Today’s smartphone market is bigger than it has ever been. Not only is there a plethora of available devices but the number of brands is astounding thanks to the surge of far east companies that have finally been able to catch up to their western counterparts.
Seeing how smartphones are more or less equal in terms of day-to-day performance, choosing a handset based on its photographic capabilities has become ever so popular. So let’s see which one stands out the most in terms of capturing stills and video.
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
Many people place it on the first spot of camera phones, and there are many reasons why it actually just might be. It was released just a month before P20 Pro and it is just fantastic all-around. It has great storage options, there is a choice between 64, 128 and 256 GB versions, plus it has the microSD option, which is always good if you are one of those that make thousands of photos on their holidays. Likewise, people that have the skills or have been to an academy of photography, that take a lot of RAW shots will spend the integrated storage in no time.
Back to the S9 Plus, this phone’s camera features the new Samsung Dual Aperture Technology which allows some of the best low-light pictures and it reduces the overexposure in bright scenes. In addition, you can record in slow motion video – 240 fps at the 1080p quality or super slow motion in 960 fps at 720p.
Huawei P20 Pro
The list continues with Chinese Huawei P20 Pro. Honestly, it is hard to point out this phone’s greatest advantage. It has a beautiful and powerful triple lens system back camera and a 24 MP front camera.
The back camera has a combined 40 MP RGB sensor, a 20 MP black and white sensor, plus an 8 MP third one which allows you to triple zoom, without losing any picture quality. The pictures taken with this phone are crystal clear and are eerily lifelike.
Besides, the phone has a solid battery, but unfortunately, it cannot be charged wirelessly. Another drawback is that there is no headphone jack. The storage is not expandable, but you can say that 256 GB internal storage should be enough if you decide that 64 GB option is not enough.
The low-light mode of this phone is almost on par with the Galaxy S9 PLus and the ground-breaking twilight colour scheme is outstanding. It comes at a good price to quality ratio and it is a serious competition to the Apple’s iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy series.
iPhone XS
Being a late 2018 release, this phone has had almost half a year to catch up to the previous two. It has all the standard iPhone quality smartphone features, except that it actually comes with a quite upgraded camera, in comparison to its predecessors.
So, let us talk about its features. It has a 12 MP wide-angle 1/2.55″ camera and a 12MP f/2.4 telephoto lenses on the rear end, and the front snapper features a 7 MP, f/2.2 lens. It has optical image stabilization which offers stunning shots for those with restless hands. It has additional depth control and smart HDR.
The storage options are 64 GB, 256 GB, and a whopping 512GB. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly it is also the most expensive on the list. Their futuristic, smooth and unique software, however, compensates for this hefty price.
Final word
So which of these 3 devices is the winner? Even though it has been in the market for the longest of the three, Galaxy S9 Plus has a slight advantage when all aspects are accounted for. However, the final decision is up to you. These are not only three different devices but essentially three different ecosystems. Even though Samsung and Huawei are Android-based devices, they are heavily skinned. iPhone, on the other hand, comes with its one of a kind iOS. So, choose whichever you feel most comfortable with since the difference in camera quality is not big enough to bridge the gap in the UX difference.
