The latest Samsung Galaxy Note is now the top-scoring smartphone at DxOMark. It has a 7-point lead over the Apple XS Max, for example, but what’s more interesting is that the phone offers a 13mm-equivalent super wide-angle lens, useful for landscape and perhaps real estate (make an apartment look much larger!). No optical image stabilization on that super wide lens, unfortunately, so it will be best for daytime use.
As with Apple, Samsung calls a normal perspective lens (52mm equivalent) a “telephoto”.
The comparison images at DxOMark show a surprising amount of improvement over Apple, despite not having what you’d think would be required (much bigger sensor and, consequently, thicker phone).
Are we going to be entering a golden age of smartphone photography?
Are we going to be entering a golden age of smartphone photography?
I would answer “yes”. The camera seems to be the one area where massive smartphone R&D $$ produces enough innovation to get people to replace their phone. The phrase “because it has a better camera” is the frequent punchline for tech-upgrade jokes.
The Samsung G10 is good enough to make me seriously consider selling my Sony RX100iii.
Maybe I’m an outlier here, but I spent 98% of my time making or receiving phone calls on my smart-phone. Everything else is just secondary and very much irrelevant (I’m not glued to my phone because I have real work to do).
Even for folks who use their smart-phone to get on FB or Youtube or what have you, what’s more important for you, camera quality or battery life? I know some folks have to charge their phone 2-3 times a day because it won’t last them more than 4 hours especially when their phone is over 1 year old.
I’d say the golden age is here. If anyone had shown that review to people 10 years ago, they’d have been knocked over by the quality of the images, including pro. photographers.