Let’s rank all of the Android cellphone digital camera apps from worst to finest

There’s extra to a nice digital camera cellphone than {hardware}. Positive, digital camera sensors, focal lengths, and the chipset all have a significant position to play. Nonetheless, a cellphone’s digital camera app could make or break the expertise. So with this in thoughts, we determined to rank each main Android cellphone maker’s pre-installed digital camera app from worst to finest!

We took a number of components into consideration, specifically picture high quality, the amount and high quality of options (not together with gallery options), and the digital camera app’s design. I relied on some colleagues to rank the digital camera apps, but additionally used my very own discretion in a couple of locations. Both approach, that is only for enjoyable, however you may give us your individual record within the feedback!

We thought TECNO’s HiOS was the worst Android pores and skin out of all the most important producers, and the digital camera app isn’t significantly better. The excellent news is that the app has a strong, if generic, UI. That’s the place the positives usually finish.

My time with 2023’s Phantom V Flip and Phantom V Fold gadgets confirmed that TECNO’s digital camera app didn’t threaten rivals for picture high quality. Daytime snaps are dealt with properly sufficient, however low-light efficiency is inconsistent to outright poor. You’d higher allow the Tremendous Night time mode in these eventualities. The digital camera app additionally tends to undergo from poor zoom high quality, even when the cellphone has a telephoto digital camera.

TECNO’s digital camera app doesn’t have many standout options, though primary choices like an ultra-steady video mode, evening mode, and full-resolution seize can be found. There are additionally loads of beautification options if that’s your factor, together with a plump butt filter (critically). Simply don’t anticipate options like Samsung’s Single Take or Google’s Add Me. No less than the model beat Google to the punch by a couple of years in providing higher assist for darker pores and skin tones.

HONOR routinely gives some improbable digital camera {hardware}, as seen on its Magic 7 Professional and foldable telephones. Nonetheless, the corporate may do a greater job with the digital camera app. For starters, the digital camera UI isn’t dangerous, nevertheless it lags properly behind big-name rivals. There’s nothing right here that really screams “HONOR.”

The digital camera app usually delivers strong picture high quality. Colleague C Scott Brown praised the consistency throughout all three rear cameras on the Magic V3 foldable, whereas Rob Triggs praised the HDR efficiency in our Magic 7 Professional assessment. Nonetheless, Rob sharply criticized the cellphone’s AI-assisted zoom, which added apparent AI-generated imagery at 30x or increased, in addition to the AI-enhanced portrait mode. Scott additionally took problem with the oversaturated colours typically.

The digital camera app additionally has loads of modes and options. These embrace three shade profiles, LUT assist, a wide range of filters, a stage mode, an evening video mode, and a “Falcon Seize” choice for fast-moving topics. It clearly retains up with different manufacturers on this regard however doesn’t pull forward.

I relied on our US writers to provide me their opinions on Motorola’s digital camera app owing to the model’s prepared availability there. In the meantime, my final expertise with a Motorola cellphone was in all probability 2016’s Moto Z Play. Oof. In any occasion, the digital camera app UI is slightly generic at first look, nevertheless it evokes the Pixel digital camera app attributable to that acquainted digital camera mode carousel. No less than you may’t accuse Motorola of copying the iPhone digital camera app.

Motorola’s picture high quality hasn’t traditionally been nice. Our reviewer complaints through the years embrace over-sharpened and/or over-saturated pictures throughout the day and darkish, blurry snaps at evening. The digital camera state of affairs has improved in latest instances, however good low-light pictures aren’t a assure on its finances telephones or the Razr collection.

The Moto digital camera app doesn’t have essentially the most methods, both. We’ve received anticipated options like portrait mode and evening mode, in addition to cool additions like horizon-locked stabilization and the ever-fun shade pop characteristic. Happily, the most recent flagships additionally provide nifty choices like Motion Shot, Group Shot, and a Signature Type characteristic that learns your required picture fashion. Fairly cool.

Sony is arguably the king of digital camera software program for images fanatics. The corporate has traditionally supplied loads of pro-level options in its digital camera app, together with eye-tracking autofocus, a number of video profiles (e.g., S-Cinetone), and a smorgasbord of handbook picture/video controls. The Sony app even helps you to pair your cellphone with a Sony Alpha digital camera — how cool is that? Sony’s app doesn’t have numerous conventional smartphone instruments, although, however you continue to have strong livestream assist, portrait mode, a wide range of shade profiles, full-resolution picture seize, and bokeh video.

Sony beforehand had a number of digital camera apps on its telephones, making for a messy expertise. Fortunately, the corporate has since built-in all these apps into one digital camera app. The precise UI design isn’t something to put in writing house about, nevertheless it’s not dangerous.

We additionally thought that latest Sony flagship telephones, just like the Xperia 1 VI, took nice pictures that didn’t look over-processed. Nonetheless, colleague Rob Triggs beforehand opined that the Xperia 1 V wasn’t as constant as rival handsets, and consistency is vital for an excellent digital camera app. We haven’t reviewed a mid-range Xperia cellphone in a few years, however colleague Adam Birney beforehand described the Xperia 10 IV’s cameras as “beneath common.” In different phrases, there’s no assure that primary picture high quality holds up throughout numerous worth factors.

Nothing’s digital camera app can be ranked decrease on the record, however our US reviewers all ranked it of their prime 5. I can see why, primarily based on the digital camera app UI, which gives a particular design. You actually aren’t going to mistake this for a Pixel or iPhone.

The corporate is ranging from scratch, so it could actually’t lean on legacy options, however there are a couple of cool capabilities price realizing. For one, the Nothing Cellphone 3a collection gives customized digital camera filters that may be shared with different Nothing Cellphone house owners. These telephones additionally provide a good number of neat filters, together with Log video assist and the flexibility to add customized LUTs for pictures. In truth, colleague Ryan Haines praised the latter characteristic final month. You even have the anticipated portrait and evening modes, however that’s about it. So that you’ll must look elsewhere in order for you a great deal of digital camera modes and instruments.

We thought Nothing gadgets took some strong photographs over the previous few years utilizing this digital camera app, though we lamented points like shutter lag and poor low-light high quality on earlier telephones. However the Nothing Cellphone 3a collection exhibits the model has an excellent deal with on hybrid zoom.

Xiaomi has delivered some wonderful digital camera telephones lately, such because the Xiaomi 15 Extremely and Xiaomi 14 Extremely. These telephones have spectacular {hardware}, however the Xiaomi digital camera app additionally delivers good picture high quality. Even the corporate’s low cost Android telephones usually provide strong to good 1x pictures, though they do are inclined to lag behind the Pixel A collection.

The Xiaomi digital camera app is packed filled with options. Choices discovered on flagships embrace adjustable shade profiles on Leica-branded handsets, an AI Zoom toggle for long-range zoom, Log video, a movement seize mode for fast-moving topics, and extra. Cheaper Xiaomi telephones lag far behind by way of modes, however you continue to have choices like a long-exposure suite of modes, a movement seize characteristic for fast-moving topics, and a teleprompter mode.

I’d argue that Xiaomi’s app nonetheless doesn’t have its personal visible id in any case this time. I can take a split-second look at Samsung or Google’s digital camera app and know what I’m , however the identical can’t be stated for the Xiaomi app.

The vivo digital camera app simply misses out on a podium spot, however that is nonetheless an excellent exhibiting. Vivo telephones usually provide good picture high quality, though over-processing might be a problem in some eventualities (e.g., low gentle). So, those that favor extra natural-looking pictures is perhaps slightly dissatisfied at instances.

Simply the most effective factor in regards to the vivo digital camera app is the variety of options and modes. The corporate gives a wide range of portrait choices (e.g. loads of bokeh kinds), some shade profiles, LOG video, SuperRaw photographs, a cinematic video mode on latest mid-rangers and flagships, handheld astrophotography, a teleprompter mode, perspective correction for buildings, and a road images mode. The latter mode might be activated with an upward swipe and offers you a camera-like UI and customized taking pictures profiles.

The app isn’t going to win any awards so far as seems to be are involved. The black, yellow, and white shade scheme jogs my memory of Apple, and there’s additionally the standard overflow menu on the prime of the display. I actually like how vivo handles zoom controls, although. It helps you to faucet the preset zoom buttons a couple of extra instances to cycle by way of extra zoom ranges (e.g. tapping 1x gives you 1.2x and 1.4x choices). So whereas it’s not the best-looking app right here, it makes up for this draw back in different areas.

The Samsung digital camera app has simply undergone a significant overhaul as a part of the corporate’s One UI 7 replace. This redesigned digital camera app definitely seems to be and feels recent in comparison with rival digital camera apps whereas being optimized for one-handed utilization.

Samsung’s app additionally has an excellent variety of options, together with cool choices like Single Take, Director’s View, and customized filters. Samsung additionally gives the Knowledgeable Uncooked app to broaden the performance of the inventory digital camera app, however a number of rival manufacturers provide a few of these options while not having an additional digital camera app.

Samsung’s app has additionally lengthy had a repute for delivering arguably the most effective video high quality on Android, however picture high quality isn’t as clear-cut. Pictures usually look nice, however issues like shutter lag on the Extremely and A collection telephones have made for a irritating expertise. Samsung’s cheaper telephones additionally generally seize extraordinarily over-saturated snaps, as I discovered on the Galaxy A55 5G final yr.

Are you stunned to see the OnePlus/OPPO digital camera app within the number-two spot? OnePlus flagships, particularly, used to lag behind the competitors by way of picture processing, however the firm has made main enhancements over the previous couple of years. In truth, we stated the OnePlus 13 makes our shortlist for the most effective Android digital camera cellphone. It’s also possible to seize good-quality 1x pictures on not too long ago launched mid-tier gadgets. That doesn’t sound like a giant deal, nevertheless it’s noteworthy because the agency’s cheaper telephones used to supply a disappointing taking pictures expertise.

Maybe the digital camera app’s largest power is the breadth of options, not less than on high-end telephones. Flagship gadgets take pleasure in Hasselblad shade profiles, a neat XPAN taking pictures mode, a Grasp Mode, and a wide range of good scenes (e.g. stage, fireworks). Cheaper OnePlus and OPPO telephones undoubtedly get the very quick finish of the stick, however you continue to have notable options like high-resolution taking pictures, long-exposure performance, portrait picture/video seize, and tilt-shift.

Is that this the best Android OEM digital camera app ever made? It’s onerous to argue from a historic perspective, because the Pixel digital camera app was the gold commonplace for nearly a decade. It says rather a lot about your digital camera app when fanatics proceed to unofficially port it to different smartphones in 2025. Google’s digital camera app definitely seems to be the enterprise, providing a easy, distinctive UI. I’m nonetheless not a fan of the professional settings icon within the backside proper nook, although, as I usually confuse it for the primary settings menu.

Nonetheless, the Pixel digital camera app’s reputation stems from its picture high quality. Google’s HDR+ imaging algorithms have been a minimize above nearly each different model’s image-processing software program within the 2010s, as unofficial ports of the app delivered improbable photographs on even $200 telephones. A couple of producers have caught and arguably surpassed Google in 2025, however Pixel telephones nonetheless usually take improbable, natural-looking pictures. Google’s app continues to ship class-leading hybrid zoom, too, due to its Tremendous Res Zoom tech. Meaning telephones just like the Pixel 9 Professional can take nice 10x pictures whereas mid-range Pixels with no telephoto digital camera nonetheless do a good job out to 3x or 4x.

Google’s digital camera app gives standout options like Add Me, Video Increase, a shadow slider, and an astrophotography mode. Nonetheless, the app is lacking options seen on rival gadgets like user-selectable shade profiles, Log video mode, native 8K seize, 4K/120fps video, and multi-camera seize. Regardless of the characteristic hole, the Pixel digital camera app remains to be our choose for the highest digital camera app amongst Android manufacturers.