Samsung Pokes Fun at iPhone 12 Pro Max's Lack of 100x Digital Zoom in New Ad

In a new ad, Samsung is poking fun at the iPhone 12 Pro Max's lack of 100x zoom compared to its flagship Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.


In an ad posted late last week titled "Space Zoom," an ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra can be seen taking a photo of the moon in total darkness. The ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ zooms in at its max 12x ability, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra gets a closer shot thanks to its 100x digital zoom feature.

In a second ad titled "108 MP," Samsung targets the ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ 12MP wide camera, compared to the Galaxy S21 Ultra 108MP main camera. The video features both flagship devices zooming into a burger, concluding that the photo taken with the Galaxy Ultra 21 allows users to see "pin-sharp details," while the photo taken with the iPhone does not.


Samsung starts both ads by saying, "Your smartphone upgrade shouldn't be a downgrade," insinuating that an upgrade to an ‌iPhone‌ is a downgrade rather than an upgrade.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra features a wide array of camera features, including a 108MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, and a telephoto lens. The 100x zoom featured in the Galaxy S21 Ultra is, however, only digital. Compared to optical zoom, the iPhone 12 Pro and ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ features up to 2.5x zoom-in, while the Galaxy offers up to 3x.

Tag: Samsung

Top Rated Comments

TopherMan12 Avatar
24 months ago
My white dot is bigger than your white dot!

Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
24 months ago
"Digital zoom" is equivalent to taking a non-zoomed shot and cropping it.

Samsung is definitely aiming this ad at people who don't know better. Us photography nerds roll our eyes but regular people will fall for it.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shanghaichica Avatar
24 months ago

Doesn’t that 100x zoom look like an oil painting? I mean there are so many nice things on the S21 that Samsung could have gone with to favorably compare to the iPhone, why this??
10x optical zoom on the S21 ultra is decent and better than the 2.5 x zoom on the 12 pro max.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ikir Avatar
24 months ago
How desperate. Pretty sad.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
centauratlas Avatar
24 months ago
Optical is what matters and admittedly the 10 x is nice. Comparing digital zoom is idiotic.

The ad agency just doesn’t know the difference and Samsung doesn’t care.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shanghaichica Avatar
24 months ago
True though. They just better not remove it in their next phone.

However iPhone desperately needs more zoom.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Unified Volume Button and Mute Button

Monday March 20, 2023 8:33 am PDT by
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro. Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
original iphone auction

Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction

Friday March 17, 2023 1:08 pm PDT by
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007. The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...
airpodsd 3 purple 4

iOS 16.4 Seemingly References New AirPods and AirPods Case

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:43 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968. There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...
iOS 16

Apple Seeds Release Candidate Versions of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 to Developers [Update: Public RC Available]

Tuesday March 21, 2023 10:25 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the launch of the fourth betas. The RCs mark the final version of the software that will be provided to the public in the near future. Registered developers are able to download the iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates...
google bard

Google Opens Up Access to Bard AI Chatbot

Tuesday March 21, 2023 4:23 pm PDT by
Google today began allowing users to sign up to use Bard, its AI-powered chatbot that rivals Microsoft's Bing chatbot. First announced back in February, Bard is an experimental conversational AI service for Google Search. Those interested in Bard can join Google's waitlist to get access, and some users have reported getting invitation emails just hours after signing up. There are a long list ...
smart monitor m8 samsung

Deals: Samsung's iMac-Like Smart Monitor M8 Drops to Lowest Price of Year So Far With $250 Discount

Monday March 20, 2023 8:27 am PDT by
Samsung today kicked off a special "Discover Samsung" event, which will be a week-long savings event focusing on Samsung monitors, smartphones, TVs, appliances, and more. While some deals will stick around the entire week (through March 26), others will refresh every day. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Samsung. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...