Apple is making a big deal about the tetra prism lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, a big leap from the 3x zoom of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

In fact, the Pro Max exclusively features this new telephoto lens, while the regular iPhone 15 Pro is limited to 3x zoom. The iPhone 15 Pro Max also supports 25x digital zoom, compared to the iPhone 14 Pro Max's 15x. In contrast, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has dual 3x and 10x telephoto zoom lenses and a 100x digital zoom, while the Google Pixel 7 Pro has a 5x telephoto zoom and up to 30x digital zoom.

So which is the best camera phone in terms of zoom? To find out, I took three phones out for a photo session and chose four subjects. In each case I took a 5x zoom photo and a 25x zoom photo to compare with the maximum range that the iPhone 15 Pro Max can offer. The results are as follows.

I began the test by photographing the Bryant Park fountain from across the park; as you can see in the 1x view, the fountain is not visible at all at first, so getting this close to all three is impressive.

At 5x zoom, I prefer the iPhone 15 Pro Max shot because the patch of sunlight pops more and the fountain looks much sharper when zoomed in. in the Galaxy S23 Ultra shot, the bottom of the fountain looks scattered, and the Pixel 7 Pro photo is a bit darker overall. However, I like the way the flowers look in the foreground of the Pixel 7 Pro's effort.

At 25x zoom, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is ahead. Colors are down, but the fountain is captured brighter and crisper, and the text on the surrounding signage is more easily visible. iPhone 15 Pro Max photos are certainly sharper than the Pixel 7 Pro, especially underwater, but it's a clear second place here.

For this zoom test, we turned our attention to the William Cullen Bryant statue, and the Pixel 7 Pro made the best first impression at 5x zoom.

The statue itself is my favorite shot, as it is the brightest through Google's cameras. iPhone 15 Pro Max has the most definition in the surrounding columns, with an even exposure that shows detail in the robe.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra has good contrast and the image certainly pops, but the output here feels artificial.

At 25x zoom, Samsung flips the script. The text on the statue is surprisingly sharp; the iPhone 15 Pro Max results look a bit blurry in comparison, and the Pixel 7 Pro photo really struggles to capture the text clearly.

Next, I pointed all three cameras at the beautiful Bryant Park cafe and tried to capture the flowers hanging over the restaurant.

At 5x zoom, I give the Pixel 7 Pro a slight edge over the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Yes, the Galaxy S23 Ultra takes the brightest photos, but the tones are yellowish and as a result, some of the flowers are blown out; the Pixel 7 Pro image offers greens with more punch than the iPhone, and the white flowers look a bit crisper.

At 25x, Samsung again pulls away significantly. Compared to the noisy iPhone 15 Pro Max, the flowers look surprisingly detailed; the Pixel 7 Pro comes in a solid second place, but it is worth noting that the zoom was shaky and it took a couple of shots to get this shot.

In our final zoom camera test, we focused on the American flag to capture this building across from Bryant Park. Once again the Galaxy S23 Ultra provides the brightest photo at 5x zoom, but the building is overexposed compared to what we saw.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 7 Pro are close. I prefer the warmer profile of the iPhone, which makes the trees in the foreground pop more. However, when zoomed in, the Pixel 7 Pro has sharper canopy text and clearer flags.

The 25x zoom shots could not be directly compared because the flag was blowing in the wind. However, based on what I can see in these images, I would say that the iPhone 15 Pro Max finished dead last. There is just too much noise at the maximum zoom level.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra and Pixel 7 Pro are very close in terms of detail, but the red and white stripes look a bit more crisp through the Samsung lens and the blue around the stars pops more.

Overall, the iPhone 15 Pro Max's optical zoom is indeed excellent at 5x, but the digital zoom is lacking compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Three points were awarded to the first-place finisher in each round, two points to the second-place finisher, two points to the second-place finisher, and one point to the last-place finisher.

All totaled, both the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Pixel 7 Pro beat the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but the biggest difference came at 25x zoom. iPhone won several rounds at 5x zoom, but the Pixel 7 Pro won three of them. The Pixel 7 Pro won three of those rounds. And at 25x zoom, the Galaxy S23 Ultra won every comparison.

In short, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is much improved from the previous camera zoom showdown with the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but it is clearly not the best when you really want to zoom in from a distance. Also, with the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro coming out, the competition is only going to get more intense.