DxOMark has spoken. Samsung put in a bigger sensor than Apple did. Tim Cook was unable to continue Steve Jobs’s revocation of the laws of physics (at least in the eyes of Apple customers) and therefore the indoor performance of the Samsung is better. Samsung also put in a better/faster autofocus (AF) system, according to DxOMark.
What kind of phone owner wants to take pictures of subjects that move around, thus stressing the AF system? And the phone owner is often indoors with these subjects? Parents!
The tests:
Apple’s level of innovation has certainly diminished under Mr. Cook. The three generations of iPhones have looked essentially the same. Even the iPhone X’s innovations have been… well… technically interesting but not transformational as far as the user experience goes. That is a polite way of saying, expensive engineering trickery that is of limited use.
iPhone X’s scalloped LCD is retarded. A better solution will be a rectangular LCD with apertures in the backlight diffuser for the lens to peak through. Whatever “shallowing” the translucent pixels create can easily be compensated for via software.
Also, it is about time designers recognize the silliness of the rounded sizes trend started by the iPhone 6. Rounds sides = slippery sides = dropped phones! A concave side will be far better.
Having said that, phones are not about Camera specs or any particular specs but the holistic user experience. Most consumers CANNOT recite specs much less compare them. And, if specs wins market share and earns you profitability, Sony would have won a long time ago. The problem with Apple is that that holistic user experience edge is starting to erode because they have been threading water since Jobs’ demise.
Somehow I doubt Tim Cook has a deep mental model of things parents care about.
Only personal info Cook ever revealed was strict food and exercise regimen which led to substantial weight loss. From normal to lean/thin. Something about doing his own grocery shopping on Saturday or Sunday mornings. May have photographed rapidly moving pets, though.
And the Google Pixel 2 has bested them all.
“Someone Else” has a mordant sense of humor (I meant to add)