Vivo’s X300 Ultra has the best cameras in any phone

A few months ago, I wrote that the telephoto camera is the only lens that matters any more , at least when it comes to Ultra-class flagships. As phones got better, cameras became where manufacturers tried to stand out. As cameras got better, telephoto lenses became the next point of focus. The most recent Ultra phones from Xiaomi , Oppo , and Huawei have all made the telephoto, above all, their selling point. Vivo’s X300 Ultra is doing something different. Instead of pushing its telephoto hardware to further extremes, Vivo has mostly left it be. The company has focused its efforts on a significantly improved 35mm main camera, unique among the competition for its narrow, natural focal length. Combined with the best ultrawide camera in any phone and new pro-level video features, the result is a camera system that feels equally balanced between all three rear lenses. It’s a less flashy approach, but the total package is more versatile and useful than its rivals and my favorite to use so far. $1829 The Good Fantastic rear cameras Big battery 144Hz display The Bad Bland, boring design Rivals have better telephotos OriginOS needs improvement The main camera is certainly the best of the three. The 200-megapixel, 1/1.12-inch-type Sony Lytia 901 sensor delivers a serious jump in both size and resolution from last year’s X200 Ultra . But it preserves that camera’s best feature: a 35mm-equivalent focal length. …