DxOMark gives the iPhone 8 Plus camera a score of 94, the highest ever, 4 points above the Google Pixel and HTC U11; video score of 89 is below Pixel's 91
Context & Ripple Effects
The DxOMark crown has been changing hands all year: Google's Pixel took the record at 89 in late 2016, HTC's U11 nudged it to 90 in May, and Apple now jumps four points clear with the iPhone 8 Plus at 94 — its first time atop the leaderboard in this cycle.
The margin matters less than the cadence: within two weeks Samsung's Note8 matched the 94 and Google answered with a 98 from the Pixel 2, turning each 'highest ever' into a weeks-long marketing window rather than a durable lead.
First-order effects
- Apple gains an independent 'best camera ever tested' claim for iPhone 8 Plus launch marketing, displacing HTC U11 and Google Pixel from the top spot they held earlier in 2017.
- The still-photo win comes with a caveat Apple can't claim outright: Pixel's video score of 91 stays ahead of the iPhone 8 Plus's 89.
Second-order effects
- Samsung's Note8 matching the 94 days later forces Apple's claim to be framed as 'tied-best' almost immediately, while HTC U11 — the May record-holder — drops to third tier without new hardware to answer with.
- Google's counter with the Pixel 2's 98 makes DxOMark scores a headline spec in flagship launches, pressuring every vendor to submit devices for testing or concede the benchmark narrative.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, 'highest ever' DxOMark records become perishable launch-window assets measured in weeks, rewarding vendors who tune cameras for the benchmark's still-photo weighting even when rivals like Pixel lead on video quality.
The trend: Flagship smartphone cameras are locked in a DxOMark leaderboard arms race where record scores are set and broken within single product cycles.