The Best Smartphone Camera of 2019, So Far…

The camera has become a major deciding factor for many consumers when choosing a smartphone. With advancing technology, the world’s leading manufacturers like Apple, Samsung and Huawei are creating near pro-level cameras for their phones in the race to be the best.

The biggest selling smartphone brands are undoubtedly Apple, Huawei and Samsung, and all three have flagship smartphones in the local market. The Apple iPhone XS Max, Samsung Galaxy S10+ and Huawei P30 Pro have all graced the headlines for 2019 as the top smartphone must-haves, each featuring powerful camera technologies, but which one is truly the best?

Apple iPhone XS Max

The first of the trio is the Apple iPhone XS Max that has sparked awe in the eyes of Apple fans. Offering the best camera from the US-based company so far, the XS Max features a twin camera module with a 12 MP wide-angle lens and 12 MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom.

For video, the XS Max can record up to 2160p@24/30/60fps and 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, while offering High Dynamic Range (HDR) and stereo sound recording.

Although it is one of the most highly priced smartphones ever launched, similar camera technology as featured on the XS Max can be found in a few other, more affordable smartphones. Despite this, the XS Max still captures great images and has the rest of the bells and whistles of the iPhone to be an attractive device.

Samsung Galaxy S10+

The highly anticipated series from the South Korean manufacturers have had the smartphone industry abuzz with the high-quality S10 series.

The S10+ earns its stripes as formidable competition in the smartphone camera industry with the introduction of the manufacturers’ advanced triple camera setup. The S10+ features a 12 MP wide-angle lens, 16 MP ultra-wide lens and a 16 MP telephoto lens, offering 2x optical zoom.

The S10+ captures stunning imagery and trumps the iPhone XS Max with the introduction of a third lens for ultra-wide-angle imagery, allowing for more detail to be captured in a photo.

Huawei P30 Pro

The flagship smartphone from the popular Chinese manufacturer caused a stir in the smartphone camera industry, scooping scores of awards and accolades.

The P30 Pro features a quad camera module consisting of a 40 MP wide-angle lens, 20 MP ultra-wide lens, 8MP Periscope lens capable of 5x optical zoom, and a Time of Flight (TOF) 3D camera – which essentially allows the camera to measure distances.

Not only does the device sport the most cameras among the top three manufacturers, it’s also backed by German optics company, Leica. The P30 Pro reigns supreme as the best camera smartphone available on the market today.

Verdict

While a spec-for-spec comparison still places the Huawei P30 Pro above the rest, camera testing across all three devices by numerous international testing bodies still ended up with the same result.

DxOMark , the leading body of independent image quality testing and rating for smartphones, cameras and lenses also places the Huawei P30 Pro as the front runner. The Huawei P30 Pro racks up a total of 112 points while the Samsung Galaxy S10+ smartphone scores 109 and the Apple XS Max takes home 105 points.