Hadley Simmons / Android Authority
I’ve felt for a while now that the best camera phones are pretty much the same when it comes to the quality of their main cameras. Admittedly, there are slight differences when it comes to details, colors, HDR, and a few other factors. But generally speaking, the primary cameras found in high-end and mid-range phones have been good, if not great, for some time now.
However, the same cannot be said for telephoto cameras. These cameras often struggled to approach the image quality of their primary lenses due to their small sensor size, narrow aperture, low output resolution, and poor hybrid zoom. My 2022 Google Pixel 7 Pro addressed these issues to some extent, but I recently switched to the vivo X100 Ultra as my secondary device and noticed something. You can now take far more photos with this phone’s telephoto camera.
And I’m not alone. Some of my colleagues here Android permissions I started relying more and more on telephoto cameras. So when it comes time for Samsung to launch its Galaxy S25 series and Google to launch its Pixel 10 next year, I hope they keep this growing need for telephoto lenses in mind and upgrade their cameras accordingly.
Are you planning on taking more zoomed-in photos in 2024?
56 votes
Telephoto camera breakthrough, I’m there
Previously, telephoto shooting was clearly inferior to the main camera. However, this gap has narrowed significantly in recent years due to OEM efforts to achieve larger sensors, higher resolutions, wider apertures, and consistent image processing. Smartphones such as Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro, and HUAWEI P50 Pro started introducing some improvements in 2021/2022 (such as higher resolution sensors), but there are still noticeable gaps in quality. I was thinking.
However, today’s phones are loaded with telephoto upgrades, so you can use the telephoto camera to take great low-light snaps instead of cropping from the main camera. Even daytime shots show significant improvements in detail, noise, color consistency, hybrid zoom, and more.
Portrait mode for the telephoto camera also debuted on the iPhone 7 Plus in 2016, but photos taken with these modes often looked artificial. Nevertheless, with improved software, larger sensors, 3x (about 70mm) focal length with natural bokeh, and 3D ToF cameras, portrait photos also look great today. In fact, my colleague Rob Triggs praised the “gorgeous portrait” of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra.
The telephoto cameras found in mobile phones such as HUAWEI, Xiaomi, Sony, and vivo all have macro focus capabilities as well. This means you don’t have to get very close to your subject to actually take a macro snap, and you won’t get the extreme distortion that you see in ultra-wide macro shots. This ability to focus on nearby objects allows you to use the vivo X100 Pro and Ultra telephoto cameras to Android permissions Website. Galaxy Watch Ultra snaps are particularly nice, with plenty of detail and natural bokeh.
Unfortunately, the Pixel 9 Pro series doesn’t have this ability to focus on close-up subjects. While generally not a big deal, I thought this option was clearly a practical addition that allows for a more flexible shooting experience. And that’s definitely what I’m looking for today.
Almost the same as the main camera (almost)
Early telephoto cameras had inferior image quality compared to the main camera, so I really wanted one. Some early telephoto cameras lagged behind in terms of functionality, lacking options such as night mode and manual/pro mode support. But top Android smartphones have ironed out most of the issues, and we’re at the point where switching to a zoom camera doesn’t necessarily come with a lot of sacrifice.
We’re not going to stop using the primary camera in 2025. There are still plenty of benefits to sticking with a 1x shooter, including improved low-light performance and the ability to freeze moving subjects. Still, we’ll definitely be spending more time with telephoto cameras in 2025, and we’re curious to see what the Android brand is working on for its next generation of flagship phones. We also appreciate that Google is bringing some of these improvements to the Pixel 10 series for better zoom shots.
