When smartphones are being equipped with most advanced camera technologies, why would buyers opt for a digital camera or DSLR? Due to the portability, ease of use and excellent camera capabilities, most people prefer buying a smartphone for capturing images. But which smartphone has the best camera? Which smartphones available in the market can produce images with excellent clarity and detailing? Read on to see top 5 camera smartphones of 2016.

Top 5 Camera Smartphones of 2016

Here is the list of top 5 camera smartphones of 2016: (Note: This list does not follow a ranking or preference order):

Samsung Galaxy S7 & S7 Edge

Both Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge pack more similarities than differences. Except difference in display, battery capacity and dimensions, all other specs of both smartphones are same. The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are high-end smartphone packed in a gorgeous body.

On the imaging front, they sport a 12 mega pixel dual pixel camera on the back with LED Flash, f/1.7 aperture, Smart OIS and PDAF while there is also a 5 mega pixel front shooter with f/1.7 aperture. Both cameras capture beautiful shots with great detailing and clarity. Read more about Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge here.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Specifications & Features

• Processor: Quad-Core Snapdragon 820 processor / Octa-Core Exynos 8890 (2.3GHz Quad + 1.6GHz Quad)
• Operating System: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with TouchWiz UI
• Display: 5.5-inch Quad HD (2560×1440 pixels resolution, 534 ppi Super AMOLED, Always-on curved edge display)
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 32GB/64GB (expandable up to 200GB via microSD card)
• Rear Camera: 12 mega pixel Dual Pixel with LED Flash, f/1.7 aperture, Smart OIS, PDAF
• Front Camera: 5 mega pixel with f/1.7 aperture
• Battery: 3600mAh with Fast Charging & Wireless Charging
• Connectivity: 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC
• Dimensions: 150.9×72.6×7.7 mm
• Weight: 157 grams
• IP68 certified: Water and dust resistance
• Heart Rate Sensor
• Fingerprint Sensor
• Hybrid Dual SIM

Apple iPhone 7 Plus

iPhone7 Plus offers a refined design, flawless performance and a great camera combination. It has dual camera setup on the back. The phone comes with 12 mega pixel wide-angle lens+telephoto lens on the back with quad LED two-tone flash, f/1.8 aperture, OIS, 6-element lens, High-speed Sensor and 4K video recording. For selfies, you get a 7 mega pixel front shooter with Retina Flash. Overall camera quality is great and the iPhone 7 Plus certainly has one of the best camera combinations. Read more about Apple iPhone 7 Plus here.

Apple iPhone 7 Plus: Specifications & Features

• Processor: 64-bit quad-core A10 Fusion (M10 motion co-processor, six-core GPU)
• Operating System: iOS 10
• Display: 5.5-inch IPS 3D Touch (1920×1080 pixels resolution)
• Storage: 32GB / 128GB / 256GB
• Rear Camera: Dual camera set up: 12 mega pixel wide-angle +telephoto lens with quad LED two-tone flash, f/1.8 aperture, OIS, 6-element lens, High-speed Sensor and 4K video recording
• Front Camera: 7 mega pixel with Retina Flash
• Battery: Non removable lithium-ion
• Connectivity: 4G with VoLTE, Wi-Fi with MIMO, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC
• Dimehnsions: 158.2×77.9×7.3 mm
• Weight: 188 grams
• IP67 rating
• Fingerprint sensor

Google Pixel & Google Pixel XL

Google launched its Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones in India in October 2016. Both devices feature identical design and similar specs. They are differentiated only on the basis of display size and battery capacity. The phones feature a fingerprint scanner on the front and come with unlimited cloud storage.

For photography lovers, the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones sport 12.3 mega pixel primary camera on the back with LED flash, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, LDAF and Sony IMX378 sensor. On the front, you get an 8 mega pixel secondary camera for capturing selfies and making video calls. This device is ought to stun you with its camera capabilities. Read more about Google’s Pixel smartphones here.

Google Pixel: Specifications & Features

• Processor: 2.15GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
• GPU: Adreno 530
• Operating System: Android 7.1 Nougat
• Display: 5-inch Full HD AMOLED (1920×1080 pixels resolution, Corning Gorilla Glass 4)
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 32GB / 128GB
• Rear Camera: 12.3 mega pixel with LED flash, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, LDAF, Sony IMX378 sensor
• Front Camera: 8 mega pixel
• Battery: 2770mAh
• Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, USB Type-C
• Dimensions: 143.8×69.5×8.6 mm
• Weight: 143 grams
• Color Options: Quite Black and Very Silver
• Fingerprint scanner

Huawei P9

Huawei P9 smartphone has received a lot of admiration for its Leica based camera that produces stunning images. It sports 12 mega pixel dual rear cameras with dual-tone LED flash, Laser Auto Focus, 1.25-micron pixels and Leica SUMMARIT lenses. While one of the lenses captures light in color, the other captures in monochrome. There is also an 8 mega pixel front facing camera onboard. Besides an excellent camera combination, the Huawei P9 has everything you would expect from a flagship smartphone. Read more about Huawei P9 here.

Huawei P9: Specifications & Features

• Processor: Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 955
• Operating System: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with EMUI 4.1
• Display: 5.2-inch full HD AMOLED (1920×1080 pixels, 2.5D curved glass)
• RAM: 3GB
• Storage: 32GB storage (expandable up to 128GB via microSD card)
• Rear Camera: 12 mega pixel dual rear cameras with Leica SUMMARIT lenses, dual-tone LED flash, Laser Auto Focus
• Front Camera: 8 mega pixel
• Battery: 3000mAh with Fast Charging
• Connectivity: 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and USB Type-C
• Dimensions: 145×70.9×6.95 mm
• Weight: 144 grams
• Fingerprint sensor

LG V20

LG V20 is another smartphone that offers commendable camera combination. It is equipped with two cameras on the rear- one is a 16 mega pixel unit with dual tone LED flash, f/1.8 aperture, OIS, Laser AF, PDAF, 4K video recording while other is an 8 mega pixel lens with f/2.4 aperture. Upfront is a 5 mega pixel secondary camera. Besides, the phone also features 32-bit Hi-Fi ESS SABRE ES9218 Quad DAC, Hi-Fi Video Recording and B&O PLAY speakers for ultimate music experience.

It is the world’s first smartphone to run Android 7.0 out of the box. On aesthetics front, it flaunts its metal design crafted with the AL6013 metal which is used to build aircrafts. Read more about LG V20 here.

LG V20: Specifications & Features

• Processor: Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
• GPU: Adreno 530
• Operating System: Android 7.0 Nougat
• Display: 5.7-inch Quad HD (2560×1440 pixels resolution, 513ppi pixel density) + 2.1-inch IPS (1040×160 pixels resolution)
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 64GB (expandable up to 2TB via microSD card)
• Rear Camera: Dual camera set up (16 mega pixel with dual tone LED flash, f/1.8 aperture, OIS, Laser AF, PDAF, 4K video recording + 8 mega pixel with f/2.4 aperture)
• Front Camera: 5 mega pixel with f/1.9 aperture
• Battery: 3200mAh with Quick Charge 3.0
• Connectivity: 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS and USB Type-C
• Dimensions: 159.7×78.1×7.6 mm
• Weight: 173 grams
• Dual SIM
• Fingerprint sensor

Is there any other impressive camera smartphone that we missed? Share with us in the comments section below.

Also Read: Top 5 Flagship Smartphones of 2016