Galaxy Note 8 ties iPhone 8 Plus in camera tests

The iPhone 8 Plus’s reign as “the best smartphone camera” was a mighty short one. DxOMark, the testing outfit many look to for fair evaluations of cameras from DSLRs to phones, gave Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 a 94, tying the iPhone and in some ways exceeding it.

While its video is merely great and its background-blur algorithms unreliable, the Samsung gained on its competition with its outstanding detail and color in everyday settings and super-fast autofocus. Its zoom also outperformed the iPhone’s.

Low-light photos also showed less noise and more detail than its rivals, though HDR mode tended to clip highlights and highly backlit subjects didn’t turn out well. But we all know better than to shoot in a dark room against a bright window, right?

Of course, a lot depends on what you want the camera for, whether you need this or that mode, and, most importantly, whether you’d ever switch from iOS to Android, or vice versa.

But with a class-leading camera and display, the Note 8 is certainly a good bet if you’re deep into the mobile photography game. But with the Pixel 2 right around the corner, you might want to hold onto your wallet for just a little longer.