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iPhone 6/Plus cameras ranked joint 1st in highly-respected DxOMark Mobile tests

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus cameras have taken joint first place in the influential DxOMark Mobile ranking of smartphone cameras – three points ahead of the two Android smartphones which previously headed the list, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z3.

DxO Labs tests the image quality of literally thousands of cameras from entry-level smartphones to professional DSLRs, and is considered by many in the photography field to be the definitive database. The company said that Apple has “set the gold standard for smartphone image quality” … 

DxO praised both the technology behind the faster focusing of the iPhone 6 camera, and the optical image stabilization of the 6 Plus – and said that both cameras performed equally well in lab tests and real-life use.

They have very good, generally reliable auto-exposure in a wide range of lighting conditions and they have both fast and accurate autofocus. Output from the 8-Mpix stills improves the high level of detail in both outdoor and indoor lighting. In low light, noise reduction is handled well with images revealing fine-grained luminance noise and little of the distracting color (chroma) noise.

The company also said that the high-quality displays made them ideal for on-the-fly editing.

Both displays have stunning clarity, high contrast, excellent color and wide viewing angles, which is promising for viewing (and editing) stills and video on the go. Video capture doesn’t include 4K but both feature 1080p at 60 fps with slow-motion options at 120 fps and 240 fps.

Autofocus was described as “fast, accurate and repeatable” and the “best ever tested by DxOMark Mobile.”

Apple is featuring the cameras in one of its new TV ads, and we were equally impressed in our own tests. You can check out more time-lapse and slo-mo videos here.

The full DxOMark Mobile rankings can be seen below.

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Comments

  1. Ka Na Sai - 10 years ago

    Title: Highly repected. Do you mean respected?

  2. luckydcxx - 10 years ago

    8 megapixels my ass :)

    • dominicrn - 10 years ago

      8 Megapixel, But has best quality than My ass Galaxy!

  3. highly REPECTED!

  4. Rogifan (@rogifan) - 10 years ago

    I love how all the haters out there are popping a blood vessel because the 6 and 6 Plus cameras are getting such high marks. Hehe.

    • Gregory Wright - 10 years ago

      Who’s hating? Everybody knows if you are willing to spend more you are going to get a better product..

  5. degraevesofie - 10 years ago

    DxOMark ratings are indeed highly respected, and somewhat deservedly so. However, the objective things they measure don’t always translate to the overall subjective quality that I perceive (i.e., I’ve been impressed by the output of cameras that only do moderately well in the DxOMark tests, and I’ve been disappointed by cameras — DSLRs in that case — that were among the top of the heap).

    In this case though, there seems to be general agreement that the iPhone 6 is among the cream of current mobile phone cameras.

  6. Wes - 10 years ago

    Pretty surprised at how low they have the 1020 ranked. I know DxO is awesome at what they do, and I trust them, just surprising.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      I think the problem with the 1020 is the ridiculous pixel density which really hurts low-light performance

      • Nope, I have quite a lot experiences with 1020 and details were not worse, than, for example Canon s100, both on ISO1600-3200. Just look at normal test with samples. And with OIS, iphone 6 (not plus) has almost no chance to beat it in low light (just test it)
        Anyway, there is something bad on dxo mobile ranking. Lumia 1020 has almost same score like lumia 925, which is much(!) worse camera phone… Everyone says..megapixels are not all…but dont forget, that lumia 1020 has much bigger sensor. In very good light, my lumia 1020 can have slightly more details, that my eos 500d with 15-55is set lens. Thats really impressive. But, iphone 6 has also good camera and when you downscale photos from 34 (real value) to 8 or 5 mpx, you loose a lot of details and iphone can make similar photos.

        Ok, one can say – lumia 1020 has slow camera (talking about saving pics, running photo app), but N808 has no problem and score is also bad. What’s wrong with DxO?

  7. 89p13 - 10 years ago

    Things just keep getting better and better with the release of these new iPhones.

    Just don’t keep the iPhone 6 Plus in your pocket. :)

  8. dvinder42 - 10 years ago

    Someone needs to level out those bars, though.

  9. Toro Volt (@torovolt) - 10 years ago

    Unfortunately, Apple still using a Sony 4:3 sensor in a 16:9 world. Sensors in these Smartphones need to move to the 3:2 aspect ratio like many of the DSLRs are to use more efficiently the sensor area and the majority of modern displays.

    • irockapple - 10 years ago

      Yeah, because you are the expert on what’s best

      • Well, regardless of whether @torovolt is an expert or not, we readers DO appreciate you answering him in true, knee-jerk, reactionary Apple Fanboi™ fashion, while contributing NOTHING to the conversation, “irockapple.” (Not that your posting handle betrayed your bias or anything…)

        Anyway. @torovolt makes an extremely valid point — 16:9 *HAS* increasingly become the standard aspect ratio on most video consumption devices in past 5-10 years, and many smartphone camera users today expect the CHOICE between shooting in 4:3 or widescreen modes.

  10. Taste_of_Apple - 10 years ago

    It’s pretty great.

  11. Jet Ong (@jetovk) - 9 years ago

    change it to ixomark from apple inc… 8 megapixel better than higher megapixel phone what the point for this test…get your salary from apple??

    • Ben Lovejoy - 9 years ago

      It is a common misconception that more pixels = better. In fact, more pixels in the same size sensor means noisier images and poorer low-light performance. This is why Apple (a) sticks with a sensible pixel count and (b) has a large sensor.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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