Best Smartphones for Camera Features (2024)

The display of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is a 6.73-inch LTPO OLED with a 1440p resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate.

Xiaomi has replaced the Gorilla Glass Victus of the predecessor with their in-house Xiaomi Shield Glass, which is meant to offer ten times better drop resistance.

For gestures, you have to use the very edges of the screen, which end up being on the curve for Xiaomi, so they don't register quite as reliably.

Both phones have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor.

A perk of Xiaomi is that it offers up to 16 GB of RAM, compared to Samsung's 12 GB.

Xiaomi, while always getting hotter, also manages to maintain its high performance.

This also has a 90 W charging capability.

The grip has a built-in 1500 mAh battery and a USB-C port, which adds some longevity to the whole ensemble.

Everything about Xiaomi's battery experience suggests that it should be better.

It has their NextGen Hyper OS operating system.

Hyper OS is ultra-lightweight.

You might almost assume that, given Hyper OS is meant to be Xiaomi's big breakaway from MIUI and its advert-filled reputation, it would be the opposite and not have built-in adverts.

The Mark 6 is actually wider than previous models, which had a tall and narrow 21:9 screen aspect ratio.

The new model can reach up to around 800 nits with a manual slider, and it can boost to above 1300 nits in auto mode when needed.

The Xperia uses Bravia AI Tech to improve picture quality, and there's also support for 10-bit color in HDR10 video.

The Experia 1 Mark 6 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, its flagship chipset, with 12 gigs of RAM.

Unfortunately, when it comes to benchmark scores, the Xeria 1 Mark 6 does not seem to be at the same level as the best performers in the industry.

We observed significant thermal throttling during our prolonged stress tests.

The Xperia 1 Mark 6 deserves nothing but praise for its battery life, which has improved by a huge margin compared to last year.

There are no real shocks or surprises on the software side, where it's Android 14 with the usual shenanigans slapped on top.

Sony guarantees you three OS updates and four years of security updates.

The interface of the Xeria 1 Mark 6 is very close to stock Android in both look and feel.

The Mate 50 Pro includes features such as a premium, durable design, a high-resolution OLED screen, and a top-tier chipset.

It features a 6.74-inch OLED display with curved glass, a fast 120-hertz refresh rate, and a high resolution of 1212 by 2616.

When it comes to brightness, the Mate 50 Pro can reach a maximum of about 570 nits with a manual slider.

There are some issues because, due to software restrictions, HDR isn't available on popular streaming platforms.

Instead of the typical in-house Kirin chipset, this year Huawei has chosen the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 for the Mate 50 Pro.

With this chipset, you get the most powerful CPU and GPU currently available for Android phones.

The Mate 50 Pro demonstrated significant thermal throttling in our prolonged stress tests, especially with graphics-heavy loads.

The Mate 50 Pro has a larger battery than last year's, at 4,700 milliamp hours, and its battery life is great for the class.

The device achieved an overall score of 104 hours in our proprietary test.

Unlike many other flagships, you receive a 66-watt fast charger in the box.

The interface of the phone is Huawei's latest EMUI 13, which is based on Android 12.

Of course, the elephant in the room is the lack of Google support and the absence of the Play Store.

There are plenty of proprietary apps, and the Petal browser and map service also come from Huawei.

The Xiaomi 14 screen measures 3 inches.

The display of the phone is a 6.36-inch 120 Hz OLED, similar to last year, but now you get a higher resolution LTPO technology and Gorilla Glass Victus protection.

The higher resolution amounts to 460 PPI, which is sharper than what we got on the Xiaomi 13's 1080p display.

You now get support for 12-bit color depth. Other premium features, such as HDR10 Plus and Dolby Vision, are back.

The Xiaomi 14 isn't just a refresh of the previous model; it brings plenty of upgrades, including a better display and chipset.

Additionally, because this panel is LTPO, the 120 Hz refresh rate is extra adaptive. We observed it dialing down to as low as 10 Hz to save energy.

The software installed here isn't too surprising. You've got Android 14, of course, but then you've also got Xiaomi's fresh-out-of-the-oven new Hyper OS launcher slapped on top of that.

Xiaomi still loves to dump tons of unnecessary apps and excess bits onto its smartphones.

Xiaomi has finally taken software updates much more seriously, so you can expect several years of upgrades and security patches.

One of the major reasons to choose the S23 Plus over the S23 is its larger display. It features a 6.6-inch screen compared to the 6.1-inch display of the S23. Additionally, it has a dynamic AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution and a 120 hertz refresh rate.

This display looks great; it's sharp and contrasty, and the color accuracy is spot on. You also get HDR 10 Plus support.

However, like the rest of the Galaxy lineup, there's no support for 10-bit color here.

One of the major updates of the S23 series is a new custom chipset. It is not an Exynos; current flagships are coming out with the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but Samsung is using a special version with higher CPU and GPU clock speeds.

The performance is excellent in both everyday tasks and heavy gaming.

While the thermal management of the S23 Plus is okay, we did experience some throttling during our prolonged stress test.

The S23 Plus has a slightly larger battery than last year; it's gone from 4500 milliamp hours to 4700.

The S23 Plus achieved an impressive endurance rating of 111 hours in our proprietary tests.

The charging speed is rated the same as last year at 45 watts, and again, there's no adapter included in the box.

The interface of the S23 Plus is Samsung's One UI 5.1 on top of Android 13.

It's a highly customizable UI that is also quite fluid and snappy, thanks to version 5's behind-the-scenes optimizations.

Version 5.1 on the new Galaxy phones adds a couple of extra tweaks: there's a new battery widget and an improved weather widget.

The iPhone 15 has an all-new design that's simply gorgeous.

This year, you can now get the dynamic island on the non-Pro iPhones.

The iPhone 15 has a 6.1-inch screen and, by 2023 standards, feels pretty compact.

These are 60Hz displays and not ultra-fluid 120Hz displays.

This phone is equipped with Apple's powerhouse A16 Bionic chip.

The iPhone 15 has given me no lag or performance jitters.

Phones are expected to be about 20% faster than the 14.

The 15 Plus appears to have the best battery life ever on any iPhone.

The iPhone 15 has better battery life than any base iPhone I've ever used.

The Dynamic Island is a major part of iOS, and it significantly enhances the user experience.

The optimization of iOS with Apple's hardware is as seamless as it is.

I haven't even mentioned the A+ display.

A 200-megapixel camera is connected to the giant screen.

You might have heard about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

Samsung specifically optimized it for the Galaxy S23 lineup.

In benchmark tests, the Galaxy S23 Ultra outperforms the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Pixel 7 Pro.

I experienced a two-day period at 120Hz but at 1080P resolution.

Combine this excellent battery life with a pretty solid 45-watt charger that can go from zero to 100% in an hour.

I was really hoping to see faster charging from this device, but you still only get 45-watt charging.

You will receive four generations of Android OS updates with this phone.

The Pixel 8 Pro has a new 6.7-inch LTPO display.

This one is legitimately among the brightest displays I've ever seen on a smartphone in person.

The Pixel 8 Pro's display brightness is impressive.

The Super Actua display on the 8 Pro is stunning.

While the G3 chipset isn't entirely bad, it falls short compared to Qualcomm Snapdragon chips.

The Pixel 8 Pro performs adequately for everyday tasks with minimal stutter or lag.

One downside is the device's tendency to run hotter than most devices due to its lack of efficient cooling.

I've consistently encountered modem and connectivity issues with the Pixel 8 Pro.

I have experienced really good battery life on the Pixels.

I've regularly gotten six to eight hours of screen-on time.

The battery performance has been consistently underwhelming.

Android 14 has already breathed new life into older Pixel devices.

The device will receive software updates for seven years.

One of the new features is that when you're on any webpage in Chrome, Google Assistant reads your screen and generates a summary.

You'll get a 6.1-inch OLED display with a high pixel density of 461 PPI and protection from ceramic shield glass.

With the pro model, you get a 120 Hz refresh rate, compared to just 60 Hz on the non-pro.

Otherwise, you have the same excellent brightness on either phone, along with support for HDR 10 Plus and Dolby Vision.

The iPhone 15 Pro comes with this year's most advanced Apple A17 Pro chipset.

The CPU in this new A17 Pro chip is approximately 10% faster, and the graphics score has increased by 20% from last year.

The iPhone 15 Pros are definitely better than the 14 Pros, featuring a larger battery capacity.

I am slightly disappointed to see that the charging speed hasn't increased.

There have also been some issues attributed to iOS 17 bugs.

The phone also surprised me when it comes to performance, naturally, being the nerd that I am.

On the front of the phone is a 6.67-inch curved LDPO OLED display with a 2700 by 1220 resolution.

There's a fast 120Hz refresh rate and Kunlun glass protection.

The screen's maximum brightness is higher than that of previous models.

The screen is contrasty, and with a pixel density of 444 PPI, the content is extra sharp too.

The chipset of the Huawei P60 Pro is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1.

These days, it finds itself just a tad outdated because the newest flagships are coming out with the next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

Still, when it comes to performance, the P60 Pro is far from disappointing.

It achieves high benchmark scores comparable to 2022's top phones.

The P60 Pro has a larger battery capacity than last year's, with 4815 milliamp hours versus 4360.

The battery life is much better here, as the new model has an endurance rating of 96 hours.

Charging has improved too; it's 88 Watts now.

There is also support for 50-watt wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.

The interface of the P60 Pro is EMUI 13.1. It's based on Android but offers quite a different experience from your typical Android phone.

You don't have Google services or apps here; instead, EMUI 13 relies on Huawei services and apps.

There are options like G-Box, a virtual machine that acts as a workaround, allowing you to install and run Google apps.