We have crossed the halfway point of 2023. It’s no surprise that phone brands have already revealed their latest flagship offerings — whether that may be Samsung, Apple, Google, Xiaomi, vivo, OPPO, OnePlus, Huawei, HONOR, Sony, ASUS, and more in the list.
But in this special 2023 camera shootout, there aren’t just two, but a complete mix of six smartphones for you to dig in.
To be specific, these are the iPhone 14 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, OnePlus 11, Huawei P60 Pro, HONOR Magic5 Pro, and Xiaomi 13 Pro.
Most in this list have already been tested in several camera shootout. But a six-way camera shootout is a good way to feed our curiosities. It’s also great for seeing all the differences of these smartphones in terms of camera performance and imaging quality.
P.S: With the absence of the “higher-grade” models such as the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, Huawei P60 Art, OPPO Find X6 Pro, and HONOR Magic5 Ultimate, we’ve decided to just stick with what we have in our stash.
A Mix of Six
Steering away from our usual camera shootouts, I’m going to reveal which photos belong to which phone to eliminate that dizzying guess work. After all, we’ve tried to avert from doing “blind” camera shootouts as people want the results pronto:
A – HONOR Magic5 Pro
B – Huawei P60 Pro
C – iPhone 14 Pro Max
D – OnePlus 11
E – Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
F – Xiaomi 13 Pro
Disclaimer: Phones are listed alphabetically. All photos were taken straight from the phones’ camera app. No additional manipulations applied aside from collaging, resizing, and labeling for faster website loading.
Photo Perspectives
To celebrate the current year we’re living in, I’ve carefully nitpicked 23 photo samples and combined them into 23 photo sets. Each sample may either highlight or degrade the prowess and performance each smartphone has.
A [1x wide]
B [2x zoom]
C [3.5x zoom]
D [2x zoom]
E [2x zoom]
F [Dedicated zoom]
G [3.5x zoom]
H [Ultra-wide]
I [Dedicated zoom]
J [Ultra-wide]
K [Ultra-wide Night Mode]
L [1x Night Mode]
M [1x Night Mode]
N [1x Night Mode]
O [2x zoom]
P [3.5x zoom]
Q [2x zoom]
R [2x Night Mode]
S [1x Night Mode]
T [Portrait Mode]
U [1x Wide]
V [1x Wide]
W [Dedicated Zoom]
The Verdict
HONOR Magic5 Pro
The Good: The HONOR Magic5 Pro is one among the two in this list that offer a dedicated periscope zoom lens. But unlike its Samsung rival, HONOR actually has a zoom range of 3.5x instead of the farther 10x.
That being said, zoomed shots can be on par with the Galaxy S23 Ultra in most scenarios. However, different from the actual camera shootout I did where I despised how HONOR performed, there are times when Magic does its trick — especially in Sets F, G, and I.
Also, I love how wide its 50-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera looks — and the additional Action Mode, too [which we didn’t do for fairness’ sake].
The Bad: The inconsistencies in shots may not be evident to most but the HONOR Magic5 Pro is a dual-faced titan for taking photos that are either too cool or too warm. No matter what scenario it is, I can’t find the pattern on how HONOR decides which algorithm goes to each shot taken.
The Ugly: I stated this too in my previous camera duel: the HONOR Magic5 Pro still delivers brighter-looking photos because of its f/1.6 aperture. In that sense, I’m also not a fan of how HONOR deals with HDR.
Huawei P60 Pro
The Good: The variable aperture of the Huawei P60 Pro may sound like a gimmick, but it’s a true feat when you switch between bright or dark subjects. Speaking of, night shots taken using the P60 Pro look decently bright and sharp without unnecessary blurring or smudging.
Its ultra-wide angle camera gives the widest Field of View too alongside the HONOR Magic5 Pro [122-degrees]. But with the lesser 13-megapixel count, it means less details in a single shot.
But on a greater scale of things, I like how the P60 Pro uses its telephoto lens to achieve a “super macro” shot such as in Set E. Additionally, I like how it has the most unique bokeh cutout in Set O.
The Bad: Portraits taken specifically using the Portrait Mode look very pleasing and enticing [evident in Sets T & U]. But annoyingly, there’s some weird auto-smudging happening under Set V taken using the conventional 1x mode.
We all know how many East Asians are obsessed with AI face enhancements. This isn’t something I’m fond of. I want my photos to look as natural as possible.
The Ugly: It looks like Huawei has adapted some of Samsung’s not-so-pleasing color boosting that can be seen on food shots — especially if it’s taken indoors [Set D, R] or at night [Set Q].
iPhone 14 Pro Max
The Good: No matter what type of lens you use, the iPhone 14 Pro Max [or even the 14 Pro] offer/s a consistent look all throughout its photos. Also, its color science may not be the most vibrant but it shows a complete balance — the “most natural look” if one must say.
The Bad: Its 3x telephoto zoom lens may not be the worst performer but it isn’t the best in class either. Most shots look good in their own but some photos are a hit or miss. 2x crop zoom looks fine as it relies on the phone’s main sensor but once you go past the 3x mark, there’s some weird algorithm happening between its sharpening and contrast.
The Ugly: I’ve been an iPhone user for quite some time. I’ve been excited to try Night Mode since it first came out on the iPhone 11 series. Four years after, it’s still unacceptable how it shoots photos in low-light where Night Mode is activated — especially when you zoom in. It’s one of the worst Night Mode performers on my list.
OnePlus 11
The Good: Most would argue: “What is the OnePlus 11 doing here?”. Well, it can be considered as the toned-down version of OPPO Find X6 Pro that touts the same Hasselblad partnership minus the 1-inch sensor. And while on the topic, I love the color science in most shots taken on the OnePlus 11. No overdoing of the essentials, especially saturation.
Also, it displays the ideal amount of HDR with the right amount of highlights, shadows, and contrast. Personally, it’s my best pick in Set V.
The Bad: While its 2x telephoto zoom is decent, in some cases where you want to zoom in further, you’ll just be stuck with its crop zoom capabilities. That degrades the quality and detail of most zoomed shots.
The Ugly: The OnePlus 11 might just be the worst performer when it comes to shooting Portrait Mode [Set T]. The overall quality is bland that the subject never looked lively in contrast with the other shots in the set.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
The Good: Hands-down, the 10x periscope zoom of the Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of [if not the] best out there. Unfortunately, we haven’t showcased it here to be fair to other contenders that lack a dedicated 10x lens. Still, I would say the Galaxy S23 Ultra offers exquisite zoomed photos with clear detail and motion-free output altogether.
The Bad: I said this before and I’ll say it again: there’s too much over-sharpening happening just to make people see that Samsung always has the “clearest” photos of the bunch. But in all honesty, there are certain [but not a lot of] instances where that added sharpness truly makes the subject stand out.
The Ugly: Over-sharpening can be forgotten, but that harsh Night Mode is and will always be unforgiven. Out of all the night shots we took, Samsung not only had one of the longest shutter durations that resulted in blurry motion [Set N], its Night Mode AI algorithm also overdid the shadows and highlights — particularly in Sets K, L, and M. Even an indoor shot like in Set A isn’t safe from Samsung’s strange post-processing technique.
Xiaomi 13 Pro
The Good: Being the only smartphone with a 1-inch sensor in this list, the Xiaomi 13 Pro tops everyone else with its super-fast shutter release. This also comes handy in low-light shooting scenarios. While it doesn’t have the brightest night mode shot, it still delivered blur-free photos with a fair amount of overall exposure and not overdoing it.
Also, it rendered food shots quite well and is the closest to what I’ve seen in reality [Sets B, D O, Q, and R].
The Bad: While I personally prefer the less-saturated look of Xiaomi 13 Pro’s photos, most would probably think its color-calibration is the dealbreaker — even if you switch to the “more vibrant” Leica Vibrant mode.
Being surrounded by other flagships that lean towards the more saturated side of the spectrum, the Xiaomi 13 Pro feels left behind with its “natural-looking” colors. Even though some shots turned out so damn well [Set A], others are just plain — in a literal sense.
The Ugly: I’ve always loved portraits I took with the Xiaomi 13 Pro. Whether just by using the regular 1x lens or the special portrait mode, it made portrait subjects stand out even more.
However in this particular shootout, MJ and I both disliked the outcome of our photos in Sets T, U, and V. While the portrait bokeh looks deliciously creamy, the vignette [which I previously praised in my review write-up] actually ruined the overall feel of the shot. Moreover, the dark and warmer skin tones you see aren’t actually what we look IRL.
Conclusion
So far, we’re in this specific technological timeline where smartphones can now go head-to-head against near pro-grade shooting equipment. While we’re still far from replacing these professional cameras with pocketable smartphones alongside their gigantic bumps, lenses, and sensors, it’s still quite a dream that we’re living now where photos taken with phone cameras look great in just a finger tap of that digital shutter button.
Nonetheless, nothing is precisely perfect — that includes smartphones alongside their camera performance.
If you’re fond of zooming in, your obvious choices would be the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, HONOR Magic5 Pro, and the Huawei P60 Pro. Ultra-wide champ can either be the Magic5 Pro or the P60 Pro with their similar FoV — minus the latter’s smaller megapixel count.
For those who want swift and precise shooting, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is the most recommendable among the list. That’s also on top of a user who prefers Leica’s less-saturated calibration. But if that’s not your cup of tea, either Samsung or Huawei could provide that punchy look for you.
The OnePlus 11 can be recommended as your go-to camera smartphone. Even without any additional bells and whistles, it still kept up with most flagships thanks to its built-in Hasselblad calibration. But for all-around flexibility, the iPhone 14 Pro Max simply is the answer — not to mention it still triumphs in the videography category today [that we didn’t cover since this is a photo-only camera shootout].