The best camera phones of 2024

In this list of the best camera phones, we give you a ranking based on the results of our extensive camera testing, and we explain the specifics of each smartphone camera.

All of that is based on the PhoneArena Camera Score, a testing protocol where we capture hundreds of pictures and videos, analyzing the performance of every camera lens on a phone. The results measure all the building blocks of a great camera: we have a score for color accuracy, a score exposure, one for detail, and the overall score also accounts for usability features, such as the quality of the preview in the viewfinder. We do all of these tests both for photos, as well as for video quality. It is a rigorous testing protocol that each phone we test goes through.

So, let's see which phone comes out on top in the battle for the best phone camera in 2024.

Among phones available in the US, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the best camera phone on our PhoneArena Camera Score. That is probably no surprise considering that it has two telephoto cameras on its back, one more than most other flagships.

And indeed, zoom quality on the Galaxy S24 Ultra is what sets it apart from the competition. It captures more plentiful and cleaner detail than other rivals, and is clearly your best option if you want a phone that can elevate your zoom shots. This versatility also translates to portrait photos, where having so many focal lengths, such as 2X, 3X and 5X zoom, is a huge advantage, and the Galaxy is able to cut out subjects from the background flawlessly.

Selfies also look incredible on the S24 Ultra, colors, and exposure are spot on, and you get a ton of detail. Videos recorded with the front camera also look very good.

The Galaxy is not perfect in every category, but even where it ranks a bit lower, the issues it faces are typically not that big. The ultra-wide camera, for example, still has ways to improve as there are some slight issues with corner sharpness.

The S24 Ultra is also the best phone for video recording, especially when it comes to zoom quality. Learn more about these cameras, in our in-depth Galaxy S24 Ultra camera review.

Samsung's other two premium phones, the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus, have cameras that perform roughly the same, except for the lack of a 5X zoom lens. If you don't feel like carrying the extra bulky and big Ultra version, you can get one of those other models without worrying about any big compromises.

And we should also say that yesteryear's Galaxy S23 Ultra is another phone with great cameras that you should consider.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max comes a close second after the Galaxy in our PhoneArena Camera Score.

The main camera score in particular is almost exactly the same on the iPhone and the Galaxy, that's how close they are.

The iPhone also scores more than the Galaxy when using the ultra-wide camera, as it preserves detail better in the corners of shots.

However, the iPhone does not give you the same quality of zoom photos and videos. It only has a 5X zoom camera, which is great, but quality at 2X, 3X and 4X zoom is not as good as with a dedicated lens, so the iPhone is less versatile in that regard than the Galaxy.

If you are considering a different iPhone model, you should know that the quality of the main and ultra-wide cameras are practically the same on all iPhone 15 models. The real difference is with zoom quality: the iPhone 15 Pro has a 3X zoom lens, while the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models have no telephoto camera at all.

In terms of features, the iPhone camera app is one of the most intuitive ones out there and it supports both HDR and high resolution preview, which is great. See sample photos and learn more about this camera, in our in-depth iPhone 15 Pro Max camera review. 

It's worth mentioning that many other iPhones also make it in the top rankings. We have already mentioned the iPhone 15 Pro as well as the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models, but last year's iPhone 14 Pro duo is another strong contender that you should not overlook.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro comes in third in this ranking, but we should say that its score is considerably lower than that of the Galaxy and the iPhone.

It's still an excellent camera, no doubt, but we did see more inconsistencies with it. And the one area where it lags behind seems to be video recording.

The Pixel is a few points behind for main camera quality, but those points come from missing features in the camera app rather than the quality of the image per se.

The Pixel 8 Pro comes with a 5X zoom camera as well, which actually beat the zoom quality on the iPhone 15 Pro Max thanks to particularly strong detail in the longer and further zoom ranges.

Detail out of the main camera might come out on the soft side, but at least you don't get significant issues with oversharpening. You can dive deeper in the details about this camera, in our in-depth Pixel 8 Pro camera review.

Remember, though, that a new Pixel 9 series is right around the corner, arriving in the middle of August, and we expect a healthy dose of improvements there.

The OnePlus 12 is the fourth best ranking smartphone camera system in the US in our testing protocol (and if you count among Android phones with good camera, it's number three).

OnePlus has been trying to catch up to the big players for years, and while it has improved there is still work to do. Important features are missing in the camera app, as the preview in the viewfinder is not high resolution and there is no HDR preview either, so what you see before you snap a picture is different from the actual photo. The main camera also gets less points for detail rendering.

The zoom quality is decent, taken care of a 64MP 3X zoom camera. We see bigger issues with images from the ultra-wide camera, which lacks a bit in detail and has some issues with corner sharpness.

However, the one area where the OnePlus 12 needs to improve the most is video quality. We saw some bigger issues with exposure, which you don't have on other flagships.

Video stabilization could also be much better when using the telephoto camera. Dig deeper and learn more about this camera in our in-depth OnePlus 12 camera review.