12 smartphone camera bumps, ranked

Some people hate that new phones don’t have headphone jacks, or that they have notches, or that they still keep getting bigger.

But we think the most offensive phone element has been hiding in plain sight: camera bumps.

These hideous protrusions have always been an eyesore, popping out of the backside of phones for years, and they’re only getting uglier with every new model. 

With this year’s new iPhones and the Pixel 4 expected to get arguably the largest and most displeasing camera bumps we’ve ever seen, we figured now’s the perfect time to rank them. 

As always, we’re using a ranking system that makes the most sense: ? (it was only natural, right?), with five being the most worst and one being the best.

You sure as hell didn’t ask for this, but here’s smartphone cameras bumps, ranked, anyway!

12. iPhone XS 2

Tons of leaks and rumors have reportedly revealed what this year’s new iPhones will look like. The TL;DR? Similar design glass and metal design to the iPhone XS and XS Max, but with a much larger camera bump on the back to accommodate a third (presumably ultra-wide) camera. The huge camera bump was first leaked in January by Steve Hemmerstoffer, aka @OnLeaks. Of all the camera bumps, it looks to be the most egregious with three cameras arranged in triangle inside of a square protrusion. It’s big, weird, and very un-Apple-like. Hopefully it looks way better in person than it does in concept renders.

Grade: ?????

11. Google Pixel 4

Google’s Pixel 4 hasn’t launched yet. However, in a rare move, the tech giant shared an image of the upcoming phone months ahead of its expected release. Visible front and off in the corner: a massive camera bump with what looks like two cameras, an LED flash, and the rumored “spectral sensor.” It’s impossible to say how the Pixel 4’s square camera bump compares to the one on this year’s iPhone XS and XR successors. One thing is for sure: with fewer lenses, it may not look as weird.

Grade: ?????

10. Huawei P30 Pro

However you feel about Huawei or its phones, one thing you can’t ignore is the gigantic camera bump located on the back of its flagship P30 Pro. The camera bump’s one of the largest and longest we’ve seen on a smartphone so far. If Huawei continues adding more cameras, the eventual P40 and P50 Pro will just have one super long pill-shaped camera bump running down the right side. We’re praying that never happens.

Grade: ????

9. Samsung Galaxy Fold

Samsung’s Galaxy Fold is delayed indefinitely. Good, because its camera bump could use a major diet. The Galaxy Fold’s already the thickness of two phones when folded up, so why is there even a camera bump? On such a thick phone, it’s basically a crime to even have one at all.

Grade: ????

8. Red Hydrogen One

Cinema camera maker Red’s first smartphone, the Hydrogen One, was the worst product of 2018 in our opinion and an absolute trainwreck of a phone that nobody should buy. But despite its chunky-ass construction, terrible “4D holographic display,” and weak camera image quality, the camera bump is perhaps the least offensive thing about the device. Sure, it’s large and occupies almost a third of the back, but it’s still thin enough to not wobble on a flat surface.

Grade: ???

7. OnePlus 7 Pro

The OnePlus 7 Pro is a gorgeous phone. It’s a little thick, but still a hot device. What’s not so sexy is the long camera bump on the back — the straight edge is sharper than it looks in photos and easily collects dust. Also, the telephoto lens (the lowest one) can easily be covered up with your index finger when the phone’s held in portrait mode.

Grade: ???

6. Sony Xperia 1

Similar to the OnePlus 7 Pro’s center-aligned camera bump, the Sony Xperia 1’s contains three cameras. Ultimately, the Xperia 1’s camera bump narrowly edged out the OnePlus 7 Pro’s purely because the edge is chamfered and less sharp, and the LED flash can’t be covered with your index finger. Details matter!

Grade: ???

5. iPhone XS

I love the versatility of the iPhone XS’s dual cameras (wide and 2x telephoto), but I hate that the pill-shaped camera bump design has spread like wildfire to other phones. If there’s any one phone to blame for normalizing camera bumps, it was the iPhone X. One the bright side: the bump’s one of the smallest (for now).

Grade: ???

4. Samsung Galaxy S10+

All four of Samsung’s Galaxy S10 phones have a rectangular camera bump module that includes anywhere between 2-4 cameras, an LED flash, and a heart rate sensor. Aligned parallel with the Samsung logo, the camera bump is unique enough that you won’t mistake it for an iPhone or OnePlus.

Grade: ???

3. Huawei Mate 20 Pro

Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro gets credit for being the first smartphone to use a square-shaped camera bump. Positioned in the middle, the camera bump houses three cameras (wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto) and an LED flash. The camera bump’s sizable, but because the cameras and flash are symmetrical and the placement of the whole module is in the center instead of the corner, it actually looks handsome.

Grade: ??

2. Nokia 9 PureView

The Nokia 9 PureView really could’ve been a great phone. Sadly, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip just wasn’t enough to stitch together images from the phone’s five rear cameras. That said, props to Nokia for cramming five cameras, a time-of-flight (ToF) 3D depth sensor, and an LED flash into the backside without the help of any camera bumps. If not for the barely raised ring around the LED flash, the Nokia 9 PureView would’ve took home the top prize.

Grade: ?

1. LG G8 ThinQ

1. The LG G8 ThinQ’s gimmicky air gesture won’t win many people over and the rest of the phone is pretty skippable, but one thing it nails is the camera bump. There is none! Somehow, LG managed to include two cameras that are flush with the phone’s body. It’s not even like the 8.4mm (0.33 inch) body is super thick or anything, either. If there’s any one feature Apple or Samsung or Huawei should steal, it’s this beautiful flush camera design.

Grade: ?