You may or may not find this one surprising, as the product category seems to come and go every few years, but it’s far from the norm, so it fits. The conventional wisdom is that the best camera is the one you have on you. As smartphone cameras are still getting better and the point-and-shoot market is largely dead, there’s probably a capable camera in your hand right now. Regardless, there’s still a market for higher-end cameras, such as DSLRs, and at times, major players like Samsung and Nikon have attempted to offer a souped-up experience via cameras that run Android — instead of being Android devices that have great cameras as one feature among many.
After experimenting with the Galaxy Camera point-and-shoot series, Samsung released the Android-based Galaxy NX mirrorless camera in 2013. Retailing for $1,600 it had wireless connectivity built-in, allowing you to back up your photos without transferring them to another device first. Reviews were on the middling portion of the spectrum, with PC Mag giving it three out of five stars, while The Phoblographer backed up the assessment that it didn’t stand out in any particular area, and Photography Blog seconded concerns about a complicated user interface. DXOMARK, best-known for its detailed reviews of smartphone cameras, gave the Galaxy NX a 75 out of 100 rating, gently suggesting that readers spend less money on one of the similar Samsung cameras that didn’t have an Android UI tacked on.
Maybe someone will try again and get it right eventually, but it doesn’t seem like anyone’s come close to nailing it thus far.