The Best Camera Phones

How to Choose the Right Mobile Phone

From Selfies to Portraits

Your phone is the camera you always carry. And if you haven’t upgraded it in a few years, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much phone camera performance (particularly low-light image quality) has improved. In fact, we’ve pretty much reached the point that you can leave your old point-and-shoot at home as long as you’ve got a good camera phone in your pocket.

But not all phone cameras are created equal. We put every phone we review through a rigorous series of camera evaluations in our test lab to determine which are the best shooters on the market. We’ve gathered the top camera phones here. Not only will you not have to worry about carrying a separate camera if you’ve got one of these in your pocket, but each is also a stellar smartphone in its own right.

One aspect we’re finding frustrating right now, though, is that many of the best cameras are now on smartphones that aren’t available in the US. There’s intense camera innovation going on from manufacturers like Huawei, Oppo, and Xiaomi, but for various reasons they don’t sell phones in the US and their phones don’t work very well on our networks.

In the US, the usual suspects of Apple, Google, and Samsung have the best cameras. We tried to throw a few less expensive phones into the mix here, notably the Google Pixel 3a and the ZTE Blade, which have excellent cameras for their price ranges.

The most important factor in any photo isn’t the camera—it’s the photographer, as I’ve found out to my dismay for years. No matter what phone you have, following our camera expert Jim Fisher’s tips and tricks for camera phone photos can make your images better.

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ has regular, wide-angle, and zoom cameras

Trends and Accessories

A few years ago we saw the trend of phones with lots of lenses blossom, and it’s still in full bloom. Many phones now have a standard lens, a magnifying “zoom” lens, and a wide-angle lens. A more exotic infrared time-of-flight sensor helps judge depth for bokeh and augmented reality apps. Less successful lenses/sensors we’ve seen on the back include color filters (you can do this very well in software) and macro lenses (just not very good, so far). Google has been able to resist this trend somewhat by using smart software for a better digital zoom than other providers.

This comparison shot shows the typical difference between cameras

Super-high-megapixel camera phones are becoming more popular, but largely outside the US. Here in the US, the only widely available 108-megapixel camera phone is the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, which we don’t recommend because of its ongoing focus problems. The advantage of very high megapixels is that you can zoom and crop images after the fact, or do lossless digital zooming in your camera app without having to use an extra magnifying lens. The disadvantage is that the individual pixels can sometimes be very small, creating problems for color capture or low-light photography.

Super zoom goes along with both of those previous trends. Phones are now combining zoomed-in high-megapixel images, optical zoom lenses, and software to give you 30x, 50x, or in the case of the Galaxy S20 Ultra, 100x zoom. In general, anything much higher than 10x shows heavy digital zoom artifacting. But a good 10x zoom, as you get on the Galaxy S20+, is still a big step forward from what we used to have.

Super-zoom, like 30x on this Galaxy S20+, is a new trend

Large sensors are separate from high megapixels. A bigger sensor means a phone can capture more light; it’s better all around in terms of color, detail, and low-light performance. The downside is that big sensors tend to have a very short plane of focus, so it can be harder to get a whole scene in focus when some items are close to the lens. The latest Galaxy S20 Ultra and OnePlus 8 Pro phones have larger sensors than others.

The most advanced night modes now combine several frames over time to brighten up pictures. They appear to have long, multi-second exposures, but they use AI software to reduce blur by aligning the various images together. (You still don’t want to use them for moving subjects.) Google’s Pixel phones, Apple’s iPhones, and Huawei phones have the best night modes.

Bring all of that together with a good pro mode. A good camera phone will have a mode that lets you manually tweak virtual exposure, aperture, and the focus point to get exactly the shot you want.

Why do so many photographers rely on iPhones? The availability of third-party camera apps plays a big role. While there are third-party camera apps available for Android, apps used by professionals still tend to come out first and be more quickly updated on iOS. We have a special guide to how to take better pictures with your iPhone.

How About Video?

In the era of TikTok and Instagram Stories, video is more important than ever. Here are some features to look for.

Optical image stabilization is always better than electronic or digital image stabilization, creating less jittery videos. Many high-end phones now use both, giving a sort of “Steadicam” effect.

While 1080p video is still good enough for most people, higher-end phones can now record in 4K, and we’re starting to see the first 8K recording phones. 8K requires a massive amount of storage—about 600MB per minute—and right now, its primary use is if you’re editing videos on a PC after the fact and want to be able to crop and zoom. If that baffles you, see our tips for how to get your images off your phone.

Slow motion can make for some exciting effects; while most phones can now capture up to 240fps (1/8 speed), some can go up to 960fps (1/32 speed). Keep an eye on how long a phone can capture slow-mo for, though, because it can be tricky to grab a scene if you only have 0.2 seconds of recording time. Many phones also have other video tricks like time lapse, hyperlapse, and video bokeh.

Do You Need a Standalone Camera?

For the ultimate in image quality, the best possible low-light performance, or killer optical zoom, you’ll still want a dedicated SLR or mirrorless camera. Our list of the Best Digital Cameras is a great place to start. And be sure to check out our Beyond-Basic Photography Tips.

If you don’t need to take professional shots, however, a top smartphone camera will suit you just fine, and you can’t go wrong with any of our picks here.

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About the Author

PCMag.com’s lead mobile analyst, Sascha Segan, has reviewed hundreds of smartphones, tablets and other gadgets in more than 9 years with PCMag. He’s the head of our Fastest Mobile Networks project, one of the hosts of the daily PCMag Live Web show and speaks frequently in mass media on cell-phone-related issues. His commentary has appeared on ABC, the BBC, the CBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and in newspapers from San Antonio, Texas to Edmonton, Alberta.

Segan is also a multiple award-winning travel writer, having contributed to the Frommer’s series of travel guides and Web sites for more than a decade. Other than his home town of New York, his favorite … See Full Bio