iPhone 15 Pro Wins Best Camera in MKBHD Smartphone Awards 2023

[MacRumors]

YouTuber Marques Brownlee has chosen the iPhone 15 Pro as the standout device in the best camera category of MKBHD's Smartphone Awards 2023.

Brownlee justified his choice by admitting that while there are smartphones on the market that can produce better results when using zoom, the iPhone 15 Pro offers the most solid all-round performance across the biggest variety of use cases, and its ease of use when taking photos and videos remains unrivaled.

Brownlee particularly highlighted the quality of video recorded on the iPhone 15 Pro, calling it the best and most consistent in various situations. He also applauded Apple for introducing Log recording to its feature set, as well as the ability to save video directly to an external storage device.

In MKBHD's blind smartphone camera test that was run online, the iPhone 15 Pro was also found to capture the best low-light photos. An honorable mention in the category went to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, for its stills camera performance when using the zoom lens.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Plus won the best battery category, which is judged not only on the biggest capacity, but the overall battery experience. The iPhone 15 was chosen for its less power-hungry 60Hz display that allows the device to keep going beyond most rivals.

MKBHD said that the iPhone 15 Plus should be the choice for those looking for a "risk-free, no-brainer" device with great battery life. Brownlee also gave a shout-out to the ROG Phone 7, which does not have wireless charging but has the biggest battery capacity (6000 mAh) of any phone.

Phone of the Year went to the Google Pixel 8. Despite costing $100 more than its predecessor, Brownlee praised its great stills camera, dramatically better display, several excellent software features, and the promise of seven years of software updates.

All of the category winners for the MKBHD Smartphone Awards 2023 are as follows:
Best Big Phone:
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Best Compact Phone:
ASUS Zenfone 10
Best Camera:
iPhone 15 Pro
The Value Award:
Samsung Galaxy A54
Best Battery:
iPhone 15 Plus
The Design Award:
Honor Magic V2
Best Foldable Phone:
OnePlus Open
Most Improved:
Nothing Phone 2
Bust of the Year (Worst Phone):
Saga Solana Cryptophone
Phone of the Year:
Google Pixel 8


You can watch the full video of MKBHD's Smartphone Awards above and on the YouTube website. What are your opinions on this year's winners? Let us know in the comments.

Article Link: iPhone 15 Pro Wins Best Camera in MKBHD Smartphone Awards 2023

 

[spiderman0616]

My honest take: This is cool. Good for iPhone. But I stopped caring about this dude's opinion so long ago. He's a professional troll who's good at video editing.

Edit: I should clarify what I mean-- He is someone in a long list of "YouTubers" who thinks he knows things about things and is good at talking about them as if he's an expert. He has no idea what goes on at Apple or how any of this stuff is created. He's a professional armchair quarterback. The most useless kind of quarterback there is.

 

[adamw]

Great News for Apple and the iPhone 15 Pro. Hopefully MKBHD will give the M3 MacBook Pro's better reviews, and get rid of his personal M1 Max MacBook Pro.

 

[Kylo83]

He isn’t the Messiah when it comes to phones it’s just his opinion which is subjective he gave the Google pixel eight best phone of the year that’s nonsense. Why do people think that what he says is the blueprint to tech?

 

[contacos]

Glad I chose the iPhone 15 Plus over the Pro max this time around. battery life is honestly more important to me than another round of camera improvements, which I can hardly tell apart anymore (positive thing!)

On the other hand, does one dudes opinion really matter this much? It is all just subjective over all. Its like those "best movies of 2023" YouTubers like SAYS WHO

 

[CarAnalogy]

The iPhone 15 was chosen for its less power-hungry 60Hz display that allows the device to keep going beyond most rivals.

Yeah but…you could just turn that down on a 120Hz display and have the best of both worlds. It needs to be a separate toggle but you can do it right now with Low Power mode.

Don’t start making excuses for why low refresh rate screens are actually a good thing.

 

[Kylo83]

Just because someone has lots of subscribers doesn’t mean they are the best at tech and their opinion is 100% he has always been more than android person, so course he’s going to give the Google the phone of the year.

 

[Infodataset]

Cant wait for mac to get best lowest ram in year🫣

 

[Sorinut]

He isn’t the Messiah when it comes to phones it’s just his opinion which is subjective he gave the Google pixel eight best phone of the year that’s nonsense. Why do people think that what he says is the blueprint to tech?

My wife just bought a Pixel 8 on sale for $350, no-contract and out the door, as an upgrade to her Pixel 2. It's a fantastic phone and the price in unbeatable, even at full cost.

I think it's a deserved award.

 

[CarAnalogy]

My honest take: This is cool. Good for iPhone. But I stopped caring about this dude's opinion so long ago. He's a professional troll who's good at video editing.

Edit: I should clarify what I mean-- He is someone in a long list of "YouTubers" who thinks he knows things about things and is good at talking about them as if he's an expert. He has no idea what goes on at Apple or how any of this stuff is created. He's a professional armchair quarterback. The most useless kind of quarterback there is.

With Apple especially you can’t take any of them seriously. Anyone who has ever gotten to interview an Apple executive simply can’t be trusted to have an unbiased opinion, and that is on Apple. They are famously vindictive with anyone who has ever said anything they don’t like, and famously play favorites with those who faithfully keep to the script.

I don’t watch enough YouTube to know if this even exists, but the only people who are trustworthy are the ones that buy the devices with their own money and receive no special treatment. Which is very difficult because as soon as anyone gets any notoriety, special treatment is standard practice.

 

[CarAnalogy]

My wife just bought a Pixel 8 on sale for $350, no-contract and out the door, as an upgrade to her Pixel 2. It's a fantastic phone and the price in unbeatable, even at full cost.

I think it's a deserved award.

The Pixel exists as an ad platform for Google so of course it’s cheap. It’s also going to be a piece of junk in two years if all their previous models are any indication.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying there’s a reason it’s cheaper than the iPhone upfront but possibly more expensive in the long run.

Edit: surprised to see all these Pixel defenders. People on here give Apple endless **** about every bug. People had a field day at the 15 getting hot. Yet every Pixel phone has at least one huge manufacturing defect every time.

Enjoy your Pixels guys, we just made a different set of trade offs.

 

[Sorinut]

The Pixel exists as an ad platform for Google so of course it’s cheap. It’s also going to be a piece of junk in two years if all their previous models are any indication.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying there’s a reason it’s cheaper than the iPhone upfront but possibly more expensive in the long run.

She bought the Pixel 2 in 2017 and was still using it without issue until last week...The battery was just getting weak.

I see no reason the Pixel 8 won't last as long.

 

[CarAnalogy]

She bought the Pixel 2 in 2017 and was still using it without issue until last week...The battery was just getting weak.

I see no reason the Pixel 8 won't last as long.

My experience with the Pixel 2 was nowhere near as positive. The one before that was Nexus 6P. After Pixel 2 I lost faith in Google completely and not just about the phones.

Maybe I just got all the dud Android phones. Samsung S5 (terrible) Nexus 6P (ok at first then terrible) then Pixel 2 (good at first then terrible, but lasted longer than the 6P.)

Maybe they finally got their act together but I’m just going to stick to the iPhone unless Apple really, really screws it up.

 

[displayblock]

Personally, I’m waiting for the Dan Barbera Smartphone Awards 2023

 

[sunapple]

Can’t say I’m surprised everyone is taking this so seriously and personally. They’re SMARTPHONES. Extensions of our bodies! Nobody is enough of an expert to judge a part of ME.

 

[Zest28]

My honest take: This is cool. Good for iPhone. But I stopped caring about this dude's opinion so long ago. He's a professional troll who's good at video editing.

Edit: I should clarify what I mean-- He is someone in a long list of "YouTubers" who thinks he knows things about things and is good at talking about them as if he's an expert. He has no idea what goes on at Apple or how any of this stuff is created. He's a professional armchair quarterback. The most useless kind of quarterback there is.

Even Tim Cook listens to MKBHD as he has used quotes from MKBHD during Keynotes.

The troll is not MKBHD here, that is for sure.

 

[Sorinut]

My experience with the Pixel 2 was nowhere near as positive. The one before that was Nexus 6P. After Pixel 2 I lost faith in Google completely and not just about the phones.

Maybe I just got all the dud Android phones. Samsung S5 (terrible) Nexus 6P (ok at first then terrible) then Pixel 2 (good at first then terrible, but lasted longer than the 6P.)

Maybe they finally got their act together but I’m just going to stick to the iPhone unless Apple really, really screws it up.

It's clearly not as premium as the iPhone, but she hates, hates, hates the iPhone interface and she likes the completely separate work/personal profiles. Money isn't an issue as the phone is just a business expense that she writes off.

Apple really needs a separate work/personal profile. Separate contacts, separate dialer/call logs, separate texting, etc.. I don't like carrying two phones.

 

[polterbyte]

As someone who upgrades every two or three years and then based mainly on the cameras, I am very satisfied with my iPhone 15 Pro Max. I really liked my iPhone 13 Pro Max's cameras, but the 15PM takes better photos, and the quality doesn't vary as much in low light conditions.

 

[I7guy]

While it’s great for apple to get this paper victory for its camera, I voted with my $$$ to give aaple the real victory.

 

[toobravetosave]

The Pixel exists as an ad platform for Google so of course it’s cheap. It’s also going to be a piece of junk in two years if all their previous models are any indication.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying there’s a reason it’s cheaper than the iPhone upfront but possibly more expensive in the long run.

Such blind hate. iOS is also just a platform to supply Apple with advertising data on you (yes they do this) and funnel you into subscription and in app purchases.

How on earth is a pixel more expensive than an iPhone long term lmao

 

[laptech]

Unless all mobile phones are put under a test or tests by reviewers that are an industry wide standard then one's view/opinion of what is best and what is bad is just that, their own view/opinion. This is why many people refer to specialist tech periodical magazines because it is the their job to review tech products and they do so over many months, using the product in the field so they can get real world experience of the product and then report on their findings. How many months did Mr Brownlee test each mobile phone and what specific tests did he perform?. A couple of hours or couple of days is not going to be able to give enough data to determine a credible result.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Such blind hate. iOS is also just a platform to supply Apple with advertising data on you (yes they do this) and funnel you into subscription and in app purchases.

How on earth is a pixel more expensive than an iPhone long term lmao

If you have to replace it every two years like I did, you’re better off getting an iPhone and just keeping it longer.

At least that’s my experience. Your mileage may vary.

Definitely not blind hate. I use all operating systems. Android and Windows are about tied for which one annoys me more. But it’s not blind nor is it hate.

 

[AgeOfSpiracles]

Even Tim Cook listens to MKBDH as he has used quotes from MKBDH during Keynotes.

The troll is not MKBDH here, that is for sure.

It's so funny, there's people here saying he's not to be trusted as a know-nothing with no insight into Apple's practices. And other people saying that he's not to be trusted because he's an insider shill since he has done interviews with Apple execs. The MR crowd just skews stodgy, and tends toward an irrational hatred of youtubers. The only thing that brings out the grumps more is any mention of a music artist under the age of 30. (who? never heard of her, but she sucks and I hate her!)

Having watched a lot of these low-info tech reviewer channels for years, I'd put MKBHD in the top 3 in terms of content and honesty. I don't think he intentionally stirs the pot or trolls. He certainly doesn't shill for Apple, IMO. If anything, he's an Android fanboy at heart, but he's fair and openminded, and therefore see's the good in both platforms.

 

[CarAnalogy]

It's clearly not as premium as the iPhone, but she hates, hates, hates the iPhone interface and she likes the completely separate work/personal profiles. Money isn't an issue as the phone is just a business expense that she writes off.

Apple really needs a separate work/personal profile. Separate contacts, separate dialer/call logs, separate texting, etc.. I don't like carrying two phones.

The interface is probably the worst part about the iPhone in many ways at this point. It’s the one thing I still feel like I took a step backwards on in going back to iPhone from Android.

You’re definitely right about work profiles as well. Android definitely works better as a pocket computer.

My main, #1 reason is compatibility. If something exists for both iPhone and Android, by god the iPhone version is going to work. The Android version, yeah maybe, if you have the right phone. But it’s almost always a lower priority than the iPhone version. Seen it time after time, side by side same apps on each platform, iPhone version is always better. Even true for some Google apps (or it was last I checked.)

As a development target the iPhone is just way more stable. It’s far from “it just works” but it’s closer than Android.

 

[Skyscraperfan]

"Best smartphone camera" sounds like "best British food" or "best beach in Greenland". Smartphone cameras got better over time, but they seriously lack behind real cameras. They apply some software "magic", but you can do the same with images from real cameras. Taking a photo with a smartphone camera is like running a marathon with Birkenstock sandals. Possible, but not recommendable.