iPhone X vs. Galaxy S9+

So which phone do you get when you part ways with your Google Pixel 2 XL? If you are after a great camera, chances are you are going to pick either the iPhone X or the Galaxy S9+. Well, this is exactly what happened to two of our editors. And what better way of settling the argument which phone has the best camera than pitting them together in a camera shoot-out.

It won’t be an easy call this one – these two phones are quite equally matched so deciding which one has the best camera, is going to call for lots of pixel peeping. And that is quite alright since we’re the pixel peeping type of crowd.

But let’s have a look at the camera hardware they are offering. Both come with dual cameras on their backs, 4x12MP in total. They’re also in the same regular+telephoto configuration – no ultra wides or monochromes between these two. All four cameras feature stabilized optics too.

Samsung’s caught up with Apple this year and offers 4K video recording at 60fps and also gives you the option of using the storage-efficient H.265 codec. 1080p/240fps slo-mo was missing from the S8’s spec sheet, but the S9+ levels the field with the iPhone here as well. In fact, no – the S9+ one-ups the iPhone X in slo-mo. Naturally, it’s called ‘Super’ slo-mo and records at 960fps in 720p resolution, with auto triggering and easy GIF-making afterwards.

On the flip side, neither of these has brought any tangible improvements to the selfie game. So that should probably mean that the Galaxy is ahead of the iPhone? Probably, but a refresh on this one can’t hurt.

Numbers look better in a table, so here’s one with the iPhone X and the Galaxy S9+’s camera specs.

Apple iPhone X	Samsung Galaxy S9+
Main (wide-angle) camera	12MP, 4032 x 3024px	12MP, 4032 x 3024px
Sensor	4:3 aspect, 1/3″ sensor size, 1.22µm pixel size	4:3 aspect, 1/2.55″ sensor size, 1.4µm pixel size
Lens	f/1.8, 28mm, OIS	f/1.5-2.4, 26mm, OIS
Focus	PDAF	Dual Pixel PDAF
Telephoto camera	12MP, 4032 x 3024px	12MP, 4032 x 3024px
Sensor	4:3 aspect, 1/3.6″ sensor size, 1.0µm pixel size	4:3 aspect, 1/3.6″ sensor size, 1.0µm pixel size
Lens	f/2.4, 52mm, OIS	f/2.4, 52mm, OIS
Focus	CDAF	PDAF
Flash	Dual-tone, 4-LED flash	Single LED Flash
Video recording	2160p@60/30/24fps, 1080p@60/30fps	2160p@60/30fps, 1440p@30fps, 1080p@60/30fps
Slow motion	1080p@240/120fps	1080p@240fps, 720p@960fps
Video IS	OIS+EIS	OIS+EIS
Video features	Mono audio	Stereo audio
Front camera	7MP, 1.0µm, f/2.2, 32mm, 1080p@30fps	8 MP, 1/3.6″, 1.22µm, f/1.7, 25mm, 1440p@30fps