I compared the best Android camera phones from a helicopter – this model won the most

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One of the key components of a modern-day phone is the camera setup. Most phones have multiple cameras, and their quality can vary, which is why, when we get the opportunity, we like to take multiple phones out and shoot side by side. 

While photos and photo quality are often subjective, it helps us determine which phones can really deliver, from a megapixel perspective.

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So when Honor gave me the opportunity to shoot with the Magic 8 Pro in one of the most scenic places in the world — the Grand Canyon — I jumped at the opportunity, and I brought a couple of phones along with me. It was there at CES when I found myself at Maverick Helicopter Tours, just south of the strip, ready to cross two items off my bucket list (and get a little work done along the way). 

Dana, our very capable pilot whose playlist game is also extremely on point, flew us on our 80-mile round-trip at about 120 mph and 1,800 feet.

Meet the contenders

The phones I brought are the Honor Magic 8 Pro, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, and the Pixel 10 Pro XL. All of these phones have excellent photographic reputations, so I wanted to see how they compare. For its part, the Honor is packing 50-megapixel sensors for its main, ultrawide, and selfie cameras, while the 200-megapixel telephoto sensor offers 3.7x optical zoom. 

The Samsung goes a different way, with a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, a 5x optical zoom camera, and a 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom camera, plus a 12-megapixel selfie camera on the front. 

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Meanwhile, the Pixel 10 XL has the most consistent sensor sizes with a 50-megapixel main camera, 48-megapixel shooters for the ultrawide and telephoto lenses, and a 42-megapixel selfie camera on the front. But cameras are more than just megapixels, as we have learned in the past.

Since this was a helicopter tour, some of these photos were obviously shot through the helicopter’s windows. For some reason, they just wouldn’t let me crank down the window and shoot normally — weird, I know. While which shots came from inside the helicopter should be self-evident, I’ll be sure to note them. If I don’t, you can assume I was standing on terra firma. So let’s dive in.

Before takeoff selfies

Before we lifted off, I took the opportunity to snap a quick selfie. OK, I had to snap three quick selfies (one for each phone). All three photos are great, but (as you’ll see later) the Pixel handles HDR much better than the other two, with the sunlight blowing out my face. 

If I’m being honest, the less of my face you see, the better. For everyone else, use the Pixel 10 Pro XL for your selfies.

Main cameras at the Hoover Dam

Our first stop on this tour was the Hoover Dam. I say “stop,” but we didn’t stop; we hovered. We did not hover long enough for me to snap shots with all three phones, so only the Samsung S25 Ultra and the Honor Magic 8 Pro are represented here — shooting through the window, obviously. 

Also, I didn’t grab the exact same angle from both; we didn’t hover long.

While the Honor Magic 8 Pro captured a bit more detail in these shots, overall, I preferred the look of the Samsung S25 Ultra. The Magic 8 Pro photos appear more washed out and don’t capture the rich earth colors of the surrounding landscape. I admit that may be due to the change in angle, but I still left the dam more satisfied with Samsung’s shot.

Testing camera versatility in the canyon

We continued on our way and eventually arrived in the Grand Canyon. This is an area in the Grand Canyon that can only be reached by helicopter — or a lot of rope and pain. I started off by taking a few complete photo sets — basically, I held the phone and snapped a photo at every default zoom level from ultrawide up to maximum zoom. 

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The ultrawide camera on the Honor Magic Pro 8 produced, in my opinion, the more attractive photo, but Samsung makes a strong case as well. Google, however, does not.

Both the Honor Magic Pro 8 and the S25 Ultra capture a lot of detail. The colors on the Samsung seem more accurate to what I remember of the day, while the Honor photo feels a bit “punchier”. The Pixel photo is rather drab and borderline monotonous.

The extreme zoom on the telephoto lens has similar results. I need to mention, the Pixel 10 Pro XL wouldn’t zoom past 30x, and, being in the middle of the Grand Canyon, I couldn’t do an internet search to figure out why. I knew there was a condition under which it would stop at 30x — stability or resolution settings — but try as I might, I couldn’t find it, and neither could anyone else in our group. 

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That said, the 100x zoom on both the Samsung and the Honor phones was… not awesome. So, we’re sticking to 30x!

Here, too, you get the same story. The Pixel 10 Pro XL turned out drab, the Samsung phone captured much more detail, and the Honor phone punched up the colors. I preferred the Samsung photo here, too, though Honor is well represented.

Turn the phone around, and you get the opposite effect. In this case, the Pixel has the best photo by far. Both Samsung and Honor struggled with the dynamic range of the light behind me, so it complete washed out the canyon wall. The Pixel had no such trouble.

Finally, for macro shots, the Honor and Pixel phones both have a lovely bokeh effect behind the subject of this…whatever plant this is — I’m from Chicago. The Samsung phone captures a lot more depth than the other two. I’m not so sure that’s for the best. A little foreground soft focus can make a photo crisp, and I enjoy that.

Motion capturing

While making our way back to the city, I noticed another copter flying alongside us, so I took the opportunity to try to capture it. Truth be told, none of the phones did a very good job while shooting through plexiglass, at 120 mph, shooting another moving thing at 120 mph, and at 10x zoom, by the way. Let’s just say that was predictable, but all is not lost. 

Generally, if you’re looking at the other helicopter and want to read the “Honor” logo on the side, Honor did the best job. In terms of total composition, I’d give the nod to Samsung. The focus is a bit sharper, and overall judder is less. This was about as challenging a shot as I would attempt, so overall, I’m pretty satisfied.

Winding down

Finally, as we flew back into the city, we were treated to an absolutely remarkable sunset and a great view of the strip through the window. To be honest, all three are remarkable shots. Of the three, I say Samsung gets the win here, too. There’s more detail, and the colors are more accurate to what I saw that evening. 

As we came in over the strip, I snapped off three more shots, though we were moving pretty quickly. For the final shot, Honor came to play. This final shot, taken before touching back down at the airport, captured the strip in all its lit-up glory, and the Honor Magic 8 Pro captured the most detail and the best colors. It was a great way to finish off the evening.

My verdict

All three phones did a remarkable job capturing this trip, and each had its own strengths and weaknesses. I wasn’t thrilled with the Pixel 10 Pro XL overall, so given a choice, I’d probably leave that one at home. Of the remaining two, I prefer the versatility of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra — there’s a reason we picked it as the best overall Android phone.

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That said, the Honor Magic 8 Pro can keep up pretty well. The 200-megapixel telephoto sensor allows the phone to capture a long zoom range, though both are very good up to 30x. Both are priced similarly as well. 

The wild card in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, which is very likely launching in the next month or two, according to rumors and the usual timeline. Whether the S26 Ultra will have a better set of cameras is speculation, but it’s also a pretty good bet. It might be wise to wait and see in this case.