Photo Short: How Long Before Smartphones Replace Cameras?

I took today’s Photo Short at Lake Churup high in the Peruvian Andes. Although I had my DSLR camera with me, I shot this with my iPhone 5. As you can see the quality of the image isn't bad, considering the tiny lens and sensor in the phone. But it’s still a long way from the quality you get from a dedicated camera. If you look at the clouds, there's no detail at all in the highlights, they are completely blown out. The sensor just doesn’t have enough dynamic range to capture all the shadows and highlights in one image.

Admittedly, the iPhone 5 is old technology at this point, (with phones I never bother with the latest models). The reason I’ve been thinking about this, is because I recently saw some photos taken with the iPhone X, and I was astonished by the image quality. It got me thinking; How long will it be before people abandon their cameras in favour of smartphones? Perhaps for some that day has already arrived.

Consumer point and shoot cameras are becoming redundant. And if a phone can provide good enough image quality for the average consumer, how long until it’s good enough for an enthusiast? And then for a professional? Of course it’s not just about image quality, for me the process is just as important. I enjoy using my DSLR's and mirrorless cameras. Having interchangeable lenses and full control over the settings all adds to the experience.

If you could show this photo to someone twenty years ago, and tell them it was taken with a mobile phone, it would blow their mind. So, where will we be twenty years from now? Is it possible that within the next fifteen-to-twenty years only professionals and hardcore enthusiasts will use dedicated cameras?

Location	Lake Churup, Peru
Camera	iPhone 5
Lens	Fixed 4.12mm
Settings	4.12mm \| ISO50 \| 1/1000 sec \| f/2.4
Post Processing	Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop \| Niks Collection

What do you think? Let me know in the comments section below. Have you already ditched your camera in favour of a phone? Or, do you think phones will never catch up to dedicated cameras?