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We live in a world where selfie is in the dictionary and as such no self-respecting smartphone manufacturer can afford to ignore people’s desire to take pictures of themselves and it’s with that in mind that we’ve curated this list of the best smartphone cameras for selfies.
This list includes a range of handsets from numerous manufacturers, which just serves to highlight how important these cameras are to smartphone makers, with everything from the bokeh-backed iPhone XS, to the EIS-packing OnePlus 6 and the massive megapixel count of the Honor 10 making the list – plus a number of other top selfie snappers for good measure.
Keep this page bookmarked, because we'll be updating it with the latest and greatest selfie snappers as and when new phones launch, but for now, as of October 2018, these are the ten best smartphones for selfies money can buy - and they're all brilliant phones in other ways too.
Most of the phones on this list are quite high-end, since the best cameras tend to be reserved for high-enders, but the Samsung Galaxy A6 is distinctly mid-range, making it a great relatively budget option.
But what’s so great about its selfie camera? At first glance its 16MP f/1.9 lens might not sound special, and that’s because it’s not the lens that is special, rather it’s what comes with it – an LED flash.
As while most smartphones have a flash for their rear camera, few have one on the front, and its presence here means that Samsung Galaxy A6 is great at taking selfies in dim light.
And even beyond that it’s pretty decent, since 16MP is a higher megapixel count than most selfie snappers have, so it can capture detailed images.
The Honor 10 is almost as high-end as a flagship, yet far more affordable than most, and its selfie camera is also better than most, as it’s a 24MP one, so it can take very detailed images, ones which even hold up on a much larger screen than a smartphone.
There’s nothing else fancy about it, but the phone as a whole has a lot going for it, from an eye-catching glass design, to a powerful octa-core chipset, an AI-powered dual-lens rear camera and an under-glass fingerprint scanner.
The S9 range (featured below) will take better selfies in low light, but if the lighting is good the Honor 10 is a top option.
Like the Honor 10, the Huawei P20 and P20 Pro have a 24MP front-facing camera, so they can take very detailed selfies. They beat out the Honor 10 overall in this list though because they’re better phones in other ways.
For one, they have better rear cameras, with the Huawei P20 having a higher quality dual-lens one while the Huawei P20 Pro goes into uncharted territory with three rear lenses, and both phones can take superb low light shots.
They also have everything else you’d expect from a flagship – big screens, lots of power, loads of storage, premium designs and – in the case of the P20 Pro – water resistance. They’re expensive, but they’re worth it.
The OnePlus 6 stands out for selfie use thanks to its high-spec 16MP front-facing camera which also has electronic image stabilisation (EIS), meaning it’s adept at countering camera shake so your photos are more likely to be in focus.
Elsewhere the phone also has a dual-lens 16MP and 20MP camera pairing on the back which can take even better selfies if you can frame them.
It’s also just a strong all-round handset, with a top-end Snapdragon 845 chipset, up to 8GB of RAM and a big 6.28-inch Super AMOLED screen. All that and it’s a lot cheaper than most flagships too.
At first glance the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus might not sound like brilliant options for selfies. After all, they just have a single-lens 8MP camera and no LED flash.
But what they also have is an f/1.7 aperture, which is far better than most front-facing cameras. The aperture refers to the lens opening and in this case it’s large, which means a lot of light can get in, for more detailed images and better low light shots.
The Galaxy S9 range also happen to have some of the best rear cameras you’ll find on a phone – both have a 12MP lens with a variable aperture, while the S9 Plus adds a second lens to the mix too.
In fact, the S9 Plus in particular is one of the very best phones you can buy overall, as it’s top-end in just about every way, but there are some – slightly – better selfie phones, as you’ll see below.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has much the same selfie camera as the Samsung Galaxy S9, specifically an 8MP one with an impressive f/1.7 aperture. That means you get the same benefits, namely the ability to capture a lot of light for better quality photos.
We’ve ranked the Galaxy Note 9 slightly ahead of the Galaxy S9 range simply because it’s newer and arguably slightly better overall.
Many of its other specs and features are the same as those phones, but it has a bigger 6.4-inch screen, an S Pen stylus and a large 4,000mAh battery.
The HTC U12 Plus is an oddity in that it has two front-facing cameras – a feature you’ll find hardly anywhere else.
They’re both 8MP and they allow you to take wide-angle shots, as well as powering a convincing bokeh effect, which blurs the background so the subject stands out more. The front-facing camera also has an HDR mode.
The HTC U12 Plus impresses in other ways too, from its shiny finish to its octa-core chipset, its dual-lens rear camera and stereo speakers. It’s not quite one of the best all-round flagships you can buy but it’s still a good phone and very good for selfies.
Samsung’s on a roll when it comes to selfie cameras, but the upper mid-range Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) arguably has its best one.
That’s because, like the HTC U12 Plus, this phone has a dual-lens front-facing camera, but it offers a higher megapixel count, with one 16MP lens and one 8MP one. They also both have an f/1.9 aperture, meaning they should be able to take in more light than the f/2.0 aperture lenses on HTC’s flagship.
Of course, the Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) makes good use of those two lenses, letting you blur the background in shots, just like most other dual-lens and some single-lens cameras.
Elsewhere the A8 is less exceptional, but still a strong mid-range option, with standout features including water resistance, a 1080 x 2220 Super AMOLED screen and a premium build.
The iPhone X is a remarkable phone in a lot of ways, and its selfie camera is definitely one of the best around.
At first glance it might not seem that way, after all, it’s just a 7MP one with an f/2.2 aperture, but it has a couple of tricks up its sleeve.
For one thing it supports both Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting, which are two of the star features of the rear camera. That means you can blur the background of your selfies to create a striking bokeh effect, and you can adjust the lighting to make it look more like a professional studio shot.
The iPhone X also supports Animoji, which uses the Face ID tech built into the front-facing TrueDepth camera to let you animate emoji animals, so their mouth movements and expressions match your own. That’s not exactly a selfie, but it’s a nice extra.
And then of course there’s everything else great about the iPhone X, including its brilliant quality and almost completely bezel-free screen, stunning design, powerful chipset, facial recognition and dual-lens rear camera.
Apple’s latest phones ever so slightly edge its previous one for the selfie crown, as while the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max both have a 7MP f/2.2 TrueDepth camera, just like the iPhone X, they add a couple of new features to the mix.
For one thing, they let you alter the depth of field in a shot after taking it, so if an image doesn’t come out with the right level of blur you can tweak it to your liking.
The camera also uses Smart HDR, which essentially captures lots of different frames and then intelligently combines the best parts of each image to make the best overall photo.
Outside of that the highlights of its selfie camera are the same as the iPhone X, including one of the best bokeh effects you’ll find on a phone.
But the iPhone XS range has been upgraded in other ways too, including a faster chipset and more storage.
So there you have it. These are the ten best smartphones for selfies you can buy right now and they’re all strong handsets in other ways too.
From the Samsung Galaxy A6, which is a great budget buy, through to the Honor 10, Huawei P20 range, OnePlus 6, Samsung Galaxy S9 range, Samsung Galaxy Note 9, HTC U12 Plus, Samsung Galaxy A8 and iPhone X, with the iPhone XS (and XS Max) ranking as the very best smartphone for selfies.
Any of these phones will serve you well, but the iPhone XS is the one to opt for if selfies are your top priority, while the OnePlus 6, Samsung Galaxy A8, Honor 10 and Samsung Galaxy A6 are well worth considering if you’re on a tighter budget.
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