The Best Camera Smartphones

The Mate 40 Pro achieved good or very good results on all lenses, and we were particularly impressed by the potent ultra-wide angle sensor. Our only gripe was the missing optical image stabilization for the wide-angle lens that is only available on the Plus model.

Samsung’s image processing algorithms have been further refined for a better scene detection to improve night-time photography. Samsung also included powerful video features with up to 8k resolution. In return, HDR video remains an experimental feature.

Generally speaking Apple’s iPhone offers a well-balanced and flexible camera producing very good to look at photos.

The Mi 11 Ultra is an excellent smartphone with a bright and colorful display.

 One of the highlights is the small display at the rear. Among other things it enables you to take selfies using the main camera. A total of 256 GB of internal storage should suffice for almost everybody, and the powerful high-end Qualcomm SoC paired with 12 GB of RAM make for an excellent experience when running any application whatsoever. The colorful 120 Hz OLED display did a fantastic job overall.

Xiaomi devices are not officially sold in North America.

Its two 50 MP sensors are great at taking daylight photos with a homogenous depth-of-field in both wide and ultra-wide angle setups. Additional lenses include a telephoto lens with a 2x optical zoom as well as a microscope camera for unusually close-up macro photography.

Oppo also claims 10-bit color for its photos resulting in a wider range of available colors with more subtle and softer transitions. The Oppo Find X3 Pro is available in various colors with prices starting at slightly below $1,200 on Amazon.

Xiaomi’s Mi 10 Ultra can easily keep up with its flagship competitors.

The camera performed very well overall as well. Its 48 MP main sensor takes photos worthy of a true high-end smartphone, with popping colors and a good low-light performance. The phone also comes with an optical zoom.

Xiaomi devices are not officially sold in North America.

If you are looking for a good overall package the OnePlus 9 may be worth a closer look.

Thanks to its good cameras the OnePlus 9 manages to keep up with more expensive competitors and takes great photos in all situations. Its weaknesses include for example the lack of OIS for the zoom lens resulting in blurry photos. Thanks to its fast USB 3.1 port images can be transferred very quickly from your phone to your computer.

The OnePlus 9 is available among others on Amazon with prices starting at around $690.

As is quite common for Samsung smartphones the Fold2 applied a fairly noticeable amount of sharpening in post-processing. In our review, the device’s camera array turned out to work pretty well overall with a minor weakness in the depth of field category.

The Fold2 can be purchased either directly through Samsung or via various retailers such as Amazon.

Lenovo’s Legion Phone Duel 2 is a great smartphone with a great camera.

The remainder of the specs are not half-bad either. Not only are apps and games running very smoothly and without any issues, but the 144 Hz panel renders everything silky smooth. Popping colors and six user-configurable buttons are other highlights this gaming smartphone has to offer. In return, it lacks support for wireless charging and its active fan is very noticeable under load.

The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 is not available in North America.

The OnePlus 8T keeps its focus on its core functionality: high performance and great features at a low price.

The OnePlus 8T’s camera did not disappoint either. Its photos are at a level expected of a high-end smartphone and rich in detail. Additional camera sensors ensure the computation of extra image information, and with a macro and a wide-angle lens the camera features two additional lenses.

At the time of writing the OnePlus 8T had dropped below 500 Euros in Europe and was available for between $500 and $600 through the usual retail channels, such as for example Amazon.