high megapixel cameras
Smartphones

Best Smartphone Cameras with the Highest Megapixels

September 24, 2020

Phones have come a long way.

Looking for a camera setup on your phone that has more megapixels than any other smartphone? While assessing camera features at a glance, you may be tempted to go for the highest megapixel camera available. But the number of megapixels doesn’t tell the whole story when it comes to quality photos.

As far as pure megapixels go, the result is a tie between two android phones: 108MP for both the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and the Xiaomi Mi Note 10. While Xiaomi uses pixel binning to compress 4 pixels into one ‘superpixel’, the Galaxy combines 9 pixels into one. The end result is resolution at 12MP, whereas the Xiaomi is 27MP.

Not to mention the camera app in each phone (plus the countless 3rd party apps available) can make a huge difference in the end results of your photos.

1. Xiaomi Mi Note 10

Xiaomi-Mi-Note-10

The main camera on the Xiaomi phone captures incredibly detailed photos. If this competition was all about the primary camera, this one would win. This is the type of camera you would want to take pictures of the Grand Canyon or a cityscape. The megapixel count alone rivals or surpasses most DSLR or mirrorless cameras.

The other cameras aren’t quite as impressive: the camera features at a glance reveal that the 2 telephoto camera lenses are 12MP ultra-wide camera and 5MP, the ultra-wide is 20MP, and a 2-megapixel macro lens.

While Xiami is technically the highest megapixel camera available, if you’re using it to take selfies, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is the better bet.

Visit: Mi.com

2. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

samsung galaxy s50 ultra

The 108MP sensor in the Xiaomi is actually made by Samsung, so if you go for either phone, you’re buying the same piece of technology. Samsung just combines the pixels in a different way.

But it’s the other cameras where Samsung sets itself apart: a 48MP telephoto lens, and a 40MP front camera. The result is a 100x digital zoom that you won’t find on any other smartphone. While you do lose details on digital zoom, you can still get a great high resolution portrait at 25x without losing much.

The front camera is 40MP, making it the best selfie camera available. On top of that: 8K video! It’s the best android phone available, and it’s future-proofed with 5G capability.

website: Samsung.com

3. Oppo Reno 3 Pro

The Oppo Reno 3 Pro, featuring a 64MP camera as its main rear camera. Like the top 2 phones it ‘bins’ the pixels down into a 16MP image. You can choose to not bin it down, and take photos at the full 64MP, which is better than the top 2 on this list. But that’s not why it’s on this list. It actually has a 4 camera setup. The 13MP telephoto and 8MP ultra-wide lenses are also not why it’s on this list. There’s a 108MP option on this camera that isn’t a true 108MP camera sensor, but is instead a stitched together image from all the cameras.

That, and the lower price point means you can get a 108MP image at a good price point, although it isn’t true. Or you can opt for the 64MP image, which is more megapixels than the binned versions that Samsung and Xiaomi create for you.

Website: oppo.com/en/smartphone-reno3-pro/

Honorable Mentions:

Honor 30S

64MP sensor as the main camera, with two additional cameras at 8MP. And then a 2MP depth sensor.

Samsung S20

A different configuration than the Ultra, you’ll find that the S20’s telephoto camera is 64MP, not the main camera.