Best phones for selfies, Jan 2020

Conclusion

We ended our previous selfie shootout two years ago with a general sentiment of disappointment. That's a long time in smartphone evolution terms, and indeed we're now seeing considerable advancements in selfie photo and video capture.

While front-facing cameras aren't quite as good as the 'main' ones on the back just yet, the big two (Apple and Samsung) have adopted 4K as the standard resolution. It's an evolutionary step for Samsung, which has been offering 1440p on the front for a few years, but it's a step that still took them a while. Apple, on the other hand, is even taking it a notch further with a 4K60 selfie video option.

Even so, 4K is hardly the norm and a lot of top-end devices still max out at 1080p. OnePlus is done flagship-killing, but it would be nice if they do some flagship-matching in the selfie video department. Huawei's video capture as a whole isn't stellar, and that extends to selfies too, where 4K is missing, and 1080p isn't flagship-grade.

Google's approach to video has been somewhat negligent too, and the Pixel's 1080p selfie footage is towards the bottom of the pack, with no 4K available. Then the Zenfone 6's flippy camera is more than just a party trick and offers some of the most detailed footage when the light is right.

Ultimately though, it's the iPhone 11 Pro (Max in our case) that delivers the most consistently good selfie video across the most varied conditions. It may be overdoing the HDR in low light, but that's about all we can think of to complain about. And it's not like any phone actually does truly nice selfie video in low light anyway.

Picking a winner for stills is a different matter, however. The truth is, most of them take pretty good photos, and generally, the differences come down to personal preference. We're not fans of the Mate's colors, but it captures a ton of detail and does shine in our low-light test. The iPhone tends to make our mugs the most appealing thanks to a mix of color science and HDR.

The Zenfone's big sensor throws backgrounds out of focus nicely, no portrait mode needed. The OnePlus takes some of the nicest shots in daylight but isn't in its element in dimmer conditions. Honestly, we never thought we'd say it, but avoid the Pixel 4 if selfies are a top priority. The Galaxy Note10+ aced our low-light test and was neck in neck with the iPhone in daylight, but we can't agree on calling it better than the Pro Max. Let's settle for a tie between the iPhone 11 Pro Max and the Galaxy Note10+.

That would be the end of this edition of 'What phone to get for selfies?'. We're really liking where things are going (except, maybe, Google's things), and the shift to 4K video on the industry leaders will inevitably spill over to the rest of the pack. Advanced HDR processing is another thing we can appreciate and having well-developed subjects in challenging light without sacrificing tonal extremes is now a reality on most phones, for photos and video. Looking forward to seeing what advancements the 2020 crop of phones will bring on the front-facing camera... front.