This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
In the past couple of years, something has changed in the way we talk about smartphone cameras.
While it used to be that the iPhone, Google's Pixel series and Samsung's Galaxy devices were the leading camera phones, these days not a camera article goes by without someone mentioning three other brands: Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo.
Flagship phones out of China all have a distinct camera edge. Some like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra have clever additions like the so called "Photography Kit", which is a camera grip that doubles as a power bank and has a dedicated shutter button and zoom controls. Super cool!
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra with its Photography Kit camera grip
Others, like the most recent Vivo X200 Ultra, come with even crazier accessories like a screw-on telephoto extender that results in this weird contraption that is also... the best zoom smartphone camera on the market.
The Vivo X200 Ultra with its telephoto extender (screw-on lens)
And earlier, the Vivo X200 Pro also won multiple awards for best camera phone of 2024 for a good reason — beautiful colors, large sensors and the versatility of actually useful camera presets and even bokeh simulations.
The passion these flagship Chinese smartphones have for improving the camera experience is actually quite refreshing.
But...
The Vivo X200 Pro is a great camera, but there is a problem
But there is also one problem that I inevitably stumble upon every time I pick up one of those phones.
They are great as cameras, but... not so good as smartphones.
See because of the exclusive focus on cramming in the biggest sensors and many of them, most of these phones share one element: a giant camera island.
I don't mind it as a design element, but once you actually get to use these phones, you notice that all of that weight on the top of the phone makes for a very imbalanced, top-heavy phone that you feel might fall out of your hand... constantly!
This is especially noticeable on the Vivo X200 Pro, but also on the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. These phones just want to tip over!
And for a device you spend hours using every day, well... it's a deal-breaker.
I don't want to fight my phone every time I pick it up and worry that it might fall out of my hand because of how top-heavy it is.
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If I wanted something heavy that would not feel comfortable in the hand, well, I would just carry my camera around!
And while you don't mind this for the first few days, this issue kind of grows on you and at least for me, I just start noticing it more and more.
So it's actually quite liberating going back to an iPhone 16 Pro Max or a Galaxy S25 Ultra which while having excellent cameras, also have a design that is properly balanced and not extremely top-heavy.
Are ALL Chinese phones like that?
The latest Oppo Find X8 Ultra recognizes the balance problem of modern Chinese flagships
The answer is "no". The latest Oppo Find X8 Ultra recognizes this problem of modern Chinese smartphones and the company has gone for a design that purposefully avoids the top-heavy camera component, balancing the phone much better.
Unfortunately, that specific model is the only one I've mentioned so far that is NOT getting a global release.
But the good news is that we know that at least some of these Chinese phone makers realize that going after camera quality alone can have its downsides too and are looking for ways to fix them.
Comfort and a new category of phones
While it's easy to get obsesses over specs, I'm happy to see more devices that focus on just the everyday comfort of your device.
Phones like the new Galaxy S25 Edge show that you can have an extremely thin and light-weight phone that you almost forget you have in your pocket. The value of such convenience does not fit well on a specs sheet next to big battery numbers and camera lenses, but I think it's extremely important and you appreciate it a lot in daily use.
While I do hope that mainstream phone makers draw inspiration from these camera innovations, I actually don't think that cramming in the biggest sensors and completely ignoring the ergonomics of a phone is a good idea. And that's why I keep on coming to iPhones, Galaxies and Pixels which take a more holistic view of the smartphone experience.
Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.
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