Best Android Camera

The Google Pixel is still our favorite phone for taking photos, but we've replaced the OnePlus 3 with its venerable (and slightly improved) successor, the OnePlus 3T.

Google's new Pixel phone comes out on top when you look at photo quality, overall performance and simplicity of shooting. Interestingly, it does it with what would normally be considered middle-of-the-road camera specs. You get a 12MP sensor and f/2.0 lens without the support OIS (optical image stabilization),

It also has a simple camera interface that doesn't have a ton of features, but makes up for it in terms of overall quality. Just point and shoot, and you're going to get a great photo every single time. Daylight shots are crisp and bright with just the right amount of extra saturation, and low-light shots are surprisingly smooth and lack the extra noise that other phones often introduce

Samsung launched the Galaxy S7 back in March 2016, and until the Pixel arrived it was the best camera out there. The 12MP resolution gives you plenty of pixels to work with, and the OIS keeps everything clear whether you're taking low-light shots or shooting video on the move.

Just as important as the photo output is how quickly the camera operates. Two presses of the home button launch the camera in less than a second, and photos are taken instantaneously even when shooting in HDR or a tough lighting situation. The camera interface is simple but also powerful if you choose to move to the full Manual mode, which can enable great shots if you want to tweak and use a tripod.

The new LG V20 borrows the same dual-camera setup from the LG G5, but that's not a bad thing. The main 16MP rear camera is capable of taking crisp, well-balanced shots with the support of a bright f/1.8 lens and OIS. Where the V20 looks to stand out is its second rear camera, which is an 8MP sensor with a super wide-angle lens. The wide-angle shooter can be toggled to quickly for awesome and unique shots you don't get on other phones, though the sensor itself is unfortunately just not as good as the main 16MP offering.

Its camera interface isn't quite as simple or fast as Samsung's, but it's not far off. And what you give up in simplicity you gain in manual controls and tweaks.

Everyone wants a great camera in their smartphone, but not everyone can spend the kind of money it takes to get a Galaxy S7 or LG V20. For a much more reasonable $439, the OnePlus 3T has a really solid shooter that's better than the price would suggest. When we compared the OnePlus 3T's camera to the Google Pixel's, we were impressed every time with the results.

You get plenty of resolution here at 16MP, but smaller 1.12-micron pixels that aren't as great in low-light scenes — though the inclusion of a relatively quick f/2.0 lens and OIS help, as does the camera app's HDR processing. The camera app isn't great and can still be a little slow, and you don't get full manual controls, but for a camera that can get the job done and won't break the bank, this is a great choice.