2026 is almost right here, however that is our rundown of the ten finest digicam telephones of the final 12 months.
As we have now come to anticipate, the digicam {hardware} in lots of this 12 months’s telephones has acquired pretty incremental enhancements in comparison with earlier fashions. As a substitute, it is the computational facet the place the largest photographic enhancements could possibly be discovered this 12 months, with all the most important manufactures integrating scarily-smart AI into their digicam processing, and with some unbelievable outcomes.
Fortunately it isn’t simply the flagship telephones the place you may discover nice picture high quality. In 2025 we have additionally been handled to a number of wonderful funds and mid-range digicam digicam telephones for shooters searching for most bang-per-buck.
There are telephones on this listing that we would advocate because the finest digicam telephones you should purchase, but in addition some extra controversial decisions. These may not take advantage of sense as a real-world buy, however they’re particular in their very own manner.
So let’s rely down our high ten telephones of 2025, in reverse order…
How’s this for a robust begin: a telephone that should not really be on this listing. It was launched manner again in 2016, it solely has a 2.5-star ranking, and it would not actually have a digicam! However we solely acquired round to reviewing it in 2025 (we’re all about cutting-edge journalism right here), and albeit, to heck with the principles: I simply wish to embrace it for its novelty issue… and so I could make a poop joke later…
We have had a good choice of compact telephones launched in 2025 – the iPhone Air and Galaxy S25 Edge being prime examples. However these telephones are positively big when in comparison with the aptly-named Tiny T1.
At simply 46.7 x 21 x 12mm, you possibly can slip (or conceal) this telephone nearly anyplace. And it is because of this you would be smart to not buy a used instance of a Tiny T1, as there is a very actual likelihood it could have seen extra faecal matter than a proctologist. To be sincere, except you wish to secretly hold your prison empire ticking over easily from behind bars, few individuals really want a telephone this small. However for instance of intelligent engineering (regardless of its measurement, it manages surprisingly respectable name high quality) the Zanco Tiny T1 is a loveable little trinket.
In full: Zanco Tiny T1 assessment
On the different finish of the scale scale from the Zanco Tiny T1 are rugged telephones. These could appear pointless when you think about even funds telephones now boast ingress safety scores, however the 8849 Tank 4 Professional is not simply IP69-rated towards water and dirt ingress, it is also shock-, temperature-, altitude-, humidity- and vibration-resistant.
With a telephone like this being designed for excessive environments the place mains energy could also be scarce, it wants an enormous battery. There are many rugged telephones with large energy crops, and so they’re correspondingly huge to hold. The Tank 4 Professional manages to steadiness a wholesome 11600mAh battery capability with a manageable 530g telephone weight. The battery fuels a potent Mediatek Dimensity 8300 chipset for speedy efficiency, and also you view proceedings on a high-res 3200×1440 AMOLED show.
The Tank 4 Professional’s digicam array isn’t any afterthought, both. A 50MP, 1/1.3-inch fundamental digicam sensor gives respectable picture high quality, and it is flanked by a 50MP telephoto digicam and in addition a 64MP night-vision snapper. There’s even a built-in 720P projector do you have to wish to showcase your photographs or movies to an viewers.
Should you want a telephone that’ll survive harsh environments, however do not wish to carry round an absolute brick of a tool, the 8849 Tank 4 Professional is a genuinely well-balanced rugged telephone.
In full: 8849 Tank 4 Professional assessment
It is onerous to envisage a foldable telephone ever profitable our telephone of the 12 months award. In an effort to have a multi-panel telephone, compromises should be made, and that is very true on the subject of cameras. Although Samsung has managed to cram considered one of its 200MP sensors into the first (wide-angle) digicam of the Z Fold 7, it is teamed with comparatively weak ultrawide and telephoto cameras (the latter solely providing a 3x focal size enhance).
However offering you shoot primarily with the principle digicam, picture high quality is nice – the Z Fold 7 most likely has the most effective major digicam of any foldable.
Elsewhere, the Z Fold 7 impresses with its slim construct, wonderful cowl display screen, and (comparatively) good battery life. The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset additionally gives blazing efficiency.
If solely a foldable will do, and you’ll forgive the compromises that include this manner issue, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is probably the most achieved big-screen telephone of the 12 months.
In full: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 assessment
In previous years we have picked telephones from Samsung’s Galaxy A-series or Google’s Pixel a-series as worth winners, however Nothing has shaken up the funds market this 12 months with the CMF Telephone 2 Professional. With a launch value of simply $279 / £219, it offers you an unbelievable quantity of efficiency for the cash, and makes telephones like the present Galaxy A56 and Pixel 9a look overpriced.
The place most funds telephones provide you with a large and ultrawide digicam (and possibly devoted macro / depth modules, which serve solely to extend the overall module rely), with the CMF Telephone 2 Professional you get a flagship-rivalling extensive+ultrawide+telephoto trio, with the latter able to a 2x optical zoom.
It is a pity not one of the cameras have OIS, however one thing has to provide to carry the telephone in at such a low value. No less than the principle digicam sensor is a surprisingly giant 1/1.56-inch measurement, which leads to shockingly good picture high quality for a telephone at this value level, even in low gentle. The modular Accent Level and an IP54 ingress safety ranking additional boosts the telephone’s worth manner above its rivals.
In full: CMF Telephone 2 Professional assessment
No high 10 digicam telephone listing can be full with out Samsung’s present flagship handset, so we have to incorporate the Galaxy S25 Extremely. There was a time earlier than the inflow of boundary-pushing Chinese language telephones when a Galaxy S Extremely would have had a really actual shot on the high spot, however ever since Samsung geared up the previous S23 Extremely with its 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor, there’s been precious-few digicam {hardware} enhancements. The S24 Extremely and S25 Extremely reused the identical picture sensor, leaving it as much as the encircling modules (and Galaxy AI) to supply the imaging enhancements. Although these have been worthwhile, they’re nonetheless considerably underwhelming when in comparison with a few of the improvements we have seen from the likes of Xiaomi and Oppo.
That mentioned, the S25 Extremely continues to be a really competent digicam telephone, and in case you’re utilizing it at the side of a Galaxy watch, pill, or different Samsung good tech, it makes for a seamless ecosystem. However in case you’re not a Samsung disciple, then the S25 Extremely’s aggressive picture processing (pumped-up sharpness and colour saturation in Auto mode) could make pictures look overcooked, at the very least to a purist’s eyes.
In full: Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely assessment
Annually the most recent and best Pixel at all times makes into our high 10, however annually it is a wrestle to work out which place it ought to occupy. On the one hand the most recent Pixel by no means units the world alight with its digicam {hardware}, but Google’s unbelievable picture processing gives the type of dependable digicam expertise and picture high quality consistency that solely Apple can actually match.
The Pixel 10 Professional and Professional XL make this recipe even tastier because of their more practical 100x super-res zoom, useful new digicam coach, and Google’s suite of AI enhancing instruments. The outside of the Pixel 10 Professional/XL is one other similarity with iPhone. Not when it comes to the design specifics – Google’s digicam island is like no different – however the general really feel exudes high quality, and the show output is gorgeous to behold.
In the end, the Pixel 10 Professional/XL are highly-accomplished all-rounders. They are not out to seize headlines, however as reliable every-day instruments that take nice pictures time and time once more, solely an iPhone comes shut.
In full: Google Pixel 10 Professional and Professional XL assessment assessment
The previous few generations of iPhone Professionals have provided considerably incremental enhancements over their predecessors, however in 2025 Apple gave us a extra compelling cause to improve. That is the primary triple-camera iPhone to get 48MP sensors in all three of its digicam modules, and the result’s chic picture high quality, whether or not you are utilizing the extensive, ultrawide or 4x telephoto cameras.
Display brightness was bumped as much as 3000 nits (vs. 2000 for the iPhone 16 Professional Max), making the brand new telephone appreciably simpler to make use of in vivid circumstances, whereas the brand new 2TB storage choice offers the 2025 flagship iPhone much more content-creator attraction. The brand new wider digicam island and Cosmic Orange colour choice could also be of questionable aesthetic attraction, however in any other case the iPhone 17 Professional Max will get nearer than ever to profitable our telephone of the 12 months award.
In full: Apple iPhone 17 Professional Max assessment
Vivo, Xiaomi and Oppo have been battling to supply probably the most superior digicam telephone for a number of years, so choosing the most effective flagship providing from these three manufacturers is at all times robust. Regardless of it being in third place right here, we reckon the X200 Extremely could possibly be the most effective digicam telephone ever made – a daring assertion, however not went you contemplate the immensely highly effective digicam {hardware} it is packing.
Not like many telephones – together with a number of flagships – the X200 Extremely’s three rear-facing digicam modules all function giant sensors: the 50MP f/1.7 major digicam makes use of a 1/1.28-inch sensor, whereas the 50MP ultrawide and 200MP telephoto modules have 1/1.28-inch and 1/1.4-inch sensors, respectively. This consideration to {hardware} element offers the X200 Extremely unbelievable picture high quality, regardless of which digicam you utilize.
Then there’s the optionally available images package. This features a sculpted digicam grip containing a 2300mAh battery to maintain the telephone topped up when you’re capturing, and it additionally provides a shutter button, zoom rocker and a video report button. And if that wasn’t sufficient, you possibly can even add an optionally available Zeiss teleconverter lens to supply an efficient 200mm focal size.
So if the X200 Extremely is so darned good (and it’s), then why does it solely win bronze on our listing? It is solely obtainable in China. And even in case you import one, it isn’t designed for western shoppers so the consumer expertise is probably not completely clean when used exterior of its homeland.
In full: Vivo X200 Extremely assessment
The Xiaomi 14 Extremely was our general winner in 2024. Its substitute – the Xiaomi 15 Extremely – has to accept second place in 2025, however that is nonetheless an unbelievable digicam telephone. Its major, wide-angle digicam consists of a 50MP, 1-inch sensor with an f/1.6 aperture, and that is flanked by two telephoto cameras – one 50MP module with a 70mm-equivalent focal size, and the second a 200MP, 100mm-equivalent periscope telephoto unit. A 50MP, 14mm ultrawide module rounds out the quad-camera system. Add a sprinkling of Leica-tuned picture processing and the 15 Extremely can produce gorgeous photographs and video, in just about any circumstances.
However what actually units the 15 Extremely aside from its rivals from Apple, Google and Samsung is the Images Equipment. It is a specially-designed ergonomic grip that makes the 15 Extremely really feel and function way more like a ‘correct’ cameras. It provides a bodily shutter button, a direct video report button, zoom dial, and a customizable scroll wheel. There’s even a 2000mAh battery squeezed in that may complement the telephone’s fundamental battery. With the Images Equipment fitted, the Xiaomi 15 Extremely is head and shoulders above something from Apple, Samsung or Google as a photographic instrument.
In full: Xiaomi 15 Extremely assessment
Whereas the likes of Samsung, Apple and Google can, to a big extent, journey on their widespread model recognition to get away with providing extra incremental {hardware} improvement, that is not an choice for Chinese language manufacturers like Oppo, Xiaomi or Vivo, which have a a lot smaller market share within the west. However the benefit for western shoppers is that with a purpose to get extra market traction, they need to supply actually distinctive merchandise, and the Oppo Discover X9 Professional is an ideal instance.
Its triple-camera system affords wonderful consistency and pure colours. Then there’s the brand new Hasselblad Teleconverter adapter: a devoted add-on lens that gives as much as 40x lossless zoom. Clearly it is an additional gadget to hold, however the telephoto outcomes it offers are game-changing.
The previous Discover X8 Professional additionally provided a terrific digicam expertise, however considered one of its few weaknesses was common battery life. Oppo has properly and actually addressed that with the Discover X9 Professional, because it packs a gargantuan (for a non-rugged telephone) 7500mAh energy plant, giving the telephone a real 2-day battery life.
Put merely, no different telephone in 2025 is that this achieved, each when it comes to superior digicam {hardware} and the ensuing picture/video high quality.