When it comes to Android phones, the Galaxy Ultra phones are usually the ones that fly in the flag. They tend to have the most pro features. They give you everything that you would need and then probably even a little bit more for the price. And I feel like it really shows up a lot of other Android phones. And I'm looking at you for this one, Google. It's time to step up. In the US, when it comes to the pick of top tier Android phones, you tend to have your choice between the Google Pixel or the S26 Ultra. And I know OnePlus exists for now as a good option and outside the states there are lots of options but unfortunately you just don't get them here in the US and you would think that

the best of Samsung versus the best of Google would kind of be a fair fight but the S26 Ultra really shows us the Pixel's weaknesses. I don't want to talk about the benchmarks too much here, but because the difference is so huge between the two, I've got to show you. It's so well known now that the Tensor G5 cannot keep up with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. And in fact, it couldn't even keep up with the AL last year. Photo editing, video editing, and just playing games, the S26 Ultra will handle literally everything you throw at it without a hiccup. And the Pixel, not so much. But just hold on because it's not all about power. And I have to give the

Pixel some credit here. Despite the lack of power, the Pixel still holds up in almost every single way. Besides those demanding tasks, using the Pixel dayto-day, I think that this is smoother than 1 UI and everything is a little bit more integrated. Like the AI tasks run as quickly on the Pixel as they do on the S26 Ultra. And I love the fact that the Pixel is so well optimized that you don't need the biggest and most powerful chip because this runs just as well. The problem here is though that Google is starting to let itself down in one area that it used to be just top tier app and that is the cameras. I've had an issue with the Pro in the Pixel name for a while now because it might be the Pro

phone that gives you the least amount of pro features and a lot of that now sadly comes down to the camera. I love a Pixel camera. I feel like the photos you can get are just lovely. It rivals the S26 Ultra for one of the best point and shoots. Even if I do side slightly with the Samsung and if you want some control over the pictures that you take, then you can change a fair bit here. shadows, white balance, exposure. You can even get focus peaking when you're taking your photos, which I love. But sadly, it's not expert RAW mode that you can get on the Samsung. And I just feel like this gives you a lot more. For a start, a 200 megapixel main lens. You get a little bit more control over those

settings I mentioned on the Pixel. And there are modes like virtual reflector, which is just really good. Like this is a little bit of magic. You get ND filter options, even if that is virtual. You also get a virtual aperture that shows you the lens opening, closing in the UI. You get false color. There are zebras to see peaking highlights. You just get more of a professional setup, more controls, and more control. Granted, you can get quite similar results from both of these phones. But what I want is I want those pro features. And even though a lot of people are not going to touch even expert raw mode, like ever, it's really nice to be able to have that option if you wanted to get into it. But

the Pixel, you just don't get the option if you ever wanted to explore it. The biggest disparity in the Pro Ultra fight though is video. I remember a video on Pixel being pretty bad a few years ago, and the phones have come a long way since then. And as you expect, you can now get pretty decent video from the Pixel 10 Pro XL. The colors are nice, dynamic range hits almost all the time, and the stabilization on that main lens got even better this year. And having said all that, I still can't tell you that the Pixel takes great video. It just misses out on so many other pro features that other pro phones will give you. The S26 Ultra is almost the perfect Android phone for video. And I say

Android phone because it still doesn't quite match up to the iPhone, but you know, tell me an Android phone that does. I would say picking between the Pixel and the S26 Ultra in regular 4K 60 is pretty close. I do side with the Galaxy S26 Ultra because I think it gets you a little bit more detail in the image and it does do slightly better in low light, but where the Ultra just stands out here is in the pro video features you can get. The fact that you can record in log is huge for people now. And I know that not everyone does it, but a lot of people do want to try it. Log gives you more freedom when color grading and it lets you get more detail in the highlights and the shadows

that are just usually lost when you don't record in log. Even if you don't want to go down that whole color grading route, Samsung lets you pick between a few different Rec 709 profiles in the gallery app, and that's pretty cool. Then you even have the APV codec. This allows for better video quality when editing, and it's certainly not a must-have, but there's no other phones that give you that at the moment. And if you fancy it, you can even record straight to an SSD on the S26 Ultra. Even if you step out of that pro video world and you just want to record some 8K, then you can do and you can record it on three of the lenses on the S26 Ultra. The Pixel 10 Pro just doesn't have that. You can get 8K like quality

if you use Video Boost, but I've said this before and you've heard me say it. You have to turn it on each and every time. You have to wait for however long Google servers decide before getting that video back. And really, it's just a little bit annoying. If Google want to compete in the Pro lineup of phones, then on the Pixel 11 Pro, I feel like it has to introduce log recording at like a bare minimum. Brands like Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, they all give you a better video experience than the Pixel. This is a fight that I want Google to be able to actually compete in. So, come on, let's make those Pixels a little bit more pro next year. There is one more frustration with the Pixel, though, and that's part

of its software. I'm not talking about UI here because I don't think you can compare One UI and Pixel because I feel like they're very separate and you buy a Pixel for that clean Android experience. But what really annoys me here is that I cannot use a lot of the software features on the Pixel 10 Pro XL because of where I live. I can't use Hold For Me, help me edit, call summary, automatic call screening. Like that is a big list of things that I pay the same for as someone that can use them. And Google when they announced the phones, they really pushed these features that people use every single day. Yet, I can't use them. With the S26 Ultra, no matter where I live, where I am, I can use every single one of the features

that Samsung mentions and shows off during Unpacked. And I'm sure it's something to do with local regulations, why I can't use some of the Pixel features, but it still doesn't make any sense to me. You can't market the features on the Pixel and then only have half the people that pay the same price for them wherever you live in the world actually being able to use them. like that just doesn't make any sense. I don't get it. And then if you stick to software Samsung, and this is not just for ultra phones, but they give you a much better desktop experience. Granted, I'm not a huge user of Dex, but knowing I can connect a keyboard and a mouse and have a separate desktop if I wanted is such a good feature. I know desktop mode

is in its baby stages on the Pixel. And you do have a bit of Dex functionality, but it's really so far off than what we have on a Samsung. And I'm not going to say that desktop mode is bad because I'm sure it will get better. But for now, you just have a much more ultra software experience on the Samsung phones like the S26 Ultra than you do on the Pixel 10 Pro XL. I feel like I need to say this. I don't dislike Pixels. I actually love them. But the S26 Ultra shows what can be done. And it's a little bit sad that Google kind of just seemed that they don't want to get to that same level

with the Pixel. Granted, the Pixel 10 Pro, it's a Pro. It doesn't pretend that it's trying to compete with the Ultra. So, you can use the argument that the Pixel only needs to compete with Pro phones. But then, I'm not even sure that the Pixel 10 Pro does compete with other Pro phones. Like, it goes up against the iPhone 17 Pro. And I don't think that it is a fair comparison because the iPhone 17 Pro is much closer to the S26 Ultra. The Oppo Find X9 Pro is even closer to the S26 Ultra than the Pixel 10 Pro. So, if Google were only trying to compete with Pro phones, it's still not doing a great job. Let me know what you think in the comments, though, because I know

that the S26 Ultra, it wasn't a huge upgrade this year, but it still gives you more of those ultra big pro features than the Pixel 10 Pro XL. Before you head off, if you can subscribe to the channel, then that'd be great. I'd really appreciate it. And if you do that, then I'll see you in the next one.