Finding the best camera phone can be a challenge considering the number of smartphones on the market. You'll find that the best camera phones all feature multiple lenses, including macro or telephoto options, and you can also customize settings like shutter speeds and depth-of-field. Many high-end models also utilize AI to make editing a breeze and give your photos an edge.
Our expert reviewers have compiled a list of the phones with the best cameras at a range of different price points. They included both iOS and Android, and if you're on the fence about taking the plunge, several companies are offering Black Friday deals. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S24 is an amazing $350 off at Amazon.
Alternatively, you're looking to engage in more specialist photography, we can advise you on the best cameras, best mirrorless cameras and best cameras for astrophotography.
The Quick List
You can find a quick summary of our top picks below. If you want more information about a product, click "Read more below" for a more detailed review of each camera phone.
Despite being a year old, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a phenomenal handset, especially when it comes to mobile photography.
Apple's latest and greatest big phone is a photography powerhouse, and it's an excellent all-round device thanks to its powerful new chip.
For
- Great display
- Light thanks to a Titanium body
- Incredible performance
- Excellent camera
Against
- Expensive now there’s no 128GB version
The Google Pixel 8 Pro is a fantastic phone that leverages AI for clever photography features like Best Take, and it handily connects with Google Photos and Google Drive.
This more affordable Google phone packs the Google Tensor G2 chip as well as an excellent camera and stock Android experience.
Apple's cheapest iPhone is hardly cheap at all, but the iPhone 15 marks a big step up from the 14, and includes much of the camera tech found in last year's Pro model.
The OnePlus 11 5G is the king of portraits, leaning into Hasselblad-style photography. While it lacks much of a zoom, it can take phenomenal portrait and landscape shots.
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A mid-range option from Google that sports some great AI features and a beginner-friendly astrophotography mode. It shoots excellent video, but photo output is limited to 16MP.
The best camera phones we recommend in 2024
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Best camera phone overall
✅ You want a fantastic phone too: You can get plenty done thanks to its huge display and powerful chip.
✅ You're looking for versatility: The S23 Ultra can take amazing shots at just about any range.
❌ You're on a budget: The S23 Ultra doesn't come cheap, so you may struggle to justify it unless you're after a flagship device.
🔎 Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: With a huge display, powerful chip, and plenty of camera tricks, the S23 Ultra is our pick of the best camera phones today. ★★★★★
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is without a doubt one of the best camera phones ever made. It comes with an incredible 200MP main camera encased in a tough, shock-resistant and waterproof chassis, so you don't have to worry about taking it out on your adventures.
The sensor produces incredibly detailed shots with natural-looking colors. The camera also comes with dual telephoto lenses offering 3x and 10x optical zoom so you can get in close to the action without losing any image quality. This opens up a huge range of cropping and editing possibilities, with the ability to export to RAW formats included as well.
The camera also performs really well in low-light situations, with a Nightography mode and new astrophotography hyperlapse video capabilities which enable you to create a video of the stars moving across the night sky.
The phone itself has a lightning-fast processor and nifty features like a built-in S Pen for jotting down notes or sending quick sketches to friends or colleagues. It packs a performance punch and can handle pretty much anything you throw at it.
With all this technology, this phone is quite an investment. If you're looking for a flagship model, you may also want to consider its successor, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. The new model brings an array of AI features to the camera, including editing tools to remove objects and refill the space, 100x digital zoom where the AI fills in pixels to maintain the detail and slow-mo video where the AI cleverly fills in the extra frames.
Best iPhone camera phone
✅ You want fantastic performance: Apple's A17 Pro chip is a powerhouse.
✅ You want a USB-C iPhone: The Lightning Port is gone, long live the USB-C port.
✅ You're in the Apple ecosystem: Whether you have a MacBook, iPad, AirPods, or a Mac, you'd do well to pair them with an iPhone.
❌ You want fast charging: There's wireless charging and somewhat faster charging, but there's no 'true' fast-charging on an iPhone just yet.
🔎 iPhone 15 Pro Max: Undeniably the best iPhone around, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is a powerful tool for just about anything — including photography. ★★★★★
In our iPhone 15 Pro Max review, we awarded it five stars, and months later, we stand by that decision. Apple's latest (and largest) Pro phone doesn't come cheap, but its A17 Pro chip is a sizeable leap from the 14 Pro lineup, so if your budget stretches to it, we think it's worth considering.
The A17 Pro chip has benchmarks that blow its competitors out of the water: It's even more powerful than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra featured above. It'll perform just about every task quickly and easily, making the iPhone 15 Pro Max a great choice no matter what iOS apps and games you're wanting to run.
But it's the photography we're here for, and Apple enthusiasts will be pleased to hear this is an area the iPhone 15 Pro Max excels in. It features a 48MP sensor (rendering in 24MP resolution) that captures gorgeous detailed shots with a great level of color vibrancy.
There's also a 5x optical zoom (which you won't find on the smaller iPhone 15 Pro), and a 12MP ultra wide and 12MP telephoto cameras alongside the main rear camera. Apple has continued to gradually unfurl more options within the camera app, too, so you have things like digital lenses, photography styles and more at your fingertips.
We love that the new Titanium design makes the iPhone 15 Pro Max a little lighter than its predecessors. This is also the first generation of iPhones to ditch the proprietary Lightning charger: This is a USB-C phone, making it more versatile than ever.
- Read our full iPhone 15 Pro Max review.
Best Google camera phone
✅ You already use Google Photos: Editing is done in the Google Photos app, so if you're already using it, you'll feel right at home.
✅ You want to try AI photography features: The main camera has features like 'Best Take' to ensure excellent images.
❌ You want true-to-life images: Pictures from the Pixel 8 Pro can offer exaggerated colors.
❌ You want to avoid AI tricks: The Pixel 8 Pro's main snapper isn't as good as others on this list without the added AI tweaks.
🔎 Google Pixel 8 Pro: The best Pixel yet, the Pixel 8 Pro is a perfect choice for anyone well-versed in Google's ecosystem. ★★★★
The Google Pixel 8 Pro is all about AI power. Google Pixel phones have always been solid performers, and the Pixel 8 Pro has had a wealth of upgrades across its camera lenses. Photos are edited within Google's own Photos suite, enabling users to complete advanced tasks like remove objects, fix blemishes and retroactively add blurred backgrounds.
The 'Best Take' feature is one of our favorites: if you're taking a group shot, for example, you'll be able to pick out the best individual faces from a series of shots, putting them together to create one perfect photo.
It's still a few steps behind the iPhone 15 Pro Max or the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in terms of raw camera performance, but with Google's suite of powerful AI tools, the Pixel 8 Pro is able to create beautiful photos to rival its competitors.
In terms of other features, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is a great choice, too. You're getting the native Android experience, and Google promises another six years of guaranteed support.
We're used to talking about the iPhone as part of an Apple ecosystem of devices and services, but we're close to the point where the Google Pixel lineup is similar. So if you're already entrenched in Google's ecosystem, using Gmail, Google Docs and more, it's a great choice.
Best budget camera phone
✅ You want a great camera on a budget: It's not as powerful as the Pixel 8 Pro, but for this price, you'll struggle to find better.
✅ You want impressive performance: The Pixel 7a is pretty rapid when it comes to all-round usage.
❌ You want great battery life: The Pixel 7a is powerful, but it'll chomp through battery with impressive speed.
❌ You're making an investment: There are only just over two years left of Android support coming to the Pixel 7a.
🔎 Google Pixel 7a: This budget-friendly handset offers a good camera at a great price, but while stock Android is great, we'd rather have more guaranteed OS support. ★★★½
Android is great, especially when it's stripped back to its bare essentials, and that's what you'll get with the Google Pixel 7a.
It's a capable handset powered by the Google Tensor G2 chip, which may be a little too powerful — sadly, it means the Pixel 7a rips through battery life with reckless abandon.
If you don't mind having to charge more regularly, though, the Pixel 7a has a lot to offer. It runs pretty much any app flawlessly and, more importantly, its camera is a treat. The 7a's camera packs a 64MP sensor, over four times the 12MP sensor found in the Pixel 6a, and works wonderfully in low-light conditions.
While it's understandably not as good as the flagship Pixel 8 Pro, it doesn't lag too far behind given this phone's budget price.
An important thing to note is you'll only have two more years of Android support guaranteed, and while it's unlikely Google will just stop supporting the Pixel 7a altogether, it's something to consider when making a purchase.
Best affordable iPhone
✅ You want a great camera: The iPhone 15 is a huge step up from the 14, particularly when it comes to the camera.
✅ You want a new iPhone: The iPhone 15 is a fantastic phone, but it's still not what you'd call cheap.
❌ You want a zoom lens: The zoom lens is still restricted to the Pro-level iPhone models for now.
🔎 iPhone 15: An excellent all-rounder, the iPhone 15 is the best base model iPhone we've ever seen. ★★★★½
The iPhone 14 was by no means a poor phone, but the gulf between it and the 14 Pro models was more noticeable than ever before. When it comes to the iPhone 15 and its Pro siblings, however, the difference is less apparent: The base model has had huge upgrades which make it much closer to the Pro model, despite costing considerably less.
For the camera, the big change is a bump to a 48MP sensor to accompany the 12MP Ultrawide. There's still no zoom lens (although the 48MP wide camera can go up to 2x), but the increase in quality is hefty from not only the iPhone 14 but, also from every previous model that that you may be upgrading from.
Something we love in the iPhone 15 is the Dynamic Island — a new UI quirk that melds hardware and software ingenuity to offer a sort of 'screen within a screen'. It also packs the lightning-fast A16 Bionic chip, too, so it can handle most things you throw at it and run iOS apps and games flawlessly.
Most stylish camera phone
✅ You want 5G: The OnePlus 11 5G offers superfast 5G at a lower price than many others on this list.
✅ You want to take unique photos: The OnePlus 11 5G leans on Hasselblad-style cameras for stylish shots.
❌ You want a broader range of photography options: Most models on this list are all-rounders, but the OnePlus 11 5G takes a very specific style of photos.
🔎 OnePlus 11 5G: A stylish phone with a lot of opinions on photography, the OnePlus 11 5G is an outsider in a sea of similar camera phones. ★★★★
The OnePlus 11 5G has a unique approach to photography. It's not that the base process is any different, as you'll still have to open the camera app and press the button, it's more about the philosophy.
That's because this camera phone uses a Hasselblad camera system that's closer to something employed by a professional photographer. This means that the sky is the limit to achieve fantastic portrait shots or even some spectacular landscapes, but you'll find things a little less malleable for your everyday, regular basic shots.
What this also means is there is a bigger learning curve to shooting with the OnePlus 11 5G. You're less able to simply point and shoot and expect incredible shots. But if you've got the know-how and the patience to learn, you can expect some amazing images from this camera.
Asides from its unique camera, you'll find the OnePlus 11 5G has some powerful innards. Its AI is buttery smooth, its Snapdragon chip is powerful and its 6.7-inch 1080x2400 AMOLED screen is simply beautiful. If you're not daunted by a less straightforward camera set up, we'd wholly recommend this.
Best for video
✅ You want to shoot video: The Optical Image Stabilization and ability to edit out background noise make this phone great for vlogging.
✅ You want automated astrophotography: The Night Sight feature makes astrophotography fun and achievable for everyone.
❌ You plan to blow your images up: Image output is limited to 16MP, so you'll get higher-resolution images with an alternative phone.
🔎 Google Pixel 8a: This is a competent mid-range camera phone with some handy AI features. It excels at video, but the limited image resolution may put some photographers off. ★★★★
The Google Pixel 8a is an affordable option and offers plenty of photography features for the money. As we mentioned in our Google Pixel 8a review, its photography capabilities are excellent, with its 64MP main lens capturing images rich in color and detail, even when shooting towards the sun.
Anyone who regularly shoots video too will enjoy Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), which keeps videos on the rear camera silky smooth even when you're walking about. You can also use the AI-powered Audio Magic Eraser tool to remove background noise produced by things like traffic and wind from your videos.
Other AI tools featured on this phone include the Magic Editor, which lets you remove or resize objects in photos, and Best Take, which allows you to combine similar group photos to make sure everyone has their eyes open or the facial expression they prefer.
This phone is a great pick for anyone who wants to try some quick and easy astrophotography without any prior knowledge required. The Night Sight mode automatically kicks in when the sensor detects a dark environment away from light pollution. It then takes 16 16-second-long exposures and combines the shots into one picture to keep stars bright and blur-free.
The main downside of this phone is that it automatically uses pixel binning, so there's no way of taking full 64MP shots and you'll have to settle for 16MP photos instead. This may be a dealbreaker for anyone who wants to blow their pictures up or do more intricate zoomed-in editing.
- Read our full Google Pixel 8a review.
How to choose the best camera phone for you
Consider your budget: Phones, regardless of camera, can get expensive. Depending on your budget, you may be able to pick up an expensive model, but there's no shame in aiming lower and securing a great phone like the Pixel 7a and saving a bundle, too.
Pick a platform: The battle between iOS and Android will rage until the end of time, but only you can decide which side you fall on. Apple's ecosystem features will likely make an iPhone tempting for many, but Android users will no doubt prefer to stay in the same highly-customizable OS. The choice is yours, and there are benefits and drawbacks for each.
Don't buy it for the camera alone: We love the camera phones on this list, and we can guarantee they're also excellent phones. There's no point buying a camera phone with a great camera but without the ability to smoothly run apps, or with a disappointing display.
How we tested
With complete editorial independence, Space.com are here to ensure you get the best buying advice on camera phones, whether you should purchase a device or not, making our buying guides and reviews reliable and transparent.
We test camera phones based on a variety of factors, using them as our 'daily driver' for a number of days and noting the positives and negatives of doing so.
We test games on them, run complex apps and benchmarks, and use them as our primary social media platform. We also test the cameras, snapping pictures including portraits, landscapes, macro (where applicable) and testing video calls.
We also factor in the cost of each phone, judging each against similarly priced models to see which offers more features or simply feels better to use.
We rate each model out of five stars, and the picks on this list range from cheaper options to more expensive ones, to surprise additions.
I'm often found testing the latest and greatest phones across both iOS and Android, taking photos of my cat, the nearby river, or just about anything else. This time around, we've refreshed the list with the finest from Samsung, Google, Apple and more.
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