The year 2025 is shaping up to be a historic period for smartphone photography in the Indian market. Brands have moved beyond merely flaunting large sensor sizes; the focus has shifted entirely to AI-driven photo processing, professional-grade video modes, and camera systems that capture impeccable detail. While the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is currently touted as the market’s “Camera King,” several new flagship contenders are not just giving it stiff competition but are arguably outperforming it in specific scenarios.
The Heavyweights Challenging the Throne
Leading the assault is the iPhone 17 Pro, carrying a premium price tag of ₹1,24,900. Apple has truly upped the ante this year, delivering sharp output across all three 48MP sensors. The clarity from the new 4x periscope zoom telephoto lens is genuinely surprising. Furthermore, the LiDAR scanner has made depth mapping far more precise, significantly enhancing portrait and night modes. On the video front, it poses a serious challenge to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, offering professional features like 120fps Dolby Vision HDR, ProRes RAW, and Spatial Video.
In the Android camp, the Vivo X300 Pro (₹1,09,999) is grabbing headlines. Vivo has long been a leader in camera innovation, and this device features a 50MP OIS main camera alongside a massive 200MP periscope telephoto lens capable of 3.7x optical zoom and macro shots. The collaboration with Zeiss optics combined with AI tuning places it at the top for detailing and light handling. With 8K recording and a 50MP selfie snapper, the results often feel more natural than its Samsung rival.
Similarly priced at ₹1,09,999, the Google Pixel 10 Pro proves that software processing is paramount. Sporting a quad-setup with a 50MP main and 48MP telephoto lens, Google’s computational AI makes this handset nearly unbeatable in low light and skin tone reproduction. Many tech enthusiasts believe the Pixel 10 Pro churns out better dynamic range than the S25 Ultra in tricky lighting conditions. Meanwhile, the Oppo Find X9 Pro offers a powerful alternative with Hasselblad calibration and a robust 200MP periscope zoom, often delivering crisper telephoto shots than the competition.
For those looking for a value-for-money flagship, the OnePlus 15 at ₹72,980 is a solid pick. It packs a Sony IMX906 main sensor and 3.5x optical zoom, proving that you don’t need to spend over a lakh to get top-tier performance.
A Flashback to the Mid-Range Heritage: The Galaxy A31
To understand the magnitude of these 2025 advancements, it is interesting to look back at the foundation of Samsung’s volume drivers, such as the Samsung Galaxy A31, which was released in April 2020. At that time, this device was a popular mid-ranger, officially announced in March with a price point around €300 (approx. ₹25,000 at the time). It featured a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED panel, a technology Samsung has always mastered, with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels. While the 60Hz refresh rate seems dated now, the 411 PPI density and 84.88% screen-to-body ratio offered a decent viewing experience.
Under the hood, the A31 was powered by the MediaTek Helio P65 chipset, an octa-core processor built on a 12nm process. It came in variants of 4GB or 6GB RAM with storage expandable via microSD card, a feature sadly missing in many modern premium phones. The device was housed in a “Prism Crush” plastic body, weighing about 185 grams, and included an optical in-screen fingerprint scanner, which was quite a fancy feature for the segment back then.
The Evolution of Camera and Battery Tech
The camera setup on the A31 highlights just how much the “Quad Camera” trend has evolved. It sported a 48MP main sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide, and two 5MP sensors for macro and depth. While decent for 2020, the f/2.0 aperture and lack of advanced AI processing meant it couldn’t compete with the computational magic we see today. Video recording was capped at 1080p at 30fps, a far cry from the 8K capabilities of the OnePlus 15 or Vivo X300 Pro.
One area where the A31 held its ground was battery life. It packed a massive 5000 mAh Li-Polymer battery, similar in capacity to many 2025 flagships. However, the charging speed was limited to just 15W wired charging, which would feel excruciatingly slow compared to modern fast-charging standards. Comparing this trusted workhorse from five years ago to the giants of 2025 shows that while battery capacities haven’t changed drastically, the efficiency, processing power, and camera intelligence have taken a massive leap forward.
