Best Camera Phones in 2023

We look at the best camera phones so far in 2023, exploring the pros and cons of the most notable camera systems on the market. While it’s hard to name a single “best” smartphone camera, it’s much easier to explore specific areas where each of the phones excel and guide your choice that way. We also compare the popular smartphone cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and the Google Pixel 7 Pro against some lesser known but still very worthy alternatives and show you how the mainstream phones fare.

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00:00 Introduction
00:39 Phone 7
02:00 Phone 6
03:37 Phone 5
04:47 Phone 4
06:10 Phone 3
07:23 Phone 2
07:48 Phone 1
08:30 Bonus
09:22 Honorable Mentions

[justinromero]

I love how instead of picking 3rd 2nd or 1st place they instead highlight the advantages of each phone so people know what to pick and there isnt much bias here

[kim-o-san]

7. Xiomi 13 Ultra
6. Vivio X90 Pro+
5. Sony Xperia 1 V
4. iPhone 14 Pro
3. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
2. Oppo Find X6 Pro
1. Google Pixel 7 & 7 Pro
Bonus: Xiomi 13 Pro

[million]

20 years ago, I was all about photo. Nowadays, I´m all about video.
As such, I would like to see more direct comparisons for video ONLY. Both for flagships, and 90% of the quality for 70% of the price, type of phones.
Just an idea. Best.

[kenv]

this is the best video to watch when choosing a new camera focused phone. It's a must watch before any other videos. The explanation is from a non-biased, user perspective experience.
Looking forward to continues update with this kind of format.
Btw, I have a Pixel 6a for great day time common photos and portraits.
Wife has the Vivo X90 Pro+, which I usually borrow. Best in portrait, low-light, and night mode.

[SijuMarkose]

this is why i love phoneareana, you guys are the pros in this field for the last many years.

[Splackavellie]

There are a handful of smartphones capable of taking better photos than the iPhone. I’m personally a big fan of what Vivo does with their smartphone cameras and for “serious” photography, the Vivo X90 Pro Plus definitely outperforms my iPhone 14 Pro. The manual controls and large sensor are capable of images that are better than what I shot on a DSLR just a decade ago.

For the casual photography that 90% of people do with their smartphone, however, I’d say either go for the iPhone 14 Pro or Pixel 7 Pro. Sure, you might not get the extra bit of quality at the highest end, but you do get more consistently excellent results across the board. As much as I appreciate every other high end phone camera I’ve tried, I have never had a camera that’s more reliably solid than my iPhone.

If iPhone is not your thing, get any other flagship. It’s 2023, there isn’t a single flagship phone that has a bad camera anymore. Every single $500+ smartphone will offer more camera than most people will ever take full advantage of.

Buy the phone that suits your needs best, let go of the FOMO, and learn to use everything the camera on it can do. The secret to great photos has far less to do with having the biggest sensor, and far more with simply shooting and practicing.

[Bayliancollins]

Sony all the way. No magic or processed photos. What you see is what you get..

[khathuwolfgangphuluwa]

are you working for the USA government, or the CIA? because how is it that Huawei Phones are not in here? your review is no different from the NBA players calling themselves world Champions, when they didn't compete with the whole world.

[iulyanah]

Samsung Galaxy s23 ultra is an all around great camera phone. I got it and I made lots of videos in a rustic village, lots of closeups, details and after high on the mountain for wide panoramic videos and selfies videos. It looks better in the shots than in real, the blue sky, the textured clods, details of rocks and so on. I'm happy with my choice. By the way, when traveling like this it's great to shoot and go, catch the moment, not too many settings to choose.

[razvanwrm]

I think you should also do a test with older phones to see how they behave over time. I have a P6P and for several months the zoom camera no longer focuses except in daylight. Wasn't it normal to work the same as on the first day? In addition, I could give maximum zoom to make a kind of macro with her help, now she tells me to back off if I want her to focus. What guarantees do those with P7P have that they will not suffer the same next year after the release of P8P? And so on.

[bastian.michel]

Hey buddy, that was a really good summary. Im a photographer and Im into smartphone photography and also filming. I do not own all of them, but some. And you were on point with your judgement. I would just wish you would name a android phone for the category which the iPhone wins.

Because many people do not want to use a iPhone but still shoot video. Which android has the best video imagequality? Which phone would you use if you would shoot all phone arena videos with an android?

[diuran]

IF I correct, Huawei p60 as well can do macro with zoom as well. Hope you will do a test Huawei p60 vs p50 and the rest and the most important is Review of the new Asus zenfone 10 after his premiere :)

[hazza_]

I have the Sony Xperia 1 V and I hope they fix auto mode as the hardware is great. So I'm sure it's possible to do a little of AI magic

[sathunuripawankumar]

Pixel 7pro camera 📸 no can beat this cam 💥

[DeadofWinter]

Loved my Pixel 7 Pro and the camera when I had it (now have the 8 Pro and it blows the S23 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max out of the water). Pixels always pull ahead and if they don't when they are first released, Google updates the cameras and they always come out on top 👑

[elishamfinanga]

For me i always like sony coz i like to spend time for the camera settings and take a picture. Actualy when i take a picture with xperia it looks like an alpha camera

[banterwithbawden]

A funny thing about this comparison is I think people see things differently, which makes one’s perception of a photo very subjective

[heyimrahat]

Im a bit confused, you show pictures of every other camera EXCEPT the sony phone. This is because you did not want to put the effort into showing the comparisons between each when it is raw and then edited with the same filters. I'm very disappointed how you chose to not bother at all with the sony.

[ITSMEWILL]

Great video, to make things easy would it be better to label the actual phone on the time stamps on the video rather than phone 1, 2, 3... Etc ?

[OeHomestead]

Oh boy. Another "Let's shoot everything in auto because settings confuses me" video.