This is the best smartphone camera of 2017

Selfies!

Selfies!

Apologies in advance for all the pictures of my mug. Testing the front-facing camera has never been a big priority for us; the logic being that it doesn’t matter how awesome the front camera is if the back-facing camera isn’t.

That said, we can’t avoid how important selfies are to most people (ourselves included), so here goes … 

Winner: Apple iPhone X

The Apple iPhone X takes the best selfies, with good color and detail. The Google Pixel 2 XL and the Samsung Note8 also take good-looking selfies, but the details are softer in comparison to the iPhone X.

The iPhone X can also shoot with Portrait mode using its TrueDepth camera. The overall effect isn’t perfect, but it’s fine if you don’t look too closely. The Google Pixel 2 XL can also produce faux bokeh selfies, but they’re not very good, with ragged, artificial edges.

The HTC U11, Huawei Mate 10 Pro, and Sony Xperia XZ Premium turn in selfies that look softer than our winners. The LG V30+ deserves a special mention for its wide-angle option, for when you want to get more people and background in a selfie. It’s a brilliant idea, but there’s noticeable softness in corners of the image.