200-photo face-offs: All of our head-to-head camera phone comparisons
By Philip Michaels,
17 hours ago
We review a lot of phones at Tom's Guide, and that means testing a lot of cameras. And our 200-photo face-offs are a big part of that testing process.
Every phone we review goes through a series of tests, including ones where we try out the cameras in different shooting scenarios. That's because it's nowhere near enough just to rely on the hardware specs to guess how a camera will perform — instead, you have to take a bunch of photos to see for yourself how accurate the cameras are, what kind of colors and tones you can expect from photos, and what kind of photo processing prowess each camera phone offers.
That testing includes head-to-head comparisons with other camera phones so we can see how the model we're reviewing measures up to other phones in its price range — a process that involves a dozen or so photos. But for more significant models, we'll go even deeper, snapping hundreds of photos between a pair of devices to help us determine which one is the best camera phone .
You'll find all our 200-photo face-offs collected below, so you can see which model truly is the king of camera phones. And if there's a comparison you'd like to see in the future, let us hear about it in the comments.
What we look for in our 200-photo shootouts
(Image credit: Future)
Our 200-photo shootouts match camera phones in the same price range and with as many comparable features as possible. We test out every lens that's on the device, emphasizing the main camera, but also trying out the ultrawide, zoom and front cameras, too. If there's a macro sensor, we'll test that as well.
We make a point of testing a trio of specific modes — panoramas, portrait mode and night photography. In addition, we also take photos in low light to see how much color and detail each camera phone can capture. We also look for dynamic range when comparing shots from different cameras. In some face-offs, we'll also look at video capture.
Here's how the iPhone 16 Pro Max established itself as the best camera phone overall, beating one the newer Pixel flagships. While we like the manual controls and AI-powered editing features found on the Pixel 9 Pro XL , the iPhone is just a better shooter overall.
This is the second in the iPhone 16 Pro Max's one-two punch of beating back the top contenders among premium camera phones. Improved overall performance, particularly in the area of dynamic range, help the iPhone finish ahead of the Galaxy S24 Ultra , Samsung's most feature-packed camera.
The OnePlus 12 fares pretty well in our camera testing, and it's a lot cheaper than Samsung's premium model. But there's no topping the Galaxy S24 Ultra when it comes low-light photos, the quality of the details the camera capture and dynamic range performance.
Samsung altered one of the two telephoto lenses on the S24, trading a longer zoom length for more megapixels. We're not sure that's a switch we would have made, but the S24 Ultra is Samsung's top camera for a reason, and this comparison with the Galaxy S23 Ultra shows us why.
Looking for the best camera phone among Android devices? You'll find it here, with the Pixel 9 Pro XL riding upgraded ultrawide and selfie cams to a win over Samsung.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. (Image credit: Future) Image 2 of 10
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max. (Image credit: Future) Image 3 of 10
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. (Image credit: Future) Image 4 of 10
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max. (Image credit: Future) Image 5 of 10
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. (Image credit: Future) Image 6 of 10
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max. (Image credit: Future) Image 7 of 10
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. (Image credit: Future) Image 8 of 10
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max. (Image credit: Future) Image 9 of 10
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. (Image credit: Future) Image 10 of 10
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max. (Image credit: Future)
It's important to compare new models to phones that are a couple generations older. Not only does it show how cameras improve over time, it also helps people decide whether it's time to upgrade to a new phone from the iPhone 14 Pro Max .
The iPhone 16 Pro Max won this face-off against an iPhone that came out two years before, as you would imagine. But low light, zooming and ultrawide shots were areas where the iPhone 16 Pro Max really stood out against the older iPhone.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 can certainly show off depth, detail and contrast in the photos it takes. But Samsung's phone was still steamrolled by the Pixel 9 Pro Fold in this face-off, thanks to the superior software and hardware working in tandem to produce great shots.
Galaxy Z Fold 6 (Image credit: Future) Image 2 of 8
OnePlus Open (Image credit: Future) Image 3 of 8
Galaxy Z Fold 6 (Image credit: Future) Image 4 of 8
OnePlus Open (Image credit: Future) Image 5 of 8
Galaxy Z Fold 6 (Image credit: Future) Image 6 of 8
OnePlus Open (Image credit: Future) Image 7 of 8
Galaxy Z Fold 6 (Image credit: Future) Image 8 of 8
OnePlus Open (Image credit: Future)
While the OnePlus Open is our favorite foldable phone overall, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 takes the better pictures. Still, this was a very close contest, with the Z Fold 6 winning by a narrow margin in many categories.
Samsung upgraded the ultrawide lens on the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and that helps the new foldable improve on the previous year's model. The difference probably isn't enough to upgrade from the Galaxy Z Fold 5 , but you do get a sense of how the cameras improve over time.
A foldable phone comparison illustrates how much Samsung has improved the Z Fold's cameras in the two years since the Galaxy Z Fold 4 came out. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 cruised in every category, though the end result was closer than you might think.
The Galaxy Z Flip 6 falls just behind Motorola's Razr foldables when it comes to our favorite flip phones, but Samsung's device has the better cameras. That said, it's a very close contest, and the Motorola Razr Plus does perform well, and it has a dedicated zoom lens.
Motorola Razr Plus 2024 (Image credit: Future) Image 2 of 10
Motorola Razr 2024 (Image credit: Future) Image 3 of 10
Motorola Razr Plus 2024 (Image credit: Future) Image 4 of 10
Motorola Razr 2024 (Image credit: Future) Image 5 of 10
Motorola Razr Plus 2024 (Image credit: Future) Image 6 of 10
Motorola Razr 2024 (Image credit: Future) Image 7 of 10
Motorola Razr Plus 2024 (Image credit: Future) Image 8 of 10
Motorola Razr 2024 (Image credit: Future) Image 9 of 10
Motorola Razr Plus 2024 (Image credit: Future) Image 10 of 10
Motorola Razr 2024 (Image credit: Future)
Motorola came out with two foldable flip phones this year — the $999 Razr Plus and the $699 Motorola Razr . If you value cameras, you'll want the more expensive model, which finished well ahead of the standard Razr in our tests.
This was a very close face-off, with the iPhone 15 Pro Max winning just one more round than the Pixel did. Credit the iPhone's excellent color reproduction for beating out the Pixel 9 Pro XL's ability to shoot in low light.
Time to see if Google's entry-level flagship phone can outshoot the less expensive Pixel 8a . It does, but the pictures the Pixel 9 produces aren't better enough on their own to justify the $300 price difference between the two phones.
This one didn't turn out be much of a contest when we compared budget phones from two big phone makers. While the iPhone SE has its strengths, the camera is now two years old, and not much of a match for Google's improving midrange handset.
The Pixel 8a was closer in price to the Pixel 8 than it is to the more expensive Pixel 9. And while the phones' cameras were closely matched, the Pixel 8 winds up taking the better photos.
Another Pixel 8a camera face-off illustrates how much Google's midrange phone has improved since the Pixel 7a a year ago. It's actually a very tight face-off, as Google made few hardware changes to its cameras one year to the next.
Read the full Pixel 8a vs. Pixel 7a camera face-off.
Can a midrange phone outperform an older flagship like the Pixel 6 Pro ? It certainly can in this case on the strength of the Pixel 8a's main camera, as we see while Google's current model is the best camera phone under $500.
The low-cost Nothing Phone 2a tries its best, but there's no competing with the Pixel 8a in this battle of midrange phones. Google's camera phone wins by a landslide thanks to true-to-life images.
In another battle of budget phones, the Pixel 7a comes out on top. For us the deciding factors were the Pixel's superior macro mode and its low-light performance.
iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 3 of 18
Pixel 9 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 4 of 18
iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 5 of 18
Pixel 9 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 6 of 18
iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 7 of 18
Pixel 9 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 8 of 18
iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 9 of 18
Pixel 9 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 10 of 18
iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 11 of 18
Pixel 9 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 12 of 18
iPhone 15 Ppro (Image credit: Future) Image 13 of 18
Pixel 9 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 14 of 18
iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 15 of 18
Pixel 9 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 16 of 18
iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 17 of 18
Pixel 9 Pro (Image credit: Future) Image 18 of 18
iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future)
The Pixel 9 Pro took the title over the iPhone 15 Pro , with the superior zoom length of its telephoto lens proving to be the reason why. Google's victory was short-lived, as the iPhone 16 Pro gets an upgrade to its telephoto camera that closes the gap.
The top Pixel phone from 2023 held its own against Samsung's premium model, forcing a draw in our photo face-off. The S24 Ultra may have the more capable zoom lens, but the Pixel 8 Pro finished on top in several key categories like low-light shots, selfies and portraits.
Samsung's premium phone produced better low-light shots and portraits, and the new telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max wasn't enough to beat out Samsung's longer zoom. But the iPhone 15 Pro Max has brighter photos overall, giving it the win.
The arrival of the Galaxy S24 Plus meant putting it up against the most comparable iPhone at the time, the iPhone 15 Pro . Apple's phone won the day, with better low-light photos and solid zoom shots, though we like how the S24 Plus telephoto lens performs at longer distances.
The Galaxy S24 Plus just can't catch a break, losing out to the brighter photos and reasonable quality zooms delivered by the iPhone 15 Plus . That's despite the dedicated zoom lens on Samsung's phone.
The Galaxy S24 is the superior low-light camera phone, and its dedicated telephoto lens gives it the advantage on zooms. But the iPhone 15 offered the better overall camera setup, largely on the strength of how it handles colors.
OnePlus flagships have gotten better at taking photos in recent years, so we compared the current flagship to what was Google's best camera phone at the time. It turns out to be a shockingly close battle, with the OnePlus 12 holding its own but falling just short of the Pixel's performance.
How did Apple's cameras improve between 2022 and 2023? This face-off provides the answer. It's a close comparison, but the improved telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max goes a long way toward setting it apart from the iPhone 14 Pro Max .
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
Comments / 0