Viewpoint - Jon Bentley

With the Google Pixel 2’s camera only on the path to getting better, camera makers need to sit up and take notice of the high-quality images and processing technology in smartphones

The trade-offs between using a camera and a camera phone are pretty familiar these days. The phone is always with you, it’s more discreet so you can get away with taking pictures in more places, and it offers easy GPS tagging and instant uploads to social media. The camera on the other hand has the extra image quality from a bigger sensor, optical zooms, better lenses and the option of proper flash.

Using a Google Pixel 2 smartphone recently made me aware of another factor that’s beginning to separate high-end phones from most cameras: better processing power and software. Phone manufacturers are exploiting the fast processors in their latest devices to take better photos in ways camera makers may have dabbled with, but have not yet delivered in such a convenient and capable package. Camera makers will need to sit up and take notice.