iPhone X vs. Galaxy S9+: Which Smartphone Has a Better Camera?

[npmacuser5]

These examples, my preference goes to the iPhoneX. Not professional and today 95% of my photos are viewed on Apple TV or some ther IOS device. The other 5% on some social media site. So my opinion has very little creditability, other then I never intentionally post or save a garbage photo.

 

[Lesser Evets]

Nice comparison. Everyone likes something different, though. I'd imagine that the "take it-send it" crowd would love the contrast and dynamics in those iPhone X photos. People that would like to tinker with their photos in PS would probably like the Samsung's pics.

 

[DNichter]

I know the Samsung should be better, but I actually prefer the X photos in each of these. I’m surprised.

 

[Tech198]

depends on who's taking the photo. You want me to sway in one direction only, that i never do

 

[janearmante]

I don’t know if you are just giving the camera credit to S9 to validate its being the newest device (like the “newer”, the better) but in most comparisons, I find the iPhoneX shots better. The X easily beats the competition both in detail and color accuracy, which make the photos more natural looking and hence more instagram-worthy. Photos on android phones focus more on sharpness and saturation.

iPhone shots give the feeling that they were taken by the average human (experience - “wow I can be a great photographer”). Android shots give the feeling that they were processed by a machine/device (software - “wow this device is great”). This is one of the reasons for Apple’s higher user satisfaction rates (than android) because the device itself disappears into the experience, as Apple would usually say.

Or maybe, I’m just bias.

 

[ColdShadow]

I comparsd my (former) iPhone X camera to my (current) Note 8 extensively and can confirm Note 8 camera produces superior photoes compared to the iPhone X.
So It's only natural to assume S9 (which is newer than Note 8) can also beat iPhone X.

 

[cote32mt]

I am no professional photographer, but I enjoy photography as a hobby. Living in Scotland, I am confronted very often with situation in which the dynamic range of light in the picture is quite high (such as sunshine peaking through clouds). Thus, is it me, or does the iPhone X seem to overexpose light areas (saturating the affected pixels) because it does not have the necessary dynamic range (e.g., see light areas of clouds in image below)?

You took the words out of my mouth thinking of a way to respond to this post. As as loyal as I am to Apple, if I had my choice of two images to work with (given the choices presented in the post), I would choose the S9+.

 

[BlargKing]

If either phone can shoot in true RAW then the samsung would be a better choice since it seems to have better dynamic range and overall sharpness, and and preferences for more vivid or more realistic color can be done in post.

Then again, most people who would take advantages of RAW probably have an actual camera better suited to the task.

 

[Ds6778]

Seeing the iPhone X fanboys squirm is funny.

 

[john123]

In the most non biased way possible, I'd like to say I still think the iPhone X pictures look better nearly every time. The colors are awful with the S9.

Oh Lord. "Awful"? Talk about hyperbole...

They're quite close. My initial reaction is that I like the iPhone X photos better, but upon further review, I realized that's because I (like many people) am an amateur who enjoys overly exposed and less realistic photos. The S9 is a bit better if your goals are more professional and centered on accuracy and especially variable lighting.

 

[jayducharme]

The last photo really shows my biggest complaint with iPhone photos that's been ongoing since iOS 7: the super aggressive noise-reduction that makes everything look like a painting.

Hmmm ... I wonder if that's what I'm noticing in my iPhone 8. The images I've been taking with it seem blurrier than those I took with my iPhone SE years back.

 

[lederermc]

MacRumors should have a blind test set up if they want to ask the question: Which images do you prefer?

 

[Act3]

Nobody care about a camera on a phone. It's a friggin phone for God's sake. If they marketed it as iCamera then maybe I would care.

https://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-1D-Camera-Safari-Bundle/dp/B077CH8HVC/ref=sr_1_1?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1521244052&sr=1-1&keywords=dslr+camera&refinements=p_72:1248879011,p_36:1000000-99999999 is what I use and carry with me all the time for a decent selfie or FB photo. I can't believe we are even discussing this,

there are alot cheaper options if you just want a phone

 

[HiRez]

The Samsung photos looks bad. Granted, it's a cloudy day but they look super dark, flat, and murky, whereas the iPhone has better contrast and look more natural to my eyes with better color. However, the iPhone does that by slightly blowing out highlights so if you were going to do your own post-processing the Samsung could well be the better images to work with, especially in RAW format. iPhone looks better if you just want to shoot and be done with it. Bottom line is both produce high-quality photos compared to any phone of a few years ago and like any phone camera, still have limitations.

 

[christo747]

For me as a photographer I judge the iPhone's picture quality much higher than the galaxy because there is less oversharpening and more detail. A bit more grain is no problem.
Just look at this crop from the sample:

 

[tecialist]

The Verge said it best, and I can't agree more with it:

from their Galaxy S9 review,

But all of the images have a specific Samsung “look” to them, which is warmer, very saturated, and has imperfections (and sometimes detail) smoothed out. It’s quite different than what Apple’s or Google’s cameras produce and deciding between them often comes down to personal preference. On a technical level, all of the high-end phones available now can capture excellent photos. Chances are, if you weren’t a fan of Samsung’s image processing before, you still won’t like it now.

Samsung's camera always feels desperate, trying to capture the sharpest, brightest, and the most noise-free imagery all the time regardless of the mood of the scene. It forgoes all the romance of photography.

 

[Vasilioskn]

Cell phones have become stagnant. Stop giving us super thing phones and give us slightly thicker phones with longer battery life for ****s sake

 

[Altis]

I know the Samsung should be better, but I actually prefer the X photos in each of these. I’m surprised.

Because they're brighter. People are inclined to like brighter photos than ones that appear dim.

The last photo is a no-contest winner for the S9+. The buildings look like an oil painting on the iPhone. Apple needs to sort out that noise-reduction algorithm.
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Samsung's camera always feels desperate, trying to capture the sharpest, brightest, and the most noise-free imagery all the time regardless of the mood of the scene. It forgoes all the romance of photography.

That's the job of the camera -- to take the highest quality image possible of what the lens sees.

You can always add all the romance you want post-production, which is what most photographers do.

 

[Mooey]

The Google Pixel 2 XL wins. These phones are competing for second place.

 

[B4U]

How can Sony's phones not being mentioned in the comparison when they actually make the camera?

 

[Gorms]

The last photo really shows my biggest complaint with iPhone photos that's been ongoing since iOS 7: the super aggressive noise-reduction that makes everything look like a painting.

Even in outdoors during the day, noise cancellation makes it all terribly blurry.

Did come here to say that personally preferred the punch of the X photos to the balance of the S9 but, yes! This! This is annoying AF to be honest.

 

[The_Martini_Cat]

Great comparison, thanks for posting! It’s funny, looking at the photo comparisons on my much older iPhone screen, the iPhone X did look better. The jitter reduction on the motion looked better on the iPhone to me. I’m sure the greater noisiness of the S9 camera microphone caused him to wiggle his hand accidentally! But still, I really appreciate the time and effort that went into this comparison. I think that it’s good that there’s competition, and I really appreciate the comments too especially the ones about the deleterious effect of noise reduction in the iPhone portrait mode. Muchas Gracias yes, and cheers!

 

[radiology]

Of course both look great. they were both taken in CLEEEEEVELAND!!!!!! Cavalier's fans, ARE YOU REEEEEEEEAAAADYYYYYY????

 

[kahkityoong]

Sad to say I prefer the Samsung whose images look more like a RAW file. Don’t like how the iphoneX has blown the highlights. You can easily tweak the contrast on the Samsung for more pop.

 

[5105973]

If either phone can shoot in true RAW then the samsung would be a better choice since it seems to have better dynamic range and overall sharpness, and and preferences for more vivid or more realistic color can be done in post.

Then again, most people who would take advantages of RAW probably have an actual camera better suited to the task.

The Samsung S9 offers the option to shoot in RAW within the camera app. An iPhone and a Pixel camera can shoot in RAW using a third party camera app.

For anyone who is interested in the audio part of the videos they take, I do recommend taking a set of earbuds to the store and recording a video and listening as well as watching it with your earbuds plugged in to the S9, which can record videos with very nice stereo audio. On my S7 Edge and S9+ the immersive stereo audio of the recordings makes you feel like you're right back in the scene. It adds a special element and life to watching old family videos. For some reason my S8+ didn't record with as much fidelity and clarity and neither did my husband's. But the S9+ has its stereo mojo back. However, there are stereo lightning mics available if you prefer iOS.

I've had an X and now an 8 Plus, a Pixel 2 and an S9+ and they each take the best picture in different circumstances. You could go bonkers comparing them. None of them gets all of the colors completely accurate in all the many varied lighting conditions you will encounter.

The weakness of iPhone cameras is they lose some nuances of light and how light reflects and plays off of subjects. iPhones will flatten all of that out of a picture somehow. But iPhones add warmth that plays well to viewers. iPhones are prone to blowing out highlights or losing much detail in highlights.

Pixel cameras somehow capture what light is doing and brings it to your attention. So that light shining in from a window and bouncing delicately off of various surfaces in the room is preserved. On an iPhone all of that light gets processed into a warm glow or just disappears altogether.

I haven't had the S9+ long enough to determine how it works with light. I do think it tends to let a bit too much light in on some scenes, leading to a bit of a washed out look in some photos. This is easily tweaked, however. I need more time and experience before I attempt to contribute anything constructive.

The X and 8 Plus and Pixel 2 and the S9+ work some minor miracles in poor lighting. We have excellent options!