Picking the is a tougher challenge than it ever has been. And, as more and more major manufacturers release more advanced camera phones, it’s only going to get harder. Better for you, though, as the prospective smartphone snapper – with options at various price points from Apple, Samsung, Google, Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo and Honor you are utterly spoiled for choice.
There are better features, higher resolutions and sharper lenses, as well as options at budget prices. Aren’t you lucky? At AP, we take reviewing smartphones as seriously as we do testing the – after all, far more images are now shot on smartphones than anything else. We look at image quality, video quality, handling, durability, battery life, ease of use, and more, looking at each camera lens and feature in detail.
To know more about our testing criteria and what to look for in a smartphone camera, we’ve put together an explainer on how to choose one at the bottom of this page. The acceleration of progress in smartphone cameras has raised the question of whether they can replicate the quality of digital cameras and DSLRs. Ultimately, with their interchangeable lenses, larger sensors, and raw imaging capability, the answer is: not yet.
Some genres and shooting situations, such as portrait photography, are certainly better served by a camera than a smartphone. For most users looking for something for day-to-day photography though, the best smartphone cameras will achieve all that they need. See our of the week .