{"id":94688,"date":"2025-05-12T06:42:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T06:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/94688\/"},"modified":"2025-05-12T06:42:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T06:42:10","slug":"one-brand-has-a-golden-opportunity-to-make-the-best-camera-phone-of-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/94688\/","title":{"rendered":"One brand has a golden opportunity to make the best camera phone of 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\tTable of Contents\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tTable of Contents\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tSamsung has dropped the ball\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tWhat about Google, Xiaomi, and OnePlus?\u00a0\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tIt\u2019s Sony\u2019s chance\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tWe may never find out\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a new Sony Xperia flagship<\/a> smartphone coming on May 13. It\u2019s probably going to be called the Xperia 1 VII and Sony\u2019s name is synonymous with great cameras, top optics, and high-level computational photography expertise. Plus, the teaser video tells us the new Xperia\u2019s camera will contain expertise taken from its Alpha series cameras.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Few other phone brands have such rich photographic heritage, and most resort to bringing in a camera maker to try and get the same kudos. I think the Xperia 1 VII is potentially Sony\u2019s time to shine, and if it\u2019s as good as we hope, to take firm control as maker of the best phone camera of the year. Here\u2019s why.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Samsung has dropped the ball<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\t\tAndy Boxall \/ Digital Trends<\/p>\n

Brand recognition is very important, and it\u2019s one of the top reasons a lot of people buy a Samsung smartphone. The ones who want a Samsung phone with a brilliant camera usually select the Ultra model, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra<\/a> being the latest. The trouble is, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra\u2019s camera is decent, it\u2019s not spectacular.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve recently returned from a long weekend away<\/a> with the Galaxy S25 Ultra as my main camera, and I spent a lot of time editing the photos I took to get them looking the way I wanted. I never mind editing photos, but I don\u2019t think it should be a necessity, yet I believe it is with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. A little tweak to get your preferred look is one thing, but it\u2019s quite another to feel you must edit photos just to reach an acceptable baseline. Colors, contrast, and exposure never quite look right straight off the camera.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a serious issue because the main camera is affected, which also suffers from poor stabilization resulting in a lack of sharpness. The Galaxy S25 Ultra beat the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max<\/a> in our camera test, but in the process lost out in the main camera category. Can a camera really be called \u201cthe best\u201d in a test where the camera we will all use the most fails to win? The Galaxy S25 Ultra\u2019s camera is, as a whole, very good. However, I don\u2019t consider it the photography fan\u2019s choice, and it leaves the door open for a challenger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What about Google, Xiaomi, and OnePlus?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\t\tAndy Boxall \/ Digital Trends<\/p>\n

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra<\/a> was my favorite camera phone of 2024<\/a>, and while the Xiaomi 15 Ultra<\/a>\u2019s camera is very, very good, it\u2019s not quite as good as the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Unlike Samsung, Xiaomi doesn\u2019t do everything itself, and it works with experts Leica to improve and optimize the camera and software. It gives Xiaomi the prestige it needs to become a big player in the smartphone camera world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Xiaomi also takes smartphone photography very seriously. It produces an accessory that looks like a camera-shaped case for the phone, complete with a built-in battery, physical camera controls, and the chance to attach filters too. However, flashy accessories don\u2019t really matter if the camera\u2019s software hasn\u2019t quite caught up with the latest hardware changes, which is the case with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\t\tAndy Boxall \/ Digital Trends<\/p>\n

OnePlus also works with a camera brand, Hasselblad, and the OnePlus 13<\/a> takes great photos. But is it stellar? No, but that\u2019s not really what it sets out to be. The OnePlus 13 is really the best all-round Android phone available at the moment, and most people will be very happy with the camera, just as they will be with the rest of the phone. But I don\u2019t think photo enthusiasts will flock to it, and they\u2019re right not to. Hasselblad\u2019s name may be on the back, but it\u2019s much more of a branding exercise than it is about making the most of the camera hardware.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the Google Pixel 9<\/a> range. The Pixel\u2019s camera is very good indeed, almost regardless of which model you buy, but I can\u2019t honestly say it\u2019s the very best you can get anymore. Google has spent the last few years messing around with AI-powered features like Add Me<\/a>, and I don\u2019t feel it has pushed as hard to make its camera take better photos. It has given brands like Xiaomi the opportunity to be the camera go-to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Sony\u2019s chance<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\t\tAndy Boxall \/ Digital Trends<\/p>\n

All this means there\u2019s a chance for another smartphone maker to swoop in and claim the crown emblazoned with the words \u201cbest camera phone 2025.\u201d To do so it needs brand recognition, preferably built-in without the need to bring on a partner. It needs extensive experience making cameras and lenses. It needs to understand how to tune the software behind the camera, and it needs to understand what photographers want.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sony ticks these boxes. In 2019 I visited Sony\u2019s headquarters in Tokyo<\/a>, I saw first-hand how it was leveraging its massive experience to reinvigorate its smartphones. The team explained why nailing eye-tracking tech was important, how its display experts were called in to approve the screen, and those responsible for the Alpha cameras worked on optimizing the camera\u2019s software. Sony was in the process of turning its smartphone division around, and compete with Samsung, Apple, and Huawei at the time.<\/p>\n

\n

a real chance to sew up the title of best camera phone of 2025<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Most phone fans will know Sony\u2019s strategy has chopped and changed a lot since then, and its smartphones are a rarity alongside the big names today. Don\u2019t forget though, Sony\u2019s camera components are found in many top smartphones already. It knows what it\u2019s doing, and if the forthcoming Xperia 1 VII has a camera on the back which effectively leverages all Sony\u2019s talent and expertise, it has a real chance to sew up the title of best camera phone of 2025 before we\u2019re halfway through the year.<\/p>\n

We may never find out<\/p>\n

\"Sony<\/p>\n

\t\tDigital Trends<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, while I\u2019m confident Sony could do it, I\u2019m also realistic. The fact is it hasn\u2019t been able to put all the above together to make a truly outstanding camera yet, despite years of trying. Beyond this it makes buying its phones quite difficult, it doesn\u2019t always sell them globally, it is terrible at promoting them, and it has a reputation for being, well, a bit dull. Samsung\u2019s Galaxy AI<\/a> may not be the selling point the company thinks it is, but there\u2019s no question it really knows how to convince us it is. Even if the Sony Xperia 1 VII\u2019s camera is fantastic, there\u2019s a very real chance we\u2019ll never actually know, and it\u2019s a real shame for us, along with bad news for a phone maker many people may have forgotten even makes phones at all. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Table of Contents Table of Contents Samsung has dropped the ball What about Google, Xiaomi, and OnePlus?\u00a0 It\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94689,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3159],"tags":[547,44476,341,53,16,15,44477],"class_list":{"0":"post-94688","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-outtafocus","10":"tag-sony","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-xperia-1-vii"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114493505157168476","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}