22 of the best photos I’ve taken on Samsung phones

I take a lot of photos, even if it isn’t as many as Rita with her Pixels. I developed my love of photography differently than some, starting with phones and not venturing into the world of cameras until much later. Even now, I use a phone for most of my photos. I love my Sony A6300 and the images it produces, but carrying it around everywhere is impractical. Over the years, my phones and I have traveled to the US, Wales, and the most beautiful parts of England, as well as attended concerts, car shows, and more.

These pictures come from Samsung phones of varying ages, and trying to pick my favorites out of the thousands that fill my Google Photos library was a task unto itself. In the end, some just stood out more than others, even if it’s for the memories they evoke, rather than their objective quality, and it’s been fun to see how far phone cameras have come over the years.

From 2014 to 2025 (with a gap in the middle while I used Nexus phones), these are 22 of my favorite photos taken with the Galaxy S4, S10 Plus, S20 Ultra, S21 Ultra, S22 Ultra, S23 Ultra, and S24 Ultra. Except for one image, all of these photos are unedited, exactly as when the phone snapped them.

The 22 Samsung photos I always look back on

2014 was a big year for me. I turned 18, passed my driving test, finally got rid of my braces, and did some travelling. I took many photos that year, but of all of them, two stand out the most, both of which were taken with my Galaxy S4 and its 13MP camera. First, I went to Florida for the typical Disney and Universal Studios-themed holiday. I took plenty of solid photos, but the one that takes me back to that trip is the photo I took of the Spaceship Earth ride, although I call it the golf ball.

The Galaxy S4 performed well as far as I’m concerned. Sure, the dynamic range could be improved, and the detail fades in the shadowed areas at the bottom, but the definition of the geometric shapes on the golf ball is all there, with good detail. I took the next photo from the top of Mt Snowdon, the tallest mountain in Wales. Seeing the cloud rolling over the smaller mountains below, the way the ground drops away, and the water that seemed so big at ground level but feels so small from the top, almost lets me feel the chill of the mountain breeze again.

I stopped using Samsung phones for a while after the S4, but I’ve been using them again since 2019, when I got my Galaxy S10 Plus, one of my favorite phones from all I’ve owned. I took these in Cornwall in the Southwest of England, a place I visit regularly, so there will be more Cornish photos as we continue.

The Galaxy S10 Plus won’t be remembered as a paragon of smartphone cameras, but I loved the photos it took, and I think it was underrated. Photos tended to be oversaturated, even more so than modern Samsung models, but I appreciated the consistent pop of color. Consistency was the S10 Plus’ greatest strength. It still used a smaller sensor, 16MP, so while it lacked a shallow depth of field, it could keep more things in focus at once, which is why the mussels photo looks so good. Dynamic range and balancing shadows are also something I think the S10 Plus excelled at, and the contrast between the sky, greenery, and reflections on the water in the first and third images still impress.

2020 was a memorable year for several reasons. Due to the chaos of the time, I didn’t get to venture out and take as many photos with the Galaxy S20 Ultra as I would have liked, but there are a few that still stand out. The time spent at home made me reconnect with old hobbies, and I started collecting Transformers again. I got a lot of them during 2020, but my pride and joy is Masterpiece Grimlock, who is doing his best to look scary down the lens of my S20 Ultra.

When the lockdowns started to ease, I first traveled to Yorkshire to spend time with my then-fiancé and her family as soon as possible. The highlight of that trip was a perfect day at Blackpool, with a fantastic view over the town from the top of Blackpool Tower. If I had to rank the cameras on these phones, the S20 Ultra would be second from the bottom, only beating the S4. The 108MP main sensor struggled to focus, a problem that the S21 Ultra addressed, and the 4X 48MP telephoto was also subpar. Even so, it captured these memories well.

Things were brighter and more hopeful in 2021. I got married, cinemas and other venues reopened, and things felt like they were closer to normal. My two favorite photos, which I took on my S21 Ultra, capture that warmth, at least in my mind.

Friends of mine got Elmo, a Schnauzer who is the bestest boy, and who is perfectly captured in this photo as the little man enjoys the sun and cuddles. Next, we have Reading, a town near where I live, as we went to see Venom: Let There Be Carnage. That might not be remembered as a great film, but it was the first packed screening I’d attended since 2020, and the cheers of hundreds of people during the post-credits scene are something I can still hear when I rewatch it.

On a technical level, the S21 Ultra performed well in both of these photos, considering its release date. In the latter image, night mode ensured everything was properly exposed, and I love the way the lights stand out.

My Galaxy S22 Ultra was an Exynos model, so while I wasn’t impressed by its tendency to overheat at a moment’s notice, the cameras impressed me. The detail in the river in the first photo, taken in Boscastle, adds texture to the image that I appreciate.

The remaining photos are all zoom shots, which have been a strong point for Ultra phones since the S21. For an Imagine Dragons concert, I was sitting at the very far end of the arena, so getting a zoom shot like this at that distance is pretty incredible, even if it’s helped by the giant screen at the back of the stage. The Purple Starling gives some bombastic side eye in the next shot, and the penguins are perhaps one of my favorite photos taken on any phone. They were waiting for food, and I zoomed through a waterfall that separated us to grab this shot. Smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave. Finally, the Patagonian Mara, which was enjoying the rare British sunshine, which should never be taken for granted.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best phone I’ve ever owned. It finally brought Snapdragon chips to UK Galaxy phones, looked gorgeous in the online-exclusive red and black, and it was the most reliable device I’ve used. The photos are great, too.

I’ve been to more concerts than I can count, but seeing Fall Out Boy at the end of 2023 was a dream come true, and the S23 Ultra helped capture that moment. What sets this phone apart from the Galaxy phones earlier on this list is that I didn’t need to take multiple photos at a time to get one I liked. These are all first attempts, from the challenging lighting at the concert to the expansive vista of the Cornish beach at sunset, and the excellent natural bokeh that frames the Heron.

Finally, we have two of my favorite photos from my current phone, the Galaxy S24 Ultra. In May 2024, we had the rare opportunity to see the Northern Lights in southern England. Using a tripod mount with Samsung’s Expert RAW app, I captured this gorgeous photo. The contrasting colors and stars that shine through make it a striking image. This photo underwent some mild editing, using Lightroom to remove grain and balance the exposure.

Finally, a heavily modified Toyota GT86 that I saw at Japfest 2024 at Silverstone. The car is over the top, but in the best way. The bodykit, the stance, and the way the yellow pops against the grey British weather make me happy whenever I look at it.

Are these technically the best photos in the world? No. But whether it’s the quality of the image or the fond memory it brings to mind, my Samsung phones have taken some of my favorite photos over the years. Samsung’s cameras often get flak for motion blur, shutter lag, and oversharpening and oversaturation. Those are valid criticisms, but it doesn’t mean you can’t take good photos with them. The diverse array of lenses makes them more versatile than many competing models.

What’s your favorite smartphone camera? Is it a new phone, or something older? Let me know in the comments.