2022 flagship phone camera battle royale showdown

2022 Flagship smartphone camera shootout

They say the best camera is the one that is with you all the time. For many of us, that refers to the camera (or cameras) on our smartphones, which we rarely leave home without them.

In fact, it has reached a point when camera performance sometimes dictates which smartphone you buy.

Typically, the best cameras are found in the latest flagship smartphones. As such, for this smartphone camera shootout, we choose only the cream of the crop.

Choosing our contenders

Here is how we came up with our current selection of 2022 flagship smartphones to battle it out.

We selected only one appropriate model from each brand, even if there were multiple flagship-level launches within a year for the same brand. The models we selected are launched and sold in Singapore officially on July 2022 or earlier, since that's when we embarked on this comparison. Options via third-party retailers were not counted as official support options aren't available even if they were to excel. 

Also, the chipset and the phone must be of flagship quality to discount any shooting limitations that might pose from not having top-tier processors. In other words, they would have to be armed with high-end processors such as Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 (for late-2021 releases), the first-ever Google Tensor or Apple A15 Bionic.

As a result, we have these nine flagship smartphones that meet the above criteria. And they will be vying for HWZ's nomination for the best smartphone camera.

Unlike in previous shootouts when most of the smartphones were released the year before, we have almost all contenders being released here this year instead of 2021. 

Only the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max was launched last year and while would love to have had the iPhone 14 be part of this showdown, we couldn't align it to our preferred time of embarking on this big feature. Meanwhile, the likes of Google Pixel 6 Pro, Huawei P50 Pro, Xiaomi 12 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra were released in Singapore earlier this year (2022).  

In fact, we have the latest flagship models from Chinese smartphone makers, such as the Vivo X80 Pro, Oppo Find X5 Pro and OnePlus 10 Pro.

We also have the Sony Xperia 1 IV crashing the party instead of the Xperia Pro-I, which we initially shortlisted. In the end, we felt the Pro-I is a niche handset for specific users, and in its place we've included an equally premium yet more consumer-friendly Xperia 1 IV model instead. That decision was also helped by the Sony Xperia 1 IV having a true optical zoom of 3.3x to 5.2x (Most smartphones have fixed focal length cameras for optical close-ups, and also crop the images for digital zooming into focal ranges in between their fixed lenses).

Finally, while we initially hoped to get the Xiaomi 12S Ultra for this shootout, it was made available in mainland China, like its previous Ultra models. We brought in the Xiaomi 12 Pro instead, which rocked cameras that look impressive from its spec sheet.

Scoring the phone camera

The main camera is usually the bread and butter of the smartphone that most people use predominantly. It's only when users are not satisfied with the composition or distance from the subject that compels users to consider the ultra-wide-angle camera, or telephoto camera. 

This understanding of the main camera's role in phones has also led to smartphone makers packing it with the most optimisations by default. As such, we'll be judging the main camera's overall imaging performance by drilling down to core basics and expectations in digital imaging, such as image sharpness, colour rendition, detail retention, image noise, and so on, with the help of a daytime landscape photo.

That said, you are paying a lot of money for these flagship smartphones. Thus, we will also test other aspects of the smartphones' secondary cameras. These include comparison shots taken with telephoto, ultra-wide-angle, low-light (or night), macro, and video performance, which users use on a fairly regular basis when different scenarios call for them.

For individual cameras that address specific shooting needs, we looked at the performance of each smartphone's corresponding camera (e.g. ultra-wide-angle camera and telephoto camera). For night photography and video performance, or for shots where the phone lacks a dedicated camera, we go back to using the main camera.

In addition, we will also test the front-facing camera (selfie camera) this year.

To achieve consistency for this shootout, we only use the native camera app with auto high dynamic range (HDR) turned on for all the smartphones and their cameras. 

Photos are taken in 4:3 aspect ratio, whenever possible, in JPEG file format. For selfies, we turned off all beautification features as well as other enhancements to ensure every phone camera is on a level playing field. 

Images and videos were taken handheld regardless of shooting conditions. In other words, we try to mimic what everyday smartphone users do when they whip out their smartphones to capture the moment they desire. 

All the photos for each category are taken in the same position and in quick succession with each smartphone to ensure the lighting conditions are as similar as possible. The photos are then judged on the same colour-calibrated monitor to ensure fairness.

We judged photos based on the end result only. This takes each phone's software-related tuning into account, like the amount of help rendered via computational photography, checking for overzealous image noise reduction,  verifying edge distortion in ultra-wide-angle photos, and looking at stabilisation in videos. Again, this is considering how a typical user would actually use their phone as intended.

This time around, we award a point to each phone that we found competent in the test scenario/category.  This is in consideration that camera phone photography has progressed tremendously over the years and the differences among top-tier phones are fast narrowing. As such, our new scoring method would allow every phone to score points in areas they are strong at, thus allowing us to identify phones that are suited to a specific style of photography.

Head over to the next page to see how the phones fared in our main camera test!

Note: All images were judged on a colour-calibrated screen and as such, if our commentary doesn't quite equate to what you're viewing onscreen, there's a high chance you would need to have your screen(s) calibrated or re-calibrated, which could easily make up for the difference perceived.

Main Camera performance

As stated on the previous page, the main camera is the imaging workhorse of the smartphone.

So, we will look at each main camera's overall performance: colour reproduction, sharpness, noise handling, details, dynamic range and exposure handling. We also account for visible digital artefacts caused by software optimisations.

Our subject of this main camera test is the Bandstand Gazebo, located at the 160+ years old Singapore Botanical Gardens with a bright blue sky dotted with clouds. Our shooting conditions gave us sunrays striking our subject from one side, and trees casting shadows on the green pastures around it. This allows us to see how the cameras are able to render the highlights and shadows of the scene as well as the exposure accuracy. 

Overall, all the cameras here did a great job in rendering this challenging scene. Most offer sharp images with good dynamic range and accurate colours. 

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Through the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, the sky appeared correctly exposed with the realistic amount of blue, similar to what the naked eye sees. You can also see the puffy clouds and their tails clearly. The colour reproduction for the different shades of green and yellow leaves is also spot on. 

In addition, the dynamic range of this photo is superb. The shadows on the ground retained details of the grass. Even when zoomed 200% into the image, you can make out the details of the tree's bark closest to the Bandstand in the middle. Other shadow areas are devoid of image noise as well.

Most importantly, its edge-to-edge sharpness is excellent. At its actual pixel size, you can still see the leaves on the right-hand side being sharp with little distortion. The only downer is that you cannot see the details on the branch at the top right-hand corner of the picture.

Google Pixel 6 Pro

Simply put, the shot by Google Pixel 6 Pro is excellent. There is very little to discern between the two photos taken with the iPhone 13 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro, when viewed side by side. Like the iPhone shot, the Pixel 6 Pro's exposure is spot on, with the blue sky accurately exposed and vivid colour reproduction. 

Its dynamic range is excellent -- even better than that of iPhone 13 Pro Max. You can see the individual leaves sticking out of the branch in the top right-hand corner. This was missing even in the iPhone 13 Pro Max's shot.

However, its edge-to-edge sharpness is slightly inferior, compared to the iPhone 13 Pro Max.  

Huawei P50 Pro

At first look, this shot by Huawei P50 Pro seems to be as good as the ones shot by Pixel 6 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. The exposure is spot-on, without underexposing the sky or overexposing the shadows.

In fact, it does offer great dynamic range and edge-to-edge sharpness that are comparable to the Google and Apple phone. You can even see the details of the branch in the top right-hand corner. 

Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, there are some "artificial greens" in the trees in the background around the lamp post. Given that they are under the shadows, they should not be prominent, but nevertheless, it looks artificial compared to how the other phones resolved this shot at this spot.

OnePlus 10 Pro

The shot by OnePlus 10 Pro is quite disappointing, to be honest.  It looks slightly overexposed with the colours being overly vivid. The colour temperature also leans to the warmer side, offering tinges of yellow. 

In addition, there is no detail retention in most of the shadow areas in the photos. For instance, you cannot see many leaves on the branch at the top right-hand corner. Plus, you can also see some chromatic aberration at the end of this branch. 

The only good thing is its relatively smooth edge-to-edge sharpness. But otherwise, it is at least a notch or two below the best.

Oppo Find X5 Pro

Like the OnePlus 10 Pro, the Oppo Find X5 Pro's main camera seems to overexpose the scene by a wee bit. The sky's blue looks lighter, with the greens becoming overly green and yellow. 

However, its dynamic range is better than that of iPhone 13 Pro Max. You can see more details on the branch at the top right-hand corner than the shots by most of the phones here. The edge-to-edge sharpness is also superb. 

Unfortunately, the slight overexposure of the scene means it is slightly edged out by better competition in the overall fight. 

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Exposure-wise, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra handled this scene really well with good dynamic range and accurate reproduction of colours. 

Most of the shadow areas are not blown up and retain plenty of details. But it cannot quite "tackle" the difficult branch on the top right-hand corner. A lot of details are lost here. 

In addition, there seems to be a loss of sharpness at the edges of the image, especially on the right side.

Sony Xperia 1 IV

In terms of dynamic range, the Sony Xperia 1 IV's performance is almost on par with Pixel 6 Pro and a little bit better than iPhone 13 Pro Max. Not to mention, its edge-to-edge sharpness is top-notch and comparable to iPhone while better than Pixel 6 Pro.  

The only gripe lies with its flatter colour rendition. Some photographers prefer this neutral treatment, as it offers them more latitude in editing the photos. But for this shootout, we are looking at out-of-the-camera shots. Thus, we've marked this down a bit for the Xperia IV's conservative colour reproduction.

Vivo X80 Pro

This shot by Vivo X80 Pro is on point when it comes to colour reproduction, exposure handling and dynamic range. It seriously gave the likes of Apple and Google a reason to panic.

However, it does not exhibit that many details in the "problematic" branch located in the top right-hand corner. Still, this rendition is better than most of the contenders on this page, including iPhone 13 Pro Max. 

Its edge-to-edge sharpness is pretty good as well, but just slightly below that of the iPhone. Overall, a splendid job.   

Xiaomi 12 Pro

This is a pretty decent attempt by Xiaomi 12 Pro. The exposure is relatively spot-on, with a good reproduction of what the naked eye sees. Edge-to-edge sharpness is surprisingly good as well as colours not being overly vibrant or flat. 

 

Unfortunately, the 12 Pro's dynamic range can be better. Many of the shadowed areas, especially in the background, lose plenty of detail. It's to a point where you cannot tell whether there are leaves on those trees. And the "problematic" branch is practically a silhouette here. For these reasons, it doesn't measure up to the better contenders here.

Points awarded for Main Camera performance

Almost all the contenders here actually did very well, as expected out of flagship-grade phone cameras. You can practically use any photo on social media and your followers will exclaim what a nice photo you've got. Naturally, we would have to nitpick to choose our winners.

In the end, we narrowed the contenders down based on their overall competence in delivering balance and meeting our expectations around exposure, dynamic range, colour reproduction and edge-to-edge sharpness. 

They are the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, Google Pixel 6 Pro and the Vivo X80 Pro.

Note: All images were judged on a colour-calibrated screen and as such, if our commentary doesn't quite equate to what you're viewing onscreen, there's a high chance you would need to have your screen(s) calibrated or re-calibrated, which could easily make up for the difference perceived.

10x Zoom comparison

Wildlife is one field of photography that continues to elude the smartphone camera. The common belief is you need a proper camera setup, be it a mirrorless camera or DSLR with a whopping 400mm or 600mm telephoto lens. 

Here, we will be photographing a White-breasted Waterhen swimming in a pond at Singapore Botanical Gardens. We will be using the 10x zoom option for each smartphone to do so. This is a difficult shot, so it can be considered a bonus if the smartphone can pull it off. Things that we will be looking out for include details resolved of the Waterhen's feathers, the overall sharpness and exposure handling.

We chose 10x zoom because we want to test the smartphone's telephoto camera zoom capabilities at a practical level. For shorter zoom ranges, it's likely that users would opt to reposition themselves to get the main camera working instead. On the other hand, zoom levels beyond 10x still don't offer elegant social media-ready shots, with significant noise and software compensation.

We also expect the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra to have an upper hand, since it's the only contender here with 10x optical zoom capability (with theoretically better image quality). That said, other contenders are likely to use a mix of cameras to achieve the 10x zoom level required of this test, and so it falls upon their software and camera prowess to deliver. It is up to the rest of the pack to rise up to the challenge.

Shooting wildlife with 10x zoom

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

For social media channels, this 10x shot by iPhone 13 Pro Max would have been sufficient for casual social media use, apart from being slightly overexposed. But if you look closely at the actual pixel size, there is clear loss in sharpness and visible noise artefacts.

While the colours are spot on, the overzealous sharpening led to detail loss, making the photo looks almost like a watercolour painting. You cannot even make out the feathers on the Waterhen. We expected more from Apple given the brand's attention to quality and imaging performance, and how past performance on older models would've inspired Apple to do better.

Google Pixel 6 Pro

You probably can fool people by saying you got this shot with a mirrorless camera or DSLR when you post it on social media. The Waterhen is captured superbly feeding on the water lily. 

The colours are accurate and the exposure is almost perfect, with clear separation from the bright and dark areas of the pond. Yet, you can still make out the details of the Waterhen's feathers and its sharp red eye. 

It is only upon closer inspection that you will see some pixelation, noise artefacts, and a little sharpness loss. But overall, this is an excellent attempt and a great example of computational photography done superbly.

Huawei P50 Pro

This photo is a testament to Huawei's long history in its pursuit of smartphone photography excellence. The P50 Pro is said to only have a 7x lossless zoom, but at first glance, this photo looks as sharp as it gets.

The exposure is perfect without any areas showing under- or over-compensation. All the water lilies show incredible details, whether they are in the bright or dark areas of the photo. 

Furthermore, you can easily discern the feathers on the back of the Waterhen as well as its facial features. The only drawback is the dark side (right-hand side) of Waterhen shows watercolour-like blotches. Otherwise, this is an amazing photo, technically speaking.

OnePlus 10 Pro

With a glance at this photo, you'd instantly know it's taken using digital zoom. OnePlus 10 Pro's interpretation of this scene has all the hallmarks of a highly cropped image with visible pixelation, noise artefacts and over-enthusiastic sharpening. This isn't us dunking on OnePlus, because it's the expected performance for most smartphone cameras, except that most people don't expect this class of performance out of OnePlus' top phone model. Plus, it doesn't come cheap either.

You can hardly figure out if the bird has feathers with a body being mainly a big patch of black. Its red eye has become yellow in this instance as well. Plus, the photo looks a tad overexposed. 

Oppo Find X5 Pro

Oppo Find X5 Pro's interpretation feels quite similar to the OnePlus 10 Pro's effort. The resulting image has a lot of pixelation, noise artefacts, and detail loss. The image is also overexposed, with the water lily in front of the Waterhen being a big patch of green. 

In addition, the Waterhen itself looks really soft, as if there is a soft filter being used. All these flaws become quite evident even when you post this photo on social media. The outcome rendered by Oppo is most bewildering and a big letdown considering that the Find X series prides itself on top-notch photography. Perhaps that's applicable to its main camera rather than the telephoto lens they've chosen to pair with the Find X5 Pro.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

As the only model with 10x optical zoom, we had really high expectations for the S22 Ultra. But we were a little disappointed by the result. Don't get us wrong, this is a superb image. In fact, it's one of the better ones in this category.

The photo shows nice details of the Waterhen's beak and the feathers on its back and side. Even in the shadowed areas, you can see the eye of the Waterhen clearly. While there is some pixelation in the image, it is almost devoid of any noise artefacts, which is a good thing.

The only downer is that the image seems to be a tad overexposed. Not a deal breaker, but something Samsung should have done better. The overexposure causes the lily in front of the Waterhen to lose many details, which was well captured on the Huawei P50 Pro. It spoils an otherwise almost perfect rendition of the scene. 

Sony Xperia 1 IV

Sadly, this is the sharpest photo we can get out of the Xperia 1 IV even though we tried very hard to get it in focus.

As you can evidently surmise, the Sony phone was eliminated quite early from the contenders in this category. It looks like digital zoom is not a consideration for this smartphone. 

Vivo X80 Pro

Underexposure aside, this is a beautiful image of the Waterhen by Vivo's X80 Pro. Its image sharpness and the presence of noise artefacts are only slightly below that of Pixel 6 Pro and S22 Ultra. 

The details on the back and side of the Waterhen are more discernible than most of the contenders here. You can even see the legs of the Waterhen underwater!

This is a shot that will easily fool your followers to think you might have shot this on a DSLR. Overall, it is a praiseworthy attempt.

Xiaomi 12 Pro

They say a picture tells a thousand words. And in this instance, the Xiaomi 12 Pro left us without words. 

We tempered expectations due to its 2x optical zoom camera, but somehow, Xiaomi managed to do less than that with a murky and blur image of the Waterhen reminding us of an era where single-digit megapixels were considered game-changing, and Nokia reigned supreme in the mobile phone industry.

It might be a bit unfair to the Xiaomi 12 Pro, considering the real flagship 12S Ultra. However, the 12S Ultra is not available outside of China, hence we expected more out of its main available contender.

Points awarded for 10x Zoom

With such a challenging shot, it came down to a small handful of contenders that could render our 10x requirements with great clarity, sharpness, colour dynamics, and general pixel peeping to check for minimal digital artefacts.

They are the Google Pixel 6 Pro, Huawei P50 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, and the Vivo X80 Pro.

Note: All images were judged on a colour-calibrated screen and as such, if our commentary doesn't quite equate to what you're viewing onscreen, there's a high chance you would need to have your screen(s) calibrated or re-calibrated, which could easily make up for the difference perceived.

Ultra-wide-angle performance

Ultra-wide-angle shots are usually taken during our travels like showing off the hotel room, or when we stumble upon a glorious landscape. These shots allow us to fit as much as possible into one frame with as little effort as possible.

Apart from the usual colour, details, dynamic range and noise handling, we will look into the phone's ability to correct distortion brought about by these ultra-wide-angle cameras.

The scene we chose is quite challenging, with one half of the photo being lit by the sun, while the other half sits in the shadows. Both sides are lined with HDB flats for us to check for fish-eye distortions. The flats sitting in the shadows (which have more trees) allow us to discern if the smartphones are able to pick up details and colours. 

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

The ultra-wide-angle shot by the iPhone 13 Pro Max is pretty similar to what you will see on the ground with the naked eye. In real life, it's truly as dark on the right side and just as bright on the left side.

We liked that the exposure to the sky is accurate, showing the puffy clouds passing by. There's also minimal distortion on both sides with accurate colour reproduction.

The biggest downer is the visible noise artefacts in the low-light sections. It becomes more evident when you zoom into the green handle of an exercise station in the bottom right-hand corner of the photo. The leaves on the trees on the right-hand side also lose many details, as a result.

Google Pixel 6 Pro

The Pixel 6 Pro's interpretation of this ultra-wide-angle shot is quite similar to that of the iPhone 13 Pro Max, with a clear distinction between light and shadow.

We found there are more greens in the darker areas of the photo, though they look natural, even if it's digitally enhanced by the phone's software. In addition, there are fewer noise artefacts in the darker areas compared to the iPhone 13 Pro Max. As such, more details can be seen on the leaves of the trees on the right side of the image.

The only real downer is perhaps the sky; it looks a bit overexposed. Distortion is also kept at a minimum on all sides of the photo. 

Huawei P50 Pro

Huawei P50 Pro has opted for a high dynamic range interpretation of this scene. At first glance, it looks as if both sides of the scene are equally well lit. It is as if there are no dark or shadow areas in this scene, which wasn't how it looked in reality.

Colours rendered are more vivid than in real life with great details all around. There is also very little distortion to report. We are also surprised by the lack of noticeable noise artefacts in the photo unless you look really closely. 

While some high dynamic range photos might look fake, this shot by P50 Pro looks surprisingly natural. This would have been a perfect shot, if not for the slightly overexposed sky and the fact that it doesn't actually look this bright at the scene of this shot.

OnePlus 10 Pro

If you haven't been reading this page and skipped to this picture, you probably would thought this scene is lit by the sun behind our back. There is some aggressive dynamic range treatment here by OnePlus 10 Pro to achieve this effect. 

At first glance, everything seems reasonably good. We see no discernible distortion regardless of how close we look. The colours look to be spot on without being overly vivid. Noise levels are kept to a minimum in dark areas that have been brightened up. Only the sky looks overexposed. 

Upon closer inspection, we realised there has been some aggressive noise reduction applied across the entire image. Thus, the resolution is not as sharp as it should be. A simple comparison with the shot by P50 Pro vindicated our observation.  It is a very nice try, though.

Oppo Find X5 Pro

Like the shot by OnePlus 10 Pro, the Oppo Find X5 Pro delivers another aggressive attempt in the "hyper" dynamic range. However, this attempt does not look as natural as the ones by P50 Pro or the OnePlus 10 Pro. The overall colour reproduction seems to be overly vibrant and not quite accurate to the scene.

The leaves on the right side look artificially brightened, and there is some visible noise in the darker areas of the photo. There is also slight distortion with the wheel in the bottom left-hand corner of the photo. 

Where the Find X5 Pro does better is rendering the sky; it's nicely exposed to reveal details of the clouds, and image sharpness is better than many contenders here.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

For purists, this is probably the best photo in this category. Not only does it accurately show the bright and dark areas of the scene, but it also does not aggressively offer any artificial dynamic range treatment. 

The colours are accurately retained down to the green leaves in the darker areas on the right. You can see the details in the dark areas even if they are not "lit" up as much. Distortion at all sides is kept to a minimum, and so are the noise levels. 

The sky is properly exposed to show clear details of the clouds. While it might not be the brightest or the most aggressively manipulated photo, the S22 Ultra's attempt offers the best balance between what's seen by the human eye and the image sensor.

Sony Xperia 1 IV

A double take is probably needed if you put this photo side by side taken by the iPhone 13 Pro Max of the same scene. We could hardly figure out the difference between the two. 

Colour reproduction looks the same, with both opting for a more neutral tone than being too vivid. While you can see some details in the darker areas of the photo, you will also notice visible noise artefacts.

In fact, the high noise levels have blurred the turn wheels and handle at the bottom right-hand corner of the photo. 

Vivo X80 Pro

When we first looked at this photo taken by Vivo X80 Pro, we thought we are looking at the same image that came from the Galaxy S22 Ultra. They were very similar in the way they rendered the scene, as well as the balance between the bright and darker sections. 

There is a very good dynamic range across the image, with details popping out in the darker areas. This is due to the very few noise artefacts present in the photo. While you can clearly see the area on the right is in the shadow, you can also discern the details and even the colours present.

However, the colours reproduced are more vivid and punchy than the Samsung counterpart. This might not be to the taste of some, but we find it acceptable. 

Xiaomi 12 Pro

Similar to the shot taken by OnePlus and Oppo, there is some aggressive dynamic range treatment taken by Xiaomi for this ultra-wide-angle image. 

There seems to be no difference in the brightened and shadowed areas of this scene. Both sides are equally well-lit as if the sun is behind us when it is actually on the right side of us. Again, this might be preferential to some who love ultra-high dynamic range. In our books, it looks a tad fake and unrealistic; all the more since we were present at the location to shoot the scene.

Noise artefacts are visible in some areas but not too much that it leads to detail loss. The sky though is a bit overexposed and as a result, you cannot see much of the cloud formations in detail. 

Points awarded for Ultra-wide-angle

In the end, it comes down to two phones that excelled in this tough ultra-wide angle test scene: the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and Vivo X80 Pro - after looking through these shots over and over again.

Note: All images were judged on a colour-calibrated screen and as such, if our commentary doesn't quite equate to what you're viewing onscreen, there's a high chance you would need to have your screen(s) calibrated or re-calibrated, which could easily make up for the difference perceived.

 

Low-light performance

Ever wanted to take a beautiful night scene when you are outside shopping or just taking a stroll?

The night mode of many flagship smartphones lets you do away with tripods and bulky cameras. All you need to do is to select the Night Mode in your camera's app interface, press the shutter release button, hold the camera steady, and the camera will do the rest for you.

This is what exactly we did with the nine smartphones on the rooftop of VivoCity to take a photo of HarbourFront Centre, in order to test their low-light performance. 

The scene posed a big challenge. It was a cloudless night with a crescent moon on top of the HarbourFront building. There are also multiple artificial light sources on the right from the sheltered walkway's lamps and a restaurant's interior lighting. The foreground with a water play area is also very dark, further complicated by the light sources bouncing reflections off the surface. Only a long exposure will help to reflect the scene for a better picture.

To simulate real-world photo-taking opportunities by a majority of phone users, all shots were taken handheld.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

The iPhone's night photography performance has been quite superb for a few years now, and the iPhone 13 Pro Max continues to play to its strengths.

Despite the presence of multiple light sources from the lamps on the sheltered walkway to the interior lighting of the restaurant, none of these was overexposed. Even the reflection on the water play area is squeakily clean.

In addition, you can see the reflection of the crescent moon and HarbourFront building clearly on the water play area. If you look closely at the night sky, you can spot the two stars accompanying the crescent moon that night. 

Apart from some noise artefacts and a slightly overexposed moon, this picture is almost perfect. 

Google Pixel 6 Pro

Computational photography has been the secret recipe of Google Pixel's cameras and it is most evident from its night mode. The Pixel 6 Pro doesn't disappoint with an epic rendition of a challenging night scene.

It looks brighter, as if someone has increased the exposure timing but decreased the aperture's f-stop. As such, there is a starburst bokeh effect from the lamps of the sheltered walkway on the right.

There are no overexposures from artificial light sources including the white lamps inside the multi-storey carpark of the HarbourFront building. You can also see the crescent moon more distinctly with the two stars beside it. Noise levels are pretty low and you can make out the details almost anywhere in the picture.

Huawei P50 Pro 

At first look, this picture from the Huawei P50 Pro seems better than that produced by the iPhone 13 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro.

The Harbourfront building to the water play area looks sharper and brighter. At the same time, the artificial light sources from the sheltered walkway lamps to the restaurant interior lights are not overexposed. 

Sadly, there are two things that irk us. First, the black night sky is rendered blue instead, which is a huge letdown from an accurate colour rendition point of view. Plus, there are visible noise artefacts around the top edge of the photo.

However, what really broke the camel's back is the disappearance of some lines on the two lift shafts of the Harbourfront building's right side. When you look closely, you will see lines disappearing and appearing again. This is a byproduct of over-processing, which defeats the purpose of software-assisted phone photography.

OnePlus 10 Pro

It seemed like a pretty decent effort from OnePlus 10 Pro when the image first splashed on our computer screen. Upon closer inspection, the resolution of the photo could have been better. There is visible pixelation, especially in the area around the restaurant.

The plants on the left side of the photo also start to lose details. Our guess is there might have been aggressive "de-noising" or removal of noise artefacts leading to image degradation.

In addition, some of the lamps in the multi-storey carpark of the HarbourFront building appear green, when all of them should be white. Lastly, like the P50 Pro, we could hardly make out the lines on the building's lift shafts on this phone too.

Oppo Find X5 Pro

This night photo taken by Oppo Find X5 Pro is one of the best in this shootout. Colour temperature is spot on, with all the lamps from the multi-storey carpark looking white.  All the artificial light sources are not overly exposed.

The image is sharp from edge to edge, and you can even see shoppers walking and sitting on the right side of the image. Not to mention, image noise is also bearable, despite being visible.

Unfortunately, a wee bit of the lines on the lift shaft are missing. That took many points off the ratings, which is a pity since it did remarkably well in other ways.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Samsung has been raving about S22 Ultra's night photography powers with an exhibition to boot. At first glance, this image taken by the S22 Ultra looks really promising. 

The entire scene is rendered almost perfectly with minimal noise artefacts. You can see nice details of the greens on the left and the distinct lines of the lift shafts on the right of HarbourFront building. The overall colour temperature seems to be spot on as well.

Upon closer inspection though, there seems to be a drop-off in image resolution around the right side of the image. There is also visible pixelation around the restaurant area. Nonetheless, it is still a great effort.

Sony Xperia 1 IV

The Sony Xperia 1 IV's interpretation of this night scene is a rather conservative one. In other words, it decided to play safe by ensuring superb edge-to-edge sharpness and minimal noise artefacts. You also can't see much noise in the water play area's reflection.

There is also a lot of detail retention in the image, from the plants on the left side to the lines on the lift shafts of HarbourFront building.

Unfortunately, there is a big flaw in the image. The artificial light sources tend to be overexposed, as you can see from the sheltered walkway lamps and the restaurant's interior lighting. It is a shame, as the Xperia 1 IV's nightwork is almost close to being perfect. 

Vivo X80 Pro

The Vivo X80 Pro night shot looks like a milder version of P50 Pro. While the night sky is rendered more blue than black, it is not as blue hue seen on the shot taken by the P50 Pro. 

There is also much more detail in the darker areas of the photo and the sheltered walkway's lamps have a nice starburst effect without being overblown. The restaurant's interior lighting too does not show any signs of overexposure and seems well controlled. 

Apart from the colder colour temperature of this photo, this is a really good rendition of an otherwise tough scene to capture.

Xiaomi 12 Pro

This is a pretty decent effort by Xiaomi 12 Pro with the correct colour reproduction for almost the whole scene. The only quirk is the slight magenta tinge on the white HarbourFront building. 

Plenty of details are retained, as evident from the plants on the left side of the photo as well as notice the plants at the foot of the coconut trees on the right of this image. The artificial light sources remain composed without being overblown too. 

The night sky seemed to have a wee bit of chromatic noise in the darker areas, but it is not much of an issue. However, some of the lines on the lift shafts on the HarbourFront building are missing. Apart from these quirks, this photo is quite close to that of iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Points awarded for Low-light

In reality, all the smartphones did really well in photographing this challenging scene. A shot like this would have been impossible to shoot using a smartphone just a few years ago. We've now come a long way, to the extent of pixel peeping at each photo even in the night shots to identify specific flaws in order to recommend devices that fared the best in this category.

We initially believed it was going to be a three-prong fight among the tech giants - Apple, Google and Samsung. However, the S22 Ultra's night shot resolution drop-off on the right side of the image meant that we had to drop it out of the top tier of contenders in this section. 

So it became a draw between the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and Google Pixel 6 Pro.

The real pivotal point was how the iPhone broke the tie with good detailing. We see shadows on the lines of the lift shaft of the HarbourFront building when some of the contenders can't even render the lines properly. For Google, it was its noise discipline and great handling of exposure that placed it ahead of other contenders.

Macro performance

Unlike previous tests in which we photographed the exterior of a flower, which recent flagship smartphones are able to do comfortably, we upped the ante and went for an extreme macro photography test this time.

We wanted to see which smartphone's camera is able to photograph the insides of a flower, or more specifically, the ovary of the flower. We position all the smartphones close to the flower's stigma using the ultra-wide-angle camera, or whichever camera the smartphone automatically uses to ensure a sharp focus of a super close subject.

We emphasise again that this is an extremely difficult test for phone cameras.

If a smartphone fails to get a sharp focus on the ovary of the flower, it shouldn't be a surprise as many many smartphones do not have a macro mode or a macro-dedicated camera.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Apple trumpeted its macro photography during the launch of the iPhone 13 series, and even had a social media contest about macro shots. So clearly, Apple is very confident about this aspect and it shows from the photo shot by the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

While it might be a little underexposed, the colours are spot on. You can see intricate details of the ovary and the red lines running up the petals of the flower. You can also see little water droplets at the base.

However, the noise levels are a little on the higher side. This is especially so in the darker areas, mainly the surrounding petals. Nonetheless, it is a great technical accomplishment. 

Google Pixel 6 Pro

Without an automatic or dedicated macro mode, the Google Pixel 6 Pro struggled to get any focus on the super near ovary. The result is a blurry red. Macro photography wasn't a key focus for the Pixel 6 series, and this might be something for Google to think about for Pixel 7 and beyond.

Huawei P50 Pro

It is a mystery why Huawei did not market its super macro mode found on its main camera when the P50 Pro was launched. The performance is amazing, as you can see from above. 

As long as you are using the auto mode, the main camera will automatically switch to super macro mode when you point it to a subject really close. And that was how we managed to get this beautiful shot of the ovary of this flower. 

With everything brightly lit, we can see more details of the innards of this flower. That includes the layers of rings surrounding the ovary, and the tiny dots on each ring layer. The noise levels are kept pretty low too. We are no botanists, but we think we can even see the ovule of this flower. This is simply amazing.   

OnePlus 10 Pro

Not only does OnePlus 10 Pro fails to get a sharp focus on the ovary of this flower, but the colours also look really off from the original bright red.  OnePlus needs to do better next time.

Oppo Find X5 Pro

While it has an automated macro mode on its ultra-wide-angle camera, the Oppo Find X5 Pro could not get a sharp focus on the ovary of this flower, though it tried.

Should Oppo put in a bit more work towards its dedicated macro mode and accompanying software, it might be able to fight the big boys in this category next time.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Apart from the rather flat lighting and dull colours, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra managed to capture the innards of this flower quite splendidly. This is something many other contenders have failed to do so. 

While the macro details might not be as rich as the likes of Apple and Huawei, it is still stunning nonetheless. Exposure is actually more neutral than Apple's and it exhibits less image noise. Overall, this is a really good photo to impress your mates on social media. 

Sony Xperia 1 IV

As you can see, the Sony Xperia 1 IV fails this extreme macro test. Probably something for Sony to think about for their next iteration. 

Vivo X80 Pro

The Vivo X80 Pro almost manages to get a sharp focus on the flower's ovary. Plus, the colours are pretty accurate and you can even see the red lines running through the sepal of the flower. A very good effort.

Xiaomi 12 Pro

Another Chinese smartphone maker fails to nail this category. Maybe Xiaomi might want to look at macro photography in its 13 series.

Points awarded for Macro performance

Given all the marketing hype by Apple, one would think the iPhone 13 Pro Max should the undisputed king of smartphone macro photography. But as it turns out, Apple isn't the only one who could attempt a highly difficult macro shot, and neither was it necessarily the best.

In this event, the contenders that pulled ahead are quite literally clearer and sharper than the rest. They are the Huawei P50 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.  The Huawei P50 Pro gets a special mention as it offers better image quality, more accurate exposure, sharper details and less image noise when tackling this difficult situation.

Selfie performance

For the selfie test, we opted for a standard, and relatively easier shot, but it's no less challenging than the other tests.

We did selfie testing on an overcast cloudy day where lightning is relatively flat, against a backdrop of HDB blocks and a bit of our Singaporean skies. The real challenge for selfies see us measuring the quality of both the subject and their immediate surroundings -- not just the face itself.

To get these photos, we turned off all the beautification features available in every model. This helps to level the playing field. For features that we can't disable, we looked at the quality of beautification features instead.

We judged based on true-to-life reproduction of selfies, on top of exposure accuracy, details, subject's natural skin tones as well as the depth of field of the overall image. To us, it doesn't matter if the feature(s) gives us flawless skin or visage if it doesn't look believable, to begin with. It also matters if the camera can properly capture what's around the subject, since the scene contributes to the overall vibe of the selfie.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

The selfie camera of iPhone 13 Pro Max does not offer wide coverage, with some of the HDB blocks being cut off. However, it offers a balanced exposure of the subject's face with accurate skin tones and natural lighting of the surroundings in the background. 

In addition, there is even a little tinge of blue exhibited among the grey clouds. The depth of field is also pretty good, with the buildings, greeneries and the MRT track all in relatively sharp focus. 

There are also plenty of details that can be seen in both the subject's face, the windows on HDB blocks and even in the parapet behind him. Skin tones are on point too. Overall, this is a technically excellent selfie.

Google Pixel 6 Pro

Google Pixel 6 Pro seems to have slightly underexposed the subject as well as the surroundings. This is probably to prevent itself from overblowing the cloudy sky. You can even see some blue in the sky, as a result. 

However, that means the subject's face has a darker skin tone. Surprisingly, there seems to be some image noise in the background found on the windows of the HDB blocks. But there is more contrast in the HDB flats, instead of being washed out like some other selfies here.

Depth of field is also quite good, with the background of buildings, trees and tracks all in sharp focus. Overall, it is a good selfie but we expected more from a Pixel phone.

Huawei P50 Pro

There seems to be a tinge of warm hue over this selfie by Huawei P50 Pro. The skin tones tend to be more "orange" but the face seems to be brighter. However, the facial flaws and pimples are still evident, qualifying this as a realistic-looking selfie. 

However, the background seems to be a tad dull lacking any contrast. The sky is also overexposed and masks the existence of the clouds. The depth of field is not too good, with most of the HDB blocks out of focus. The sharper focus only lasted till the MRT tracks. 

OnePlus 10 Pro

The OnePlus 10 Pro's selfie camera offers a nice wide-angle coverage that is able to accommodate all the HDB blocks behind the subject. It is thus good to have it on your travels to take selfies in all the scenic places you will be going.

Overall exposure seems to be on the high side, with the sky a pale white "losing" its clouds. But the subject's face is suitably brightened without losing much of his natural skin tones. 

Sadly, the HDB blocks seem to look a tad washed up. However, it still offers a bit more contrast than most competing selfies seen here. The depth of field is also lacking, with the HDB blocks looking blurry. 

We think the OnePlus model offers a better selfie compared to some of the contenders here.

Oppo Find X5 Pro

Oppo Find X5 Pro's attempt at this selfie situation looks very similar to that of OnePlus 10 Pro. Its wide-angle coverage was able to cover all the HDB blocks behind the subject. 

Like the OnePlus, this selfie seems to render the HDB blocks pale with little contrast. The sky is also overexposed, even though you can still make the puffy clouds if you look closer. 

The subject's face is the only "shining light" in this selfie. However, his skin tones are rendered a bit reddish. Plus, depth of field is pretty limited with even the parapet lacking sharpness. 

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Like the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's selfie coverage is not as wide as the other contenders here. However, the rendered skin tones of the subject are much more accurate than the others. In fact, the skin tone comes close to that of the iPhone 13 Pro Max. 

On the flip side, the depth of field is non-existent. It seems like the selfie camera put the bokeh effect, or narrow depth of field, as a priority. Practically, only the subject is in sharp focus. All the background, including the parapet that is just behind the subject, is blurred. 

We double-checked that we are not using the portrait mode here. But there seems to be no way to disable this behaviour in the Photo section of the native camera app. If this is the effect you are looking for, the Galaxy S22 Ultra will be ideal. But it does not meet our requirements for this particular test, where we want as much accurate image data in the selfie as possible.

Sony Xperia 1 IV

Among the contenders here, the Sony Xperia 1 IV offers the widest selfie coverage. A big plus if you want to ensure you have more background included in your selfie. 

Exposure is almost spot on, as we can still see some clouds as well as little bits of blue in the sky. While the skin tones of the subject veer a little toward the red side, it is correctly exposed. 

On the downside, there is plenty of image noise throughout the image. It resides from the subject's T-shirt to the multi-storey carpark behind the subject. Given the even lighting that day, we really wonder how come so much image noise crept in. 

Vivo X80 Pro

It seems like OnePlus, Oppo and Vivo all uses the same camera algorithm for selfies. This selfie by Vivo X80 Pro looks no different to that of the OnePlus 10 Pro and Oppo Find X5 Pro. 

Vivo X80 Pro finds the middle ground between the selfies shot by the OnePlus and Oppo smartphones. The subject's skin tones are more accurate without Oppo's reddish tinge. But the HDB blocks sport less contrast compared to the OnePlus' selfie. 

Depth of field is equally lacking like the OnePlus and Oppo phones. But overall, this is a more pleasing selfie than its fellow Chinese counterparts.

Xiaomi 12 Pro

The selfie shot by Xiaomi 12 Pro is slightly overexposed. It might be the camera's algorithms trying to brighten and smoothen the subject's face, but it sacrificed exposure accuracy in return.

The preference for the subject also gave an unwanted side effect -- entire image looks a bit washed up. All the buildings in the background look pale and the sky turns into white with no visible clouds to be seen. 

The background also looks blurred with some visible image noise artefacts. You probably might be a bit miffed if this was taken on an overseas trip. 

Points awarded for Selfie

We thought selfie taking on an overcast day without any beauty features should be an easier task for these selfie cameras. But instead, it might have prevented some of the smartphones from utilising software to artificially enhance their results.

The plus side? Such testing lets us know if the selfie camera uses decent hardware and software tuning that ensures high-quality imaging, or if it's relying on these features to meet the ever-changing standards of what beauty is (not to mention it's also different to each individual).

To that end, it was the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, Sony Xperia 1 IV, and Vivo X80 Pro that delivered on selfies that looked natural, with higher imaging quality that kept digital artefacts to a minimum.

Video performance

For this video test, we take a 10-second video in portrait orientation while walking towards a mini clock tower outside Singapore's National Orchid Garden. This is to simulate how tourists or content creators do when they enter a new place or attend an event. We opted for a 10-second recording per try, because that is the length for an Instagram Story post. Like typical short video content you see from friends or family on social media, these clips are also taken handheld.

Most smartphones have default video recording settings at 1080p at 30 frames per second with High Dynamic Range (HDR) turned on. We decided to use this setting across the board.

In addition, we also use the default video file format each smartphone uses. Apart from iPhone's MOV format, all the other contenders shoot videos in MP4 format by default.

The videos captured are then judged based on stability, exposure setting, sharpness, as well as the accuracy of auto white balance, and its ambient sound recording. 

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

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The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max came closest in mimicking actual conditions when you check for exposure and white balance of the scene. Both the sky and the ground's colours are also faithfully replicated. 

It's not without downsides. The areas under the shadow become a little dark. As such, the greens under the clock tower do not 'pop out' like the recordings made by other contenders. However, iPhone 13 Pro Max's clip remains sharp with nice details exhibited from the ground to the greens. The video is also well stabilised, without any jerks during the movement towards the clock tower.

Ambient sound is readily recorded, from the chirping of birds to leaves being crushed underfoot. Overall, it is a very accurate representation of the scene. 

Google Pixel 6 Pro

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For videographers who do not want to do much post-processing, the Google Pixel 6 Pro might be a good tool to shoot videos with. In this test, the phone was able to render the sky almost as it was. In fact, it made the sky slightly bluer. 

In addition, the video exhibits a very high dynamic range with vivid colours throughout. The result is even the shadow areas, from the clock tower to the large trees, have greens and yellows that grabbed our attention. It is an aesthetically pleasing video without the need for much post-processing.

The stabilisation was decent, with only a slight jerk near the end of the video. There is also a tinge of softness if you look closely at the clock tower. But it is not a deal breaker. Audio recording is also more sensitive, picking a fair bit of wind noise. 

Huawei P50 Pro

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The automatic white balance of Huawei P50 Pro's video camera tended towards warmer colour temperatures, leaning towards red and yellow hues in the colour spectrum. This caused the blue sky to turn white, while distant trees appeared pale green. 

Its preference for red also made it retain shades of brown, albeit slightly darker. In a way, it worked to the P50 Pro's favour since it brought out the floor around the clock tower nicely, when other contenders might have overblown it. 

Video sharpness and image stabilisation are really good, on par with the iPhone 13 Pro Max. The audio recording is pretty comprehensive as well, and it kept wind noise at a minimum.

OnePlus 10 Pro

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The video captured by OnePlus 10 Pro feels like a slightly duller version of Huawei P50 Pro. The colours are not as saturated as those seen on Pixel 6 Pro or P50 Pro.

But, the dynamic range is comparably strong, with the shadow areas looking as bright as the bright areas. Video sharpness could be better, given the mild detail loss on the face of the clock tower.  Stabilisation needs more work, as there were also slight jerks through the motion of the video.

Audio recording is very sensitive and picks up a disturbingly large chunk of wind noise. A bit of toning down in this department will be welcomed.  

In short, its underperformance with sharpness, colours, details, and wind noise means the OnePlus 10 Pro has many contenders to beat before it gets a chance to showcase its great HDR capabilities.

Oppo Find X5 Pro

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This is a really nice video capture by Oppo Find X5 Pro. The white balance is almost spot on with a wide dynamic range that offers vivid colours. It might not be a faithful reproduction of the actual scene, but it gives users a treat to greens and yellows around the mini clock tower, while the blue sky is nicely retained instead of being overexposed. 

The video looks crisp without any signs of over-sharpening. Image stabilisation works great as well, with no visible jerks. Audio recording does pick up a fair bit of wind noise, but nothing too jarring. 

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

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Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has struck a nice balance between capturing the actual scene and the ideal scene. It's not as vivid as the Pixel 6 Pro, but it also does not have the faithful reproduction seen on iPhone 13 Pro Max.

The result is a well-balanced, yet pleasantly coloured rendition of the greens and yellows. The colours are basically more controlled, with the shadowed areas nicely lit while retaining details.  

Video sharpness also checks out, while stabilisation is as smooth as it gets. Audio recording is sensitive enough to pick up conversations around you without any drowning wind noise. 

Sony Xperia 1 IV

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Among all the videos captured in this shootout, this has to be the dullest of all. It seems like a neutral density filter has been used, making everything look an f-stop below optimal exposure. 

But yet, it could not quite get the sky to be as blue as it was on that day. The greens and yellows around the mini clock tower also lack punch and pop. 

Stabilisation can be better. You can feel the slight jerk with every footstep the videographer takes. Its audio recording is a plus point, as it does not pick up much of the wind noise.  

Vivo X80 Pro

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The Vivo X80 Pro has a rather vivid rendition of the scene with a wide dynamic range that ensures the colours look much brighter and more vivid. 

Exposure leans towards the higher side, ensuring that the main scene looks bright and lively. This also let an overexposure of the sky. But video sharpness is really good, comparable to that of S22 Ultra or iPhone 13 Pro Max. 

Stabilisation is also more than capable to ensure smooth videos when you are walking. Its microphone is able to pick up conversations nicely but wind noise sounds to be nicely filtered away.

Xiaomi 12 Pro

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Surprisingly, the Xiaomi 12 Pro offers the most vibrant capture of this scene. Not even the likes of Samsung or Google are able to compare with the rich and colourful video captured by this Xiaomi phone. 

In fact, the greens look way too green and the yellows too yellow, causing them to lose many details. It's as if Xiaomi applied beauty filters and other enhancements to the resulting clip.This might be what some users ask for in their videos, but others who need a more balanced take might loathe it. 

Regardless, the video itself looks really sharp and stabilisation is also top-notch. The audio recorded is nicely moderated. Not much wind noise is being picked up.

Points awarded for Video

We believe that a camera should be recording a scene as close to reality as possible. This is because we can always do post-processing to achieve the desired colours, contrast, and tonality. Post-processing is much less forgiving if your content isn't sharp enough, accurate enough, stable enough, or clean enough (free of both audio and video noise).

If the video comes out with colours and exposure already processed, we might have trouble tuning the video further to our liking. Of course, there will be people who prefer a processed video after hitting the stop button, but we live in an age where users already make the effort with additional video filters to curate content.  

In our bid for equal quality paired with authenticity, we awarded one point each to the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, and Vivo X80 Pro. 

And our winner is...

In any comparison tests, there are bound to be winners and losers. However, we do think all the contenders here are solid shooters in their own right. And for everyday use whether you are shooting landscape or food, you will not do much wrong when you use any of these flagship smartphones. 

In fact, the winner here just happens to accumulate the most points through our extensive and grueling tests. At times, the category winner only narrowly wins its respective shooting scenario by a thin margin or by a certain criterion.

It is just for the purpose of this test, which involved hours of comparing photos and pixel peeping on a monitor, that we have to decide on a winner.

By giving a point to each category winner, we have managed to narrow down the shootout winner that has accumulated the most points.

Four good phones for photography and videography

If we look at how each phone was competent (or not) relative to other phones, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Vivo X80 Pro edged out excellent options like the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and Google Pixel 6 Pro. We'd say you would be satisfied with the imaging quality provided on these four models, with the Korean and Chinese phone brands offering wider competency across more shooting scenarios.

Forcing a winner

We'd give the tie-breaker to the Vivo X80 Pro between the high-scoring Samsung and Vivo phones for a simple reason.

While the Vivo X80 Pro did not score a point for macro performance (Samsung did better), Vivo scored a crucial point in its Main Camera performance, which Samsung had to let go to the likes of Apple and Google.

Now, for those who aren't very familiar with what else Vivo's top phone packs besides a great set of cameras, head over here to check out its highlights. If you're interested make the leap to the Vivo X80 Pro as your next smartphone, it's officially available via our major telcos (M1, StarHub), the Vivo official store on Lazada and Shopee, as well as in major electronics stores.

Choosing phone cameras that work best for you

Regardless of your choice, the best camera is still the smartphone camera you are carrying, because it is still better than not having any camera at all.

In fact, if you prefer highly stylised and post-processed images right out of the camera, you may not even agree with our choice of four handsets selected from our nine test models.

This also doesn't yet factor in your preferred mobile operating system. After all, they are also phones too. An Apple user might still prioritise its operating system over Android alternatives, seeing how Apple users are pretty much locked into its ecosystem.

Even among Android options, the cleanliness, safety, and intuitiveness of the phone also affect your final Android choice. For example, some users would still pick Samsung for its UI, while others who don't really care for the phone's productivity hacks might pick the Vivo mobile instead. Those that detest either option for their modifications might end up picking the Google Pixel 6 Pro, thanks to its "stock Android" experience, which going by our test outcome, is also a pretty decent shooter.

In essence, looking at a smartphone through its camera lenses only makes up one part of the full phone experience. We hope our feature article would have sate your curiosity around 2022 flagship phones that fare better for photography and videography.