Best camera phones: Quick list
The best cameraphones in Australia need to capture images perfectly, getting the colour and detail right while also providing a decent camera app, storage capacity and useful editing tools. Among Australian phone users, camera quality is one of the most in-demand features, with shoppers looking to impressive smartphones for how well they can snap an image.
But it’s easy to get overwhelmed when looking at the best phones in Australia. The array of cameras, the software in use and other important details can impact the kind of pictures that you can take, along with the processor performance, the camera’s user interface and any additional editing tools. Additionally, more powerful devices tend to get pretty pricey, so if keeping your spending low is a priority, you may also want to check out the best cheap phones in Australia.
TechRadar’s international team of experts has spent thousands of hours assessing premium and affordable phones from Samsung, Google, Apple and other big players in the smartphone world – and we can safely say that not all cameras snap the same. The best cameraphone in the world right now may be the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, but you may prefer the software and user interface underpinning the iPhone 16 Pro Max, or the incredible value and photo polishing offered with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL.
Keeping in mind that the phones mentioned above are some of the most expensive handsets in Australia, so we’ve also included some value winners in the article below, such as the Google Pixel 8a and the iPhone 16e. These phones pack similar camera performance to their more premium counterparts but at more accessible price points.
Right, let’s get to 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
Samsung has a proven formula with the S25 Ultra; the best camera phone in the game with a generous array of lenses. This year, the Ultra received an upgraded 50MP ultrawide lens, keeping it at the top spot.
Read more below
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.
Read more below
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.
Read more below
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.
Read more below
The best budget iPhone camera
As Apple’s new entry-level smartphone, the iPhone 16e packs impressive camera performance while only offering a single lens. It might not have zoom, but it’s a worthwhile option if you’re more interested in getting a cheap Apple handset.
Read more below
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.
Read more below
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.
Read more below
The best camera phone of 2024
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 S24 Ultra.
Read more below
The best camera phone for 2025
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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
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra doesn’t improve much over the already brilliant Galaxy S24 Ultra, but it is a distinctively different phone.
Featuring a more rounded design that makes it look similar to the standard S25 and the S25 Plus (and less like the Note range that it descended from), the Galaxy S25 Ultra doesn’t ruin a good thing. A class-leading 200MP wide camera, a new 50MP ultrawide camera, a 50MP periscope telephoto lens and a 10MP telephoto lens maintain the S25 Ultra’s top spot on this list.
Other phones may fare better in low-light environments, but for quality, the S25 Ultra has its rivals easily beat. An update to Samsung’s One UI 7 has also made the camera app easier to navigate, and colours continue to look just as vivid and gorgeous as they did on the previous phone.
One big difference between the S25 Ultra and the S24 Ultra is the nerfed stylus. Previously the Galaxy Ultra’s stylus could be used to take photos when away from the phone, but now Bluetooth functionality has been sadly removed.
If you want a smartphone that takes photos without any compromises, then the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the one to buy. That being said, it is quite a large phone and it’s pretty pricey – so if you’re looking to save money or want a smaller phone, you may prefer one of the other models on this list.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 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
The iPhone 16e was introduced to replace the SE, and it does so with a much more impressive display and performance that brings its closer in-line with the iPhone 16 range.
The iPhone 16e only sports a 12MP selfie camera on the front and a single camera on the back, Apple’s new 48MP Fusion lens, without any zoom capability. It’s a decent camera for snaps, however if your budget allows, the iPhone 15 is also available with two cameras on the back (a wide and an ultrawide) for AU$1,249.
Rather the iPhone 16e is the handset to buy if you want to take great snaps, but don’t want to spend too much, while staying inside the Apple ecosystem. At AU$999, it’s the cheapest phone that Apple sells new, and with the same processor and many of the same specs as the standard iPhone 16, it holds up quite well in terms of day-to-day performance.
That being said, it lacks the Camera Control button that was new to the iPhone 16 range, along with the Dynamic Island that has been rolled out to the other iPhone 16 models. It does have the Action Button and Apple Intelligence, however.
It’ll be outpaced by similarly priced Android phones when it comes to taking satisfying photos, especially by the Google Pixel 9a, but if you’re a fan of Apple’s devices, this is a good handset below AU$1,000.
Read our full iPhone 16e 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 2024
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is still a terrific buy, and was easily the best cameraphone we saw in 2024. It has so many lenses and photo modes that it can shoot anything. From food portraits to night photos to ultrazoom shots, the Galaxy S24 Ultra still manages to hold its own in the face of newer competition.
Samsung 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 looked more natural with the S24 Ultra compared to earlier models, 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 had the better selection of AI photo editing tools at the time, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra does have some clever tricks up its sleeve.
As an all round package, the S24 Ultra is certainly a camera phone to beat.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S24 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 S25 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 S25 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’.
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