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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. 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 11 Pro, to the dual-lens Galaxy S10 Plus and the massive megapixel count of the Huawei P30 Pro 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 2019, these are the ten best smartphones for selfies money can buy - and they're all brilliant phones in other ways too.
The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max both have a 7MP f/2.2 TrueDepth camera, just like their predecessor the iPhone X, but 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. These are no longer Apple’s latest and greatest phones, but they still outmatch many rivals – for selfies and everything else.
The OnePlus 6T used to be on this list, but the newer OnePlus 7 Pro has it beaten in just about every way.
In terms of the selfie camera, you get a capable 16MP f/2.0 one which stands out in part because it’s a pop-up camera – something which you’ll rarely find.
That doesn’t make it any better for selfies, but it’s a decent spec, and backed up by a triple-lens rear camera, including a 48MP main lens, a 16MP wide-angle one and an 8MP telephoto one, so if the selfie snapper isn’t cutting it you can always flip the phone over.
The OnePlus 7 Pro also has an enormous (and enormously high resolution) 6.67-inch 1440 x 3120 screen, so it’s ideal for framing selfies and looking back on those you’ve taken.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus is a better phone in many ways than most other handsets on this list, and while it doesn’t quite top most of them for selfies, it’s certainly competitive.
It packs a single-lens 10MP f/2.2 camera on the front, and while that might not sound special it’s capable of surprisingly high-quality shots, as well as being backed up by loads of modes and options, including a number of filters to spice up your shots.
The massive 6.8-inch 1440 x 3040 Dynamic AMOLED screen is also superb for viewing your selfies on after you’ve taken them, and its S Pen stylus could even help with photo editing.
Want even more photographic potential? Flip the Note 10 Plus over and you’ve got access to four additional even better lenses. Less good for selfies perhaps since you can’t frame shots of yourself as easily, but through trial and error you can still get some great photos.
The Huawei P30 Pro packs in a 32MP camera on the front, so it has got a higher megapixel count than the majority of selfie snappers and as such is capable of capturing more detailed images.
The camera on the rear excels even more though, as you get four lenses – a 40MP main one, a 20MP wide-angle one, an 8MP telephoto one, and a Time of Flight depth sensor.
That’s all less useful for selfies, but could help in a pinch, not that the front-facing camera should let you down anyway. And with its big 6.47-inch screen, framing selfies even from afar is easy.
Samsung’s on a roll when it comes to selfie cameras, but the upper mid-range Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) arguably has a better one than most of the company's flagships.
That’s because unlike most handsets this phone has a dual-lens front-facing camera, and it offers a solid 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 a decent amount of light.
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 11 is one of Apple’s latest phones and while it’s not the company’s best, it’s still a top choice for selfies and a very good all round handset.
It has a 12MP f/2.2 TrueDepth camera on the front, which is an upgrade over the 7MP one offered on the iPhone XS.
It’s also got strong bokeh skills, so portrait shots (with blurred backgrounds) typically come out well, and it adds some new features to the mix not seen on its predecessor, such as ‘slofies’ – a stupid name for a feature some might love, specifically slow motion video selfies.
Opt for the rear lenses and you get even better camera capabilities, as the iPhone 11 has a high-spec dual-lens 12MP snapper – though of course you lose ability to easily frame your selfies if you use these for them.
The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are Apple’s best phones at the time of writing. So if you want iOS and money is no object then one of these is the obvious choice.
For selfies they’re also very strong, though not much more so than the standard iPhone 11, as they pack the same 12MP f/2.2 TrueDepth front-facing camera, with the same abilities, including a strong portrait mode and support for ‘slofies’.
Where they beat the iPhone 11 is in their screens, which are sharper and higher quality, making them better for viewing selfies back on, and in their rear cameras, as they have an extra lens, adding a 12MP telephoto one into the mix alongside the 12MP standard and ultra-wide lenses that the iPhone 11 has.
Admittedly a telephoto lens isn’t much use for selfies, but it makes the overall photographic capabilities of the phone that bit more versatile.
The Pixel 3 XL is another phone with a dual-lens selfie camera, specifically a pair of 8MP lenses – one main one with an f/1.8 aperture, and the other a wide-angle one with an f/2.2 aperture.
So that makes it a lot more versatile for selfies than most phones, and thanks to the wide-angle lens it’s even good for group selfies.
Of course, this being Google’s flagship it’s also a great phone in other ways, with a brilliant 12.2MP rear camera, a high-quality 6.3-inch screen and plenty of power.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is not just arguably the best phone you can buy at the time of writing, it’s also one of the best for selfies.
That’s in part because like some others on this list it has two front-facing cameras, with both a 10MP f/1.9 lens and an 8MP f/2.2 one.
Having two lenses makes it more accomplished at judging depth than most selfie snappers, which helps with a variety of shots, but most notably portrait shots, where you can adjust the depth of field for a bokeh effect.
The camera also focuses fast, can capture movement without motion blur, and supports the recording of video in up to 4K quality.
And if the selfie camera isn’t cutting it, you can always employ the rear snapper, which has three lenses and is even more capable.
Note that while the standard Samsung Galaxy S10 is almost as good as the S10 Plus in many ways, it only has one front camera, making it distinctly worse on the selfie front.
You might not have been expecting the Samsung Galaxy A80 in first place. In fact, you might not even have heard of the Galaxy A80, as it’s certainly not one of Samsung’s most well-known phones.
So what makes it so good for selfies? Simple: it uses the rear cameras for them. More specifically, it has a mechanism that lets the triple-lens rear camera flip around to the front so it can double up as a selfie camera.
This is the only phone in the list with a triple-lens front-facing camera, and while some others have dual-lens ones, it being the ‘main’ camera here means it’s better than those rivals.
You get a 48MP f/2.0 main lens, an 8MP f/2.2 wide-angle one, and a Time-of-Flight (ToF) 3D depth sensor, making for a setup that’s almost as versatile as the rear cameras on some flagships, but which can be employed with your own face too.
While this is why the Samsung Galaxy A80 tops our list, it doesn’t hurt that the phone also has a huge 6.7-inch 1080 x 2400 Super AMOLED screen for viewing your selfies on when you’re done.
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 iPhone XS through to the OnePlus 7 Pro, Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus, Huawei P30 Pro, Samsung Galaxy A8, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro (and Pro Max), Google Pixel 3 XL and Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus, with the Samsung Galaxy A80 ranking as the very best smartphone for selfies.
Any of these phones will serve you well, but the Samsung Galaxy A80 is the one to opt for if selfies are your top priority, while the Galaxy S10 Plus is the best all-rounder and the Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) is well worth considering if you’re on a tighter budget.
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