Technologies
Best Camera Phone to Buy in 2023
These are the best photo-taking camera phones to buy right now, from Apple, Google, Samsung and more.
The top smartphones you can buy right now in 2023 all have amazing cameras, with companies like Apple, Google and Samsung all packing their best phones with multiple cameras that can take incredible images. But the more camera lenses a phone has doesn’t mean it’s any better at actually taking great-looking shots. Top phones like the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro also pack bigger image sensors and huge improvements in software for AI-powered computational photography. Then there’s the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra‘s camera, which can take some of the best zoom photos it’s possible to get from a phone.
As you read through comparisons of cameras on phones, it’s important to keep in mind that there isn’t a «perfect» phone camera. There are definitely phones that excel at a specific feature when compared with others — the zoom on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, for example — but that might not be a feature worth paying for if you have little interest in zoom photos. And don’t be fooled into thinking that more megapixels in a camera means better photos. We look at how these cameras perform in real-life situations: how they balance exposures, how they handle colors and how easy they are to use.
Read our guide to help find the best phone camera for your needs.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro might come with a steep asking price, but it ticks almost every box you could want from a camera setup on a phone. Its main 48-megapixel sensor takes superb images, with crisp details and beautiful, natural colors, its wide-angle lens is one of the best around and it excels at night photos, delivering bright and clear shots when there’s minimal light.
Its 3x zoom lens falls short of rivals like Samsung’s 10x zoom on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, but 3x is still enough to help you find interesting compositions in your landscape or get a slightly more close up photo of a cute dog you found in the park.
Its video skills are superb too, with rock-solid image stabilization, 4K resolutions and Apple ProRes support for those of you wanting to get the absolute best-looking footage when editing in software like Adobe Premiere or DaVinci Resolve.
Stephen Shankland/CNET
Google’s Pixel 7 Pro has impressed us in a number of ways from its slick new design to its extremely user-friendly software. But it’s the camera that’s really stood out, with the Pixel 7 Pro delivering superb shots in a variety of conditions. Its main sensor captures shots with superb dynamic range and vibrant colors while its 5x optical zoom gives extra reach than the iPhone 14 Pro is able to manage.
And while its night mode shots aren’t as good as the iPhone’s, it’s a great camera overall that’ll suit both photography amateurs — and those looking to take more artistic images — well and at a cost that undercuts its rivals.
James Martin/CNET
The Galaxy S23 is a lot, but in a good way. Samsung made improvements to the camera’s resolution (200 megapixels compared to 108 megapixels), color tones and dynamic range, while retaining the impressive 10x optical zoom as its predecessor. There’s also a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor that’s been optimized specifically for Samsung’s phones, which brings faster performance compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Starting at $1,200, it may be an understatement to call this phone expensive. But those willing to pay more for a giant screen and a high-quality, versatile camera won’t be disappointed. Read our full review of the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Apple’s video capture has always been top notch and the iPhone 14 Pro Max keeps that going. The resolution might top out at 4K — rather than 6K or 8K seen on some Android phones — but its overall quality is second to none. Exposure and dynamic range is beautiful, detail is superb and image stabilization has been given a huge boost with the new Action Mode. Then there’s the Cinematic Mode which provides deeper focus control for focus pulling between two characters in a scene.
But it also lets you shoot in Apple’s ProRes video codec. This generates huge video files, but it gives more scope for professionals to add color grades in post production software without sacrificing quality, meaning that the iPhone 14 Pro Max could be a legitimate part of a professional filmmaker’s kitbag. And while the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max differ only in size, the extra screen real estate of the Max model will not only help you monitor your footage more easily, but it gives you more to physically hold on to when you’re out and about which could help you keep it more stable while filming.
While Google’s latest Pixel 7 and 7 Pro might steal the headlines with their flashy new design and Tensor G2 processor, the Pixel 6A offers a lot of what Google’s latest Pixel phones have boasted but in a smaller and more affordable package. It has just two rear cameras (a standard zoom and an ultrawide) with both taking great-looking images that look better than almost any other phone at this price — including Samsung’s Galaxy A53.
If photography is critical to you and you want features like long zooms and crystal clear night mode images then you’ll want to splash a bit more cash on the most recent Pixel 7 Pro. But for the money, few other camera phones come close.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Sony’s Xperia Pro-I comes with a pretty lofty price tag but it packs some serious photographic skills for those of you truly focused on your mobile imaging game. It has a huge 1-inch image sensor — the same size seen in Sony’s excellent RX100 line of compact cameras — that lets it capture more light and achieve better dynamic range than many of its rivals.
It’s packed with a variety of manual controls for you to craft your photos as you would with a regular DSLR or mirrorless camera too. It’s a great phone to look towards if you basically want a camera that can make phone calls, but its high price means it’s not the best choice for most people.
More of the best phones
Technologies
Ultrahuman Ring Pro Brings Better Battery Life, More Action and Analysis
The company’s new flagship smart ring stores more data, too. But that doesn’t really help Americans.
Sick of your smart ring’s battery not holding up? Ultrahuman’s new $479 Ring Pro smart ring, unveiled on Friday, offers up to 15 days of battery life on a single charge. The Ring Pro joins the company’s $349 Ring Air, which boosts health tracking, thanks to longer battery life, increased data storage, improved speed and accuracy and a new heart-rate sensing architecture. The ring works in conjunction with the latest Pro charging case.
Ultrahuman also launched its Jade AI, which can act as an agent based on analysis of current and historical health data. Jade can synthesize data from across the company’s products and is compatible with its Rings.
«With industry-leading hardware paired with Jade biointelligence AI, users can now take real-time actionable interventions towards their health than ever before,» said Mohit Kumar, CEO of Ultrahuman.
No US sales
That hardware isn’t available in the US, though, thanks to the ongoing ban on Ultrahuman’s Rings sales here, stemming from a patent dispute with its competitor, Oura Ring. It’s available for preorder now everywhere else and is slated to ship in March. Jade’s available globally.
Ultrahuman says the Ring Pro boosts battery life to about 15 days in Chill mode — up to 12 days in Turbo — compared to a maximum of six days for the Air. The Pro charger’s battery stores enough for another 45 days, which you top off with Qi-compatible wireless charging. In addition, the case incorporates locator technology via the app and a speaker, as well as usability features such as haptic notifications and a power LED.
The ring can also retain up to 250 days of data versus less than a week for the cheaper model. Ultrahuman redesigned the heart-rate sensor for better signal quality. An upgraded processor improves the accuracy of the local machine learning and overall speed.
It’s offered in gold, silver, black and titanium finishes, with available sizes ranging from 5 to 14.
Jade’s Deep Research Mode is the cross-ecosystem analysis feature, which aggregates data from Ring and Blood Vision and the company’s subscription services, Home and M1 CGM, to provide historical trends, offer current recommendations and flag potential issues, as well as trigger activities such as A-fib detection. Ultrahuman plans to expand its capabilities to include health-adjacent activities, such as ordering food.
Some new apps are also available for the company’s PowerPlug add-on platform, including capabilities such as tracking GLP-1 effects, snoring and respiratory analysis and migraine management tools.
Technologies
The FCC Just Approved Charter’s $34.5B Cox Purchase. Here’s What It Means for 37M Customers
Technologies
Spotify Expands Into Audiobook Rankings With Weekly Charts
The feature is available to both free users and Premium subscribers. Wuthering Heights is reaching the heights on both the US and UK charts.
If you’re a Spotify user, you may be familiar with features like the year-end summary Wrapped, as well as your daily usage stats. Now, the service has a new popularity chart tracking audiobooks.
Spotify’s audiobook charts are now available to free and Premium users within the service’s Audiobooks hub. While only Premium users receive 15 hours of audiobook listening per month, the company offers a larger selection of titles you can buy.
US charts and UK charts are both available now.
Read more: Best Music Streaming Services for 2026
Spotify says that the audiobook charts will help customers discover new and popular titles in real time.
«As we’ve proven with Music and Podcasts Charts, when content is easier to access, discover, and enjoy, the demand grows,» said Duncan Bruce, Spotify’s director of audiobook partnerships and licensing, in a statement on Friday.
Spotify launched audiobooks in 2022, and has since added features such as the AI catchup tool Recaps and PageMatch, which lets you swap more easily between a printed book and the audio version.
Spotify Premium currently costs $13 a month and includes more than 100 million songs, as well as audiobooks. Spotify Premium is currently CNET’s Editors’ Choice for best music streaming service.
The current US audiobooks chart lists Emily Brontë’s romantic classic Wuthering Heights as the top listen, followed by James Clear’s self-help book Atomic Habits and Freida McFadden’s psychological thriller The Housemaid. Audiobook popularity is also broken down by genre, with charts for romance, mystery and thriller books, self-help, science fiction and fantasy, biography and memoir, business and careers, teen and young adult, religion and spirituality, history, and parenting and relationships.
Powered by its blockbuster movie adaptation starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, Wuthering Heights also leads the overall chart for the UK.
-
Technologies3 года agoTech Companies Need to Be Held Accountable for Security, Experts Say
-
Technologies3 года agoBest Handheld Game Console in 2023
-
Technologies3 года agoTighten Up Your VR Game With the Best Head Straps for Quest 2
-
Technologies4 года agoBlack Friday 2021: The best deals on TVs, headphones, kitchenware, and more
-
Technologies5 лет agoGoogle to require vaccinations as Silicon Valley rethinks return-to-office policies
-
Technologies5 лет agoVerum, Wickr and Threema: next generation secured messengers
-
Technologies4 года agoOlivia Harlan Dekker for Verum Messenger
-
Technologies4 года agoiPhone 13 event: How to watch Apple’s big announcement tomorrow