I’ve finally come to the realization that Samsung’s unlikely to bring back the 10x optical zoom camera for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. And you know what? I’m perfectly fine with that.

Last year’s big controversy around the Galaxy S24 Ultra ditching the 10x optical zoom lens for a 5x one was met with lukewarm reactions from those who’ve enjoyed the longstanding feature. However, I’ve seen how Galaxy AI helped to offset this ‘shortcoming.’

Actually, I only need to look at a recent flagship Android launch to convince me that Samsung doesn’t need the 10x optical zoom. That phone is none other than the OnePlus 13.

For years now, OnePlus phones have trailed the pack when it comes to being one of the best camera phones around. Yet, after shooting 200 photos with the OnePlus 13 vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max, I'm convinced the gap has effectively been shortened.

That’s most true for the OnePlus 13's zooming capabilities. It may have the shorter optical zoom compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max — 3x vs. 5x — but it delivers sharper and more detailed telephoto images.

This is attributed to the OnePlus 13’s new image processing algorithms and AI enhancements. The process is quite impressive in reality. If you watch the video I captured above, you’ll see exactly what happens during this process of taking photos with the OnePlus 13’s 50MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom.