doing the HDR magic a bit too much:



It's nighttime, and this is a clear point for Samsung – the colors are much more appealing than on Vivo's picture:



I'll respect arguments from both sides of the argument for the example below. Vivo's rendering looks impressive, but it's definitely deep in the HDR territory. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 Ultra keeps it real, producing a picture that's not Instagrammable right away:



Samsung wipes the floor with the Vivo X300 Pro here. Take a look at the highlight areas, Vivo isn't even trying:

Zoom, extreme zoom and then some

Sure, it's clear that both devices rely heavily on AI post-processing, but the Galaxy S26 Ultra can't hold a candle to the Vivo X300 Pro in this regard. Sure, there's that smudgy haze, but the buildings (and surroundings) look so much better on the Vivo it's not even funny:



The 10x zoom is the same story, maybe not as dramatic as 30x, but the difference is still huge:



It's not just the details and mere sharpness, Vivo's contrast is also superior:

Ultra-wide stories

The Galaxy seems to be doing a better job here, too:

Selfie time

Save for the extreme zoom territory, this isn't the day that the Pro annihilated the Ultra. Trouble is, the Vivo X300 Ultra is ahead. This will be an epic fight.

So, if you often use digital zoom, make no mistake: Vivo's X300 Pro (and Ultra for sure) is the one to get. If you shoot mostly in the daytime, Vivo's colors are hard to ignore. If, however, you're more of a nighttime person, don't pass by the Galaxy S26 Ultra without giving it a try. 

Whichever way you go, you can't go wrong – you just need to be honest with yourself and the type of photography you're after.