macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001

Apple's newest flagship device, the iPhone X, has the best smartphone camera currently available according to new rankings published this week by Consumer Reports.


Furthermore, Apple devices took up most of the spots on Consumer Reports' list of top 10 smartphone cameras, with the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus following the iPhone X. The iPhone 7, 7 Plus, and 6 Plus also earned top 10 spots.
  1. Apple iPhone X
  2. Apple iPhone 8
  3. Apple iPhone 8 Plus
  4. Samsung Galaxy S8+
  5. Apple iPhone 7
  6. Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  7. Samsung Galaxy S8
  8. Samsung Galaxy Note8
  9. Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  10. Samsung Galaxy S8 Active
Introduced in November, the iPhone X has two 12-megapixel rear lenses arranged in a vertical orientation, one that's an f/1.8 aperture wide-angle lens and an f/2.4 aperture telephoto lens. These lenses are combined with features unique to Apple like an Apple-designed image signal processor with advanced pixel processing, improved color filters, a better sensor, faster autofocus, and optical image stabilization for both the telephoto and the wide-angle lenses, a first for an iPhone.

The iPhone X's rear camera is combined with the front-facing TrueDepth camera system that enables neat features like a selfie Portrait Mode, which blurs the background of a selfie image and sets it apart from the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus.

Apple has also done a lot of work on software to complement the camera offerings on the iPhone X, introducing features like Portrait Lighting for adding studio-quality lighting effects to your images. The result of all of these features is the best camera that's been introduced in an iPhone to date, and it's been highly praised in reviews and evaluations.

Photographer Austin Mann, for example, said the iPhone X camera was the "most exciting" upgrade he'd seen since he switched from a Blackberry 7230 to the original iPhone back in 2007. Photography site DxO gave the iPhone X's camera a score of 97, higher than any other iPhone, while DPReview, another noted photography review site said it is capable of "extremely impressive" results.

Apple smartphones have long been some of the most widely used and popular cameras available, topping the list of Flickr's most popular camera for multiple years running. The iPhone's popularity as a photography device has spurred Apple to make continuous improvements to photo quality with each new iteration, and iPhone image quality is now at the point where it comes close to offering the kind of effects you can get with a DSLR camera.

Consumer Reports' current list does not include the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+, and it will be interesting to see how Samsung's newest devices measure up to the iPhone X. Both of Samsung's latest smartphones feature Dual Aperture 12-megapixel lenses with f/1.5 and f/2.4 modes, with the lenses able to switch between these two apertures depending on the lighting conditions.

This kind of Dual Aperture functionality is useful for finding a balance between light and image quality. The f/1.5 lens is useful in low lighting conditions because it lets in more light, but with a wider aperture comes a compromise in image sharpness in certain areas of the photo. Therefore, in conditions where the lighting is better, the f/2.4 lens that's also included will provide a crisper, higher-quality image.

Article Link: Consumer Reports Says iPhone X Offers the Best Smartphone Camera


macrumors newbie
Jun 5, 2017
Toronto - Canada
How the heck does the 8 PLUS loose to the 8? This list looses credibility by that fact alone. SURELY this is a typo?
How can they say the iPhone 8 has a better camera than the 8 plus :confused:

I guess this was the obvious observation to make on this list. Your post beat me by milliseconds, I'm sure!


macrumors 68030
Nov 3, 2005
PVB, Florida
My opinion is that the second lens brings in issues as well as it’s advantage. I said a long time ago that the 7 Plus had problems that seemed to come from the ‘math’ between the two lenses. The basic 7 doesn’t have this issue and you can see the 7 beat the 7 Plus.

I made a case, with examples, to Apple over a year ago that the 6S Plus camera was better than the 7 Plus and .. well.. this article supports that.

I have the 8 Plus.. the pictures are amazing.. but I think a zoom lens on a small device such as a phone is a gimmick.. even with OIS as is on the X.


May 21, 2015
Where's the Pixel 2?

That is what I was thinking. From everything I have seen the camera on the Pixel 2 phones are incredible. My friend has one and his photos are always just a little better than my iPhone X. More detail and definitely better in low light. I don't know what magic Google is doing but it is pretty darn impressive. Hopefully Apple can catch up in computational photography.


macrumors 68030
Nov 3, 2005
PVB, Florida
Yeah.. I have my 8 Plus and AW3 listed for sale right now .. if I sell them I am going to the Pixel 2 XL.. I know it has issues as well but the camera is AMAZING and i’ve given up on Apple with an issue.
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macrumors Nehalem
Jul 12, 2016
Consumer reports saying something positive about Apple? Usually it’s the opposite in some respects.

I can’t attest to other smart phone cameras, but the iPhone X takes stellar photo’s.
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