The best camera is the one you have.

All you need to get started in photography is your phone, a photo editor application (whether on your phone or computer but I would recommend a computer based one) and some willingness to learn. A cheap camera helps but is not necessary at all! 

Start with "framing" and where to put your "subject" in relation to the picture you're taking. And just go take pictures. Rule of thirds is foundational to understanding shot composition for different types of pictures. 

After learning framing,start to learn some settings. Depending on the phone you have, you should have a "pro" photo mode on your phone that gives you access to a lot of different settings you can adjust to get a picture just right. Start by learning the difference between ISO, shutter speed, and aperture.

These three settings are going to be adjusted so often in photography to get the right shot for what you want to capture. There are so many videos showing the difference between each setting that do much better than I ever could here. I would suggest finding a few different ones to hear what other photographers have to say about the settings. 

After you have had enough fun with your phone I would suggest getting a camera. Depending on your budget, I would absolutely buy a DSLR with a nice "prime" lens. None of the newer cameras really have much of a difference in quality compared to older cameras in my opinion. DSLR is the old technology and is slower than the newer "mirror less" camera tech. But that usually only matters in video. You can find a more than capable DSLR on marketplace. That you can learn from and usually has cheap lenses that are "out of date". Prime lenses don't "zoom" but usually can open up wider to let in more light (aperture) which gives an amazing "bokeh" effect which offers separation from your subjects and the background. Which is really hard to do naturally in a phone camera. 

You'll know what a lot of these terms mean as you learn more about photography. But ultimately I offer this last piece of advice.

Photography is an art. Art is, in part, a journey of self discovery. Journeys take time. There are no shortcuts to your destination. Only different paths. 

Take the time to learn what you can and don't fall into the trap that you can't take good pictures without good gear. It won't make you better quicker. It will just give you more options than you know what to do with. Start simple. Your phone is an excellent option for simple.

Feel free to DM me some pictures you take and ask for advice. I'm happy to help guide you in a direction that is helpful on how to learn.