The Best Camera Phones for 2023 (2024)

Your phone is the camera you always carry. If you haven't upgraded it in a few years, you should 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 at which you can leave your old point-and-shoot at home—if you even have one.

But not all phone cameras are equal. We put every phone we review through a rigorous series of camera evaluations to determine the best performers on the market and gathered our top picks here. You never have to worry about carrying a separate camera if you've got one of these in your pocket, and each is a stellar smartphone, too. Read on for our top picks, followed by what to look for in a good camera phone.

Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks

Buying Guide: The Best Camera Phones for 2023

Which Phone Has the Best Camera?

One thing we find frustrating with modern smartphones is that often, the best cameras aren’t available on phones in the US. There's intense camera innovation going on from manufacturers such as Honor, Oppo, and Xiaomi, but for various reasons, these manufacturers don't sell their phones stateside.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra offers 10x optical zoom (Credit: Eric Zeman)

In the US, Apple, Google, and Samsung phones typically have the best cameras. Higher-end devices tend to perform better, but the gap is closing, especially if you primarily take photos in good light. Sony phones also have good cameras, but their latest models are expensive and difficult to get in the US.

Apple's iPhone cameras tend to be the benchmark in the creative industries. They're dead simple to use and offer excellent focus and balanced colors. Google's Pixel cameras are like the Apple of Android: fast, simple, and balanced.

Google Pixel 8 Pro camera bar (Credit: Eric Zeman)

Samsung's phones typically have more lenses, modes, and options than Apple's or Google's. Samsung's top innovation right now is super-zoom: The S23 Ultra has a 10x optical zoom with decent resolution at up to 30x digital zoom. Neither Apple nor Google can match that feature. Samsung also tends to amp up colors more than Apple, which causes some controversy but might be what you're looking for.

The most important factor in any photo isn't the camera—it's the photographer. 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.

Which Camera Phone Features and Accessories Do You Need?

A few years ago, we saw a blossoming trend of phones withmultiple lenses, which is still in full bloom. Many phones now have a standard lens, a magnifying zoom lens, and a wide-angle lens. Monochrome or infrared time-of-flight sensors can help judge depth for bokeh effects. Less successful lenses and sensors we've seen include color filters (you can do this very well in software) and macro lenses for close-ups (slowly improving).

Apple iPhone 15 photo sample (Credit: Eric Zeman)

Although super-high-megapixel camera phones are becoming more popular, the options are scant in the US. The 200MP sensor on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the exception. The advantage of that many pixels is that you can zoom and crop images after the fact or perform lossless digital zooming in your camera app without relying on 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.

Superzoom lensesare also popular. Phones now combine high-megapixel sensors, optical magnifying lenses, and advanced software to give you 30x, 50x, or—in the case of the Galaxy S23 Ultra—100x zoom. In general, anything much higher than 10x shows heavy digital artifacts. But a good 10x zoom, as you get on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, is still a big step forward from what we used to have.

Sensor size is a separate matter from the megapixel count. Unfortunately, most of the phones available in the US fall behind their international competition. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's 1/1.3-inch primary sensor and the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max's 1/1.28-inch sensor are among the biggest you can buy in the US. Compare those with the Sony Xperia Pro-I's industry-topping 1-inch primary sensor, and you can see we still have a way to go. Larger sensors are arguably more important than a higher megapixel count because they capture more light in less time. That translates to less blur and sharper photos, particularly in challenging light.

Apple iPhone 15 camera sample (Credit: Eric Zeman)

The most advanced night modes combine close to a dozen successively shot frames to brighten up photos and improve clarity. They appear to have long, multi-second exposures, but they use AI software to reduce blur by aligning the various images together. (You still shouldn't use them for moving subjects, though.) Google's Pixel phones, Apple's iPhones, and Samsung’s Galaxy S phones all have excellent night modes.

Google's camera software also has top-notch features such as Magic Eraser (removes unwanted objects), Real Tone (ensures accurate skin tones), Face Unblur (leans on the other lenses to make sure everyone's face in an image is sharp), Audio Eraser (which minimizes background noise in video recordings).

A good Pro mode can tie all these individual facets together and make for a powerful platform. Most phones have manual settings that allow you to tweak the exposure, aperture, and focus point to get exactly the shot you want. If you're getting into smartphone photography, take some time to learn how manually adjusting things like aperture, ISO, and shutter speed can improve your photos. If you need a fast shot, however, all the phones on our list use machine learning and other software smarts to take incredible photos without any manual tweaks.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Why do so many photographers rely on iPhones? The availability of third-party camera apps plays a big role. Some are available for Android, but apps that professionals use still tend to come out first and see more frequent updates on iOS.

For more, see our story on the best phone and camera gimbals.

Which Phone Is Best for Video Recording?

In the TikTok and Instagram Reels era, 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 because it leads to less jittery videos. Many high-end phones now use both, giving a Steadicam-like effect.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro (Credit: Eric Zeman)

Although 1080p video is still good enough for most people, many phones can record in 4K at up to 60fps. This is the current gold standard. 8K recording is becoming more common on Android flagships, but it requires a massive amount of storage and isn't truly usable or shareable yet.

Google Pixel 8 camera bar (Credit: Eric Zeman)

Slow-motion videos can make for some exciting effects. Although 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 record slow-mo, 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, hyper-lapse, and video bokeh or HDR modes.

How Do Camera Phones Compare With Standalone Cameras?

For the ultimate in image quality, the best possible low-light performance, killer optical zoom, or a good macro shot, you still need 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 should suit you just fine, and you can't go wrong with any of our picks here.

Dave LeClair and Sascha Segan contributed to this report.