What’s the best camera phone? We tested dozens, here are our top 8 picks

When was the last time you saw someone using a point-and-shoot camera? There’s a good chance it’s been a while. However, you probably see someone using their smartphone to take a picture on a daily basis. Smartphone cameras have become the go-to picture-taking method for many consumers, and cameras are becoming one of the most important factors when upgrading a device. If you find yourself looking for your next smartphone and want some guidance, we’re here to help. Here’s our list of the best camera phones available right now.

We’ve put each device through the wringer, testing the cameras in various situations to ensure we only recommend the best options. Let’s get into the results.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best camera phone available

Samsung’s flagships land among the best all-around Android phones regularly, so it shouldn’t be surprising to see a Galaxy device immediately. We put the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra through its paces in our review, and its premium setup lives up to its high-end price. This is the best camera phone available right now and perhaps the best in the long history of smartphone cameras. Its sheer megapixel might on both the front and back, combined with in-depth control, make it the best camera phone for almost any user.

Before we get into the experience of what it’s like to use the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s cameras, it’s good to know what you’re working with. For the first time in a few years, Samsung has chosen to upgrade its well-rounded quad-camera setup, which now features a 200MP primary sensor. It’s backed by Samsung’s powerful 12MP ultrawide lens and a pair of 10MP shooters — one telephoto and one periscope telephoto. Around the front, you’ll find a 12MP selfie camera tucked into the Infinity-O display.

Although megapixels only tell a portion of the story, the combination of lenses sets the Galaxy S23 Ultra up nicely to excel in almost any situation. We’ve run it through a gauntlet of situations during our initial review, as well as a selection of comparisons against some of the other devices on this list, and it picks up right where its predecessor left off.

It returns clean, sharp images with decent HDR (but only when warranted) as well as Samsung’s standard color profile. The camera tends to be a bit punchier than reality, though not nearly as saturated as some brands. Of course, pixel binning makes the massive 200MP sensor a little easier to manage. You can push it back to the full resolution as needed, but we found that it still performed admirably at its lower resolution.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra remains strong once you start to zoom, thanks to its telephoto duo. Its standard telephoto lens adds 3x optical zoom to the mix, while the periscope telephoto partner increases to 10x optical zoom. The result is that you can punch in much further on images without losing quality. Of course, as the third and fourth cameras in the setup, the telephoto shooters have much smaller lenses, but we didn’t notice too much drop-off in terms of color or clarity. No, 10x optical zoom won’t be as clean or as clear as 1x zoom from the primary camera, but it easily trumps hybrid and digital zoom from the phone’s closest rivals. Even Samsung’s ultrawide shooter keeps distortion to a minimum and is capable of nearly matching the primary shooter’s colors.

We regularly enjoy Samsung’s default camera app and its bevy of controls and shooting modes, and we’re waiting for the day when RAW support gets rolled in. Right now, the optional Expert RAW app provides that extra punch, offering even more control over your white balance, aperture, and shutter speed, as well as exporting RAW files for deeper edits later. It’s not the most approachable app for camera newcomers, but it’s the best way to push the four sensors to their limits.

Technically, you can go all the way to 100x Space Zoom with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, though it’s unlikely that you’ll do so frequently. This is where Samsung turns to digital cropping to get results, and the final photos aren’t quite up to snuff most of the time. We mostly only ventured past 30x Space Zoom for curiosity’s sake, but you do start to lose details and rely on Samsung’s post-processing. Intense zooming shows off Samsung’s image stabilization, however, which can go a long way in cutting out your shaky hands. If nothing else, you can also use the insane zoom options as a magnifying glass to read signs and menus from further away.

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra succeeds both the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the long-gone Galaxy Note 20 Ultra with a monster of a camera setup.

We have to give Samsung a little credit for not only keeping the Galaxy S23 Ultra with a hefty 5,000mAh battery but also keeping the charging speed punchy. In reality, that means you can fill the hefty cell in just about an hour, and we’re expecting big things from the battery life. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 ran hot and heavy, causing battery life to suffer, but the new generation should be more efficient.

The upgraded chipset is paired with 8GB of RAM on the base configuration, though any upgrade brings you to 12GB instead. Samsung offers its premium flagship with up to 1TB of onboard storage, but it comes at a hefty price. Most people should be able to get by with one of the 256 or 512GB configurations instead.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is not just the best camera phone you can buy. Its combination of specs, build quality, and productivity features make it one of the best Android devices, as long as you’re willing to meet the asking price.

What makes it stand out:

• Incredible zoom capabilities: Between its pair of telephoto zooms and cutting-edge software, the Galaxy S23 Ultra zooms better (and closer) than almost any other phone on the market — up to 100x.
• Unbeatable software support: Longer update commitments are becoming the norm, but Samsung still takes the cake. The Galaxy S23 series will receive four full Android version updates and five years of security patches, which carries it through to 2028.
• Ultra-premium design and build quality: Between the Armor Aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 panels, it’s tough to find a more durable device on the market.
• Solid performance: The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 packs enough punch to perform, and it’s more efficient than its predecessor. It’ll be at home on most 2023 flagships and combines nicely with up to 12GB of RAM.

Best of the rest: 7 other camera phones worth considering

While we recommend the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra as the best camera phone for most people, it’s not your only option. Smartphone cameras aren’t one size fits all, and you might prefer another brand’s experience instead. You’ll find excellent cameras throughout our list, but it’s important to find the one that works best for you. Here’s the best of the rest:

• Google Pixel 7 Pro: The Pixel 7 Pro offers Google’s most powerful camera yet, adding an updated Tensor G2 chip with new editing features to the already powerful trio of rear cameras.
• Apple iPhone 14 Pro: If you’re willing to try iOS, the iPhone 14 Pro has Apple’s most advanced camera setup to date. It now features a 48MP main shooter, along with a host of other Pro-only upgrades.
• Sony Xperia Pro-I and Xperia 1 IV: Sony’s flagships don’t come cheap, but they do bring a professional photography twist. You get in-depth controls as if you were using a DSLR or mirrorless device, and Sony is one of few brands to still rock a headphone jack in 2022.
• Google Pixel 6a: Google’s Pixel 6a brings the same flagship-level image processing at a much more approachable price point. It carries the Tensor chip, a first for the mid-range series, and you get a pair of tried and true rear lenses.
• OPPO Find X5 Pro: This flagship is one of our best Europe-only picks, thanks to its mix of space-age design and all-new Marisilicon X NPU. OPPO’s Find X5 Pro also packs Hasselblad tuning for improved color science — even in low light.
• Xiaomi 13 Pro: The Xiaomi 13 Pro is the company’s most powerful and refined device yet. It brings Xioami’s penchant for performance together with premium design and adds Leica-built lenses for good measure.

The Google Pixel 7 Pro is best for excellent image-processing software

The Google Pixel line is no longer an example of high-end image processing with modest hardware. After years of punching above its weight class with software alone, the Pixel 7 series packs the hard-earned muscles to compete with the best camera phones around. It builds on the upgrades of the Pixel 6 series and mixes in a bundle of new tricks thanks to the Tensor G2.

Google’s latest flagship keeps the same trio of lenses from its predecessor, and we’re not complaining. The Pixel 7 Pro’s 50MP primary sensor and 12MP ultrawide sensor still shine, and they’re both available on the standard Pixel 7, too. If you go Pro, you’ll also find a 48MP telephoto lens to round out the aluminum-coated camera bar. It still has ample room for all three lenses, though the swap from glass to aluminum offers a little more peace of mind in case your new Pixel 7 Pro should take a tumble.

Of course, how you use a camera is often the deciding factor above sheer specs, and the Pixel 7 Pro is no different. It still offers a slimmed-down approach to the camera interface, preferring to let the updated Tensor G2 chip do the bulk of the thinking. You can choose your shooting mode and your subject, but then the Pixel 7 Pro does the rest. Overall, it’s one of the best examples of KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) photography we’ve ever experienced. One look at the 200 images Rita took over the course of her first week with the phone, and you’ll see why it’s not such a bad thing. All our images in her gallery are straight out of the camera and deliver excellent color recreation and detail in tons of different settings. They show just what you can do with a great ultrawide camera, too.

We’re still waiting on the results of our next in-depth camera test, but it’s tough to see the Pixel 7 Pro giving up much room. Its predecessor edged the Galaxy S22 Ultra in recognizing scenarios where HDR is important, and we still love Google’s natural color profile over Samsung’s saturation. The previous Pixel 6 Pro had a penchant for oversharpening edges in some cases, but the Tensor G2 seems to have fixed some of that.

We’ve put the Pixel 7 Pro through its paces against both the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the iPhone 14 Pro with excellent results. It continues to shine in recognizing HDR scenarios, and Google’s natural color profile is one of our favorites. Google has also toned down some of its previous tendencies towards oversharpening — thanks, Tensor G2.

In fact, we went so far as to say that the Tensor G2 chip improves one feature that’s not easily replicated — reliability. It adds features like Photo Unblur and an automatic macro in the palm of your hand, in addition to existing options like Face Unblur and Real Tone. We found that Real Tone delivered accurate skin color recreation, even in difficult lighting scenarios. Further wrinkles like Action Pan and Long Exposure free up even more creativity — we loved freezing a subject in the middle of the action, and capturing a soft, flowy waterfall isn’t bad, either. In fact, you might find yourself missing the automatic long exposure feature when you switch to any other smartphone camera. The Pixel 7 Pro’s effortless processing and onboard smarts allow it to compete against superior hardware and pick up software features long after launch.

Upgraded lenses and the new Tensor G2 chip give the Pixel 7 Pro more than enough muscle to compete on the camera scene.

Of course, the enhanced camera chops and price aren’t the only things landing Google on our list of the best camera phones. The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro make the most of the new Tensor G2, which offers upgrades to the GPU and modem, fixing one of the biggest problems of the Pixel 6 series. Google’s Tensor G2 chip also has a suite of photo editing options, most notably the Magic Eraser.

Just how fast is the Tensor G2? We benchmarked it!

Despite the Tensor G2’s solid list of upgrades, it does run into a familiar pitfall from the first generation — thermal management. Google’s flagships still run hot under heavy loads, and warm weather only makes it worse. This tends to hamstring the overall battery experience, even if Google’s wired charging is quicker than ever before (though still not the 30W speeds that Google vaguely boasts).

In an age where most of the best camera phones will cost you more than $1,000, the Pixel 7 Pro is still an excellent value. It’s available at $899, with its Pixel 7 sibling launching at just $599, a near mid-range price for a full flagship experience. You’ll have to spend a little more if you want extra storage, but you won’t scratch the asking price of most competitors.

What makes it stand out:

• Google’s Tensor G2 chip: Offers excellent post-processing and image editing capabilities like Magic Eraser and Photo Unblur to bring images to life and keep your subject as the only focal point of your shot.
• First-in-line updates: OEMs across the board are getting better at quick updates, but you still can’t beat Google. As the creator of Android, all Pixel devices remain at the top of the list regarding the latest and greatest software (and beta access).
• Unique design: Android used to emphasize being together but not the same. Now, the Pixel 7 series is one of few examples to skip a corner-mounted camera array and adopt a boxy design to stand out.

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro is the best iOS camera experience

Apple iPhone 14 Pro

Apple iPhone 14 Pro

Premium design and build • Upgraded main camera • Dynamic Island

This resort is all-exclusive

The iPhone 14 Pro is a fantastic phone. It sports excellent cameras, powerful internals, and the all-new Dynamic Island cutout that breathes more life into your notifications.

$999.99 at Best Buy

$999.99 at Verizon

$999.99 at AT&T

We are Android Authority, and most of this list is dedicated to Android camera phones, but it’s still impossible to leave Apple out entirely. The iPhone 14 Pro — or its larger Pro Max variant — brings some of the first real camera upgrades to iOS in years, finally breaking free of the 12MP trio.

After years of chasing modest megapixel counts and ignoring the idea of pixel binning, Apple caved. It adopted a 48MP sensor, which it’s taken to calling the main camera rather than the wide camera, and paired it with two familiar 12MP backups. That means you still get a powerful, flexible triple-camera setup, and it still performs admirably against the best that Android has to offer. The iPhone 14 Pro follows the Pixel 7 Pro in terms of color recreation, keeping a relatively natural profile. Apple even claims a 6x optical zoom range, though it’s using the 0.5x ultrawide and 3x optical telephoto to get there. The iPhone 14 Pro also packs an upgraded selfie camera, which implements autofocus for the first time, replacing previous fixed-focus lenses.

Apple’s detail recreation is excellent, and the iPhone itself is best described as a creator’s toolkit. If you’re willing to shoot in RAW, you can export massive files straight from the main camera and edit them to your heart’s content in Lightroom. Apple also lets you set your photographic style upon setup, which means you can tweak your contrast and tint to match your personal style. We stuck with the true neutral profile for our tests, and it worked nicely.

We’ve focused primarily on still images through our top camera phone picks so far, but the iPhone shows its strength as a video camera option as well. It offers a special Cinematic mode for video, which adds digital bokeh and autofocuses on faces as they look at the camera. We found that the feature generally worked as advertised, though it can struggle with multiple faces at one time. You’ll also have to stump extra cash for professional costumes and lighting before you can make the iPhone 14 Pro a true go-to for your feature film. Apple’s ProRes video also delivers lossless compression, which makes editing your footage slightly more manageable, but it’s limited to 1080p on the 128GB device.

As for the phone itself, the design is classic iPhone. Apple has been rolling with the same flat-sided design for a few years now, with few overall changes as far back as the iPhone 11. The boxy edges don’t exactly blend comfortably into your hand, but the size remains easy to hold and feels familiar right out of the box. It’s as tough as ever, with a Ceramic Shield front and a stainless steel frame with its durable IP68 rating. That said, as you turn your attention to the iPhone 14 Pro’s display, it’s clear that Apple has a few tricks up its sleeve. The notch is finally gone in favor of a Dynamic Island, which is essentially a punch hole camera for Face ID surrounded by a black window that expands and contracts to show texts, emails, and let you manage your music playback.

Apple’s flagship doesn’t fall far from the tree, but it improves on an already excellent camera package.

Under the hood, you also get Apple’s latest A16 Bionic chipset, with 6GB of RAM and up to 1TB of onboard storage. All four iPhone 14 models now offer the same base RAM, though, as always, extra storage comes at a steep price. As you’d expect from a flagship chipset, the A16 Bionic puts up gaudy numbers, improving upon Apple’s recent processors by a good margin. It also does this with less RAM than many Android devices — especially those at the same price tag — which speaks to an impressive optimization process.

We can’t skip over the fact that the iPhone 14 Pro has a smaller battery than most of its competitors. It easily reaches a day and a half if you’re willing to part with some battery drains like the always-on display. Unfortunately, Apple’s modest wired and 15W wireless charging aren’t the fastest, and you’ll need a steady supply of Lightning cables if you’re moving from Android to iOS.

What makes it stand out:

• iOS at its best: Apple’s software has come a long way, and it’s best experienced with modern flagship power. iOS 16 packs new lock screen customizations, and there’s no denying the excellent optimization, especially when it comes to battery life.
• MagSafe capabilities: MagSafe isn’t a new term, but the unique magnetic attachments give the latest iPhone flagships several new wrinkles. From wireless charging to attaching a wallet to the back panel, there’s plenty of magnetic flexibility.
• Premium video capabilities: Every phone on this list has the potential for excellent still images, but the iPhone 14 Pro leaps to the top when it comes to video. Features like Cinematic mode and ProRes deliver smart autofocus and lossless exporting for your home masterpiece.

The Sony Xperia Pro-I is the best for professional camera controls

Sony Xperia Pro-I

Sony Xperia Pro-I

Gorgeous 4K-ish screen • Pro-friendly photo capture • Excellent audio

A phone for imaging pros

The Sony Xperia Pro-I is a professional-grade camera phone from Sony that’s aimed at imaging and video experts rather than typical smartphone buyers. Additionally, it comes with a great 4K display, fast performance, and solid battery life.

$1,598.00 at Amazon

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$201.99

$1,598.00 at B&H

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$201.99

There’s no denying Sony’s place among the best camera phones, though it comes with a few caveats. Depending on where you live, we’re recommending different devices in the lineup. Really, it comes down to a matter of price and availability, but both options deliver impressive quality and high-end camera controls.

Up first is Sony’s Xperia Pro-I, which is the better choice for users in the United States. It’s taken up the mantle as Sony’s professional-grade imaging smartphone, following on the heels of the original Xperia Pro. The Xperia Pro-I also adopts a slightly different design from the brand’s other flagships, shifting the camera array from the corner into the center to give the massive camera sensor enough room to perform. Just be ready for the enormous price tag to match — the Sony Xperia Pro-I will set you back $1,799 for 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

As Sony’s pro-focused camera phone (with all of the irony that entails), you get a pro-focused camera interface as well. The in-app controls and ZEISS optics feel like they were shaved straight off of a full-frame shooter, as does the control over the camera aperture. You can pull up a virtual PASM dial, which the app will then explain to you before you can dive in. As soon as you choose a mode other than Automatic, the app opens options for autofocus, flash, exposure compensation, and so much more. Like Samsung’s Expert RAW, it can be overwhelming for beginners but can feel like a secret weapon for camera pros.

Interestingly, Sony’s Photo Pro app also dictates that you have to use the hardware shutter button rather than the software version. It’s rare to see a physical shutter button on a phone these days, let alone mandate it. We also found Sony’s approach to zoom more complicated than necessary. Instead of pinching to zoom across the entire range, you have to zoom based on each lens. The 16mm equivalent only lets you punch in up to 24mm before you have to switch lenses to zoom to 50mm, and so on. It’s true to how a full-frame camera’s zoom would function, but feels like an extra hoop to jump through on a smartphone.

Sony chose a massive primary sensor, which is capable of letting in a ton of light and giving your images some juicy bokeh. Unfortunately, the tight form factor means that the phone can’t use the entirety of its massive sensor, but it sounds good on a spec sheet.

Sony’s large sensor and ZEISS glass come with a ridiculous price tag to match.

In terms of actual performance, the Xperia Pro-I follows the Pixel 7 Pro down the road of natural results, almost to a fault. The color recreation is incredibly close to reality, and sometimes comes out muted as a result. They may not be what every smartphone photographer is after, but if you’re willing to put in a little editing legwork, you can bring them to life. We captured some of our samples in 12-bit RAW, which we could then ship to Lightroom and tweak to our hearts’ content.

A few of our sample shots came out underexposed as well, though some of this could be attributed to the Xperia Pro-I’s aperture. It’s not as wide as some class leaders, which means less light reaches the sensor despite its massive size. You might also be surprised to hear that Sony’s photography flagship skips a traditional portrait mode. Instead, it tries to compensate for it with bokeh when set to f/2.0. It doesn’t blur the background to the extent of portrait mode, but it’s enough to set your subject apart nicely.

Overall, we enjoyed using the Xperia Pro-I throughout our testing. Sony’s tall, thin design is familiar at this point, and the 21:9 aspect ratio is longer than most competitors. It’s as tall as the Pixel 6, though not nearly as wide. Premium build materials like Gorilla Glass Victus and a textured side rail complement the rear camera (which is the focal point of the design) nicely.

It’s not exactly a perk related to the Xperia cameras, but the phone picks up another use if you’re a Sony photographer already. You can now hook it to your camera rig to serve as a sharp external monitor while you capture photos and videos. How often do you get to run around with a 4K viewfinder? We’d guess not very. It’s as simple as using the USB-C port, and you can upload shots right to Instagram without ever running back to a laptop.

We could continue all day about the tech that Sony packed into its Xperia Pro-I, but it might be best to read up on our thorough breakdown in our review. It’s packed with samples and detailed information on the advanced features and controls.

What makes it stand out:

• Premium design: Sony didn’t skimp on any of the materials for the Xperia Pro-I. It blends Gorilla Glass and a textured frame for a great in-hand feel, and the ZEISS camera takes the starring role on the back panel.
• Excellent camera controls: The Xperia Pro-I packs professional-grade controls for both photo and video in Sony’s dedicated apps. You can access different dials in both Photo Pro and Cinema Pro, depending on what you want to create.

The Sony Xperia 1 IV is a better pick for shoppers outside of the US, and it all comes down to the asking price. While you can get Sony’s latest flagship for £1,299 in the UK and €1,399 in mainland Europe, it costs a whopping $1,599 in the US. It’s more affordable across the board than the Xperia Pro-I, though the difference is far more noticeable in international markets.

Sony’s Xperia 1 IV features many of the same camera capabilities as its expensive sibling, though it skips the claims of a massive primary sensor. It once again offers a trio of 12MP shooters with wide, ultrawide, and periscope zoom coverage. However, one of our favorite updates is the newfound support for Sony’s eye-tracking and object detection. We were particularly impressed by the autofocus, which is easily at the top of the list for smartphones, and it outweighs some mirrorless cameras, too. The Xperia 1 IV errs on the side of realism when it comes to color recreation, though we have to say it feels a bit punchier than in years past.

The Google Pixel 6a is the best camera phone if you’re on a budget

Google’s Pixel 6a is a unique entry on our list of the best budget camera phones you can buy. It costs just $449, yet it packs updated in-house internals and top-notch image processing that you expect from its premium siblings. The Pixel 6a might not stack up favorably across the board compared to heavy hitters on this list, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better value.

The Pixel 6a takes Google’s new design language and compresses it into a palm-friendly 6.1-inch body.

Despite taking on the Pixel 6’s design language, the Pixel 6a offers a camera experience that’s reminiscent of previous generations. For starters, it brings back the tried and true 12.2MP primary sensor that dates all the way back to the Pixel 3. It immediately feels familiar, delivering results that we’ve raved about over the years thanks to Google’s excellent post-processing. The camera is no longer as tack-sharp as the competition, but it’s reliable as can be. Google’s ultrawide camera tells a similar story. There’s some distortion around the edges, which is to be expected, but the color recreation and details are excellent.

Of course, the secret weapon that pushes the familiar camera package above its predecessors is Google’s Tensor chip. This is the first time we’ve seen it come to a mid-range device, and it brings an extra processing punch. It’s quicker to deliver final results than the Pixel 5 was, and it blends all of the latest retouching features. In fact, Magic Eraser picked up a new Camouflage option with the launch of the Pixel 6a. We’ve had plenty of fun erasing unwanted images from objects, but Camouflage takes a different approach. Instead of erasing objects, it simply recolors them to blend in with the background. We made good use of it, especially in scenes with complicated backgrounds where the traditional magic eraser struggled to recreate details.

We’ve seen plenty of other budget-friendly phones push for more lenses or more megapixels, but the Pixel devices have put brains over brawn since the beginning. Samsung’s Galaxy A53, for example, packs four rear cameras and a 64MP primary shooter, yet its color recreation and features are no more powerful than the Pixel’s. In fact, we prefer Google’s slimmed-down approach to the massive camera bump on the Galaxy A53, which adds a dedicated macro lens mostly for the imposing effect.

Pixel UI is one of our favorites when it comes to achieving a nearly-stock Android experience. It’s light and smooth, with very little bloatware, and it’s always at the front of the line when it comes to software updates. You can feel the impact of Material You throughout, with customizable widgets and first-party app icons that adapt to your wallpaper.

We immediately fell in love with the phone’s smaller form factor during our time with it. Where the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro were large at 6.4 and 6.7 inches, the Pixel 6a is a manageable 6.1 inches. It’s much easier to reach across with one finger, and the flat display is comfortable to hold for long stretches. Google’s budget phone skips the premium Gorilla Glass back panel in favor of a 3D thermoformed composite, which is a fancy way to say plastic. The display, however, is Gorilla Glass 3, which is good but lags behind the similarly priced competition.

One of the Pixel 6a’s main drawbacks comes in its battery life. The plastic back eliminates the potential for wireless charging, while the 18W wired charging is significantly slower than many rivals. Further, the Tensor’s struggles with thermal management mean that when your battery starts to tick away, it can be tough to slow down. We turned to Battery Saver early and often through our review period, which turned out to be a lifesaver.

What makes it stand out:

• Unbeatable price: Most camera phones on our list start at $899 or above, yet the Pixel 6a packs a flagship-level experience for about half that price, making it one of the best cheap phones around.
• Pocket-friendly design: Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are large, boxy devices. The Pixel 6a compresses the best features into a smaller, more manageable package.
• Tensor-powered processing: The same powerful Tensor chip from Google’s latest flagships is right at home on the Pixel 6a. That means it’s capable of matching the image processing potential with Real Tone and Face Unblur, though it skips a few of the most advanced features like Motion Mode.

The OPPO Find X5 Pro is the best-looking camera phone

Oppo Find X5 Pro

Oppo Find X5 Pro

Exquisite design • Brilliant 120Hz display • Fast wired and wireless charging

The Oppo X5 Pro gets all the basics right

The Find X5 Pro is focused on what matters. It has a great 120Hz display, a beautiful design, great cameras, and a long battery life. It also supports fast wired and wireless charging that get the battery back to 100% in no time.

$1,405.00 at Amazon

Style isn’t always a defining factor when buying a great camera phone, but when it looks as good as the OPPO Find X5 Pro, it’s worth mentioning. The flagship is a direct successor to the equally stylish Find X3 Pro, even if it swaps the mirrored finish for a serene white one. You’ll notice the brand skipped a Find X4 model, as the number four is considered unlucky in China. Unlucky or not, the fourth Find flagship is a showcase for the best that OPPO has going right now. However, this is a Europe-only recommendation, as it’s not easy to bring to the US right now.

Oppo’s well-rounded approach to photography is what earns the Find X5 Pro its place on our list. It skips the lenses for lenses’ sake approach, instead sporting just three rear cameras. Two are 50MP Sony IMX766 lenses, one wide and one ultrawide, and both deliver solid results for casual use. The third is a 13MP telephoto, which is just as capable of holding its own. It may come across as odd to praise the removal of a lens, but OPPO’s decision to skip the 60x super macro from the Find X3 Pro means the two existing lenses have more freedom to breathe.

The Find X5 Pro was the fourth horseman in our ultimate camera test, and it often wound up in second or third position behind the top two phones on our list. We found that the phone had no problems nailing exposure and white balance in outdoor situations, along with decent details. Its 2x zoom results are on par with its standard snaps, thanks to its telephoto lens. However, it does fall behind a few rivals once you stretch to 5x and 10x zoom as the 2x telephoto turns to digital cropping.

Despite its Hasselblad co-branding and premium color science, we also found that the Find X5 Pro leaned heavily on saturated colors to make images more appealing. A few of our test images show OPPO’s sky as a completely different shade of blue as compared to its top competitors. The Find X5 Pro makes up some ground in its application of HDR, however, only coming up short of the Pixel 6 Pro based on its color profile. It rarely crushes shadows and often manages to find details where the iPhone and Galaxy S22 Ultra come up short.

Oppo, like OnePlus, has turned to Hasselblad for a dose of color science.

Oppo’s selfie camera performed better than most during our time with it as well. It inserts an extra white pixel into the standard RGB filter to help with light capture, and we found that it wasn’t just a claim for the spec sheet. Our samples were well exposed with minimal noise, though the details can be a bit soft. We did appreciate the ability to tune the Find X5 Pro’s bokeh for portrait mode, which isn’t always a guarantee.

No matter the hardware muscle, OPPO’s Marisilicon X NPU steals much of the fanfare. It’s the brains behind the brawn, and the chip is essentially designed to run OPPO’s AI imaging algorithms on the camera’s RAW data to improve noise reduction and low light performance. Regardless of the technical jargon, the chip combines impressively with both of OPPO’s lenses to deliver great night mode images. We tested its mettle on the ultrawide, standard, and zoom settings and had no qualms with the results — which is especially impressive for the zoom option. You’ll need night mode for any luck in the dark, as OPPO’s cameras tended to struggle without the feature active.

Moving beyond the camera, OPPO’s 80W wired SuperVOOC fast charging and 50W wireless charging can both fill the 5,000mAh cell in a hurry. In fact, this is up there with the best wireless charging you’ll find on our list.We also achieved somewhere in the range of six to eight hours of screen on time with reasonably heavy use, landing among the best Android phones on the market. The results are good considering the power requirements of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. Like previous OPPO flagships, the device comes tuned to a lower performance setting out of the box to maximize that battery potential. It delivers great results in terms of graphical performance, even if the raw numbers don’t always add up.

What makes it stand out:

• Space-age style: OPPO introduced an almost Star Wars-esque style with its Find X3 Pro, and it’s nice to see a return. The camera array once again seems to melt into the back of the phone, even if the Hasselblad branding is a bit large.
• Excellent charging and battery life: 80W wired charging is excellent, regardless of battery size. OPPO’s 50W wireless speeds are remarkable, too, and the 5,000mAh cell lasts for hours upon hours.
• MariSilicon magic: Like Google, OPPO has realized that the best smarts are behind the camera. The MariSilicon X NPU offers excellent processing capabilities, especially in low-light situations. It buoys the already impressive trio of cameras even further towards the top.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is one of the best co-branded camera phones

Xiaomi 13 Pro

Xiaomi 13 Pro

Powerful sustained performance • Really fast charging • Great design

Power and polish

The Xiaomi 13 Pro ticks all the right boxes for a high-end flagship, including a large and vibrant high-resolution display, a 1-inch 50MP primary camera sensor, 120W charging, and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 performance.

£1,099.99 at Amazon

£1,099.99 at Xiaomi

The last entry on our list of the best camera phones right now is another Europe-only offering in the Xiaomi 13 Pro. It’s perhaps the best Xiaomi flagship to date, bringing premium materials to an already performant package and adding blistering fast charging for good measure.

In our review, we were quick to point out just how deep the Leica integrations are, and we stand by that. There are several changes to the overall setup, which is the first global device to launch since the start of Xiaomi’s partnership with the German camera brand. For starters, the Leica name is emblazoned right across the large, square camera bump — but the choice isn’t only aesthetic.

The camera bump may be huge, but Xiaomi’s lenses put it to good use.

The hefty camera bump houses a 50MP main camera, a 50MP ultrawide option, and a 50MP telephoto. Overall, the flexibility is excellent, as are the daytime images through the primary camera. Portrait mode can be a little tricky as different zoom lengths are modeled after Leica lenses, but you can figure it out with a little practice. Noise is minimal, though there were occasions where the results had less resolvable detail.

Xiaomi’s ultrawide lens doesn’t suffer too much, thanks, in part, to Leica’s history of lens design. It’s plenty sharp with minimal noise and healthy amounts of detail. You can even choose between a pair of color profiles: Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant. As the names suggest, Authentic is closer to the classic Leica look, while Vibrant pumps the saturation just a bit in reds and greens.

If you want to test Xiaomi’s low-light chops, you’ll be plenty impressed. We found that the primary camera shines when the light is low. The one-inch sensor captures plenty of light and makes good use of pixel binning to stretch its capability even further.

What makes it stand out:

• Bundled charger: When you’re hitting 120W speeds, it helps to have a bundled charger. The Xiaomi 13 Pro offers a USB-A block that reaches top speeds in compatible markets.
• Fingerprint sensor: In-display fingerprint readers are the go-to for most flagships, and Xiaomi’s is no slouch. It’s fast and accurate.
• Leica look: Xiaomi’s Leica Authentic color profile has quickly become a favorite of ours. While it’s not perfectly natural, it offers that famed Leica look that photographers love.

What to look for in a good camera phone

If you’ve read through our picks for the best camera phones and still have some questions, we don’t blame you. There’s a wide world of options, and it can be tough to know where to start. With that in mind, we have a few simple points to consider:

• How many cameras do you need? There’s a popular trend where smartphone makers slap as many cameras onto a phone as they can to make you think it’s better. You might find four lenses on a $300 device, but you may never use them all, and they may not hold a candle to a pair of higher-quality lenses. No matter what, you can ignore devices that pass off macro cameras and depth sensors as extra lenses to fill space. A good ultrawide camera can take the place of a macro, and depth information rarely requires its own sensor.
• What type of cameras do you need? Picking up from the point above, it’s good to consider the type of images you want to capture. If you’re into landscapes, you might want a sweeping ultrawide lens to bring in every last detail. However, you might find yourself looking for a telephoto lens if you’re hoping to capture some wildlife. Some of the best cameras, like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Pixel 7 Pro, offer both types of lenses, which makes them better as all-around performers.
• Megapixels aren’t everything: Just like the fact that four cameras aren’t always better than three, 108MP isn’t always better than 12MP. Many cameras with massive megapixel counts bin down to smaller images by default, while some 12MP lenses take advantage of larger sensors for excellent results. Google stuck with a 12.2MP primary sensor for years before adopting (and binning) a larger sensor for the Pixel 6 series and continuing its upgrades with the Pixel 7 series.
• Do you want manual controls? If you’re coming from the world of DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, you might like a little more control in your life. Some phones offer in-depth apps that let you tweak your aperture, white balance, and exposure compensation. If none of those terms sound familiar, you might be after a device with a more straightforward setup. The Pixel 7 Pro, for example, lets you control portrait mode and a few basic effects but limits your manual power in favor of the Tensor’s smarts. If you’d rather do it all yourself, the Xperia Pro-I is a perfect example of a mighty manual setup — it doesn’t even have a dedicated portrait mode.
• Software matters a lot: Sticking with the Pixel example, one of the reasons that Google didn’t update its hardware very often was because the processing software is just that good. Two phones may share the same image sensor yet produce completely different results, which all comes back to the onboard software. Powerful software also leads to better editing control over colors and object removal.
• Do you need RAW capture? A few smartphones, like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro offer the option to export your photos as RAW files. You’ll typically want a phone with this option if you plan to edit your shots later on in a program like Lightroom, as it gives you more control over the image data to recover highlights and shadows. The OPPO Find X5 Pro also runs RAW data through its MariSilicon X chip as part of its processing method.

FAQs

Most phones with excellent rear cameras have strong selfie options as well. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, iPhone 14 Pro Max, and Pixel 7 Pro stand out as especially good, and you can check out our full list of recommendations here.

No, not necessarily. The iPhone 14 Pro Max carries two 12MP lenses and one 48MP option, yet it’s one of the best cameras you can get, thanks to its processing power. Google’s Pixel line has also historically stuck to lower megapixel sensors and let machine learning do the work.

No. Most smartphones will combine pixels from a larger camera in a process known as pixel binning. This turns a 64MP or 108MP camera into the equivalent of a 12MP camera for better low-light performance and smaller image files.

This is a difficult question to answer, as there are so many more Android cameras to choose from. There are many more Android flagships to choose from, but the iPhone has a consistently excellent camera setup year in and year out.

Large, heavy DSLRs have already fallen in popularity over the last few years and will likely be replaced by smartphones for average users. Professional photographers, however, will continue to rely on dedicated cameras with larger sensors for commercial work and wedding photography.

The most important things to look for are the types of lenses you will use, as well as the software options. Some phones will offer a simple camera app with excellent processing as opposed to an in-depth app that puts you in the driver’s seat. Both may be good phones, but it comes down to your preference.