Best Camera Phones 2022 | Best Camera Phones | Camera Phones | Camera | Phone
The best camera phones are usually the best phones overall, and you'll mostly find flagships in this category – the likes of the latest Galaxy and iPhones usually deliver the highest image quality at the time. Other brands compete successfully here too – Huawei's top dogs have also been consistently great camera performers and that hasn't changed, but as of mid-2019, they come with caveats when it comes to their software usability and future. . The Google Pixels have lost their leading position, though we still have one to recommend if you're after that Pixel look. Xiaomi and Oppo have also made great strides in the camera field and often offer unusual hardware that delivers excellent image quality. Finally, there's a camera phone too if you're on a budget - even non-flagships can take great pictures.
1. Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra - Best Camera Phone
GOOD
- Impressive camera hardware across all three rear units
- Industry-leading image and video quality across the board
- The rear display turns rear cameras into selfie cameras
- Great stereo speakers, super-fast charging, thoroughly impressive display
BAD
- The phone is heavy and bulky as a whole, the camera bump is hardly a looker
- The rear display has some untapped potential
- A tendency to underexpose with the main camera
Breaking a streak of Galaxy title holders, the Mi 11 Ultra is our latest Editors' Choice for camera phones. It packs a unique combination of top-class hardware and puts it to good use, delivering great results in almost all scenarios.
If we point to one flaw in the pictures of the Mi 11 Ultra, it would be the unexposed output of the main camera. Apart from this, we have nothing but praise for the primary camera of Mi 11 Ultra in broad daylight and even after dark. The Ultrawide has autofocus and a peak field of view and takes some great UW images, no matter the lighting. The 5x Tele is great at its native zoom level, but can also bump up to 10x units like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, so you're not really sacrificing accessibility either.
An unexpected gamechanger, the tiny 1.1 rear-facing OLED display lets you frame rear camera selfies, turning the front camera into a video call. And the Mi's rear-camera selfies are, again, second to none, plus you get to use AF-ing ultrawide for some awkward perspective shots.
Video recording is another powerful suite of Mi 11 Ultra. In fact, usable 8K footage, properly excellent 4K and nearly tripod-level stabilization mean the Mi is as great for video as it is for stills. We are only hoping that Xiaomi unlocks the rear display for video use, this was not available at the time of review.
The Mi 11 Ultra makes some compromises in other departments as well. You don't get a great display, high-quality stereo speakers, fast charging, and really bad battery life within the flagship scene. The best camera phone is overall a mighty good phone.
2. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G - Best Camera Phone
GOOD
- Big-sensor main cam gathers a lot of light
- The two teles make for one of the most versatile zoom setups available
- Ultrawide cam now has AF
- Excellent selfies
- All-round great video recording, top-quality stabilization
BAD
- Unimpressive zoom action around the 2x mark
- Portraits can be better
- Output is slightly noisier than usual
The Galaxy S21 Ultra has it all - a massive sensor main camera, an autofocusing ultrawide (the first Samsung to offer it), and not one but two telephotos. It replaced the Note20 Ultra as our favorite camera phone but was eventually dethroned by the Mi 11 Ultra.
The S21 Ultra is definitely an excellent choice. Its main camera's 108MP noncell sensor packs 9-to-1 pixels producing a wide dynamic range in both good light and night, and this latest generation also produces sharp photos. The high-resolution imager also enables 8K video recording - not our favorite feature, and not as good as on the Mi, but it's there if you want to use it. This sensor isn't great at short-range zoom - one of the few downsides of the S21 Ultra's camera system.
However, 3x zoom and up is where the S21 Ultra excels thanks to its pair of tele cams. Both modules performed great at their original focal lengths and aren't too bad even between magnifications. There's no question of going beyond the 10x level, though 100x Moon shots are probably best for marketing teams.
This ultra ultrawide is better than all other Samsung products to date. It's a bit faster than before, but more importantly, it adds autofocus, further expanding the range of its usefulness.
The 40MP selfie camera is also one of the best we've seen - the hardware appears to be the same as the S20 Ultra, but the processing is a huge leap in the right direction.
Now, rear-cam portraits aren't as good as we'd like - the 108MP cam's zooming capability isn't great and the zoomed-in portrait mode is what the S21 Ultra defaults to. We're also seeing a little more noise across the board in the S21 Ultra's photos and videos - not too bad, but different in ways from Samsung. Nevertheless, the good outweighs the bad.
3. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max - Best Camera Phone
GOOD
- Some of the most advanced auto HDR, Deep Fusion, Night Mode, and whatnot
- Most versatile capture on the market, best stabilization
BAD
- Expensive
- Just 2.5x on the long end
- Over-processed photos
- No AF on the selfie cam
- No AF on the ultra-wide cam
The iPhone 12 Pro Max will be our top pick for video capture because it can record all kinds of resolutions at all kinds of frame rates with its three cameras and even do it simultaneously. It can do the same in Dolby Vision format. how cool is that?! It also boasts one of the smoothest video stabilization systems you can find in a phone, whether it's just EIS, OIS+EIS, or IBIS+EIS, and video too from Apple's HDR ensuring class-leading dynamic range. can.
Night mode has been expanded and now works on ultrawide and selfie cameras as well. You can also use it in portrait mode. We're not thrilled about image processing, or shall we say over-processing, but perfect quality can be avoided and you must have the skills to work with RAW.
Some other kinds of beef we have with the iPhone include the lack of autofocus and ultra-wide on the selfie cam. Then there's the 2.5x optical zoom, which is by far the best by some competing offerings. And you don't get a charger and no headphones, let's not forget that. Still, the iPhone is one of the most capable camera phones around.
4. Oppo Find X3 Pro - Best Camera Phone
GOOD
- Large sensor main and ultrawide cameras gather a lot of light, take great photos and video in all conditions
- Unique microscope module
- Wonderful display, super-fast charging, great stereo speakers, posh design
BAD
- No OIS on the telephoto camera, 2x zoom is short for a flagship
- The selfie camera is unremarkable
- Battery life is so-so
Oppo makes attractive camera phones in the high-end segment and the latest Find X3 Pro is one such offering. It relies on the proven formula for using larger sensors on the main and ultrawide modules (though not the largest), adding a conservative 2x zoom tele, and spice things up with a microscope.
The primary camera and ultrawide are great in all light conditions. The Tele may not have quite reached the 5x periscopes of a lot of competitors, but does a solid job in broad daylight. Meanwhile, the microscope is a different take on the 'macro' trend, and this is one that just might be exactly the thing for you.
Of course, the Find X3 Pro doesn't disappoint when it comes to basics. Expect an amazing display, top-notch performance, and blazing fast charging (though battery life is at the lower end of the spectrum). The fancy curvy design doesn't hurt either.
5. OnePlus 8 Pro - Best Camera Phone
GOOD
- Excellent quality from the camera packs unusually large 48MP sensor
- 3x tele offers more reach than the mainstream 2x
- AF on the ultra-wide cam
- The selfie camera is not on a PO-up module
- Pure-bread flagship with S865 and 120hz 1440p HDR10+ OLED
BAD
- No AF on the selfie cam
We are placing the 8 Pro on this list, even though the OnePlus 9 Pro is already available. The latter is expensive and not necessarily better than the 8 Pro camera-wise.
The main camera of the OnePlus 8 Pro packs a large 1/1.43" 48MP sensor with ubiquitous-PDAF, laser-AF, and OIS. But the snapper is not only jam-packed with technology, but it's also amazing photos and videos. offers day and night. Then the 8 Pro also captivates with a 3x zoom telephoto, which may be smaller than the 5x periscope that dominates the market, but it still reaches way ahead of recent iPhones. The 8 Pro's ultrawide angle cam has autofocus, adding close-ups to the list of things the OP can and does before galaxies and iPhones (which the last for that matter still can't).
We're not fans of fixed-focus selfie cameras, but AF selfie cameras are also hard to come by in the 2021 model.
6. Asus Zenfone 7 Pro - Best Camera Phone
GOOD
- The unique motorized camera assembly
- Versatile triple camera with a great photo and video quality
- The main camera is your selfie camera, too!
- Powerhouse chipset, great battery life
BAD
- Heavier than most, thick too
- The motorized camera may not be everyone's cup of tea
This May, Asus launched a new Zenfone 8 Flip, but we can't recommend its camera over the Zenfone 7 Pros. Look, Asus hasn't made any improvements as far as the quality of photos and videos is concerned. Even worse, the new main camera has lost optical image stabilization. So if you're after Asus's signature flip camera, it's fair to say that you're better off buying last year's ZenFone 7 Pro, which also has the advantage of being cheaper.
The motorized flip camera is no gimmick - on the contrary - it delivers a flagship camera quality, plus it makes it the most capable selfie camera on the market. Not having a cutout on the 90Hz AMOLED display is also a nice bonus.
So, the Zenfone 7 Pro's triple main/selfie camera features a high-resolution 64MP primary shooter with OIS, large pixels, and a 12MP ultrawide snapper with autofocus, while its 8MP 3x tele delivers some of the sharpest photos we've seen in that case. Levels are seen on zoom. There is no shortage of video capture either. Overall, this Zenfone not only offers excellent flagships but also delivers a selfie camera experience.
The Zenfone 7 Pro packs the Snapdragon 865+ chip, which is still one of the best in the market. It has stereo speakers, offers good battery life, and charges very fast. Oh, and the Zenfone 7 Pro is at least €100 cheaper and the Zenfone 8 Flip is likely to be even more affordable in the weeks following the launch.
7. Google Pixel 4a 5G - Best Camera Phone
GOOD
- Photos have that 'pixel look'
- Ultrawide cam instead of a telephoto
- Yet, 2x zoom is available via Google's Smart Zoom
BAD
- Competitors have caught up with the computational photography
- Super Zoom is better than digital zoom but is no optical zoom
- Still no AF on the selfie cam
- Not that cheap
Then there's the new Pixel 4a 5G, which we chose instead of the Pixel 5 to have the same camera, but at a cheaper price. A while back the Pixel was a straightforward recommendation when it came to taking pictures on a phone, but that's no longer the case. Competition has already caught up to Google's computational photography and the Pixels are starting to look less. See, this year Google added the user's requested ultrawide camera, but it replaced the telephoto shooter.
Google promised that its new AI-based Super Zoom would make up for the missing telephoto – we were talking about the king of computational photography. Zoomed photos are better than the typical crop and upscale, but they are not on par with any optically zoomed one. It looks like the computational magic of Google is finally running out of steam.
Still, we're keeping this Pixel as a niche choice, as the Pixel series has a substantial worldwide following, plus Google's software support is quite a valuable thing for fans yearning for the latest Android versions.
We don't have a full review of the Pixel 4a 5G, but the Pixel 5 has the same camera and you can see what to expect by looking at our Pixel 5 camera review.
8. Realme 8 Pro - Best Camera Phone
GOOD
- Great daylight photo and video quality
- Surprisingly good zoom action at 3x from the main camera
- All of the small goodies - 3.mm jack, tri-card slot (with microSD), FM radio, NFC
BAD
- Low-light image quality isn't as great and Night mode is pretty slow
- 60Hz screen in a see of HRR ones, aging chipset
The Realme 8 Pro is the third consecutive model in the lineup to make it to our cameraphone shortlist in the value category. While hardly flawless, the 8 Pro offers a 108MP main camera that does a great job in both stills and video at its native magnification but also delivers excellent 3x zoom pictures - without any dedicated temple. The low-light performance is good for the classroom, if not strictly stunning in isolation, but it's the dull Night Mode that turns us off.
It has a lot going for it outside its camera, including solid battery life, speedy charging, and a whole set of good-for-all. The AMOLED display scores points for brightness but is one of the few panels stuck at 60Hz, with most competitors offering at least 90Hz. The Snapdragon 720 chipset is also a bit long in the tooth.
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