iPhone XS, iPhone X, Pixel 3 Knocked Out In First Round of Blind Smartphone Camera Test [Video]

Marques Brownlee has posted the results of his Blind Smartphone Camera Test conducted on Twitter and Instagram.

In total users compared photos from sixteen different smartphone cameras to determine the winner. Shockingly, the iPhone XS, iPhone X, and Pixel 3 didn't even make it past the first round.


After revealing the results Brownlee explains that users picked the brightest photos with the most contrast nine times out of ten. Bright punchy photos were preferred even though they may have lacked dynamic range, sharpness, or accuracy.

For example, the BlackBerry photo was way less sharp and less detailed than iPhone XS photo. The BlackBerry sensor thought the heather in Brownlee's sweatshirt was noise and tried to noise reduce it losing much of the detail. The iPhone XS was able to keep it all sharp and detailed from top to bottom.

Another issue with the test was the compression used by Instagram and Twitter. The compression resulted in lost detail that could have given the edge to the higher quality cameras.

Take a look at the video below and let us know what you think in the comments! Which did you pick as the winner?