Why do some phones have two cameras on one side? Dual-camera designs explained

In the last year, dual-camera designs on flagship smartphones have gone from being a novelty to being standard. The movement was spearheaded by Huawei, but it has since been adopted by the likes of Apple, LG, Samsung and Motorola

Not all manufacturers have jumped on the dual-camera bandwagon, though. The Google Pixel 2, the highest-rated smartphone according to the industry benchmark DxOMark, has retained a single-camera setup. 

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Basil Kronfli

Basil Kronfli is a freelance technology journalist and content creator with a number of specialisms. He started his career at Canon Europe, before joining Phone Arena and Recombu as a tech writer and editor. From there, he headed up and runs Tech[edit], a technology YouTube channel, and has worked alongside this role at Future as a Senior Producer, sharpening his considerable video production skills. 


His technical expertise has been called on numerous times by mainstream media, with appearances and interviews on outlets like Sky News, and he provides Digital Camera World with insight and reviews on camera phones, video editing software and laptops, on-camera monitors, camera sliders, microphones and much more.