Best Smartphone Cameras of 2020

For many people, the camera system is the most important attribute of a new smartphone.

However, simply looking at the megapixel rating of each lens is not an accurate way to determine the true capabilities of a smartphone camera.

This is because modern smartphone cameras use a large number of technologies and functions to improve the quality of photos taken by these smartphones.

DxOmark is one of the best places to look if you want to determine the quality of a smartphone camera.

It gives the front and rear cameras of each smartphone a rating score that is based on a variety of rigorous tests.

DxOmark explains that the devices are tested with their default settings in both controlled lab environments and natural indoor and outdoor scenes.

The tests cover a wide range of conditions and light scenarios to provide a comprehensive report on the quality of the smartphone camera.

“Overall, a team of engineers works for a week to capture and evaluate more than 1,600 test images and more than 2 hours of video for each review,” says DxOmark.

These tests are purely objective, he noted, and most are calculated directly by test equipment, while some perception tests use a set of metrics that allow a panel of imaging experts to compare image quality criteria accurately.

Then all the tests are compiled into two main scores, for photo and video, after which an overall score is calculated.

Rear Camera Ratings

According to DxOmark, the best smartphone rear camera on the market is not from any of the “big 3” smartphone makers (Samsung, Apple and Huawei).

Instead, the winner is the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra, which has a score of 130.

It’s closely followed by the Huawei P40 Pro at 128, while the 125-rated Honor 30 Pro + rounds out the top three.

Selfie Camera Ratings

When it comes to selfie cameras, Huawei’s P40 Pro leads the way with a score of 103.

The Huawei Nova 6 5G and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra are tied for second place behind the P40 Pro, both with a score of 100.

It’s worth noting that the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra, which won the rear camera category, has yet to receive a rating for its selfie camera at the time of writing.

The opposite is true for the Nova 6 5G, so it didn’t show up on the rear camera table.