iPhone 6s vs. Galaxy S6 vs. Xperia Z5: Blind test revealed

Blind test revealed

GSMArena team, 22 October, 2015.

Blind test: the reveal

Fingers off the mice everyone, the voting is now over. You had 24 hours to judge the best quality, now it's time to reveal the lucky winner.

PHONE A: Samsung Galaxy S6

PHONE B: Apple iPhone 6s

PHONE C: Sony Xperia Z5

Yes, many of you correctly guessed which phone is which. The wide-angle lens of the Xperia Z5 proved to be a dead giveaway. Here's what how the fields of view compare between the three devices.

And now the results. The Xperia Z5 has an overwhelming lead for still photography during the day. Things swing in favor of the Samsung Galaxy S6, whose wide aperture and OIS.

The Apple iPhone 6s takes its first win with daytime 1080p video, though it seems that Apple has a lot to work on when it comes to 4K. The camera scored a landslide victory in the dark though, beating even the Galaxy.

A) Samsung Galaxy S6B) Apple iPhone 6sC) Sony Xperia Z5
Still camera
Scene #131%18%51%
Scene #226%19%55%
Scene #327%29%44%
Still camera, low-light
Scene #462%14%24%
Scene #555%12%33%
Video camera
Scene #636%20%44%
Scene #723%43%34%
Video camera, low-light
Scene #828%56%16%
TOTAL39,221 (36.1%)27,473 (25.3%)41,890 (38.6%)

Here are the full resolution shots, now that we're not concealing the resolution. You'll notice that some Galaxy S6 photos are 4:3. We shot them in that mode (12MP) to make them harder to tell apart from the 12MP photos from the iPhone. There was no easy way to conceal the Xperia Z5 shots though.


Scene #1: still camera, daylight (Xperia Z5 wins with 51%)


Scene #2: still camera, daylight (Xperia Z5 wins with 55%)


Scene #3: still camera, dynamic range (Xperia Z5 wins with 44%)


Scene #4: still camera, dusk (Galaxy S6 wins with 62%)


Scene #5: still camera, flash (Galaxy S6 wins with 55%)

You've had your say, ours is coming in shortly. We're finishing up a full three-way fight between the iPhone 6s, Galaxy S6 and Xperia Z5 that will go beyond the camera - hardware, screen, software, audio and so on. There will be more details on the camera too, so check back soon!

Reader comments

  • TechLord777
  • 05 Aug 2016
  • 3vx

Sony has two major advantages. No OIS, but waterproofness. But I wanted to talk about the physical shutter button, and the fact, that the camera is placed, like at the iPhone. in the corner. This gives so many more possibilities for usage, and ways...

  • TechLord777
  • 05 Aug 2016
  • 3vx

I got ALL OF THEM correct! I thought: WHAT? A-B-C is always S6-6s-Z5? Only the 7th from the 8th comparrison fooled me: in that case, my answer was: Z5-6s-S6. But I had all the others 100% correct. I swore. I already know about megapixel c...

  • TechLord777
  • 15 Jul 2016
  • 3vx

I got ALL OF THEM correct! I thought: WHAT? A-B-C is always S6-6s-Z5? Only the 7th from the 8th comparrison fooled me: in that case, my answer was: Z5-6s-S6. But I had all the others 100% correct. I swore. I already know about megapixel c...