Phone hardware has been stagnating over the last few years. Unlike the 2010s, during which we saw gigantic steps forward with each phone generation, the 2020s are all about software, at least when it comes to Western phone brands, including Samsung.

Chinese brands such as Vivo and Oppo, on the other hand, have been making massive strides in camera hardware, pushing the envelope with 1-inch-type sensors, variable aperture, and mechanical zoom, offering ultra-high-end phones capable of creating impressive photos. The second coming of camera phones is upon us, and this time they’re worth it if you consider yourself a phone camera enthusiast.

Chinese brands have recently been delivering some fantastic camera phones

Impressive hardware that creates stunning photos

Back in the 2010s, the phone camera space was dominated by Western brands. Nokia, Samsung, Apple, and later Google with its early Pixel phones were all the rage among smartphone enthusiasts with a penchant for mobile cameras, with Huawei being the sole Chinese brand throwing down the gauntlet time and time again, often managing to match and sometimes even beat the best camera phones coming from the West.

But in recent years, a new wave of Chinese camera phones has been hitting the market, and they’re as impressive as the Nokia PureView handsets of yesteryear. The Vivo X300, Oppo Find X9, Xiaomi 17, Huawei Pura 80, and their Pro and Ultra variants pack impressive camera modules made of multiple lenses based on massive sensors that in some cases tread into 1-inch territory, along with exotic features such as variable aperture and even mechanical zoom capabilities.

While the hardware is impressive, an equally important part of the equation is that the software powering these camera beasts finally matches that of Western flagships. Gone are the days when a modded GCam app was coveted and more or less a must-have if you wanted to get the most out of a high-end phone camera made by a Chinese brand.

Years of collaboration with Leica, Carl Zeiss, and Hasselblad have resulted in more than just a collection of fancy camera filters. The next generation of Chinese camera phones comes with robust camera apps capable of producing photos that, in some situations, can come close to standalone cameras without the excessive image processing found on Galaxy Ultras and Pixels.

Modern camera phones from China create photos with a naturally looking shallow depth of field, impressive dynamic range, and without the over-sharpened look that has become a sort of calling card for high-end phones made by Samsung and Google. Some will definitely prefer the processed look of Galaxy Ultras and Pixels, but camera enthusiasts will likely love the more natural and less “busy” photos delivered by flagship phones from Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi.

Multiple Chinese flagships also include photography kits that look gimmicky at first glance, but can be quite handy at times. You’re getting excellent grips equipped with physical shutter buttons, along with extra telephoto lenses that make taking photos easier and more comfortable. They’re not for everyone, but photography aficionados can definitely get their money’s worth.

While not the be-all and end-all phone camera authority it once was, a quick glance at DXOMARK’s smartphone camera rankings supports my point. The highest-ranked Western phone is the iPhone 17 Pro, sitting in third place, while the second-best phone made by a Western brand is the Pixel 10 Pro XL in 11th. You have to go all the way down to 18th place to find the highest-ranked Samsung phone.

If you’re into camera phones and can get your hands on a Chinese or international version of a recent Chinese flagship Android phone, you’ll be spoiled for choice.

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Google

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Google Tensor G5

The Pixel 10 Pro offers an upgrade over the base model with the powerful Google Tensor G5 chip, more RAM, and more storage (if you need it).

On the other hand, Galaxy S and Pixel cameras have been stagnating

Lagging behind

While Chinese flagships have become the ultimate camera phones of the 2020s, Androids made by Western brands have been stagnating, as have iPhones, though to a lesser degree.

The Galaxy S and S+ haven’t seen a meaningful camera hardware upgrade in years, while the Galaxy Ultra family has been getting iterative upgrades at best, with the Galaxy S26 Ultra still packing that woefully outdated 10MP 3x telephoto lens, which continues to feel out of place on a flagship this expensive.

The last major camera upgrade Pixel phones received was years ago, with the Pixel 10 actually having a worse camera setup than its predecessor in some respects. Sure, Google is constantly improving its photo software, but you can only get so far with software before the laws of physics kick in.

While Pixels, Galaxy Ultras, and iPhones can still deliver excellent photos, they can’t quite match the prowess of Chinese flagships. Worse still, the base Pixel 10, along with the base Galaxy S26 and S26+, don’t have camera setups worthy of their price, which is especially disconcerting in the case of the Galaxy S26, considering the phone costs $900. Ouch.

I had the chance to play around with an Oppo Find X9 Pro a while back, and while my Google Pixel 10 Pro does take great photos with its main sensor that are comparable to the X9 Pro, the X9 Pro absolutely blew it out of the water when it came to the telephoto camera and macro photography. The X9 Pro’s ultrawide photos were also noticeably better, though not by as much as the telephoto shots.

Sure, these days even a budget Android can take impressive-looking photos outside on a bright and sunny day, but if you’re looking for the best and most capable phone camera, Pixels, Galaxy Ultras, and iPhones aren’t where it’s at anymore.

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Samsung

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Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Get the new Galaxy S26 Ultra with AI smarts and an all-new privacy display. It’s big, powerful, packed with AI, and you’ll love the S-Pen stylus. 

Premium Androids from China are gaining ground to Samsung and Pixels

But their software is still kind of lacking

Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek | Inspiration GP/Shutterstock

While Chinese flagships have surpassed their Western counterparts when it comes to camera prowess, their software is still lacking compared to Pixel UI and One UI. Oppo’s ColorOS looks fine and is as snappy as they come, but it’s too similar to iOS for my taste. It’s a similar story with Xiaomi’s HyperOS. On the other hand, Huawei has unique issues of its own, the biggest being the lack of proper support for Google services.

Another stumbling point for Chinese high-end Androids is that even their international versions can sometimes include leftover Chinese text, along with inconsistent design and user experience. When it comes to the best flavors of Android, Samsung and Google are still far ahead of the rest of the pack if you ask me. At least some brands, such as Oppo and Vivo, now offer up to five years of major Android updates, which was hard to imagine even a few years ago.

Of course, the biggest downside of all those fantastic camera phones is that none of them are officially available in the US. While I can get international versions of some models over here in Europe, US phone enthusiasts have to go through the pain of importing them and paying extra just for the chance to check out those marvelous cameras.

Then there are issues with some carriers flat-out not supporting Chinese phones, along with all kinds of headaches trying to get them working properly on US 5G networks. If you’re in the US, it’s very hard to get your hands on a flagship camera phone from China without paying a hefty premium and jumping through hoops to make it work with your carrier.

8/10

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A19 Pro chip

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6.3-inches

The Apple iPhone 17 Pro is the company’s most powerful smartphone to date, offering impressive cameras and the A19 Pro chip. It lets you do practically anything, including shooting quality videos.

While Chinese Android flagships hold the photography throne, the iPhone is still the video king

While undoubtedly packing the best camera setups you can get right now, high-end Androids from China still can’t match the iPhone when it comes to video quality, even though some, like the Oppo Find X9 Ultra and Vivo X300 Ultra, are getting pretty darn close. If you’re looking for the best phones for shooting video, you should still stick with iPhones.