Pixel 2 officially best phone camera. Steals Apple’s crown.

Poor iPhone. They were at the top of the heap for a scant few days before Samsung tied them on DxO. Pixel 2 then came along to smoke them both.

According to DxO, the Pixel 2 has the best camera of any smartphone, scoring a massive total of 98. For photos, the Pixel 2 came in at 99, and for videos, 96.

While the Note 8 has a very slight advantage in photos over Pixel 2, the Pixel 2’s massive video score is what puts it up and over. For video, DxO is particularly impressed with Pixel 2’s exposure, quick transitions when lighting changes, autofocus, detail preservation, noise reduction, and stabilization.

For photos, DxO was impressed by Pixel 2’s excellent autofocus, detail retention in dark and light areas, and with handling bright light situations outdoors. Though not mentioned by DxO, I suspect this latter bit is mostly due to HDR+ processing, but what’s important is that it’s effortless and automatic.

Pixel 2 achieves bokeh through its dual-pixel technology. Dual-pixel technology is a relatively new development in photography where each pixel on the sensor consists of two individual photodiodes, a left and a right. In addition to helping Pixel 2 render software bokeh, the dual-pixel tech is also what gives it its excellent autofocus performance.