Part of this is hardware, specifically lenses. Camera and phone manufacturers toss around megapixels and other technical specs with impunity but just look at a

Part of this is hardware, specifically lenses. Camera and phone manufacturers toss around megapixels and other technical specs with impunity but just look at a SLR prime lens. It is much larger, so that for a given shutter speed and ISO, it just simply lets in more light. Which allows for better pictures that have more dynamic range, more detail and less noise.