Ted Kritsonis

You may know Xiaomi, but do you know Poco? Xiaomi’s sub-brand isn’t a household name on this side of the world, and the F4 GT isn’t necessarily a camera-first phone, either.

You’ve probably never heard of iQoo before, but as a subsidiary of Vivo, camera performance is what should really stand out beyond the flashy co-branding going on with this device.

The OnePlus 10 Pro has finally launched outside China, and the camera array is the centerpiece to illustrate how much it wants to be among the best you can get your hands on.

Xiaomi may not be a household name in North America, but the brand is a rising force around the world and now sits in third place behind Apple and Samsung. One reason it hit those heights is the way it continues to innovate on the camera side of things, which is what the 12 Pro is supposed to illustrate.

The designated "I" in the title says it all. It stands for imaging, making it clear what Sony prioritized when it developed the Xperia Pro-I. This is more like a point-and-shoot Alpha camera first and smartphone second, yet putting the two together does lead to inherent advantages over competitors.

Ricoh brought the GR IIIx into its lineup to largely address focal length, but to also cement the case that this compact camera shoots bolder than its size would otherwise indicate.

Almost everyone wields a camera these days because they already have one by default on their smartphones. But not just any phone will capture the best results, and that’s why some stand out for particular reasons.

With the Pixel 6 Pro, Google had no other choice than to give its flagship smartphone an overhaul, including its vaunted camera performance, and the results are certainly a good step in the right direction.

Vivo believes it has a smartphone worthy of being the best in the industry, and the results from its camera system lend some credence to that claim.

For Apple, the iPhone 13 and 13 mini are supposed to be the easiest foray into the best the company has to offer, and that means the results have to speak for themselves.

Apple is confident that the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max can capture images with the best the industry has to offer, and built a newer camera to prove it. The result is a device that marks huge improvements over the devices most will be upgrading from.

If you’ve never heard of Realme, you wouldn’t be an outlier -- at least in North America. The brand, which first came to market in 2018, falls under the Oppo banner, which also joined forces with OnePlus earlier in 2021.

Since TCL only likes to play in the affordable and mid-range tiers, its phones aren’t designed to take on the best flagships. The $500 20 Pro 5G represents the best of TCL, with an emphasis on camera performance.