In my experience, what still gives compact cameras a huge edge over the latest smart phones, is their lenses. I have a Canon PowerShot SX260 HS with a 20x optical zoom lens with which I've taken photos, for example of wild animals in the Kruger National Park, which you would never have been able to take with a smart phone. For a large part it's about distance, but the lens also allows me to manipulate the optical depth of field, both things that are not yet in the domain of most smart phone cameras.
Comment
In my experience, what still gives compact cameras a huge edge over the latest smart phones, is their lenses. I have a Canon PowerShot SX260 HS with a 20x optical zoom lens with which I've taken photos, for example of wild animals in the Kruger National Park, which you would never have been able to take with a smart phone. For a large part it's about distance, but the lens also allows me to manipulate the optical depth of field, both things that are not yet in the domain of most smart phone cameras.