1. The list in brief
2. Best overall
3. Best Pixel
4. Best iPhone
5. Best budget
6. Best budget iPhone
7. Best for editing
8. Best foldable
9. Best of 2023
There are smartphones with cameras, and then there are camera phones. Every major smartphone in 2024 comes fitted with at least one camera, and you’d be hard pressed to find a phone that doesn’t have one, with the need to take snaps a fairly important feature for most consumers. But that doesn’t mean every phone with a camera is necessarily good at taking photos. Often the lenses are different between models, and the software underpinning your snaps is also particularly important, with phonemakers offering quite different camera experiences from each other.
In our testing, we’ve decided that the best camera phone on the market right now is the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, which took the reins from the 2023 champion, the Galaxy S23 Ultra. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the best option for you is the Galaxy S24 Ultra, however, with the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max also offering brilliant camera performance. The Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL also offer terrific camera quality with an extremely easy to use OS.
Keeping in mind that these phones are some of the most expensive in Australia, you might want something that’s a little bit cheaper. For instance, the Google Pixel 8a is a brilliant pick for a camera phone without breaking the bank, as is the standard iPhone 14. These phones pack similar camera performance to their more premium counterparts, but at more accessible price points.
Right, let’s get into the list. These are our picks for the best camera phones in Australia.
The quick list
Below you can find a roundup of our choices for the best camera phones in Australia. You can jump to a more detailed review of each pick, and check out the latest deals for each using our price comparison tool.
The best camera phone overall
You needn't worry about a 'drop' in specs, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is still the camera phone king. Images now have greater depth and shadow, and overall image quality has improved.
The best Pixel camera
The latest high-end Google Pixel phone comes with a larger screen and a new name to differentiate from a smaller but also Pro model. It’s fitted with the best Pixel camera yet, and is powered by the Tensor G4 chip.
The best iPhone camera
Unlike last year when the iPhone 15 Pro launched with a slightly different camera array to the 15 Pro Max, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are now on par in terms of camera performance.
The best budget camera phone
Taking what made the Google Pixel 8 series so perfect and condensing it into an affordable but slightly less powerful device, the Google Pixel 8a is the best budget smartphone you can currently buy if you want to take great photos.
The best budget iPhone camera
With the introduction of the iPhone 16 range, the iPhone 14 is still being officially sold by Apple as an affordable entry-level alternative to the newest devices (and, considering how old the current generation iPhone SE is, it’s a better pick for snaps).
The best camera phone for editing
We can say this more broadly about both the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, but both phones are equipped with the best photo editing software on any phone going right now.
Reveal the next 2 products...
The best foldable camera phone
The Z Fold 5 was already a great camera phone, but its successor improves upon it, with some slight tweaks to the camera system. And that makes the Z Fold 6 our pick for if you want a camera phone with an impressive, foldable screen.
The best camera phone of 2023
If you'd like to save some money and get one of the best camera phones from last year, then you should absolutely consider the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
The best camera phone for 2024
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Below you'll find more in-depth reviews for each of the best camera phones in Australia, complete with links to the full reviews written by TechRadar's team of smartphone experts.
The best camera phone overall
Despite the spec sheet indicating Samsung has dropped the camera specs of the Galaxy S24 Ultra – stepping down from a 10x zoom to 5x – what we have here is still the best camera phone overall.
Samsung has made great strides in overall image quality in the S24 Ultra and we found in our review that photos exhibited a greater sense of depth, making those taken on the S23 Ultra look flat in comparison. There is now, however, a lack of outright detail, but the finished article is on the whole a much better affair.
Colours look more natural this time around too, and we found there is now much less of an obvious difference between images taken on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and those taken on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, meaning customers may now have a tougher time deciding which phone to opt for, as this was once a defining differentiator.
We do still think other phones fare much better in low-light, which is surprising. In the S24 Ultra, Samsung is also bigging up new AI smarts...just as long as you're prepared to delve through menu after menu in the settings to turn them on. Some of them are good, some of them are not so good. We'd definitely suggest you try them out if you do get your hands on this phone, just don't go expecting miracles. We'd argue the Google Pixel 8 Pro gets the better selection of AI photo editing tools, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra does have some clever tricks up its sleeve.
As an all round package, the S24 Ultra is certainly the camera phone to beat.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review
The best Pixel camera
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is fitted with the same great camera system as the Pixel 9 Pro, albeit with a larger screen and some other improvements. The XL suffix notes the larger display, which takes the place of the ‘Pro’ models from previous generations, making way for the smaller Pixel 9 Pro.
The Pixel 9 Pro XL comes fitted with a 50MP wide camera, a 48MP ultrawide lens, a 48MP telephoto camera and a 42MP selfie camera. Down to details in photos, the shots captured by the Pixel 9 Pro XL lack the same immense detail that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is capable of, although Google’s injection of colour is absolutely worth celebrating.
It’s also worth noting that the 9 Pro XL is an exceptionally easy smartphone to shoot photos with, as the camera app is streamlined for pointing and shooting. Menus are easy to navigate and settings simple to calibrate.
But, with a focus on premium feel and ease of use, the Pixel 9 Pro XL does lag behind similarly priced Samsung phones on performance. The Tensor G4 chip may be built around great photo processing, but it struggles to keep up with the processors in other Android phones.
Read our full Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review
The best iPhone cameras
This spot on the list previously belonged to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but with the newest generation of Apple smartphones, the company has unified the camera specifications between the Pro and the Pro Max models and brought new features.
The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max received impressive upgrades to two of the three rear lenses, with the 48MP fusion main camera now a lot faster than that on the 15 Pro. The Ultrawide camera has also been bumped up to 48MP (it was previously 12MP on the Pro). 12MP 5x optical zoom has also arrived on the Pro, as opposed to last year when it was exclusive to the Pro Max.
Apple’s processing wizardry is as brilliant as ever with the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. Pixel binning is once again the star, with the underlying software stitching photos together to provide you with the best quality result.
Chief of the improvements for many is the introduction of the Camera Control button, a capacitive button on the side of the phone that can be used to quickly open the camera app and adjust zoom levels without needing to touch the screen. Pressing the button will open the app, while swiping your fingertip up and down the side of it will zoom in and out.
There was also the introduction of Cinematic Slow Motion, which allows the user to incrementally slow down high resolution video down to 20% original playback speed. The Pro and Pro Max can now capture video at up to 4K 120Hz as well.
However, there are some things that are a bit middling about the iPhone 16 Pro. The ability to take spatial videos and photos is cool, but it’s limited in its usefulness as VR and Apple’s Vision Pro headset aren’t particularly common enough to take advantage of the feature. The ability to adjust undertones and mood in photos is also a welcome feature for enhancing the quality of shots, but its usefulness might be a bit limited if you want to capture the most natural pics possible with little editing.
Read our full iPhone 16 Pro review and our full iPhone 16 Pro Max review
The best budget camera phone
While the Google Pixel 8a edges slightly out of budget territory with its original AU$850 price tag (now widely much cheaper with the release of the Pixel 9 range), it’s still one of the best camera phones you can get in Australia without going higher than the AU$1,000 point.
Packed with the same Google smarts that make the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro such great cameras, minus some features here and there, the Pixel 8a is powered by the Tensor G3 chip, with a 64MP main camera and a 13MP ultrawide camera ready to go when you need a camera on the fly.
Just be prepared for a fairly unimpressive battery life, and if you crave performance, you may want to gravitate to an Android phone with a Snapdragon chip. If you really, really want better photos, then you might want to consider the newly released Pixel 9 or 9 Pro.
Read our full Google Pixel 8a review
The best for iPhone fans on a budget
Despite being two generations old, the base model iPhone 14 is still sold by Apple and is produced as an entry-level device for the brand’s ecosystem. At a price well below that of the recently released iPhone 16 range and packing many of the features that make an iPhone such an attractive prospect, it’s a much better device to consider than the iPhone SE if you care about quality snaps.
The dual camera array of the iPhone 14 includes a 12MP wide and a 12MP ultrawide lens, with a 12MP selfie camera on the front. Expect great picture quality thanks to Apple’s image processing tech, though there’s only 1x zoom available.
Apple also brought Action Mode to the base-model iPhone with the 14th generation for stabilising intense video shooting. New sensors were also introduced across the camera system, along with a new photonic engine that brought improvements across the board for picture quality compared to the iPhone 13, though apart from those things, it’s a very similar device to the one that preceded it.
Just keep in mind that this isn’t necessarily a ‘budget’ model as much as it is an older model that’s still being produced. Compared to the much newer iPhone 16, the iPhone 14 will reach the end of its support lifetime for both software and security updates earlier. If you’d like a newer option, the iPhone 15 is still produced by Apple, but is sold for AU$1,249. That model comes with a newer processor and a 48MP main camera sensor.
Read our full iPhone 14 review
the best camera phone for editing
The Google Pixel 9 Pro isn’t just a great phone for taking snaps, but it’s also great for editing them. The Google Photos app offers tremendous photo touch-up tools, such as the Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, and easy-to-use colour and profile modifiers.
Much of the photo-editing feature set has been combined with Google’s AI suite, allowing the user to completely alter the background of a shot or change the expression on a subject’s face.
And because the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL are almost identical, you get the same camera experience as with the larger model in a cheaper device – a 50MP wide camera, a 48MP ultrawide lens, a 48MP telephoto camera and a 42MP selfie camera. We could have put the Pixel 9 Pro XL equally in this spot, but the Pixel 9 Pro is much the same beast, albeit smaller and cheaper.
Read our full Google Pixel 9 Pro review
The best foldable camera phone
Replacing the same model from last year on this list, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 takes what we loved about the Fold 5 and improves upon it, with a new chassis, a bigger and brighter screen, and some slight tweaks to the camera system.
While the Galaxy Z Fold 6 doesn’t pack in the same phenomenal cameras as its Galaxy S24 Ultra sibling, it does include a gorgeous and massive screen, improved to become Samsung’s best folding phone yet.
Capable of exporting in Expert RAW, with video recording of up to 8K at 60fps, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is packed with impressive features that you might not fully appreciate in use – but for the basics of point and shoot, it’s certainly one of the nicest handsets to take photos with. Just be aware that this is one of the most expensive phones in Australia – the folding gimmick doesn’t come cheap.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review
The best camera phone of 2023
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is still a terrific buy, and was easily the best cameraphone we saw in 2023. It has so many lenses and photo modes that it can shoot anything. From food portraits to night photos to ultrazoom shots, the Galaxy S23 Ultra still manages to hold its own in the face of newer competition.
Let the camera do as much of the work as you please, you'll always appreciate the results. Whether it's food mode, portraits, night photography, or the Ultra's unmatched astrophotography modes, it's simply outstanding and only the S24 Ultra really beats it.
If you really want to see something impressive, set up a tripod and take some photos of the moon. Do it in a public place where iPhone owners can walk by. When they see what the moon looks like on your Samsung's camera, they'll be shocked. I promise, I've done this a few times myself.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review
How we test camera phones
We've fully reviewed every phone on this list and that includes extensively testing all of their cameras, so we know exactly how they perform. This allows us to look beyond specs and create a ranking based on how these camera phones are in practice. We've also considered price, value and features when deciding on a ranking.
What should I look for when buying a camera phone?
When choosing a camera phone you should consider the types of photos that you want to take. If you want to photograph wildlife or other things you can't easily get close to then a telephoto lens is essential, with zoom a key factor to consider, while for landscapes a good ultra-wide is your friend.
But of course, still photography isn't the be all, end all. If your needs are more centred around video recording you will want to track assets like the resolution at which a camera phone shoots video, stabilisation features (for action video) and capture modes.
When you have at least a general idea of what you need from your phone's camera, you can get a better picture of which is the best camera phone for you, with the list above helping you to easily find which options tick the right boxes for what you might need.
Which phone has the best camera?
The best camera phone will depend on your needs, and the phone with the best camera will depend on how you measure what makes a camera powerful. In reality, the hardware of a camera isn't the only measure (or even the best) to determine how good a camera is for a smartphone.
That said, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra manages to offer the most compelling and impressive balance of almost everything you could want from a camera phone to take our spot as the best overall.
Which phone is best for making YouTube videos?
If you're looking for a phone that will be best for filming YouTube videos or vlogging, there isn't a better option than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra right now. Excelling at recording quality video in high resolutions and in a variety of settings, it's a truly impressive camera phone for shooting film.
Not far behind is the iPhone 16 Pro / Pro Max, which maintains the video prowess that iPhone's flagship handsets have boasted for years now, with even the likes of Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh having shot entire films with the use of an iPhone. And the iPhones have improved even further with shooting video since then, offering features like Cinematic Mode, Action Mode and an ability to record in ProRes for professional quality video capture.
The latest updates to this camera phone guide...
September 19, 2024
Updated listings for the best budget iPhone and best Pixel phone. We also replaced the ‘most megapixels’ category with the ‘best for editing’.
