Best camera phone 2019: the top smartphone snappers around
Picking the best camera phone in 2019 has gotten harder, with new front-runners in recent months, including Google, Huawei and Samsung. Surprise, they're all better than iPhone when it comes to taking photos. Apple's competition has caught up.
Our testing doesn't come down to the latest iPhone or the camera with the most megapixels. So much of the camera unit's quality is determined by how well the smartphone has optimized its software to snap photos or record videos.
Note: We're always updating this best camera phone list, and as new software tweaks happen and additional phones come out, we'll keep everything fresh and continue to test everything we get our hands on.
It's also important to consider which photos you'd want to capture, since some smartphone cameras can handle certain scenarios better than others.
We’ve tested all of the top camera phones in a multitude of lighting conditions, scenarios, and with a wide range of subjects. Knowing how each camera performs at different shooting tasks will help you determine which can capture the moments you want to save.
So, before you settle on the best camera phone for you, you’ll want to figure out your photographic needs. Great front-facing sensors with a wide-angle lens (or two) to snap better selfies? An array of different sensors on the back for versatile shooting? Knowing will help you decide which phone best suits your uses.
Want to know more about dual-cameras? Check out our video below.
Beyond the specs and capabilities of the camera itself, there are a number of aspects about the phone you’ll also want to consider. For example, getting a high-storage option or one that supports a microSD card will be helpful if you capture lots of 4K video.
It's also worth thinking about battery size and screen quality - if you're going to be heading out all day and doing longer photography sessions, you'll need a battery that can keep up.
And if you're mostly going to look at your photos on the phone, then a phone with OLED screen technology can really make your snaps pop - but if it's social media, or even printing out your photos, that's your plan then you've got a wider array of options.
We've listed all that information below, along with some of our top test snaps so you can make the right decision when it comes to choosing your next camera phone.
The Huawei P30 Pro has been meticiously engineered to be the best cameras phone, narrowly passing the single-lens rear Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL cameras in terms of quality. How? Two ways: it's the best low-light performer we've tested and its 'periscope' telephoto lens takes astounding optically zoomed-in shots at a distance.
There were a lot of cameras to test on this phone, including four on the back: a 40MP main lens, an 8MP telephoto lens, a 20MP ultra-wide lens, and then a ToF (time-of-flight) camera to sense depth for portrait photos.
The Huawei P30 Pro camera also uses an RYYB (red yellow yellow blue) sensor instead of the industry standard RGB (red green blue) sensor to capture more light, and it shows. The snaps we took for our review had more detail and less shadow than the competition, yet they didn't look completely overexposed. It's a fine balance that few phone manufacturers get right with their tiny cameras and limited software.
It's all amazing for a smartphone, but not entirely perfect. We did notice some purple fringing in areas, and the camera software controls aren't always responsive when switching between ultra-wide, 5x zoom, 10x zoom and digital 50x zoom. But the fact that you can get insanely close to objects with a 50x zoom and also shoot at night as if all of the lights were on really sets a new bar for camera phones in 2019.
Read our full review: Huawei P30 Pro
The Google Pixel 3 is the second best camera phone you can buy right now, and at times, offers better colors compared to even the Huawei P30 Pro. So if you prefer a pure Android software experience, don't hesitate to consider this runner-up.
We also like the fact that you get the choice of two handsets sizes, with both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL boasting the same camera setup. While most of the other handsets in our best camera phone round-up have at least two rear cameras, the Pixel devices come with just a single rear snapper.
These cameras are extremely powerful though, with an intuitive interface and AI smarts adapting fantastically to any scenario, be it beautiful vistas or low-light portraits.
What sets Google's 12.2MP rear camera apart from the competition is its consistency. We got sharper, slightly brighter photos from the Pixel 3 and 3 XL versus the iPhone XS Max (overly warm color tones), Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (not always the best HDR) and Huawei P20 Pro (frequently over-sharpened).
Behind-the-scenes, Google's dedicated Pixel Visual Core chip and machine-learning software are the magic that recognize what photos should look like and which shots you'll actually want.
If there's one thing Google knows how to do, it's processing data and perfecting algorithms. Where it loses out, though is in its new Night Mode for long exposure shots. The Huawei P30 Pro is slightly better, even though Google does a good job as well. it's also not as vertisible on the back, without an ultra-wide or a telephoto lens.
And let's not forget, both phones also have dual front-facing cameras, giving you great portrait-mode selfies with beautifully blurred backgrounds.
Read our full reviews: Google Pixel 3 | Google Pixel 3 XL
The Galaxy S10 Plus, along with the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10e, debut cameras new to Samsung owners. In addition to an improved regular camera and a 2x optical telephoto lens on the S10 and S10 Plus, there's also a 123-degree ultra-wide lens on the back of the trio of phones.
We found the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus to be extremely versatile and fun to shoot with. This is mainly down to its best-in-class camera software. It's feature-packed with modes like Color Point. It's a Live Focus (bokeh) mode that masks the background in grayscale, while letting your subject pop. You can change this in post (to become a blur or a swirling blur) and slide the intensity up and down. It's our favorite new camera mode of 2019.
Where does it fall short? Samsung's photos apply aggressive smoothing to mask noise in low-light, preventing it from topping the Google Pixel 3 and Huawei P30 Pro. You're not going to get the very best shots next to those phones, but we've still consider them really good and the huge 6.4-inch display to be the best.
Note: the Samsung Galaxy S10e has the new ultra-wide lens, but lacks the telephoto lens, while the standard S10 lacks the dual-front facing camera of the Plus (though we didn't see much difference between portrait selfies on the Plus and the normal S10).
Read our full review: Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
With three rear cameras the Huawei Mate 20 Pro offers a highly versatile camera phone experience.
The P20 Pro ushered in this era of great Huawei cameras, and the Mate 20 Pro inherits its 40MP wide-angle f/1.8 lens and 8MP, f/2.4 3x telephoto with OIS and then builds on it further.
Rounding out that trio of rear-facing cameras is the new star, an ultra-wide 16MP, f/2.2 lens. It expands the Mate 20 Pro's feature set, letting you take a wider array of photos from limited positions.
Even for casual shooting, it makes life easier when trying to fit a bunch of far-flung elements in the same photo.
The Mate 20 Pro's overall low-light performance is superior to that of most other smartphones we tested, especially with its seconds-long-exposure Night Mode.
The phone's 3x telephoto does a great job of snagging distant shots, and the hybrid 5x zoom adds a digital blend to give you a bit more reach. It’s not perfect, but in our comparative testing, it outdid some digital-only zooms like on the Google Pixel 3.
There's a host of other features in the camera app on the Mate 20 Pro too, allowing you to really fine tune and tinker with the photography experience.
Read our full review: Huawei Mate 20 Pro
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 builds on the strong camera offering of the Galaxy S9 Plus, with a number of small enhancements making it even better.
The result is a handset which is comfortable shooting in any scenario, including in low light, for some truly impressive shots.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 camera identifies and adapts to various subjects with a new scene-optimizer feature. It adjusts the white balance and color based on 20 subjects as varied as sunsets, flowers, food, birds, text and so forth.
Compared to even the six-month-old S9 Plus, the Note 9 camera captures more detail, but you'll have to squint to see the differences.
As this is a Note device, you get Samsung's S Pen stylus included with the handset, and you can use the button on this as a remote shutter key.
It means you can set the Galaxy Note 9 down on a surface and walk away from it and still snap a shot using the S Pen. It's a relatively minor perk, but one we enjoy using.
One slight mark against the Note 9 is its lack of HDR video recording, but for many this won't be an issue.
Read our full review: Samsung Galaxy Note 9
Apple's latest iPhone duo boast powerful dual rear cameras, but it's not just the specs that appeal about the firm's mobile photography experience - it's also the ease of use of their smartphone snappers.
The iPhone camera app is well known for being a simple, clutter-free interface, focused on taking great snaps every time with minimal controls, modes and settings for the user to worry about.
It means that you don't quite get the same breath of shooting options as you do on the likes of the Samsungs and Huaweis, but the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max boast Apple's best smartphone snappers to date, with improvements to their low-light capabilities.
If you want a phone to pull out and take a quick snap with minimum effort, the new iPhones are some of the best camera phones around.
Apple has popularized the blurred background Bokeh effect, and Portrait Mode is one of the best implementations of the technology we've used on a smartphone, with a range of studio lighting effects adding extra pizzazz to your compositions.
Both the iPhone XS and XS Max have exactly the same dual 12MP rear cameras, with the only differences between the two being screen size, battery size and their physical size.
The 6.5-inch display on the iPhone XS Max gives you a huge viewfinder when it comes to snapping photos, but it comes with an equally huge price tag, with the still-expensive iPhone XS producing the same results in a smaller form factor.
Read our full reviews: iPhone XS | iPhone XS Max
Earlier this year the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus was our best camera phone pick, fusing an excellent all-round smartphone experience with a highly accomplished photography offering.
As you can see, it's now be usurped by a number of new camera phone releases, but it's still a fantastic offering which has now dropped in price since launch.
Round the back you get two cameras, with the main 12MP sensor joined by a secondary 12MP sensor directly below it.
The main sensor is rather special, as it has a world's-first-on-a-phone f/1.5 aperture, meaning that it performs fantastically well in low light.
That's not all this sensor has up its sleeve though, as it also features Samsung's Dual Aperture Technology, allowing it to move from f/1.5 (for low light) to f/2.4 (reduces overexposure in bright scenes).
Meanwhile the second camera allows you to take bokeh-rich photos, with parts of the image blurred while other parts are in focus.
This is all wrapped up into an easy-to-use camera app with an automatic mode which takes care of most of the technological trickery, meaning all you have to do is point and shoot for a great snap.
Read our full review: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
The Huawei P20 Pro marked a significant shift for the Chinese firm, as it offers up one of best camera phone experiences on the market.
It may have been superseded by the newer Mate 20 Pro, but take nothing away from the P20 Pro, this is still a top camera phone.
Its party piece is the triple camera setup on its rear. The three cameras have a combined megapixel count of a staggering 68MP. Chuck the 24MP front facing camera into the mix as well and the phone has a total count of 92MP.
Megapixels only get you so far, but the good news here is that the Huawei P20 Pro backs up its MP count with a strong suit of camera features.
The main 40MP camera is backed up by a 20MP black and white sensor that helps with image processing, including decreasing noise and improving dynamic range - although as default the P20 Pro shoots at 10MP.
The third rear camera has a 3x 'zoom' lens and an 8MP sensor, letting you zoom into a scene without using digital zoom - which means there's very little decrease in image quality when used.
Read our full review: Huawei P20 Pro
You may be wondering how the Galaxy S9 is as far down as it is considering its bigger brother is above it.
The reason is that, unlike the iPhone XS/XS Max and Google Pixel 3/3 XL which have identical cameras, Samsung gave the S9 Plus more photography prowess.
The Galaxy S9 is still a top camera phone though, with its powerful 12MP rear snapper (there's just one on the back of this phone) an advancement on the excellent sensor found on its predecessor.
Samsung has improved the camera's low-light capabilities on the Galaxy S9 with an industry leading f/1.5 aperture, and it's added super slo-mo, 960fps video recording to the mix as well.
The camera is even smarter though as, like the S9 Plus, it boasts Samsung's Dual-Aperture Technology, allowing it to automatically switch between f/1.5 in low-light settings, to f/2.4 in bright scenes.
The result? An easy to use camera, with an auto mode which, nine times out of ten, delivers a great photo with very little effort.
Read our full review: Samsung Galaxy S9
The Sony Xperia XZ3 is the best camera phone from the Japanese firm to date, with its single 19MP rear snapper proving a powerful photography option.
The user interface has been streamlined for starters, so there's less swiping to get to the various modes and frequently accessed settings are always shown on-screen, so there's minimal fiddling around when prepping your shot.
In good light, detail is strong, and a nice amount of background blur can be achieved without calling on any bokeh modes.
Where the Xperia XZ3 camera excels though is video. The digital stabilization works well in good light in particular, and the 4K HDR footage you can capture is simply breath-taking.
Sony is also still the only manufacturer whose phone cameras are able to capture 960fps Full HD slow motion, with the competition capping out at 720p. It's totally unusable in medium to low light, but it's a nice feature to have when you're outdoors on a sunny day.
Read our full review: Sony Xperia XZ3
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