We compare the Huawei P10 Plus’ dual-lens Leica camera with the best mobile snappers out there: Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL cameras and Samsung’s shooter titans, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
When it comes to smartphone cameras in 2017, we’re seeing some truly impressive and versatile tech on offer. Even some quite affordable mobiles now come packing surprisingly capable cameras which can capture visually appealing snaps across a range of conditions.
Of course, the flagship handsets still rock the best mobile shooters. Huawei’s P10 Plus boasts the Chinese giant’s best camera to date, once again produced in collaboration with optics expert Leica. This dual-lens Summilux snapper offers the same feature-dense camera experience as the standard P10, with updated specs to make it even better for low light shots.
But can the Huawei P10 Plus touch the mighty mobile shooters on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, or Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones? Our camera comparison tests all three across a range of conditions, to see which is best for your everyday shots and home movies.
Check out our full P10 Plus camera review, Pixel camera review and Galaxy S7 camera review to see full samples and analysis.
Huawei P10 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Google Pixel camera test: Photo comparison
When it comes to photos shot in broad daylight, there’s practically no difference between these three capable camera phones. In all three cases you can expect some serious detail crammed into every picture. Cast them to a television and the results are pleasingly sharp.
Colour hues and vibrancy levels are close, with attractive and punchy results from the P10 Plus as well as Samsung’s snappers. The Pixel tends to produce more accurate results which aren’t quite as in-your-face, which is neither better nor worse; merely different.
Huawei P10 Plus:
Samsung Galaxy S7:
Google Pixel:
Whether you’re shooting a macro photo of something right in front of the lens or trying to capture a gorgeous vista, these camera lenses all focus in double-quick time. That’s thanks to the smart Phase Detection Autofocus tech built into the Pixel and P10 Plus, which is matched by the S7’s Dual Pixel Autofocus in terms of speed and accuracy. You’ll never get blurry results, unless you’re dealing with a fast-moving subject.
Huawei P10 Plus:
Samsung Galaxy S7:
Google Pixel:
Of course, the P10 Plus’ dual lens snapper means you can get some proper bokeh-style background blurring, which the Samsung and Google phones can’t match.
Drop the lights and the P10 Plus holds up well, but the Pixel and S7 mobiles are still the champions. All three phones produce quite bright results with minimal grain, but the P10 Plus shots look slightly over-processed compared with the others. There’s an artificial quality to them, while the Samsung and Google photos boast more natural visuals.
P10 Plus:
Google Pixel:
Huawei P10 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Google Pixel camera test: Video comparison
All three phones here can shoot up to 4K resolution video, as well as Full HD footage in 30 or 60 frames-per-second. For more artistic results, you can also capture slow motion or timelapse video.
Results are again excellent no matter which handset you choose. Detail levels are solid, so the video from all three phones looks good when watched on a big-screen TV. Sudden changes in lighting conditions as well as focal distance are handled well, with the lenses recovering quickly.
Although the Pixel phones have no optical image stabilisation (only digital stabilisation), we found that moving footage shot with Google’s handsets were the smoothest overall. Even 4K resolution video looks pleasingly judder-free, which is rare to come by. Samsung’s Galaxy S7 does a solid job too, while Huawei’s P10 Plus is smooth enough for Full HD on 30 frames-per-second. Bump that any higher and you get some shaky results.
Check out our test footage from the P10 Plus, Galaxy S7 and Google Pixel phones below.
Take a look at our round-ups of the best camera phones and best budget camera phones in 2017.
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