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.

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Apple iPhone 14 Pro

Best overall phone camera system

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.

Read our Apple iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max review.

$999 at Apple

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Google Pixel 7 Pro

Best phone camera for photos

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.

Read our Google Pixel 7 Pro review.

$867 at Amazon

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Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Best phone camera for zoom

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.

$450 at Samsung

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Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Best phone camera for video

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.

Read our Apple iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max review.

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Google Pixel 6A

Best phone camera under $500

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.

Read our Google Pixel 6A review.

$356 at Walmart

$299 at Target

$299 at Best Buy

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Sony Xperia Pro-I

Best phone camera for pros

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.

Read our Sony Xperia Pro-I hands-on.

$1,098 at Amazon

$1,800 at Best Buy

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Technologies

Facebook Brings Back Local Job Listings: How to Apply

One of Facebook’s most practical features from 2022 is being revived by Meta.

On the hunt for work? A Local Jobs search is being rolled out by Meta to make it easier for people in the US to discover and apply for nearby work directly on Facebook. The feature is inside Facebook Marketplace, Groups and Pages, Meta said last week, letting employers post openings and job seekers filter roles by distance, category or employment type.

You can apply or message employers directly through Facebook Messenger, while employers can publish job listings with just a few taps — similar to how you would post items for sale on Marketplace.

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Facebook offered a Jobs feature before discontinuing it in 2022, pushing business hiring toward its other platforms. Its return suggests Meta is attempting to expand Facebook’s usefulness beyond social networking and to position it once again as a hub for community-driven opportunities.

«We’ve always been about connecting with people, whether through shared interests or key life events,» the press release states. «Now, if you’re looking for entry-level, trade and service industry employment in your community, Facebook can help you connect with local people and small businesses who are hiring.»

How to get started with Local Jobs on Facebook

According to Meta, Local Jobs will appear as a dedicated section in Facebook Marketplace starting this week. If you’re 18 or older, you can:

Tap the Marketplace tab on the Facebook app or website.
Select Jobs to browse available positions nearby.
Use filters for job type, category and distance.
Tap Apply or message the employer directly via Messenger.

Businesses and page admins can post jobs by creating a new listing in Marketplace or from their Facebook Page. Listings can include job details, pay range, and scheduling information and will appear in local searches automatically.

The Local Jobs feature is rolling out across the US now, with Meta saying it plans to expand it in the months ahead.

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Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Catch all.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.