WhistleOut Awards 2026: Best Camera Phone
Announcing the phone WhistleOut's reviewers judged the strongest camera performer of the past 12 months.
Winner: Apple iPhone 17 Pro
While there is no shortage of good and even great camera phones, the iPhone 17 Pro stands out thanks to its consistency and reliability. Its new zoom lens allows for high quality photos at up to 8x, opening even more potential for interesting shots.
Runner-up: Xiaomi 17 Ultra
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra was Highly Commended, offering a compelling alternative for photography focused buyers.
An award-winning journalist, Alex has been writing about consumer technology for over a decade.
Fergus Halliday is a journalist and digital content editor at WhistleOut Australia. He’s written about technology, telecommunications, gaming and more for over a decade.
How we judge this award
Camera performance is the deciding factor for this award, assessed by WhistleOut's editorial review team across nearly every phone launched in Australia over the past 12 months. Judging specifically looks at how reliable, consistent, and versatile a phone's camera setup is.
The Judges
Alex Choros
Fergus Halliday
Digital Content Editor
Past winners
| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Apple iPhone 16 Pro (Highly commended: Google Pixel 9 Pro) | - |
| 2024 | iPhone 15 Pro Max (Highly commended: Google Pixel 8 Pro) | - |
| 2023 | iPhone 14 Pro Max (Highly commended: Google Pixel 7 Pro) | - |
| 2022 | iPhone 13 Pro (Highly commended: OPPO Find X5 Pro) | - |
| 2021 | iPhone 12 Pro Max (Highly commended: OPPO Find X3 Pro) | - |
| 2020 | OPPO Find X2 Pro | - |
| 2019 | Huawei P30 Pro | - |
Related awards
Phone Of The Year Best High Performance Phone Best Phone Design See all WhistleOut awards
FAQs
Who won Best Camera Phone in 2026?
Apple iPhone 17 Pro was named the 2026 winner of the Best Camera Phone award.
Has Apple iPhone 17 won this award before?
Apple has won this award five times before, starting with the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPhone 16 Pro have all won this award.
Does WhistleOut get paid by award winners?
No. Award placements are editorially independent of any commercial relationship with providers. See our How We Work page for details on how WhistleOut earns money.
