Apple iPhone XS Max vs. Samsung Galaxy Note9

13 October 2018
At a time when LG is pushing the boundaries and installing all sorts of cameras in the V40 ThinQ (the ultra-wide/normal/tele trifecta we've all been waiting for), Apple and Samsung are taking a conservative approach and perfecting their dual camera game.

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  • S Yu
  • j1a
  • 16 Oct 2018

AnonD-732843, 16 Oct 2018Anything can be perfect but it all boils down to whats bett... moreI think we've come too far to fix our eyes just on the hardware anymore. Most companies use advanced processing to some extent and the stability of the algorithms matter a lot, but software is too hard to analyze from the outside and so we're dealing with a sort of black box in between the hardware and the results.
OTOH I still don't think Samsung's rich tone or whatever is a multiframe approach, the effects seem too subtle, it's at best pre-pulling highlights in RAW.

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    • S Yu
    • j1a
    • 16 Oct 2018

    Venom , 16 Oct 2018Both are stuck in hardware limitation.. P20 Pro and up... moreThe P20P is quad bayer, this is at least part of the reason why its detail retention is horrible. Dual camera stacking obviously has a lot of issues, while Pixel's single camera stacking is so far the most stable and provides benefits of additional exposure and processing without notable drawbacks. We've yet to see the actual performance of the Mate20P which seems to attempt what the P20P does with just the 40MP 1/1.8" quad bayer, but the current P20P and the Sony both smear, the Sony is unstable and sometimes nails the details perfectly, but from the samples I've seen so far it smears more often than not, a shame.

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      • Anonymous
      • DkJ
      • 16 Oct 2018

      the price of samsung phones are very high compare to their features. please compare realme 2 pro vs redmi note 6 pro < /a>

        Busted gsmarena.. The compare photo of the road is exactly the same from the both phones, just the temperature is little changed to look slightly different . Everything in the picture is at exactly the same place, i speak for the moving cars, even if you zoom in . To do that you must take the picture at the same time at 1/100th of the second exactly from the same place. That is impossible even if push the button simultaneously. Every one who knows from photography will understand me. I just don't like to be fooled. (i am a photographer)

          Please GSMArena, make more comparisons!

            I would like to see an camera comparisons with Apple, Samsung, Sony, LG & Huawei and please include video comparisons since i want to see how Sony became the 'Video King'. Lols

              nakicccc, 15 Oct 2018Cant wait to watch monster Mate 20 Pro destroying them both.One thing I would like to "see" is Huawei improving sound quality.
              Their current "flagship" sounds really terrible, close to older iPhones ... :(

              Sooo Huawei might have slightly better image quality, but Samsung will destroy it in sound recording department.

                And not one video, that can be used to compare AUDIO quality.
                Is it really that hard to point the camera at a person and ask him to read something?
                Or use it at anything but ... wind, or cars passing by.

                  Loving the iphone max. Best phone out there. And now I have the best camera over sammy lol.

                    You need to do this shootout between the iPhone XS and the Pixel 3 once you have it!

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                      • Anonymous
                      • LQX
                      • 16 Oct 2018

                      atumiwa, 16 Oct 2018blind test camera is needed, after all, what photo result t... morePersonal preferences have nothing to do with quality.

                      That is why people should stop watching those YouTubers. They say same things all the time.

                      "A has more details in the shadow than B".
                      "C has natural colours, but I prefer punch colours of D"

                      Natural is what you daily see with your eyes, so if you do not like things the way your eyes see them you have issues..
                      World would be ridiculous if it was like P20 Pro AI , saturation to the extreme!!!

                      I would never give bias opinion in exchange of pre-sale units to review nor gifts ...

                        Anonymous, 16 Oct 2018You get what you pay for. So iPhone all the way! With ch... moreSays a fanboy. Surely apple made trillions because of people like you. Come on, are you somehow a shareholder of apple? Blind follow suits them, not customers.

                          Kingslayer, 15 Oct 2018Pixel 3 / 3 XL beats them both. They have a better displ... moreThen Mate 20 Pro will be ultimate choice for you :D 117 DxoMark at least haha

                            alski10, 15 Oct 2018Well, I dont think it will do better than the Pixel 3. Lets just say that it will have better camera, better cpu and gpu, better display, faster charging, fastest wireless charging, under display fingerprint but yeah, wont do a lot better than pixel hehe

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                              • Anonymous
                              • MwH
                              • 16 Oct 2018

                              You get what you pay for. So iPhone all the way!

                              With cheaper phones comes lower quality.

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                                • Anonymous
                                • Dk5
                                • 16 Oct 2018

                                Xhxhyy, 16 Oct 2018Wrong color and overexposed image. That's a galaxy camera t... moreNoise, blurr, bland colors have always been apple trademarks now that they added #beautygate..how weird do those porcelain doll selfies look?!

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                                  • Anonymous
                                  • Dk5
                                  • 16 Oct 2018

                                  Anonymous, 16 Oct 2018Is sad that all this test tdoes not reveal something very i... moreQuality wise, ip xs and max units arrived with #chargegate, #beautygate and #signalgate succeeding previous #bendgate, #antennagate and #batterygate, #faultyogicboardfail!

                                  Who knows how many gates follow next maybe logic board..so there..atleast samsung let users use the phone for 3 years..apart from note 7 that was replaced/reimbursed..unlike apple's out of the boz broken devices offering discounted repairs..lol

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • IW@
                                    • 16 Oct 2018

                                    It has nowhere near the usability, flexibility and capability as a serious photo/video tool for a photography/videography oriented smartphone user as the Note 9.

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                                      • Anonymous
                                      • g88
                                      • 16 Oct 2018

                                      Is sad that all this test tdoes not reveal something very important: quality and reliability of the phone!
                                      Samsung at this point will lose significantly since Samsung does not care about quaility and how much time a phone will still be usable. Recently Samsung flagships Note7/S8/Note8 either get in fire either get broken after 1 year of usage...

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                                        • Carol
                                        • L7b
                                        • 16 Oct 2018

                                        So apple has put a good camera in their phones? After years of lying they finaly did it...but it ain't great, it's only good. And to think this type of quality was a looong time ago achived by other.

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