What are the best smartphones for photography? Which models deliver the highest quality for everyday users? Which top-tier flagships will satisfy experienced photographers? And which midrange devices strike the perfect balance of performance and price? Here’s my personal take on these questions — based on dozens of reviews conducted over the past decade.

Last updated: June 3, 2026
Update 2.2026 – March 4, 2026: New Xiaomi 17 Ultra review (link), Leica Leitzphone hands-on (link) and Honor Magic8 Pro (link), coming soon: Xiaomi 17 review, Vivo X300 Pro review…
Update 3.2026 – April 27, 2026: New Samsung Galaxy S26 Review, Xiaomi 17 review, Samsung Galaxy A57 First Impressions. Coming soon: Honor 600 Pro.
Update 4.2026 – June 3, 2026: New Xiaomi 17T Pro review, Honor 600 Pro review. Coming soon: Xiaomi 17T.

Why I Like Reviewing Smartphones – For Years

As a newspaper photographer, I started testing cameras about 15 years ago — and I still do for my Czech site Fotoguru.cz. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before I included flagship smartphones in my reviews.

Over the past few years, I’ve systematically borrowed devices from various categories and prepared detailed reviews — and I try to do them properly. Almost every smartphone I test gets at least a week of hands-on use, usually longer, and each review includes 150–200 sample photos. Originally, these reviews were only in Czech, but gradually I added video reviews on YouTube in English — I just couldn’t keep all this testing to a local audience.

Why am I mentioning this? Because I am truly confident in recommending which smartphones serve different types of users best, and which devices are the real stars of the mobile photography world.

Don’t expect complicated tables or categorical statements from me: there is obviously no single “best smartphone in the world.” Different user categories value different things. But if you ask me over coffee: “Which one should I buy?” — I’ll happily and confidently advise you. I just ask three questions first:

1. What exactly will you be photographing?
2. How experienced are you as a photographer?
3. And yes, of course, what is your budget?

Best Smartphones for Photography – Jan’s Personal Picks (Café Talk Edition)
Question / Use case	Recommended smartphones & why	Links
1. Best Smartphones for Everyday Photography
“I need the best smartphone for everyday use”	iPhone 17 Pro and other top iPhones — sounds boring, but iPhones still offer the most balanced performance for everyday photography and video.	My articles about iPhones on Photobohemian
“I do not like iPhones! What else should I use?”	Samsung S25 / S26 (Ultra) and other Samsung flagship — for years, the most reasonable and reliable iPhone alternative.	My Samsung S26 Ultra review on Photobohemian My Samsung S26 Ultra review on YouTube My Samsung S25 Ultra review on YouTube
“Some other options?”	Honor Magic7 Pro / Magic8 Pro, Xiaomi 15T Pro / Xiaomi 17T Pro, Google Pixel 10 — very good performance across a wide spectrum of shooting situations.	My Honor Magic8 Pro review on YT My Honor Magic8 Pro review My Xiaomi 15T Pro review on YT My Xiaomi 15T Pro review My Xiaomi 17T Pro review on YT My Xiaomi 17T Pro review My Honor Magic7 Pro review on YT
2. High-End Smartphones for Experienced Photographers
“I am an experienced photographer — what will I love most?”	Xiaomi 15 Ultra — fantastic lenses, a great sensor, and a phone that really shines in expert hands. Xiaomi 17 Ultra – upgraded sensor and unique optical zoom, but minus one lens Vivo X300 Pro — a unique mix of great hardware and software features (full review coming soon).	My Xiaomi 15 Ultra review on YouTube My Xiaomi 17 Ultra review on YouTube My Xiaomi 17 Ultra review
“I need to zoom a lot, I shoot sports”	Samsung S25 / S26 Ultra — my No. 1 choice for extreme digital zoom,	My Samsung S26 Ultra review on YouTube My Samsung S26 Ultra review My Samsung S25 Ultra review on YouTube
“I love alternatives that go their own way”	Google Pixel 10 Pro XL	My Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review on YouTube
“I am a content creator — what gives me the most freedom?”	iPhone 17 Pro (Max) — once again, the boring truth: iPhone is still the most flexible all-round tool for professional use.	My articles about iPhones on Photobohemian
3. Best Mid-Range Smartphones
“I want great photos but I have a limited budget”	Samsung A56 — excellent price-to-performance ratio (better than the new Samsung A57) Xiaomi 15T Pro — a really great phone, often with a “dumping price” Xiaomi 14T, Honor 400, and several others	My Samsung A56 review on YouTube Samsung A57 first impressions My Xiaomi 15T Pro review on YouTube My Xiaomi 15T Pro review My Xiaomi 14T review on YouTube My Honor 400 review on YouTube

1. Best Smartphones for Everyday Photography

Prepare yourself — this might sound a bit boring, but there’s no getting around it: if someone asks me for the most sensible smartphone for truly general use, I say iPhone.

And what do I mean by “truly general use”? It’s the mode of use that is often the most important: someone moderately or slightly experienced just wants a reliable tool that will perform well in most tricky situations.

Boring Truth: iPhones Still Rule in Many Ways

And yes, in my opinion, iPhones simply handle this best, even if they come with their many quirks and the inevitable “buts.” But for general everyday use, iPhones really reign supreme: if you gave 100 novices an iPhone and sent them into the streets of Prague under various situations and scenes, the results will simply look very good — slightly better than most other top-tier smartphones.

If you want to put it more scientifically: despite countless minor or major flaws, Apple manages to deliver top-notch, truly balanced performance.

I’ve been using iPhones since the iPhone 6 — and I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon, even though sometimes I would like to.

Boring, right?

My iPhone 17 Pro video: Amazing Video Features

Best iPhone Alternatives: Samsung, Xiaomi, and Google Pixel

Not a fan of iPhones? What else is great for general everyday use?

Not everyone likes iPhones. In fact, many people have valid reasons not to — which I fully understand. And despite my earlier praise, I’m certainly not a fanatical supporter of the brand.

So, what are the other smartphones for everyday use? Not necessarily for experienced users or photographers, but just for regular, everyday operation?

For many years, I’ve recommended Samsung smartphones in this category, especially their flagship models like the Samsung S26 Ultra or Samsung S26. They are, for me, the first logical choice for anyone who doesn’t want an iPhone. It’s true that Samsung has seemed a bit stagnant in recent years — between the S23 and S26 generations, not much has changed. And, frankly, don’t expect any dramatic improvements between the S25 Ultra and S26 Ultra (so feel free to go for a slightly older generation). What matters most: they are among the best smartphones on the market.

My video: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review

Then there’s Xiaomi, which has made a huge leap forward in recent years. Their performance within a single generation can be slightly uneven, but those who look carefully will find true gems. For 2025, for example, I’d highlight the Xiaomi 15T Pro — a midrange-priced model with flagship-level capabilities, especially in image processing. And yes, you can get the Xiaomi 17T Pro now, but frankly, the innovations are not significant, so you definitely won’t go wrong with the Xiaomi 15T Pro even in 2026 (there is no Xiaomi 16T Pro, just for the record).

And of course, there are other options — the 10th generation Google Pixel deserves a mention. I haven’t systematically tested it yet, but my first impressions were exciting: these smartphones can now be recommended as top-tier, which wasn’t always the case before, especially because features like the portrait mode were often mediocre.

My video: Xiaomi 15T Pro review

For slightly overlooked models, I’d also mention Honor Magic7 Pro, which is currently available at a very good price and is somewhat unjustly underrated. (We’ll see where the price goes for the recent Honor Magic8 Pro — at present, in my opinion, it’s too expensive for general everyday use.)

2. High-End Smartphones for Experienced Photographers

In the previous section, I briefly described what I tell friends and students when they ask: “I want something that works brilliantly without much hassle.” That was advice for general, less demanding photography.

But what about experienced, more demanding photographers? Of course, everyone has slightly different requirements and goals. Let’s break it down.

Smartphones for Photography Enthusiasts

If an experienced photographer wants a model offering exceptional features, my tip right now is the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. This is an extraordinary device, famous for its top-notch imaging and one-inch sensor. What fascinates me personally on this flagship (and its predecessors) is the floating 70mm lens with f/1.8 aperture. It’s a feature appreciated mostly by photographers familiar with that focal length, but the detail and natural (non-software) depth of field it delivers are fantastic — along with many other features. But as I mentioned: if you don’t know how to use these tools, you might be disappointed — this is truly a smartphone for connoisseurs.

Recent generation, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, does not include this amazing lens, which was a bit of a disappointment for me. Yes, it has a rare feature: a 75–100 mm optical zoom with excellent quality. Still, I believe the Xiaomi 15 Ultra makes slightly more sense for advanced photographers.

My video: Xiaomi 17 Ultra review

And we have one more extraordinary smartphone to mention: the Vivo X300 Pro, which offers a great mix of software and hardware features. I’m currently testing it, and I’m sure it’s also one of the top options — not to mention the brand-new Vivo X300 Ultra (see the photo below).

Smartphones for Those Who Need Zoom

Another “café advice” favorite of mine: I always ask what the user wants to photograph before making a recommendation. If the answer is something like: “I often photograph my son playing football,” my advice is clear: Samsung S25 Ultra (or its successor S26 Ultra). Yes, it performs excellently for zoom, and even though it’s digital zoom, the processing is very good. Flagship Samsung devices have long been my trusted choice for anyone who doesn’t want an iPhone.

Special Mention: Google Pixel 10 Pro XL

The Google Pixel cannot be left out, even though I haven’t systematically tested it. A casual first look impressed me — it’s a fantastic and deservedly popular choice for those who want something a little different. The previous Pixel 9 Pro XL impressed me with imaging, but the portrait mode was underwhelming, which limited universal usability. The new 10th generation has largely fixed this, so I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it as a strong alternative.

Once More: Content Creators Still Choose iPhone

I know this might seem repetitive, but iPhones (especially the Pro line, e.g., iPhone 17 Pro) remain the default choice for many professional creators. Not necessarily because of specs alone — other devices can match them in individual parameters — but because they offer the best overall combination of useful features: excellent portrait mode for corporate photography, top-quality video, and great audio options. Simply put, it’s not easy to beat an iPhone — sorry.

3. Best Midrange Smartphones

Of course, the smartphones described above are great, but they’re not cheap. A common question I get is: “I don’t need a flagship, but I want great value for a solid performance.”

There are many options, and it’s impossible for me to track everything. Samsung’s A56 series has long been the king of midrange devices. I’ve tested it thoroughly for years. While it’s not a “fantastic” phone, it offers reliable performance, very good image processing, and solid overall specs at a very reasonable price. I’ve just published my first impressions of the Samsung A57, and a full, detailed review will follow shortly. However, one thing is already clear: you won’t miss much if you stick with the previous A56 generation.

My video: Samsung A56 Review

I must also mention Xiaomi 15T Pro, which formally sits a bit higher with a telephoto lens — something the Samsung A series lacks. Xiaomi’s aggressive pricing often brings it into a comparable range, making it a strong choice. Historically, the T-series has been a solid midrange option, but it’s important to check the reviews of each model carefully. Currently, the 15T Pro is a clear yes, while the 15T is less compelling. Last year, it was the opposite: Xiaomi 14T was excellent, while 14T Pro didn’t make much sense.

Other Honor models are worth considering, but unlike the top-tier and lower-tier devices (e.g., the more affordable Honor 400), I haven’t tested them yet. As I said, in this category, there are multiple “correct” choices.

Your Turn

And what about your experiences? What do you shoot with? What has impressed you, and what disappointed you? Share your thoughts in the comments!