The best selfie camera phones you can buy

Believe it or not, the term “selfie” has only existed for some years. In that time, it’s become a phenomenon. But what are the best selfie phones you can get?

Nearly every smartphone on the market has a selfie camera now, so you would need to wade through every device released over the past several years to determine the best phone for selfies. We’ve done all the hard work for you and rounded up the ten phones with the best camera hardware and software to take your self-portraits to the next level, while considering value for money, too.

The best phones for selfies

Editor’s note: We’ll regularly update this list of the best phones for selfies as new devices launch.

Samsung Galaxy S24 series

The new Samsung Galaxy S24 series includes the Galaxy S24, the Galaxy S24 Plus, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Samsung continues its streak of putting great cameras on its flagships with the S24 series. It’s not a massive upgrade in terms of hardware, though, with all devices featuring a 12MP selfie shooter. It’s the same one across the spectrum, and it’s a really good one, as found in our Galaxy S24 Ultra camera test.

We found that they are great under good lighting conditions, but quality stops dropping once you move to darker environments. Again, the selfie camera still isn’t amazing, but it is as good as you can reasonably get.

Aside from taking great selfies, you’ll find all devices to be amazing. They come with a great design. As a flagship device, Samsung didn’t skimp out on any specs either. The devices feature a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy processor, plenty of RAM, great Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X panels with a 120Hz refresh rate, and excellent battery life. These are all but guaranteed to be some of the best devices of 2024. They’re also among the best selfie camera phones, of course.

Galaxy S24 specs:

Galaxy S24 Plus specs:

Galaxy S24 Ultra specs:

Google Pixel 9 series

Google’s Pixel phones can’t be ignored when discussing smartphone cameras. These devices have surpassed all expectations for years, and their cameras are widely known as some of the best the industry offers.

Pixel phones are unique because of their computational photography, so these phones will do great regardless of the hardware. That said, the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL have especially good camera hardware, as the manufacturer has upgraded these selfie cameras to 42MP sensors. These offer an f/2.2 aperture and Google’s impressive AI smarts, all powered by the Tensor G4.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold‘s selfie camera isn’t great, but it has one advantage. This is a foldable phone, which means you can easily use the rear cameras for selfies, and still be able to correctly frame the picture using the external display. And the rear cameras on it are pretty good by selfie standards.

The base Pixel 9 is likely the less desirable of the line-up, at least in the selfie department. It gets a simpler 10.5MP selfie shooter, but it’s still pretty nice compared to most other phones, thanks to Pixel’s software enhancements.

Pixel 9 specs:

Pixel 9 Pro specs:

Pixel 9 Pro XL specs:

Pixel 9 Pro Fold specs:

Google Pixel 8a

The Google Pixel line has had great cameras on the front and back for generations, but this isn’t necessarily because of hardware. Even the more affordable A-series Pixels, like the Pixel 8a, offer a fantastic camera experience for a fraction of the price. The Pixel 8a is one of the best selfie camera phones around, thanks to Google’s implementation of computational photography.

The selfie camera features a 13MP sensor, which is the same as the one on the Pixel 7a, but is a step up from the 8MP shooter found in the Pixel 6a. It’s aided by Google’s photography magic, and it also offers a nice f/2.2 aperture and a 1.12 μm pixel size.

In our Pixel 8a review, we found results to be pretty good compared to most other smartphones. Additionally, it’s a pretty nice phone to get at $499. You get high-end specs like a Google Tensor G3 processor and 8GB of RAM. The display has finally been upgraded to 120Hz, upgraded from 90Hz in the previous iteration. It also has wireless charging, but we wish it were faster than 7.5W. Not to mention, the rear cameras are also great.

There isn’t much to complain about with the Pixel 8a. Wired charging could be faster than 18W, and wireless charging could also be improved. Regardless, it’s still a great value offering and is definitely one of the best selfie phones available.

Pixel 8a specs:

Sony Xperia 1 VI

Sony phones have consistently been recognized as great camera smartphones. The Sony Xperia 1 VI is no exception, and it’s definitely one of the best selfie camera phones. The device has a 12 MP selfie shooter, featuring an f/2.0 aperture and a 1/2.9-inch sensor. The selfie camera can also record HDR content at 4K resolution. It also comes with 5-axis gyro-EIS stabilization.

Selfie camera aside, the device comes with a powerful triple camera setup in the back. In our Sony Xperia 1 VI review we mention it’s one of the most versatile camera phones. You can even enjoy some impressive macro photo capabilities. We were quite amazed by them.

Not to mention, it’s a pretty capable handset with all the best specifications you can expect from a 2024 flagship. Specs include a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 12GB of RAM, and a 6.5-inch OLED screen with a Full HD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate.

Overall, we loved the Sony Xperia 1 VI. It has excellent battery life, a superb build quality, and powerful performance. Our only real complaint is the update promise, which is quite ridiculous at two years of upgrade support and three years of security updates.

Xperia 1 VI specs:

OnePlus 12

We found that the OnePlus 11 takes really good selfies with the 16MP front-facing camera. The OnePlus 12 has brought slight improvements to its front-facing camera. It comes with a 32MP front-facing camera, as opposed to the predecessor’s 16MP shooter. It also has a slightly wider f/2.4 aperture, and a 0.8µm pixel size.

While it costs less than the other flagships at $900, it has plenty of high-end specs and features. These include a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, up to 24GB of RAM, three great rear cameras, a large 5,400mAh battery, and a gorgeous 6.82-inch QHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Additionally, it has wireless charging this time, and it can charge at up to 50W! Wired, you can charge at 100W, or 80W in the USA. The only downside we can find is that it has only an IP65 rating.

OnePlus 12 specs:

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

Samsung continues bringing its mid-range offerings closer to flagship smartphone territory, and it’s gotten very close with the Galaxy A54 5G. This device is designed beautifully, featuring Gorilla Glass 5 and a plastic frame. We wish it were made of metal, but Samsung has to save money somewhere. And the phone still looks nearly as good as the premium Galaxy S23 series.

We loved the 120Hz refresh rate on the screen, a rare feature in the mid-range market. And we have no complaints about performance, which is relatively solid for a $450 handset. We found the 5,000mAh battery good enough to last for a whole day, with 35% left right before bed.

It has no wireless charging, but does offer 25W charging. Even high-end devices often lack such charging speeds. You can also enjoy an IP67 rating.

As for the selfie camera, it has a 32MP shooter. It uses pixel binning, which reduces images to 8MP. We found the results to be really good. Selfies are crisp, and we especially enjoyed the selfie portrait performance. It’s definitely one of the best selfie camera phones around.

By the way, the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G ($387 at Amazon) is out now, but we aren’t adding it to this list of the best selfie camera phones because it is not available in the USA. It’s a pretty awesome, affordable phone, though. You should look into it if it’s available in your market. Here’s our Samsung Galaxy A55 5G review, if you want to learn more about it.

Galaxy A54 5G specs:

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6

By now, the industry has established that rear-facing cameras are better. This is why the best selfie camera phones can actually use the rear shooters as the front ones. Such is the case for both the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6.

You can expand the Fold 6 and use the external screen as a viewfinder. In the case of the Z Flip 6, the outer screen next to the cameras can work as a viewfinder. The only caveat is that these are foldable phones, which we know not everyone enjoys. Not to mention they are expensive.

If you can get past the foldable mechanisms and price points, this will take some mean selfie photos. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 features three cameras, while the Flip has two shooters. They both have dedicated selfie cameras, too, but why use them?

Cameras aside, though, these are high-end phones through and through, so you should have very few complaints, overall. Both have great performance, gorgeous displays, Samsung’s staple high-end designs, and an awesome experience, overall. Here are our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review and our Galaxy Z Flip 6 review, if you want to learn more about these.

Galaxy Z Fold 6 specs:

Galaxy Z Flip 6 specs:

Apple iPhone 16 series

We can’t ignore Apple’s cameras. The latest and greatest from the fruity company is the iPhone 16 series. This includes the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. While they all vary in size and specs, they have the selfie camera shooter in common.

All iPhone 16 devices come with a 12MP front-facing camera. It has an f/1.9 aperture, a 1/3.6-inch sensor, a 3D depth sensor, and 4K recording capabilities. If you really want the best possible experience, the Pro models also include optical image stabilization.

iPhone 16 devices are some of the best selfie camera phones. Not to mention, the phones are well made, simple to use, and very capable. They are iPhones, after all. All are made to be high-end, save for the SE models.

iPhone 16 specs:

iPhone 16 Plus specs:

iPhone 16 Pro specs:

iPhone 16 Pro Max specs:

Are you getting any of these? If none convince you, we also have a list of the best Android phones and the best budget phones. Check them out for more alternatives. Most of these will likely have great selfie cameras, anyway.