Google Pixel 2 vs. iPhone X: Which Smartphone Has The Better Camera?

The iPhone X camera failed to beat the Pixel 2’s, as DxOMark gave the Apple smartphone a rating of 97, just a point away from the Google device.

The Pixel 2 has an overall score of 98, which makes it the highest rated mobile camera. The iPhone X’s score of 97 puts it in second place, along with the Huawei Mate 10. Before the Pixel 2 was launched, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus had the best scores, 92 and 94, respectively.

Google Pixel 2 Vs. iPhone X: Camera Features, Specs

The Pixel 2 includes a single 12.2-megapixel lens with a f/1.8 aperture, HDR, optical image stabilization and a dual-pixel autofocus. The smartphone also features Portrait Mode, which allows users to take stylized photos with the focus on subjects and blurs out the background. Portrait selfies can be taken with the front camera with both the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. The camera on the smartphones also supports augmented reality and come with Google Lens, a feature that gives users data on objects in front of them.

The iPhone X features a vertical dual-camera system on the back. The device comes with 12MP wide-angle (f/1.8 aperture) and telephoto cameras (f/2.4 aperture), optical zoom, phase-detection autofocus with touch focus, quad LED true-tone flash with slow sync mode and dual optical image stabilization. The iPhone X also includes Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting. It also features a video encoder that enables faster frames for better quality and compression. The smartphone also supports augmented reality and the new Face ID and Animoji feature with the 7mp TrueDepth camera.

Google Pixel 2 Vs. iPhone X: DxOMark Tests

While the iPhone X didn’t beat the Pixel 2, DxOMark gave the iPhone X a Photo category score of 101, the best rating for still images so far. That score pushed the iPhone X above the Huawei Mate 10 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, by one point.

DxO Mark said the “iPhone X delivers one hell of a smartphone camera.” The site said the iPhone X camera shoots sharp portrait images even indoors and the bokeh feature shows a “natural and pleasing background blur.” For outdoor images, the exposure was “outstanding,” with “great dynamic range, impressive skies, good fine detail, and punchy color rendering.”

DxOMark wrote:

“The iPhone X turns in an excellent result, delivering outstanding images for smartphone photography enthusiasts. It’s exceptional for stills, achieving the best Photo sub-score yet at 101 points. The overall score is affected by a slightly lower result for video [...]

However, the iPhone X didn’t so as well in the video category, scoring 89 points. Also, when using flash for pictures taken in very low light some photos were underexposed and red-eye effects were frequent, DxoMark said.

As for colorful scenes, the iPhone X had better saturation and displayed more vivid colors than the Pixel 2 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

Here’s the DxOMark breakdown for the iPhone X: