Conclusion

Aside from the Sony Xperia Z5, which proved a disappointment for a second time, none of the cameras here are bad. The best phone for you, though, will depend on your priorities. If you specifically want to shoot video at 60fps, this rules out a surprising number of new phones: LG G5, HTC 10, plus the Xiaomi Mi 5 and Google Nexus 6P. But not the Samsung Galaxy S7, which shoots great 1080p at 60fps (and also 4K at 30fps).

If, however, you want to get creative with photos, the LG G5 with its wideangle secondary camera is fun, as are the special modes on the Huawei P9. The P9 might suit some people, but the focus is firmly on photos: it doesn’t support 4K video and has no optical stabilisation. The Galaxy S7 offers both.

As we’ve said, the iPhone’s camera isn’t the last word in sharpness or detail – and the front camera is even worse in this respect – but it does a solid job all round and is dependable. Sure, you’ll end up with the odd blurry photo of your tearaway toddler, but you’ll be pleased with the 60fps video or 4K footage. The slo-mo mode is also great quality, and it produces great-looking photos in most situations.

HTC promised its latest phone would offer a very, very compelling camera experience, but the bottom line is that it’s not the best phone camera out there. It can take decent photos and videos, but they’re not the sharpest, and the ‘experience’ could be better: we want a fast way to launch the camera app and support for 60fps when shooting in 1080p. Some people will gravitate towards the phone because of its Hi-Res audio and the option to shoot photos in RAW, but apart from the Hi-Res audio recording in videos, the Galaxy S7 has everything that’s missing here.

If your budget is limited, the Xiaomi Mi 5 is a fine choice and if you can live without 60fps video and optical stabilisation, the Nexus 6P takes fantastically sharp photos (and video).

Ultimately, though, the Samsung is the best all-rounder. It ticks all the feature boxes apart from a couple that don’t particularly matter to most people – 120fps, 1080p slo-mo and Hi-Res audio recording – and takes superb photos and videos, which are sharper and more detailed than most other phones, including the iPhone 6s.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 ticks all the feature boxes apart from a couple that don’t particularly matter to most people and takes superb photos and videos