DxOMark: iPhone XS Max is 'Surefire Option' With 'One of the Best Smartphone Cameras Ever'

DxOMark today published the results of its in-depth analysis of the iPhone XS Max's rear camera. Apple's flagship smartphone achieved an overall score of 105 points, trailing only the Huawei P20 Pro at 109 in the site's all-time rankings.

iphone xs max dxomark
Note that the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max have identical camera specs, so this review applies equally to the iPhone XS.

In its testing, DxOMark found the iPhone XS Max to have "excellent" photo and video quality in bright light, with a "very wide dynamic range and good detail." In terms of photo quality, they found exposure in outdoor images "tends to be spot on," with high levels of detail and pleasant colors.

The review adds that Apple's new Smart HDR feature generates images with "very good target exposure and a wide dynamic range in all conditions."

iphone xs max indoor

Backlit indoor scene shot on iPhone XS Max

iphone x indoor
Backlit indoor scene shot on iPhone X

Achieving a video score of 96, DxOMark said the iPhone XS Max shows "outstanding video quality in bright light."


DxOMark concludes that the iPhone XS Max has "one of the best mobile cameras" it has ever tested, with noticeable improvements in many areas over last year's iPhone X. Their review praises the iPhone XS Max camera as being "very reliable overall" and "consistently delivering good results."

dxomark iphone xs max
In lower light, however, DxOMark found that noise becomes "a little more intrusive than with other high-end phones," adding that the iPhone XS Max's zoom capabilities lag somewhat behind the competition — specifically, the Huawei P20 Pro. Beyond that, they say the device is a "surefire option for any mobile photographer."

For scoring and analysis in its smartphone camera reviews, DxOMark says its engineers capture and evaluate over 1,500 test images and more than two hours of video both in controlled lab environments and in natural indoor and outdoor scenes, using the camera's default settings. More on their methodology here.

DxO is a well-known French image lab that has been reviewing smartphone cameras for many years, but they've attracted some criticism. At the end of the day, camera quality is subjective, at least to some extent.

Tag: DxOMark
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

10 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Thursday October 31, 2024 9:42 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well. ...
M4 Pro on Blue

M4 Pro Chip Benchmark Results Reveal an Extremely Impressive Performance Feat

Thursday October 31, 2024 7:06 pm PDT by
The first Geekbench 6 benchmark results for the M4 Pro chip surfaced today. Impressively, the results that are available so far show that the highest-end M4 Pro chip is faster than the highest-end M2 Ultra chip in terms of peak multi-core CPU performance. Here is a comparison of the results: Mac mini with M4 Pro (14-core CPU): 22,094 multi-core score (average of 11 results) Mac Studio...
Apple iPhone SE 4 5G Modem 1

iPhone SE 4 First to Get Apple-Designed 5G Modem, iPhone 17 Pro to Add Custom Wi-Fi 7 Chip

Friday November 1, 2024 4:04 am PDT by
The iPhone SE 4 that's set to come out early next year is expected to debut Apple's first in-house 5G modem, according to Jeff Pu, an analyst who covers companies within Apple's supply chain. In a research note this week with Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities, Pu said Apple is expected to roll out its custom-made 5G modem starting with the next-generation...
best early black friday deals

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals

Friday November 1, 2024 8:21 am PDT by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 29 in 2024. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment,...
M3 Pro Max vs M4 Pro Max Feature

Here's How Much Faster M4 Pro/Max Are for Graphics vs. M3 Pro/Max

Friday November 1, 2024 8:04 am PDT by
Apple's new M4 Pro and M4 Max chips are impressively fast in terms of CPU performance, topping the M2 Ultra, but what about graphics performance? The first Geekbench 6 results for GPU performance are now available for the M4 Pro and M4 Max, and the Metal scores reveal some impressive year-over-year gains. Based on the Metal scores that are available so far, the M4 Pro and M4 Max are up to...
imac video apple feature

What to Expect From Apple This November

Friday November 1, 2024 9:40 am PDT by
After a busy October in which Apple announced new Macs and Apple Intelligence launched, the calendar has now turned to November. Below, we outline what to expect from Apple this month as the slower-but-still-busy holiday season approaches. After seeding the first betas of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 with additional Apple Intelligence features last month, Apple will likely...
pixelmator

Apple Acquires Photo Editing App Maker Pixelmator

Friday November 1, 2024 8:41 am PDT by
Apple has reached an agreement to acquire Pixelmator, the company behind popular photo and image editing apps Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval, according to an announcement made by the Pixelmator team on Friday. Based in Vilnius, Lithuania, Pixelmator has developed a suite of well-regarded creative tools that compete with...

Top Rated Comments

now i see it Avatar
80 months ago
Every year these iPhone camera reviews come out for the new iPhone and every time the reviews state that the camera is "excellent". This has been going on for years.

But when they compare the new iPhone camera to the previous year's iPhone, the previous year's iPhone picture quality always looks like crap.

How can it be that a camera that was "excellent" last year now takes crap pictures this year?

Something is rigged here.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CmdrPuffin Avatar
80 months ago
I find it really strange how all of these articles keep praising the iPhone XS Max and hardly ever mentioning the XS itself. They have the same specs and equipment other than the screen size and not everyone wants a monsterously huge phone.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roland.g Avatar
80 months ago
The only way we can be really sure is to have an FBI investigation. They can vet the validity of DxOMark’s claims.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jamezr Avatar
80 months ago
Look....all Apple fans like DxO again!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
StellarVixen Avatar
80 months ago
Oh look, it's the DxOMark again.

It's irrelevant what they say.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Xenomorph Avatar
80 months ago
I find it really strange how all of these articles keep praising the iPhone XS Max and hardly ever mentioning the XS itself. They have the same specs and equipment other than the screen size and not everyone wants a monsterously huge phone.
I was just about to mention this!

Another article saying the iPhone XS Max has the best camera? But it has the SAME camera as the XS. Why not say the XS and XS Max have the best cameras, or just "XS", since they both include that name.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)