Best camera phones 2026 - buyer’s guide

Despite the hefty price tag, which is even higher than last year, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is one of the best flagship cameraphones you can get right now. Just like the rest of the flagship phones, the 17 Ultra has an excellent display, fast chipset, snappy charging and long battery life, although that last bit isn't a given.

However, the improved telephoto and selfie cameras, along with the exceptional main camera performance, make the device one of the best in its class. We also didn't feel the absence of the second 3x telephoto camera either, as the current 200MP telephoto shooter with continuous optical zoom and close-distance focusing covers all bases. The rotating camera ring on the 17 Ultra by Leica is a nice touch, but it's borderline gimmicky, and we had to turn it off to avoid accidental actuations.

All in all, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is one of the most capable flagship cameraphones with little to no drawbacks. The exceptionally hefty price tag is the only thing you'd have to deal with. And on whether the Leica edition is worth the extra cost, it depends on how useful the rotating ring, the additional security chip and the dual satellite communication are to you. The unique design is another aspect to consider and we really loved it, but don't base your decision around the new rotating camera ring - as things stand, it's sitting mostly in gimmicky territory right now.

But no matter whether it’s the regular or Leica Edition, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is one of the best cameraphones in year 2026 for sure, if not the best one.

The vivo X300 Ultra is exactly the sort of device an "Ultra" phone should be. It is unapologetically ambitious, unapologetically expensive and unapologetically camera-centric. And honestly, vivo has earned the right to be confident here because the X300 Ultra delivers on nearly every front that matters in a modern flagship.

Starting with the obvious, the camera experience is once again the star of the show. Vivo's decision to stick with a single telephoto setup instead of chasing dual-telephoto trends might sound conservative on paper, but the implementation proves otherwise. The 85mm zoom camera remains one of the most versatile telephoto solutions around, while the new 200MP 35mm main camera is simply superb. The ultrawide camera also continues to stand out from the crowd thanks to its unusually large sensor. Add the extensive video feature set, excellent stabilization and the genuinely useful Photography Kit ecosystem, and the X300 Ultra feels closer to a compact camera replacement than most of its rivals.

But the X300 Ultra is far from a one-trick pony. The display is excellent, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 provides flagship-grade performance, charging is properly fast, and the battery life is noticeably improved compared to the previous generation. OriginOS 6 is also a major step forward for vivo's international software experience. It feels modern, polished and feature-rich in ways that older FuntouchOS releases didn't.

That said, there are still a few rough edges keeping the X300 Ultra from absolute perfection. Speaker quality is merely good rather than class-leading, and vivo's decision to remove the helper buttons like the Shortcut or Camera shutter key feels genuinely puzzling. We also expected better definition from the Portrait photo mode and the 4K videos.

Still, none of these complaints meaningfully change the bigger picture. The vivo X300 Ultra is one of the best Android flagships currently available and arguably one of the most complete camera phones ever made. If you are willing to stomach the asking price and can live with its rather massive camera island and hefty footprint, the X300 Ultra absolutely delivers an Ultra-grade experience.

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is an excellent piece of tech, albeit pricier than other Ultras. It's not just a great cameraphone, it's a great all-rounder, too. It has an extra-long battery life, fast charging, a great display, although the full 144Hz is rarely utilized, and offers a nice, customizable software experience, which will get about five major upgrades in the future..

It's too early to say whether it's the best camera-centric phone in the first half of the year, but it's definitely up there with the best, and honestly, that should be enough. If you are looking for the best, this may as well be the one.

However, if video quality is on top of your priority list, that may not be the Find X9 Ultra's forte. Videos are soft-ish across the board, or at least they are not on an "ultra" level.

But among the big cameraphones, the gaps are so small that it will probably boil down to preferences regarding design, software, your favorite focal lengths and features more than anything else.

In the end, we cannot but recommend the Find X9 Ultra if you're in the market for a high-end cameraphone.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max makes a controversial switch to aluminum, which helped keep the weight in check and perhaps maintains adequate sustained performance, but it also hurt the durability by making the iPhone more prone to scratches. Then there is the mix of glass and metal on the back, which combined with the new color options, make this iPhone one of the less likable in recent memory.

The display of the 17 Pro Max gained cool new anti-glare finish, but its cutout is still the same unsightly mess. It is a great screen, yes, but we have seen it a couple of times already.

We do appreciate the improved battery life and charging speeds, even if it requires the new charger with absurd name and its AVS charging protocol.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max brought some improvements for selfie and zoom photography and those will be universally appreciated. But the upgrade isn't as huge as the keynote had us believe and it's behind the curve. Yes, the images are very good to great, but the phone has the hardware, the processing power and the entire Apple hivemind, and it still lags behind the Chinese Ultra phones.

What the iPhone 17 Pro Max does amazing is videos - no matter the camera, the conditions, the chosen format - the iPhone 17 Pro Max will ace the scene. Once again Apple deserves praise for making a camera app that's suitable both for mainstream and pro users, something no one else in the industry can quite pull off.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max may be the most capable iPhone ever, but it's not looking like it will go down in history as the best loved one. Its mixed bag design, the lack of obvious improvements, and the unpolished state of iOS 26 right now, make up for a phone that millions will buy, but far fewer will be truly excited about. Yet, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has been sold out everywhere and potential buyers will have to wait a few weeks in order to get one. And the reason is quite simple – it’s the best iPhone ever and it has many improvements over bestsellers such as the iPhone 15 Pro Max or older.

The list of generational improvements on the Pixel 10 Pro XL is short and while a couple of them do make a difference, a lot of the usual downsides of the lineup remain. Slow charging, non-competitive battery life, troubled chipset - Google's priorities don't seem to include addressing these in ways that we hope they do.

There's also the plateau in camera hardware development, seemingly to be replaced by AI-made-up imagery. Still, one of the things that sparks interest in the Pixel 10 Pro XL over the previous-gen model is to be found in the camera - the close-focusing capability of the telephoto, which is still not the best, but at least there's some of it. Of course, the camera experience in general is pretty great, but Google has long since lost its leading position in the field.

The other semi-exciting new feature is the Qi2 wireless charging with magnetic attachment capability - speed is, of course, not the key factor, but convenience and accessories might be. The super bright display doesn't hurt, and the ultra-wide selfies are nice. The Pixel design is also pretty appealing in its own way.

Of course, the Pixel 10 Pro XL is a well-rounded and fully capable high-end smartphone - that's beyond debate. As always though, it's really the software where the Pixel 10 Pro XL's main appeal lies. It's the AI-based features (both new and established ones) and the smoothness and attention to subtleties in the UI that make it feel special - that's why you get a Pixel (XL or otherwise). And it’s still worthy of the iconic Pixel camera experience title.

The market, and this price segment in particular, is far from crowded with compact smartphones. Quite the opposite, really. That scarcity plays directly into the Reno15 Pro (mini)’s favor, allowing it to stand out easily.

First off, the phone comes with a familiar-looking but well-executed design, centered around a solid build and well-chosen color options. The display impresses as well - it is sharp and bright, with smooth motion and vivid colors, and it supports HDR10+ across all streaming apps we tried.

Despite its compact footprint, the Reno15 Pro (mini) houses a surprisingly large battery, delivering excellent endurance on a single charge. Add to that the decently fast wired charging and the impressive stereo speakers, and the overall package becomes well-rounded.

Then there is the camera setup, which proved to be one of the phone’s highlights. All four cameras, including the selfie unit, deliver consistently excellent photos throughout the day. Video quality follows the same trend, helped along by near-flawless stabilization that works reliably across the board.

Finally, the Reno15 Pro (mini) comes with a genuinely fast chipset, though sustained performance is clearly not its strong suit. Peak performance drops off quickly under prolonged CPU or GPU loads, which is quite typical for the compact devices we've reviewed. The good news is that such extreme scenarios are unlikely to be common in day-to-day use.

And that just about sums it up. The Reno15 Pro (mini) gets almost everything right - a relatively compact size, an excellent display, impressive battery life, standout camera quality, and competent speakers. If it were not for the underwhelming sustained performance, it would have been perfect, but even as it is, it deserves an outstanding recommendation.

The Magic8 Pro builds on the lineup's strong points, without making too big of a splash. It delivers a solid camera experience, so long as you're mostly focused on stills. Its video quality is a bit behind the curve though, and selfies have gotten worse compared to the previous generation - what's that about?

Camera aside, the phone's doing great on the fundamentals. Even if you're in the battery capacity-limited Euro region, the Magic8 Pro's endurance should keep you happy, and you won't be waiting for it to charge for too long either. The display is bright to excess, and comes with some of the most extensive eye care functionality we've seen. The speakers are also good enough to be a selling point themselves, for the right crowd.

In the end, we're almost a little bit disappointed by the Magic8 Pro even if we do recommend it. It fell short where we were hoping for greatness - it's a capable cameraphone alright, but it's bested by others of that breed. That said, if video comes second on your list of priorities, perhaps the Honor's stills performance and its… secondary virtues might just make it the right choice for you.

The Xiaomi 15T Pro is a solid all-rounder that's easy to recommend. It is an excellent phone that can deliver impressive value for your money. It offers superb performance, great display, stellar battery life and an excellent camera - meaning top marks in each of the big 4.

The Leica cooperation is paying off, as all rear cameras (50MP main, 50MP 3x tele/macro, 12MP UW) deliver outstanding photo and video quality day and night.

Admittedly, if selfies are of utmost importance, one of the niche areas becomes more of a pressing issue.

Long story short - the Xiaomi 15T Pro is a very competent offering with a compelling set of flagship-grade capabilities.

The Realme GT 8 Pro isn't exactly a new GT 7 Pro - it's looking like a slightly different kind of a proposition. This time around, Realme paid some special attention to the camera system - in addition to improving on the lineup's usual strong points. So yes, we have a super bright display that's even brighter than before, an extra large battery that's larger than last year, and, well, by definition, a better chipset.

But on top of that, we also get a high-end telephoto camera that's equally adept at closeups and distant subjects, and an ultrawide camera that doesn't look like it's coming from the previous decade (not that its lack of autofocus doesn't drag it down, but still). Realme chose a collaboration with Ricoh to spice things up and maybe that will draw in a customer or two, but we're not really seeing it as any sort of a real selling point.

Perhaps the most serious misstep of the GT 8 Pro is in its video stabilization, but it's not too bad? You could probably find a way to rationalize around that.

We're not sure how we feel about the whole camera bump accessorizing concept. It's unique, that's for sure. And the sampler set we received didn't strike us as particularly tacky or weird looking - maybe it's almost intriguing to be able to change things up a bit on what's by now become an extension of your hand.

Overall, the Realme GT 8 Pro feels like a proper flagship cameraphone ticking most of the right boxes. And if its feature set appeals to you, you will not regret buying this one.

The Motorola Edge 60 Pro is another budget pick here for being the best cameraphone around the €450 mark. The Edge 60 Pro manages to offer a very capable camera setup for stills - a champion at light gathering of a main camera is joined by a solid telephoto in a segment where dedicated zoom cameras are rare and a nicely upgraded ultrawide shooter.

It doesn't quite tickle our fancy for video recording though, so it's worth keeping in mind that it's not quite the all-round cameraphone it could have been. Also somewhat annoying is the choice of chipset, which may be adequate for most things, but still doesn't look good next to similarly priced competitors in some markets.

There is a lot to like here. For instance, the very bright, 10-bit, HDR10+ capable display, the very nice stereo speaker system with Dolby Atmos, the overall good camera quality with the special highlight on the new 50MP ultrawide camera and the dedicated 3x telephoto, the powerful Dimensity 8350 chipset with fast UFS 4.0 storage and the large 6,000 mAh Si/C battery.

On the flip side, there are some downgrades from the Edge 50 Pro, like the plastic frame, the 120Hz refresh rate (down from 144Hz), the selfie camera no longer has autofocus, and the charging speed has also decreased from last year's 125W wired and 50W wireless to 90W wired and only 15W wireless. Of course, some of these might have been the tradeoffs needed in pursuing longer battery life, and we don't think there are any dealbreakers here.

Overall, we do recommend the Motorola Edge 60 Pro as a cameraphone on a budget. Read full review