The best camera phones for telephoto zoom photos – optical quality rated

When you want or need to get closer to your subject, your options are to either use a longer focal length or to move with your feet.

The latter isn’t always possible, plus, there are additional advantages to shooting with a telephoto lens, including a more natural and less distorted angle of view when filling the frame.

When it comes to smartphones, it tends to be the case that it’s the best smartphones for photography – aka the more expensive models – that come equipped with a telephoto lens. It’s usually the third lens in a trio, where cheaper phones often only have a wide angle and an ultrawide angle available. Most smartphones use what’s known as a “periscope” lens (see our explainer box for more information).

If you’re an iPhone user, that means looking towards the “Pro” models – including the latest offering, the iPhone 17 Pro, which has three lenses including a 4x telephoto lens.

There’s a huge variety of choice for Android models, but again, it’s generally towards the more expensive end of the market. Almost all smartphones also offer some level of digital zoom, with up to 120x available in some cases – though the quality isn’t always amazing.

Across these pages, I’ve rounded up four current models which all offer telephoto lenses to help you get closer to the action.

Best smartphones with telephoto lenses: my quick list

If you want to cut right to it, here’s a quick-reference list of the best camera phones with telephoto cameras I recommend, along with links to get the best prices:

• iPhone 17 Pro/Max – Buy now
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – Buy now
• Oppo Find X9 Pro – Buy now
• Google Pixel 10 Pro XL – Buy now

Looking for the best deal on premium camera phones? Not only will you find the best camera phones, but you’ll also find some of the best camera phone deals, as our ‘Buy now’ buttons are setup to automatically take you to the best prices, from trusted retailers, plus you’ll also find a list of other retailers below each phone, to find the right deal for you.

Read on to learn more about each of these phones, including key specs and the results of our review team’s testing…

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iPhone 17 Pro/Max

Specifications at a glance:

Rear cameras	48MP wide camera, f/1.78 aperture, 24mm equivalent 48MP ultrawide camera, f/2.2 aperture, 13mm equivalent 48MP 4x telephoto camera with 8x “optical quality” zoom, f/2.8 aperture, 100mm equivalent
Selfie camera	18MP f/1.9, with AF
Video	4K video up to 120fps
Screen	Pro Max: 6.9inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen Pro: 6.3inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen
Battery	Pro: 3998mAh battery, Pro Max: 4823mAh battery (more on eSIM versions)

The most recent flagship iPhone is the 17 Pro (or Max, if you want a larger screen), which has three lenses, including the 4x zoom (100mm equivalent) tetraprism lens.

It has an f/2.8 aperture, which makes it reasonably well-suited to lower light work, though it should be noted that in very dark conditions, the iPhone will generally use the 1x sensor and crop accordingly.

Until recently, iPhones were using low-resolution sensors behind the telephoto lens, but now we have a 48MP sensor to complete the trio of high megapixel devices found on the iPhone.

This high resolution comes in handy for the 8x “optical quality” zoom which is promised – essentially the central portion of the sensor is used to give the appearance of getting closer to the subject. In practice, it’s actually pretty good – and certainly useable, particularly when the light is good.

Digital zoom of up to 40x available, but I’d be far less inclined to use the full stretch – but up to around 10-15x is decent enough, if you really do need to get a bit closer and don’t need “perfect” image quality.

Read our full iPhone 17 Pro review.

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Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Specifications at a glance:

Rear cameras	200MP f/1.7 main camera, with OIS, 1/1.3inch, 23mm 50MP f/1.9 ultra-wide-angle camera (0.6x), 13mm 10MP f/2.4 3x telephoto camera, with OIS, 69mm 50MP f/3.4 5x telephoto camera, with OIS, 115mm, with 10x “optical quality” zoom, 100x digital zoom
Selfie camera	12MP f/2.2 PDAF selfie camera (same on all S25 models)
Video	8K 30fps video, 4K 120/60/30fps
Screen	6.9-inch 3120×1440 pixel AMOLED, 2600 nits peak brightness, Corning Gorilla Armor 2
Battery	5000mAh battery with wireless charging

Samsung’s high-end S25 Ultra was due an upgrade at the time of writing this, but the likelihood is that the camera units will stay very similar for the new model.

With the S25 Ultra you get not one, but two telephoto lenses, one giving you a 3x zoom, and the other a 5x zoom. Both perform reasonably well in good light, though once again you’ll likely find that in dim conditions, the phone simply crops from the main – much higher resolution 200MP sensor when you select 5x shooting.

The 5x zoom has a 50MP sensor, which means that it’s this which is used for the digital zoom options, including the 10x “optical quality” and. 30x and 100x digital options.

As we see elsewhere, the 10x option is very good. Indeed, Samsung used to have a 10x zoom lens on its Ultra models but has removed it in favour of a higher-resolution 5x lens with enhanced cropping ability.

Digital zoom goes all the way up to 100x, but, the results at this point are far from usable – let’s face it, it’s a marketing gimmick. But, up to around 30x can yield some useful results if you’re keen to get closer.

Read our full review of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

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Oppo Find X9 Pro

Specifications at a glance:

Rear cameras	50MP f/1.5 main camera with 1/1.28inch sensor, OIS, 23mm, PDAF 50MP f/2.0 ultra-wide-angle camera, 15mm, AF 200MP f/2.1 3x telephoto camera, with 13.2x “lossless” zoom, 120x digital zoom, 70mm, OIS, AF
Selfie camera	50MP f/2.0 selfie camera, with AF
Video	4K 120fps video
Screen	6.78inch AMOLED screen with 3600nits (peak)
Battery	7500mAh battery

One of the stand out features of the X9 Pro is its larger than average 1/1.56” 200MP sensor behind the telephoto lens – it feels like it’s a really considered device, rather than just tacked on for marketing purposes. Not only that, the lens itself is Hasselblad-certified, has an f/2.1 aperture and can also be used for macro shots, a real bonus.

Having that very high resolution sensor means you can create lossless zoom images from the zoom, up to 13.2x for impressive results. You can go higher than this digitally, but from around 30x, the images take on a smudgy feel.

Interestingly, if you really are into your zooming, an additional Hasselblad Teleconverter can be purchased, though it’s not yet available in the UK.

At its price point, it offers good value compared to the iPhone and the Samsung here – it’s cheaper than an iPhone 17 Pro Max and offers double the storage, so it’s very definitely worth considering.

Read our full Oppo Find X9 Pro review.

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Google Pixel 10 Pro/ Pro XL

Specifications at a glance:

Rear cameras	50MP main camera, f/1.68, OIS 48MP ultra-wide, f/1.7, with macro AF 48MP telephoto, f/2.8, 5x telephoto, with 20x “Pro Res Zoom”, 100x digital zoom, OIS
Selfie camera	42MP f/2.2 selfie camera with AF
Video	4K video recording, up to 60fps
Screen	6.3inch screen, 1-120hz, 3300nits (peak), Gorilla Glass Victus 2
Battery	4870mAh battery with wireless charging

Google’s range of Pixel phones offer a range of great features, usually at a more affordable price than other flagship competitors – such as is the case here.

For the telephoto lens, we have 5x telephoto, with a 10x “optical quality” zoom – something which was in fact seen on the previous model, and impressed us at the time.

The telephoto lens sits in front of a high-resolution sensor, giving that great scope for cropping, with the 10x results mimicking what you might hope to achieve with a true 10x lens.

As with the iPhone 17 Pro, there’s two size options for the Pixel phones, with the 10 Pro being 6.3-inches, and the 10 Pro XL having a 6.9-inch screen – the good news is the camera is the same on both, so whether you prefer a smaller or a larger screen you don’t have to compromise on camera specs.

One drawback here is that the telephoto lens isn’t used for macro shooting, but for overall value for money, the Pixel 10 Pro/XL is a very worthy candidate.

Read our full Google Pixel 10 Pro review.

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How a periscope lens works

If you’ve ever wondered how they squeeze a telephoto zoom lens into a phone, then the answer is quite simple. They use what’s called “folded optics” in other words, a periscope design, that uses a mirror at the entry point, so that they can use a longer lens before the image reaches the sensor.

Adopted in smartphones it allows for telephoto reach, without increasing the thickness of the phone.

Many compact cameras used this technique to offer 10-12x optical zoom in a compact camera body, long before phones offered it, and many waterproof compact cameras, like the OM Tough TG-7 still employ this method to ensure the whole lens is enclosed within the waterproof body.

These are used in every flagship phone, Apple (who call it the Tetraprism), Google, Samsung, Xiaomi and others, all use the same basic concept. Some manufacturers, outside of Apple/Google/Samsung, include a “floating” mechanism to allow for extra close-up macro photos, with the Oppo Find X9 Pro offering focus as close as 9cm.

Most units have the sensor at the end of the lens, as shown in the image below/above/left/right, as this reduces the complexity of the system. However, others use additional elements adding to the complexity of the design. Some units have the sensor flat, and the design is exactly like an actual periscope with a mirror at each end.

All of these is explained in the diagram – with the sensor shown in green, optical elements shown as round lenses, and the mirror shown as a triangular prism.

Tips for shooting with a telephoto lens

Get the best results from your phone’s telephoto lens by following these simple tips.

Stabilise yourself or use a tripod

Shooting at longer focal lengths can make your pictures more susceptible to blur. Although many telephoto lenses have image stabilisation, it also helps to keep yourself as steady as possible.

Hold the phone as still as you can, perhaps bracing your arms against your torso to be as steady as possible and hold the phone fairly tightly.

Alternatively, you may also want to consider a tripod – plenty are available for phones, or some way to attach it or stand it on a surface, such as a table or wall.

Make use of the built-in timer

If you do find a way to secure the phone in position, using the built-in timer can be a good way to help keep blur to an absolute minimum.

Set the timer to 3, or even 10 seconds and step away from the phone after you’ve tapped the shutter release and it should keep your phone as still as possible.

Try and shoot in the best light

It’s often the case that the telephoto lens uses the smallest sensor and the narrowest aperture lens. You can ensure the best results by trying your best to shoot in good light – whether natural or artificial. If light is low, consider using the main lens and moving closer to the subject instead.

Clean the lens

This is a really obvious tip, but, it’s one that can trip people up. Our phones live in our pockets, and our handled by our sometimes grubby hands all day long. Lenses get smudged and that leads to bad photos.

Many phones will alert you if they think that a lens has become smudged, but not all will – it pays to keep an eye on cleanliness and give them a wipe regularly with a soft cloth.

Use a third-party app

If you want full control over your phone’s camera, you might want to try using a third-party app rather than the native shooting app.

This is particularly important for iPhone shooters, where there’s very little in the way of manual control.

On top of that, some phones can be guilty of switching from the telephoto lens to the main lens and cropping – sometimes even when it’s not particularly dark. A third party app can ensure you’re actually using the telephoto lens – one we like for iOS is the Moment Pro Camera app.

Isolate details

One of the great things about a telephoto lens is that it allows you to isolate details. Use your telephoto lens for some creative compositions that a standard (usually 23 or 24mm lens) doesn’t generally allow for.

That could be picking out a pattern, or an architectural detail, or even a close-up of a leaf or petal.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll be guilty of ignoring the telephoto lens – it pays to remember that it exists.

Portrait options

Although pretty much every phone has a “Portrait” option these days, another way to shoot people pictures on your phone is to use the telephoto lens.

This will help create a natural perspective that looks flattering, and means you don’t necessarily have to use the fake bokeh effect that comes with “Portrait” mode, which can sometimes look a little unrealistic.

Related reading:

• Best smartphones for video and content creators – cinematic reels made easy
• Best smartphones for street photography
• Best phones for low light – capture detailed night photos

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