The best camera phone for 2022 – CNET [CNET]

The camera is usually the standout feature on a new phone. And in 2021, phone-makers maximized the features and quality of their camera software and hardware more than any year in recent memory. Apple launched the iPhone 12 family with a new faster aperture lens on the main camera of all four phones. The iPhone 12 Pro Max takes its cameras to “11” with even more hardware and software improvements that deliver excellent photos and videos. Google, with its computational photography-powered Pixel 5 and Pixel 4A, can go toe-to-toe with the best Apple photos, but the new phones don’t seem to push year-to-year improvements enough. 

Other Android phones offer some of the most exciting new camera features. Samsung has its Galaxy Note 20 Ultra with its 5x optical zoom and 8K video — both are features the iPhone 12 and Pixel 5 don’t have. Sony packed its Xperia 1 II and the smaller Xperia 5 II with settings and an interface that mimics its highly successful Alpha mirrorless camera line. Meanwhile, the Google Pixel 4A, 4A 5G and 5 have one of the most user-friendly camera apps on the market.

As you read through comparisons of cameras on different phones, it’s important to keep in mind that there isn’t a “perfect” phone camera. There are definitely phones that excel at a specific feature when compared to others — the zoom on Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, or Google’s impressive Night Sight option for shooting after dark. There are also some phones that offer impressive specs on paper, like high megapixel sensors or multiple rear cameras — but more doesn’t necessarily mean better. I’m most interested in how the cameras perform in everyday situations in terms of features, ease of use, image quality and price.

Read our guide to help find the best phone camera for your needs.

Best phone camera for selfies

Asus Zenfone 7 Pro

Sareena Dayaram/CNET

The $850 Asus Zenfone 7 Pro (available outside the US) gives you three different high-resolution cameras (wide, ultra-wide, telephoto) for taking selfies. It accomplishes this trio of options by incorporating a swiveling camera module that flips over the top of the phone. So the cameras that are normally used on the back of your phone become your selfie cameras, too.

Read our Asus Zenfone 7 Pro review.

 

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