While there are plenty of amazing things that’s happened for phones and mobile devices in general in 2021, there’s still one, an annoying trend that has lingered that I can’t really stand – the continued addition of crappy, useless 2-megapixel filler cameras in phones. These low-resolution cameras really don’t contribute anything to a phone’s imaging capability, serving as near-transparent attempts of manufacturers to simply up the camera count so their marketing departments have an easier time selling their phones.

It’s not hard to see the appeal for consumers though, as many people just equate more cameras = better photos. While that’s true for some phones, simply slapping a 2-megapixel macro camera to a dual-camera setup isn’t magically going to make the photos they take become better. In fact, it’s quite the opposite – photos taken by these filler cameras are so incredibly bad that we haven’t really had the desire or the want to use these cameras outside of testing purposes.

I’ve personally tested more than a dozen phones this year with really good main and ultra-wide cameras that are saddled with garbage-tier macro and “depth” sensors, all in the name of having as many cameras as possible so a manufacturer can claim their mid-range/budget phone has a “quad-camera” setup. Instead of placing more cameras on a phone, maybe brands can try putting better ones instead? Believe me when I say people are getting smarter when it comes to choosing phones, and they’re starting to rise above the whole “more cameras mean better photos” trope that most promoters push when they accost you.

Fewer but better optics will always be better than what’s happening now. Brands, you need to put better, bigger sensors in the main camera, find a sensor that’s actually GOOD for your wide-angle camera, and if you feel the need to put in more snappers in your phones, make sure they actually serve a purpose aside from padding the spec sheet.

Hell, maybe someone like OPPO, Xiaomi, or Samsung can even craft a marketing campaign around a “less is more” messaging so we can finally see better, not more, cameras on our phones next year.

One can only hope.