200MP vs 1-inch - testing the best Android phones for photography

200MP vs 1-inch sensors in good light

Let's start with the main cameras in good light. Here, the biggest differences will be in color rendition, sharpening algorithm and noise reduction. These are optimal conditions where every camera performs to the best of its abilities.

We shot all phones in their native camera app with the default settings. That means that all the main camera shots are pixel-binned at 12MP, and have their out-of-box scene recognition and HDR turned on. The Vivo X90 Pro was in the Vivo vivid mode, not the Zeiss Natural color mode. We tested both (which made our task of shooting much longer) and can honestly say that the photos look technically identical, save for the color rendition. Going for the Zeiss Natural profile will result in maturer-looking photos, which will show the Vivo in a different light in our comparison. But we made a judgment call - keep the camera at its default setting - vivid and lively, which we also happen to prefer.

It's a similar situation with the two Xiaomis - we shot in their default Leica Vibrant modes. Here, there was more of a difference in the output - the Leica Authentic mode goes for an artsy look - the dark tones of the images are pushed further down, moving into heavy tonal contrast territory. Sharpening is lowered, and most photos get a heavy vignette around the edges. Once again, we went for the default setting.

We strived to capture identical frames with all the cameras. We did it by aligning certain points in the image with the gridlines of the phone's camera apps. This is easier said than done, especially when comparing the zoom cameras - there was some careful zooming in or out with our feet and tilting the phone itself to match the framing. Still, there could be some slight misalignment from shot to shot and phone to phone.

After looking at the images in good light, some general tendencies of the respected cameras become clear. For starters, there are two types of photo-taker here - the more balanced shooters - the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Xiaomi 13 Pro - and the punchier, more exaggerated shooters - the Vivo X90 Pro and Xiaomi 12S Ultra.

Let's break it down even further, starting with Samsung. The Galaxy S23 Ultra has the sharper main camera output here, most of the time. You could even call it a bit oversharpened, but we like the balance - the detail gets accented, yet there's almost no noise in the images. This approach results in crisp-looking photos, especially on the phone's display. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is the most mature shooter in terms of highlight and shadow balance - shadows are well-detailed but remain naturally dark, while the highlights are always well-controlled; we'd call it midtone-heavy. While the Galaxy S23 Ultra did return to the more saturated look we've always associated Samsung with, in this context, it's the more measured. The colors are reasonably vibrant, not overly so, while the skies are consistently the closest to real life.

The Vivo X90 Pro is the wildest photographer here. In its default state, it aims to always wow you with its results. Shadows and mids are noticeably brighter, while colors are the most saturated here. Skies are cyan most of the time, and there's a fair bit of color noise in them. The white balance has the tendency to tint towards magenta, which results in pinkier reds. Highlights are brighter on the Vivo, sometimes to the very edge of being blown. It all sounds negative, but it makes Vivo's photos stand out in the crowd. They're lively and eye-catching, which is no bad thing.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is of a similar photographic mind to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Its photos come out nicely detailed, but the 13 Pro delivers its detail without as much sharpening. We'd call this the most camera-like phone here. Blacks come out darker, achieving a moody, high-contrast look. Like the Galaxy, the Xiaomi 13 Pro keeps colors close to natural with an ever-so-slight pop for social media. We'd call the S23 Ultra and 13 Pro the golden standard for color rendition in phones.

The Xiaomi 12S Ultra snaps the contrastiest images here. Shadows are darker, highlights are brighter, and colors are vivid, especially reds and blues. These images are the crispest and clearest. They are the most social media-friendly. However, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra doesn't compromise the basics - the dynamic range is wide, and there's a great level of detail with subtle sharpening.

If we look at the histograms, generally, the Vivo X90 Pro and the Xiaomi 12S Ultra have flatter, lower curves, which tells us that the shadows, midtones, highlights, and colors have been processed to the limit of their built-in data. Both the Vivo and the Xiaomi 12S Ultra often push the sky (that's the Blue channel that pushes over the right edge of the histogram), causing it to clip.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra consistently retains more information in the shadows (the leftmost part of the histogram). The Galaxy and the Xiaomi 13 Pro save a lot more room (image data) to work with - you could edit the images further to suit your vision.

These are all general tendencies, but each phone will stray from them from shot to shot depending on the scene recognition algorithm - sometimes, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra will take a less vivid image, or the Vivo X90 Pro will snap a muted shot.

When properly processed, the 1-inch type sensors produce a more natural image than the 200MP sensor at the pixel level. There's less sharpening, the tone roll-off is smoother - the subtle shifts of light throughout the scene aren't as pronounced - and the micro-contrast of textures is subtler. It's likely due to the much bigger individual pixels of the IMX989 sensor. Making 200 million pixels work together is a feat in its own right, but there's no escaping the smartphone look of Samsung's sensor, while the 1-incher can get close to a big-camera look in many of its scenes.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra • Vivo X90 Pro • Xiaomi 13 Pro • Xiaomi 12S Ultra

The sequence of images below emphasizes the difference in color rendition. And it's important to note that these differences are inconsistent at times - the AI-powered scene optimization of each phone could go very vivid or slightly muted, depending on the scene. In the first image - the theatre building - the Galaxy S23 Ultra had the most realistic colors, but then in the second image, it chose to boost them to an oversaturated level.

The red on the theatre's facade is truest to life on the Xiaomi 13 Pro's shot. The Vivo X90 Pro and Xiaomi 12S Ultra got the white balance completely wrong. The red channel on both isn't realistic - especially on the Vivo - and the sky is the wrong shade of blue.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra • Vivo X90 Pro • Xiaomi 13 Pro • Xiaomi 12S Ultra

The Galaxy S23 Ultra has the widest dynamic range. It keeps its highlights better than any of the other three phones here, retaining the sky, detail, and color information in directly sunlit scenes. The Xiaomi 13 Pro is close to the Galaxy in terms of highlight retention but pushes its shadows lower - achieving a moodier look. The Vivo and Xiaomi 12S Ultra blew out their highlights, discarding some of the color and detail information in the buildings and almost completely blowing out the sky.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra • Vivo X90 Pro • Xiaomi 13 Pro • Xiaomi 12S Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra • Vivo X90 Pro • Xiaomi 13 Pro • Xiaomi 12S Ultra

The first scene below (and the one just above) are examples of Vivo's aggressive processing of shadows and colors. The bushes under the statue appear directly sunlit and much more vibrant. The scene has a warmer tone and brighter exposure. We're not saying it's bad; it just isn't representative of real life.

Then, on the highlights side, the Vivo introduces some false color in the brightest areas (the edge where the National Library's roof meets the sky), which the other phones have managed to control. It could be that the X90 Pro's lens isn't as flare-resistant as the others.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra • Vivo X90 Pro • Xiaomi 13 Pro • Xiaomi 12S Ultra

However, Vivo's overzealous processing style doesn't carry over into the next scene. Here it strikes a mature tone, with true-to-life greens in the shrub and trees, but the dullest sky. The Xiaomi 12S Ultra picks up the slack, applying overly heavy saturation to the scene. The 12S Ultra struggled to expose the bright sky, and there was strong purple fringing where it meets the branches.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra • Vivo X90 Pro • Xiaomi 13 Pro • Xiaomi 12S Ultra

A bigger sensor has a shallower depth of field, meaning that the Galaxy S23 Ultra's main camera will usually have more of the subject in focus than the Vivo X90 Pro, Xiaomi 13 Pro, or the Xiaomi 12S Ultra's main cameras, especially when shooting at closer distances. Depth of field is also affected by the lens and its aperture. Without getting into crop factors and aperture equivalency, we'll say that the Vivo X90 Pro's main camera has the brightest lens - f/4.62 (converted to full frame terms), the Xiaomi 13 Pro and 12S Ultra have f/5.0 lenses (in full frame terms), and the Galaxy S23 Ultra has an f/6.0 lens - the dimmest here. It means the X90 Pro's camera and lens will let the largest amount of light reach the sensor for any given scene, while the Galaxy's - the least amount.

Light aside, it also means that at the same distance from a subject, you'll get more of it in focus with the Galaxy S23 Ultra's main camera, and more of the background will be in focus as well. Whereas the 1-inch main cameras will have blurrier backgrounds (shallower depth of field), but also less-sharp subjects, especially from up close. This could be a sought-after effect, but it could ruin your photo if you aren't careful. All of these phones will automatically switch to their macro-capable ultrawide cameras if you get too close to an object.

Looking at the images below, shot from about the minimum focusing distance of each phone, we can see that the Galaxy S23 Ultra has the entire vintage camera in focus, while the others could only manage to focus on the front of its lens. On the upside, the three 1-inch cameras produce blurrier backgrounds with subjectively nicer bokeh. We believe that nitpicking the quality of background blur is a pretentious business best left to the "pros" - more is more, and the Vivo has the most, while the Galaxy has the least.

Bokeh from the main cameras - Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra • Vivo X90 Pro • XIaomi 13 Pro • Xiaomi 12S Ultra

Let's look at flare resistance. The two Xiaomi phones have Leica-branded cameras, and the glass on top is coated to fight purple fringing, infrared light, and glare. The Vivo has a Zeiss T* lens, which reportedly improves light transmission and image quality. Samsung isn't bragging about the coating of its lenses, but the front element is glass as well, and there is surely some anti-glare coating applied.

Shooting into the sun, the Vivo X90 Pro was the worst. Its image is hazy, there's quite a bit of flare, and a huge amount of the micro-contrast is lost. The Galaxy S23 Ultra did fairly better, preserving a lot of the contrast and colors from the scene. But the pair of Xiaomi phones were by far the best. Particularly the Xiaomi 13 Pro, which seems to excel in contre-jour photography. Shooting into the sun with the Xiaomi 13 Pro works quite well!

Dealing with flare, main cameras - Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra • Vivo X90 Pro • Xiaomi 13 Pro • Xiaomi 12S Ultra