2026 is nearly here, but this is our rundown of the ten best camera phones of the last 12 months.
As we've now come to expect, the camera hardware in many of this year's phones has received fairly incremental improvements compared to previous models. Instead, it's the computational side where the biggest photographic enhancements could be found this year, with all the major manufactures integrating scarily-smart AI into their camera processing, and with some incredible results.
Thankfully it's not just the flagship phones where you'll find great image quality. In 2025 we've also been treated to several excellent budget and mid-range camera camera phones for shooters seeking maximum bang-per-buck.
There are phones on this list that we'd recommend as the best camera phones you should buy, but also some more controversial choices. These might not make the most sense as a real-world purchase, but they're special in their own way.
So let's count down our top ten phones of 2025, in reverse order…
How's this for a strong start: a phone that shouldn't actually be on this list. It was launched way back in 2016, it only has a 2.5-star rating, and it doesn't even have a camera! But we only got around to reviewing it in 2025 (we're all about cutting-edge journalism here), and frankly, to heck with the rules: I just want to include it for its novelty factor... and so I can make a poop joke later...
We've had a decent selection of compact phones launched in 2025 - the iPhone Air and Galaxy S25 Edge being prime examples. But those phones are positively giant when compared to the aptly-named Tiny T1.
At just 46.7 x 21 x 12mm, you can slip (or hide) this phone almost anywhere. And it's for this reason you'd be wise not to purchase a used example of a Tiny T1, as there's a very real chance it may have seen more faecal matter than a proctologist. To be honest, unless you want to secretly keep your criminal empire ticking over smoothly from behind bars, few people actually need a phone this small. But as an example of clever engineering (despite its size, it manages surprisingly decent call quality) the Zanco Tiny T1 is a loveable little trinket.
In full: Zanco Tiny T1 review
At the other end of the size scale from the Zanco Tiny T1 are rugged phones. These may seem unnecessary when you consider even budget phones now boast ingress protection ratings, but the 8849 Tank 4 Pro isn't just IP69-rated against water and dust ingress, it's also shock-, temperature-, altitude-, humidity- and vibration-resistant.
With a phone like this being designed for extreme environments where mains power may be scarce, it needs a big battery. There are plenty of rugged phones with huge power plants, and they're correspondingly massive to carry. The Tank 4 Pro manages to balance a healthy 11600mAh battery capacity with a manageable 530g phone weight. The battery fuels a potent Mediatek Dimensity 8300 chipset for rapid performance, and you view proceedings on a high-res 3200x1440 AMOLED display.
The Tank 4 Pro's camera array is no afterthought, either. A 50MP, 1/1.3-inch main camera sensor provides decent image quality, and it's flanked by a 50MP telephoto camera and also a 64MP night-vision snapper. There's even a built-in 720P projector should you want to show off your images or videos to an audience.
If you need a phone that'll survive harsh environments, but don't want to carry around an absolute brick of a device, the 8849 Tank 4 Pro is a genuinely well-balanced rugged phone.
In full: 8849 Tank 4 Pro review
It's hard to envisage a foldable phone ever winning our phone of the year award. In order to have a multi-panel phone, compromises have to be made, and this is especially true when it comes to cameras. Though Samsung has managed to cram one of its 200MP sensors into the primary (wide-angle) camera of the Z Fold 7, it's teamed with relatively weak ultrawide and telephoto cameras (the latter only offering a 3x focal length increase).
But, providing you shoot primarily with the main camera, image quality is great - the Z Fold 7 probably has the best primary camera of any foldable.
Elsewhere, the Z Fold 7 impresses with its slim build, excellent cover screen, and (relatively) good battery life. The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset also provides blazing performance.
If only a foldable will do, and you can forgive the compromises that come with this form factor, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the most accomplished big-screen phone of the year.
In full: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review
In past years, we've picked phones from Samsung's Galaxy A-series or Google's Pixel a-series as value winners, but Nothing has shaken up the budget market this year with the CMF Phone 2 Pro. With a launch price of just $279 / £219, it gives you an incredible amount of performance for the money, and makes phones like the current Galaxy A56 and Pixel 9a look overpriced.
Where most budget phones give you a wide and ultrawide camera (and maybe dedicated macro / depth modules, which serve only to increase the total module count), with the CMF Phone 2 Pro you get a flagship-rivalling wide+ultrawide+telephoto trio, with the latter capable of a 2x optical zoom.
It's a pity none of the cameras have OIS, but something has to give to bring the phone in at such a low price. At least the main camera sensor is a surprisingly large 1/1.56-inch size, which results in shockingly good image quality for a phone at this price point, even in low light. The modular Accessory Point and an IP54 ingress protection rating further boosts the phone's value way above its competitors.
In full: CMF Phone 2 Pro review
No top 10 camera phone list would be complete without Samsung's current flagship handset, so we've got to include the Galaxy S25 Ultra. There was a time before the influx of boundary-pushing Chinese phones when a Galaxy S Ultra would have had a very real shot at the top spot, but ever since Samsung equipped the old S23 Ultra with its 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor, there's been precious-few camera hardware improvements. The S24 Ultra and S25 Ultra reused the same image sensor, leaving it up to the surrounding modules (and Galaxy AI) to provide the imaging improvements. Though these have been worthwhile, they're still somewhat underwhelming when compared to some of the innovations we've seen from the likes of Xiaomi and Oppo.
That said, the S25 Ultra is still a very competent camera phone, and if you're using it in conjunction with a Galaxy watch, tablet, or other Samsung smart tech, it makes for a seamless ecosystem. But if you're not a Samsung disciple, then the S25 Ultra's aggressive image processing (pumped-up sharpness and color saturation in Auto mode) can make photos look overcooked, at least to a purist's eyes.
In full: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review
Each year the latest and greatest Pixel always makes into our top 10, but each year it's a struggle to work out which position it should occupy. On the one hand the latest Pixel never sets the world alight with its camera hardware, yet Google's incredible image processing provides the kind of reliable camera experience and image quality consistency that only Apple can really match.
The Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL make this recipe even tastier thanks to their more effective 100x super-res zoom, helpful new camera coach, and Google's suite of AI editing tools. The exterior of the Pixel 10 Pro/XL is another similarity with iPhone. Not in terms of the design specifics - Google's camera island is like no other - but the overall feel exudes quality, and the display output is stunning to behold.
Ultimately, the Pixel 10 Pro/XL are highly-accomplished all-rounders. They're not out to grab headlines, but as dependable every-day tools that take great photos time and time again, only an iPhone comes close.
In full: Google Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL review review
The last few generations of iPhone Pros have offered somewhat incremental improvements over their predecessors, but in 2025 Apple gave us a more compelling reason to upgrade. This is the first triple-camera iPhone to get 48MP sensors in all three of its camera modules, and the result is sublime image quality, whether you're using the wide, ultrawide or 4x telephoto cameras.
Screen brightness was bumped up to 3000 nits (vs. 2000 for the iPhone 16 Pro Max), making the new phone appreciably easier to use in bright conditions, while the new 2TB storage option gives the 2025 flagship iPhone even more content-creator appeal. The new wider camera island and Cosmic Orange color option may be of questionable aesthetic appeal, but otherwise the iPhone 17 Pro Max gets closer than ever to winning our phone of the year award.
In full: Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max review
Vivo, Xiaomi and Oppo have been battling to produce the most advanced camera phone for several years, so picking the best flagship offering from these three brands is always tough. Despite it being in third place here, we reckon the X200 Ultra could be the best camera phone ever made - a bold statement, but not went you consider the immensely powerful camera hardware it's packing.
Unlike many phones - including several flagships - the X200 Ultra's three rear-facing camera modules all feature large sensors: the 50MP f/1.7 primary camera uses a 1/1.28-inch sensor, while the 50MP ultrawide and 200MP telephoto modules have 1/1.28-inch and 1/1.4-inch sensors, respectively. This attention to hardware detail gives the X200 Ultra incredible image quality, no matter which camera you use.
Then there's the optional photography kit. This includes a sculpted camera grip containing a 2300mAh battery to keep the phone topped up while you're shooting, and it also adds a shutter button, zoom rocker and a video record button. And if that wasn't enough, you can even add an optional Zeiss teleconverter lens to provide an effective 200mm focal length.
So if the X200 Ultra is so darned good (and it is), then why does it only win bronze on our list? It's only available in China. And even if you import one, it's not designed for western consumers so the user experience may not be entirely smooth when used outside of its homeland.
In full: Vivo X200 Ultra review
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra was our overall winner in 2024. Its replacement - the Xiaomi 15 Ultra - has to settle for second place in 2025, but this is still an incredible camera phone. Its primary, wide-angle camera consists of a 50MP, 1-inch sensor with an f/1.6 aperture, and this is flanked by two telephoto cameras - one 50MP module with a 70mm-equivalent focal length, 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 photo processing and the 15 Ultra can produce stunning images and video, in pretty much any conditions.
But what really sets the 15 Ultra apart from its rivals from Apple, Google and Samsung is the Photography Kit. This is a specially-designed ergonomic grip that makes the 15 Ultra feel and operate much more like a 'proper' cameras. It adds a physical shutter button, a direct video record button, zoom dial, and a customizable scroll wheel. There's even a 2000mAh battery squeezed in that can supplement the phone's main battery. With the Photography Kit fitted, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is head and shoulders above anything from Apple, Samsung or Google as a photographic tool.
In full: Xiaomi 15 Ultra review
While the likes of Samsung, Apple and Google can, to a large extent, ride on their widespread brand recognition to get away with offering more incremental hardware development, that's not an option for Chinese brands like Oppo, Xiaomi or Vivo, which have a much smaller market share in the west. But the advantage for western consumers is that in order to get more market traction, they must offer truly exceptional products, and the Oppo Find X9 Pro is a perfect example.
Its triple-camera system offers excellent consistency and natural colors. Then there's the new Hasselblad Teleconverter adapter: a dedicated add-on lens that provides up to 40x lossless zoom. Obviously it's an extra gadget to carry, but the telephoto results it gives are game-changing.
The preceding Find X8 Pro also offered a terrific camera experience, but one of its few weaknesses was average battery life. Oppo has well and truly addressed that with the Find X9 Pro, as it packs a gargantuan (for a non-rugged phone) 7500mAh power plant, giving the phone a genuine 2-day battery life.
Put simply, no other phone in 2025 is this accomplished, both in terms of advanced camera hardware and the resulting image/video quality.
In full: Oppo Find X9 Pro review
