A couple of weeks ago, I was at the Grand Canyon reviewing the Motorola Razr Fold when I spotted a river in the distance. The Razr Fold has a Super Res Zoom feature that promises to make a 100x photo look credible, so I pulled it out for a test shot. Then I remembered I also had the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra in my pocket - the OG of super-resolution zoom - and grabbed the same shot. The Samsung result was blurry and splotchy. The Motorola folding phone, by contrast, came out crispy. On the small screen, anyway; blow it up to 100% crop and it gets pixelated. This, as we shall see, is a theme.
When I got home to Chicago, I wanted to see if this was a fluke or a pattern, so I added the Pixel 10 Pro to the mix and headed to my local Six Flags. I found some of the furthest objects I could shoot: a statue of Foghorn Leghorn from about 250 feet away, a clock face from 450 feet, and a stuffed-animal prize stand from 325 feet. For reference, I also grabbed close-up shots with my Meta Oakley HSTN glasses - because nothing says “serious journalism” like smart eyewear. One UI note: the Pixel plays a sparkle animation when processing the photo; the Razr cleans up the image with no fanfare; the Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn't seem to process the image at all, which is ironic given how much AI Samsung stuffs into every other part of the phone.
On the Foghorn Leghorn statue, the Galaxy S26 Ultra didn't clean up the image at all. The Pixel 10 Pro did a nice, smooth job, while the Razr interpreted reflections on the statue as texture - still, both trounced the Galaxy. Point goes to Pixel. The clock face, being familiar and well-represented in AI training data, was easier. In order of blurriness: Samsung worst, then Razr, then Pixel returning a very clean image. The stuffed-animal stand was a closer call: the Razr edged out the Pixel (no pun intended) by capturing texture and lighting better, though the Pixel's image was smoother.
To stack the deck in Samsung's favor, I shot the moon at night - the classic 100x zoom target since the Galaxy S20 Ultra. The Pixel fought me hard: the viewfinder jumped erratically, mostly showing a pinpoint of light, and the final shot was overexposed. The Razr and Samsung both captured a slightly blurry moon, but the Razr managed a bit more sharpness. On a small phone screen or social media, both look equally good. The key difference seems to be scene recognition: when Samsung knows what it's looking at, it finds good settings. When it doesn't, it just guesses. The Razr and Pixel have broader AI that cleans up more images regardless.
Samsung is slipping behind its competitors in the super-resolution zoom category. And remember: the Motorola is a foldable - a category that usually compromises on cameras. The fact that this comparison is even possible is a testament to Motorola's camera tech. Samsung, it's time to get caught up.