200MP vs 1 inch – test of the best Android phones for photography

Introduction

At GSMArena, we are photographers first and foremost. Camera upgrades are probably the biggest reason we’re excited about new flagship phone releases, and when it comes to those, we’ve certainly been spoiled over the past couple of years.

We’ve seen so many great phones come along, each one surpassing the next in hardware and software, with photography improvements by leaps and bounds. Our office has seen many heated discussions about which phone has the best camera. Frankly, we’ve all been eagerly waiting to come up with a direct head-to-head comparison that can sort this out – at least for now.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra • Xiaomi 12S Ultra • Xiaomi 13 Pro • vivo X90 Pro

So we decided to pit several of the best Android camera phones against each other in a photography-only battle. We’ve lined up the new Galaxy S23 Ultra, Xiaomi 13 Pro and Vivo X90 Pro, as well as the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, and we’ve taken a few (hundreds) photos and put them side by side to see what all the fuss is about. We intended to have the Pixel 7 Pro in this roundup, but it wasn’t available at the time of testing so we could include it in a follow-up to this head-to-head.

Three of these phones have a 1-inch type sensor, one has 200 million pixels, all can capture 8k video, and some can zoom to the moon and back from the comfort of your pocket. You could even say that they don’t even need to see the moon to take a picture of it (too early?). It’s crazy to think that phones have come this far. It’s even crazier to think of what will be possible in a few years.

But let’s focus on the present and see which phone deserves to be called the best camera phone in 2023. We’re focusing on shooting photos for this one to keep things manageable. Video is quite another thing.

We’re also focusing on the main, ultra-wide and mid-range zoom cameras on the Galaxy, Xiaomi and Vivo – Samsung’s 10x zoom is more of a specialist lens that doesn’t directly compare to the mid-range zooms of our chosen phones. We also look at performance behind the lens so you won’t see any selfies here.

Two advantages, two ultras: vivo X90 Pro • Xiaomi 13 Pro • Galaxy S23 Ultra • Xiaomi 12S Ultra

Finally, we look at results straight out of the camera. We do not do post-processing or RAW editing. Every phone in this range has the ability to take RAW photos as well as powerful built-in apps and features to give the budding photographer more ways to capture the moment – our goal is to see which phone gives you the best baseline.

Sound fun? Let’s look at some pictures.