Camera benchmarking body DxO Labs has hailed the freshly-launched HTC U11 as the best mobile snapper of all time, after extensive testing. According to the DxOMark Mobile tests, the HTC U11 beats the Samsung Galaxy S8, Google Pixel and other premium camera phones for overall photo quality.
We went hands-on with the HTC U11 ahead of its official launch this morning and already we’re fans. As you’ll see in our HTC U11 vs Galaxy S8 comparison, we reckon HTC’s latest flagship phone has enough swagger to cut it alongside premium phones from the likes of Samsung.
In particular, we’re impressed by HTC’s 12-megapixel PixelSense 3 camera tech. With its digital and optical image stabilisation and f/1.7 aperture lens, the HTC U11 is able to capture sharp, detailed photos in pretty much any conditions – even very low light.
Seems like we’re not the only ones impressed by the HTC U11 camera, either. French optics expert DxO Labs has named this flagship phone the best mobile camera around, after running it through the DxOMark Mobile tests in its own labs.
If that means nothing to you, check out our DxOMark Mobile test guide, which explains how each phone camera is rated and ranked. At the end of the testing phase, each mobile is awarded a score out of 100 and inserted into the DxOMark Mobile league table. This allows us to see at a glance which smartphones pack the best camera tech.
At least, according to DxO Labs. After all, like any qualitative testing, the final results are based on the opinions of the testers.
The HTC U11 currently sits at the top of the DxOMark Mobile rankings with an impressive score of 90 out of 100. In comparison, the Google Pixel is just a breath behind with a score of 89. Samsung’s Galaxy S8 came close too, with a final result of 88.
DxO Labs testers were particularly impressed by the HTC U11’s low light performance, fast autofocus (‘one of the fastest and most accurate we have tested’) and effective image stabilisation. Bold colours in daylight shots and well-exposed night shots taken with the flash were also given the thumbs up.
In fact, very few cons at all are highlighted in the write-up. Some slight ghosting and loss of detail when shooting video in low light are pretty much the only issues brought up.
We’ll be sure to test out the HTC U11’s camera in full for our in-depth review, to see if DxO Labs’ verdict is indeed on point.