What Android smartphone has the best camera and sets the benchmark that other cameras aim for? Do you need a dual camera like the one found on Huawei and LG phones or is the single module approach of Samsung, Sony, OnePlus and Google better? Which camera can you rely on the most for the shots you’re likely to take? With the Galaxy S8 launching today, let’s take a look as we pit Samsung’s flagship against the LG G6, Sony Xperia XZs, Huawei P10, Google Pixel and OnePlus 3T in an in-depth camera shootout!

For the last few years, cameras have been an area where OEMs continue to do battle and we’ve heard each company explain why its approach to the camera is revolutionary, ground-breaking and makes it the best on the market. Yet for all the hype, it’s out there in the wild where it truly matters so we took these six phones out to Golden Gate Park and Haight Ashbury in San Francisco to find out for ourselves.

Before we get into the galleries themselves, let’s quickly remind ourselves of the camera specs themselves:

Samsung Galaxy S8 Google Pixel XL LG G6 Sony XZs Huawei P10 OnePlus 3T MP Rear:12 MP

Front: 8 MP Rear: 12.3 MP

Front: 8 MP Rear: Dual 13 MP

Front: 5 MP Rear: 19 MP

Front: 13 MP Rear: Dual 20 MP + 12 MP

Front: 8 MP Rear: 16MP

Front: 16MP OIS Yes EIS (gyro) Yes EIS (gryo) Yes Yes Maximum Aperture F/1.7 F/2.0 F/1.8 F/2.0 F/2.2 F/2.0 Auto Focus Yes Yes, laser detection Yes, tracking focus Yes, predictive hybrid autofocus Yes, laser detection Yes, phase detection Sensor Size 1/2.55" 1/2.3" 1/3.06" 1/2.3" TBC 1/2.8" Pixel Size 1.4 µm 1.55 μm 1.12 µm 1.12µm TBC 1.12µm

Now that’s out of the way, here are our camera shootout rules:

In traditional fashion, we’re making this a blind camera shootout. We’ve removed all the metadata from the images and in each gallery, the phones are in the same order counting from 1 to 3 and 4 to 6 from left to right on both rows. We’ve separated the galleries into multiple pages to make this easier to digest and grouped them roughly by subject matter. You can navigate pages using the links at the top or the bottom of each page and at the bottom of each page. You’ll also find a poll on each page so you can help us crown which phone is the winner! EACH POLL REFERS TO THE IMAGES FROM THAT SPECIFIC PAGE. In traditional fashion, we’re making this a blind camera shootout. We’ve removed all the metadata from the images and in each gallery, the phones are in the same order counting from 1 to 3 and 4 to 6 from left to right on both rows. We’ve separated the galleries into multiple pages to make this easier to digest and grouped them roughly by subject matter. You can navigate pages using the links at the top or the bottom of each page and at the bottom of each page. You’ll also find a poll on each page so you can help us crown which phone is the winner! EACH POLL REFERS TO THE IMAGES FROM THAT SPECIFIC PAGE. The shootout runs from today, Friday, April 21st until 23:59 (Pacific Time) on Thursday, April 27th! YOU CAN VOTE IN ALL FIVE POLLS FROM THE FIVE PAGES. We will tally up all the votes from the five polls and crown a winner. Use your vote wisely! Oh and if you’re a smartypants who manages to work out which phone is which, we’d really appreciate it if you didn’t spoil the fun for everyone so keep it to yourself ;-)

Let’s get stuck into it!

Whether it’s a selfie, group selfie or a picture of the people you’re out to dinner with, the people we share with are almost as important as the moments we experience! The focal point for this was Lanh Nguyen in the middle, with David Imel and Edgar Cervantes helping to complete the shot either side of Lanh. With varying skin tones, interesting indoor lighting conditions and the large window in the background, there’s a lot for cameras to process.

Let’s be honest – don’t we all wish we were David right now?! A shot like this would have been mostly mundane but add a surfin techie into the mix – complete with backpack full of goodies – and there’s a lot to take in! Pay close attention to the colors of the waves, as well as the definition in the tips and the color of the sky in the background.

This shot allows us to focus on the detail in the image including the trees, David and Edgar’s facial features and clothing, and the leaves! More importantly, what is Edgar showing David here? I have no clue! My guess is he’s pointing at a bird while humming I believe I can fly! If you can figure it out, shout out in the comments below!