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Android Authority
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Android Authority
These are my favourite camera phones from the past 25 years
Robert Triggs / Android Authority It's been 25 years since Samsung launched the SCH-V200, which contentiously claims the title of the first camera phone (the Sharp J-SH04 also has its eye on the prize). It certainly wasn't anything like the photography behemoths we carry around in our pockets today — just a tiny 0.35MP rear camera with storage for 20 photos at a time. Compare that to today's best camera phones with 200 megapixels, 1-inch image sensors, and quadruple lens arrays, and it's hard not to feel a little old. There have been plenty of brilliant camera phones over the past two and a half decades. So, to mark 25 years since the SCH-V200 (whether or not it truly was the first), I thought I'd take a stroll down memory lane with a few of my personal favorites. Sony Ericsson K750i (2005) I'm dating myself here, but before Android was a thing, I bought a Sony Ericsson K750i on what felt like an outrageously expensive contract (honestly, who lets teenagers sign phone contracts?). Back in 2005, I had no idea I was buying into a sleeper hit. The K750i was a massive success for Sony, thanks largely to its groundbreaking camera. It packed a 2MP shooter with dual LED flash — trust me, that was impressive at the time. Most phones topped out at 0.3MP VGA sensors. By today's standards, the specs are meager, but Sony and consumers like me saw it as a game-changer. It had a retractable lens cover (I can still hear that satisfying snap), a dedicated shutter button, and a volume rocker that doubled as a zoom control. It was built to feel like a tiny camera you could keep in your pocket. The K750i is often overlooked in early smartphone camera discussions, but it laid the groundwork for the K850i, which upped the ante with a 5MP sensor, proper Xenon flash, and a more camera-centric interface. It also paved the way for Sony Ericsson's Cyber-shot phones, which aimed to fuse Sony's point-and-shoot camera chops with mobile tech. Sony's Xperia phones carry on that same legacy. The K750i might not have been the first or the most memorable, but for me at least, it was my first taste of a phone that put the camera front and center, and I haven't looked back. Apple iPhone 4 (2010) Ryan Haines / Android Authority This one's on my list reluctantly, mostly because I didn't use early iPhones myself. And honestly, even the many premium iPhones I've tried since wouldn't crack my personal top 10. Still, credit where it's due: Apple has played a massive role in shaping camera phone culture, not always by pushing tech boundaries, but by giving mobile photography its mainstream appeal. Who doesn't love social media, after all? The iPhone 4 is where that transformation began. With a decent 5MP BSI sensor, 720p video recording, LED flash, and a front-facing camera, the iPhone 4 had a solid, if not spectacular, hardware setup. But it was the software and ecosystem that elevated the experience. It made photo and video sharing not just easy, but inevitable. The iPhone 4 and Galaxy S2 kickstarted today's photo sharing culture. FaceTime introduced millions to video calling — arguably paving the way for vlogging culture. Instagram launched the same year, giving people a reason to share their iPhone photos. iOS 4 bundled in photo albums, geotagging, iCloud backup, and even iMovie for on-device video editing. Looking back, it's hard to remember a time when those weren't standard. From a pure photography standpoint, it wasn't groundbreaking, but the iPhone 4 is the godfather of the modern mobile photography experience. However, I spent this era with the superb Samsung Galaxy S2. It launched a year later with an 8MP camera and 1080p video capabilities, putting Android on the multimedia map too. I loved mine, though I remember it more as a solid all-rounder than a photography beast. Still, the S2 arguably marked a turning point for Android imaging and the platform's broader success, much like the iPhone 4 did for Apple. Nokia Pureview 808 and Lumia 1020 (2012-2013) Robert Triggs / Android Authority Fast forward to the real heavy-hitters. In its heyday, Nokia was the mobile brand to beat when it came to imaging, pushing boundaries all the way back to the 2007 Nokia N95. Although I never owned one, 2012's PureView 808 left a lasting impression. It debuted Nokia's PureView pixel oversampling tech, which shrank massive 41MP images into lossless zoom or detailed low-res versions — effectively giving you the best of both worlds. Today's high-res, pixel-binning sensors owe a lot to this idea, albeit now done in hardware. The phone's 1/1.2-inch sensor was huge — even by today's standards — and paired with an f/2.4 lens, it could still hold its own in some respects. Sadly, the 808's Symbian OS was already being outshone by the burgeoning app ecosystems on iOS and Android. Nokia was hedging its bets with Microsoft's ill-fated Windows Phone OS, and 2012's Nokia Lumia 920 continued to review reasonably well. PureView was a precursor to today's massive megapixel sensors. By 2013, Nokia had shifted gears to the Lumia 1020. It reprised a 41MP sensor, added a faster f/2.2 lens co-developed with ZEISS, and launched with an optional camera grip accessory. It even supported RAW capture via a later update — a feature that Apple and Android phones wouldn't adopt for years. While plenty of camera phones existed before it, the 1020 was one of the last before a relative lull in all-out enthusiast-tier camera phones. I still have my canary yellow 1020 tucked away. I pulled it out five years after launch, and it still held its own against phones that had only just caught up in megapixel count. Sure, today's flagships blow it out of the water in dynamic range and detail, but that soft, natural image quality still holds a nostalgic charm of a simpler time. I'll be keeping hold of this one, it's a classic. HUAWEI P20 Pro (2018) Robert Triggs / Android Authority It's hard to pinpoint the exact moment when smartphones became true camera replacements, but the 2017–2019 window feels about right. That's when phone cameras went from 'good enough' to 'why bother with a point-and-shoot?' For me, the HUAWEI P20 Pro is the standout model that encapsulates this most exciting period in mobile photography. For starters, it was the first phone with a triple camera setup: a 40MP main shooter, an 8MP 3x telephoto, and a 20MP monochrome sensor used for image fusion. The photos? Spectacular for the time. Triple cameras and a bag of software tricks make the P20 Pro the grandfather of modern flagships. While the processing looks heavy-handed now, the P20 Pro kicked off HUAWEI's golden era. The P30 Pro was even better, and the Mate series was highly regarded too, but it was the P20 Pro that started the magic. The P20 Pro also debuted a proper night mode, multi-frame HDR, software-controlled aperture bokeh, hybrid zoom, and even 960fps slow-motion video, providing a level of versatility I hadn't experienced before. Others were working on similar features, but HUAWEI was the first to bundle them all into a flagship package that looked brilliant too. Or maybe it was just me who was persuaded to part with their cash. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if someone revisited the monochrome fusion concept today, especially given how ultrawide lenses have started to feel redundant with the rise of 23mm main sensors. This reminds me, I need to take more moody black-and-white photos for my library. Google Pixel 6 Pro (2021) Robert Triggs / Android Authority Yes, I could've mentioned the Pixel lineup much earlier — Google was pioneering HDR+ and computational photography long before 2021 — but it always felt like clever software making up for outdated hardware. That changed with the Pixel 6 Pro. Google finally joined the big leagues with a 50MP 1/1.31-inch sensor, a 48MP 4x telephoto, and a 12MP ultrawide. HDR+, Super Res Zoom, and Night Sight were all tried and tested at this point, but felt renewed with powerful hardware to back them up. I was particularly blown away by the telephoto lens, which actually produced photos as good as the main sensor — a rarity even now. Despite other review units landing on my desk, I stuck with the phone for a couple of years and barely took a bad picture with it in that time. The Pixel 6 Pro's cameras finally converted me to team Pixel. The Pixel 6 Pro also marked a turning point for Google's camera ambitions. It was when the Pixel finally became a top-tier camera phone and premiered the now-iconic Pixel camera bar. But with that new hardware came computational photography tools like Magic Eraser, Face Unblur, and Real Tone, which have since expanded into an entire AI suite that encompasses Magic Editor, Add Me, Video Boost, and a ton of other extras. Features that were once Pixel exclusives are now being copied left and right. If I had to choose one older phone camera to use today, it would be the Pixel 6 Pro. The modern day: spoilt for choice Robert Triggs / Android Authority Looking back, I've been lucky to use and even own some of the most iconic camera phones of all time — some intentionally, some by accident. I've seen the evolution from barely a megapixel to today's quad-lens phenomenons. Today's flagship phones — like the Google Pixel 9 Pro and Xiaomi 15 Ultra — are undeniably impressive, even compared to models from just a handful of years ago. So much so that they've left my beloved Fuji mirrorless collecting dust on the shelf. From today's huge sensors and multiple lenses to shooting tricks and editing tools, no other part of the smartphone has advanced quite as dramatically in the past 25 years as the camera. Of course, I can't mention every great camera phone without turning this into a small book. The HTC One M7 and its 'Ultrapixel' gamble, the LG G2/G3 and their laser autofocus, the ASUS Zenfone 6's rotating front/back camera, and Sony's Xperia line (especially the Pro-I) deserve a mention too. In fact, the G3 remains one of my all-time favorite Android phones, thermal throttling and all. But now it's your turn: did I miss your favorite camera phone of all time? Drop it in the comments — I'm always keen to reminisce.
Phone Arena
20-05-2025
- Phone Arena
Pixel 9 Pro Camera After 9 Months: Here is why I still prefer it over an iPhone or Galaxy
It's been almost a year since Google released the Pixel 9 series. As someone who is constantly looking for the best camera phone for that next trip to Italy, I have continued pitting it against not only the iPhone 16 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra, but most Ultra camera phones from is something about Pixel phone photos that remains very distinct, and while most other brands have that typical 'smartphone look' for photos, I appreciate how pictures from the Pixel don't have that. They actually feel much closer to images you get from a real camera. There is something captivating about a camera that conveys realism rather than trying to scream at you with vivid colors and artificially boosted sharpening. The Pixel is much more of the former than the phone makers like Xiaomi have tried to emulate a 'film' look in the past few years with the Leica Authentic color profile. Others like Vivo have something similar with the Zeiss Natural color profile, but on most others like Samsung and Apple, this is missing. The Leica Authentic mode on the 15 Ultra is fantastic if you want that film look, but it is also a bit much with the strong vignetting and the moody look, while the Pixel is a bit more neutral. I have noticed that white balance, however, often skews on the warmer side on the Pixel, while the Xiaomi gets it correct more often. But after using those cameras for a while (especially the ones from China), I often feel overwhelmed with options, while the Pixel maintains a beautiful simplicity that I have come to appreciate. For example, you can see the toggles for the 12MP/50MP resolution and the RAW/no RAW option right in the viewfinder, while on many other phones you have to switch to a different mode to change those. This does not sound like much, but in some settings when you have to take a photo in this very split second, it makes a big difference. I also really appreciate the Pixel 9 Pro being as compact as it is (those who want a bigger phone have the XL version, of course), while many of those Chinese camera phones only come in one size — extremely large and bulky. I also find the telephoto camera on the Pixel to capture much cleaner photos than the iPhone, especially when you zoom a bit more. Here are a couple of photos straight out of camera that show the massive difference. Notice the crazy amount of noise and the washed out look on the iPhone. Same thing in the second set of photos — a clean detail on the Pixel and tons of noise on the iPhone. So what is it about the Pixel 9 Pro photos that is so special that you should know about? The 'Pixel look' is a combination of three things: 1. perfectly controlled highlights with excellent dynamic range 2. pleasingly soft detail, no oversharpening 3. natural color tones, no saturated colors 'smartphone look'. There is something about the clean detail and gradual falloff of colors on the Pixel that you don't quite get on other phones too, which gives them this unique character. They look a bit like film, but they are not moody like the shots from the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. No phone camera is perfect, though, and there are a few areas I definitely want to see improved on the next Pixel 10. The SLOW processing — those used to an iPhone, will notice the Pixel being much slower to process AND capture images, the latter being the bigger problem. When you are taking picture of moving people, this can be very annoying. No one-tap focal length change — I've gotten so used to quickly tapping the 1X button on an iPhone to switch between 24mm, 28mm and 35mm focal lengths. This is a great help if you want to compose better, and unfortunately with the Pixel you don't have this one-tap action to switch between presets. The god awful portrait mode — I don't know what is it exactly, but portrait mode on Pixel phones is completely broken. The Pixel portrait mode greets you with 1.5X and 2X camera presets, which... makes no sense! Bokeh mode on an existing image results in... trash photos — In the past year or so, most camera phones have added the ability to blur the background on an image in post. The Pixel can also do that, but only in theory. Take a look at the horror show that is the Pixel Bokeh mode in action. Yikes! Crop from a Pixel 9 Pro 1X image after I applied Bokeh mode and the results are... horrific! Gimmicky options that no one uses — remember Add Me? Or know about the Action Pan mode? Yeah, these camera modes are a gimmick that someone somewhere probably used once, and that someone was likely on the Pixel marketing team. Or AI. These certainly do not belong to the main mode selection. A few bugs related to Google's computational photography magic: - Desaturated skies — while this does not happen every time, it occasionally does, and it can completely ruin the look of photos AND videos. With all the focus on dynamic range and HDR, Google occasionally gives a completely desaturated sky. Yeah, I don't want crazy inky blue skies, but I don't want a gray sky either (when it actually has color in it). - Lighting up faces — this is something that Becca Farsace noticed in her testing, and I've been also noticing it a lot in some scenarios, especially when shooting against the light. It doesn't look good. But most of these are venial sins, little dents in the Pixel's shining camera armor. Despite all the talk about others catching up to the Pixel computational photography magic, I don't really see that. Most other phones still have that 'smartphone look' and I think most photography enthusiasts would rather avoid course, you can always go the RAW way and edit your own photos on every major camera phone, but that is a whole different topic that I won't get into today. But let me know your thoughts: do you like the Pixel camera? And what do you want to see improved in the Pixel 10 ?
