Smartphones with the most 'anticipated' camera quality in 2025

As fall 2025 approaches, the smartphone camera war is hotter than ever. Whether you're a professional photographer or just love snapping a few quick snapshots, upcoming phones from Apple, Google, Vivo, and Xiaomi promise to take mobile photography to the next level.

Based on official information, leaks, and shares from reputable sources, here are four smartphone models with a strong focus on photography capabilities, expected to launch in the coming weeks and months.

1. iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max

Apple is preparing to bring the biggest upgrade to the front camera in years. The entire iPhone 17 line will be equipped with a 24MP selfie camera - double the resolution of the iPhone 16, making photos clearer and easier to crop without worrying about losing quality.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max stands out with a cluster of three 48MP cameras: Wide, Ultra Wide and Tetraprism Telephoto. This could be the first iPhone to have three 48MP sensors at the same time, while also supporting native 8K video recording. Apple is also said to add dual video recording and a mechanical aperture system, allowing users to manually adjust the depth of field.

In addition, the Pro Max also has 8x optical zoom capabilities – superior to the 5x of the iPhone 16 Pro Max. As usual, only the Pro versions will have a dedicated telephoto lens, while the iPhone 17 and 17 Air will not have optical zoom.

2. Google Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL

Google seems to be keeping the same camera setup as the Pixel 9 series on the Pixel 10 Pro: a 50MP main sensor, a 48MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 48MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom. The front camera has also been upgraded to 42MP.

The novelty lies in the macro shooting capability: the ultra-wide-angle lens can focus at a distance of just 2cm, while the telephoto can take clear macro shots at a minimum distance of about 10cm.

The Pro XL will have a 5,200mAh battery with 39W fast charging, while the standard Pro will have a 4,870mAh battery and 29W charging. Both will run the new Tensor G5 chip and come with Android 16.

3. Xiaomi 16 Pro

Xiaomi has upgraded the front camera on the 16 Pro to 50MP, supporting autofocus, wide-angle shooting and 4K 60fps video recording - a big step up from the 32MP sensor used on the Xiaomi 13 series.

The rear camera cluster will include a 50MP main sensor measuring 1 / 1.3 inches. Thanks to the cooperation with Leica, Xiaomi 16 Pro is expected to provide more impressive portrait quality, combined with a ToF sensor to increase accuracy in measuring depth of field.

The latest Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 device, likely to launch in late September.

4. Vivo X300 Pro

Vivo is preparing to launch the X300 Pro – one of the smartphones with the most 'monstrous' camera system this year. The device is rumored to have a 50MP Sony LYT-828 main sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 200MP periscope telephoto lens with a 1/1.4-inch sensor.

The main sensor supports Hybrid Frame HDR with a dynamic range of over 100dB. The telephoto camera also features a new lens coating to reduce flare. Vivo can also integrate high-quality in-sensor zoom at 35mm and 50mm focal lengths.

The X300 Pro will use the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chip and could be the first smartphone to launch with this chip. Vivo is expected to announce the device in October.

With the above upgrades, 2025 promises to be the boom year of 'smartphone camera phones', where every company wants to turn the phone into a real pocket camera.

Micah Soto

Update 23 August 2025