Pixel 2 XL beats iPhone X, Galaxy Note8, HTC U11, and LG V30 as best camera, but iPhone X takes better selfies and Note8 is most versatile for video
iPhone X vs. Pixel 2 XL vs. Note 8 vs. HTC U11 vs. LG V30 — Smartphone cameras get better every year, but this year more than ever truly felt like a leap.
Context & Ripple Effects
This verdict closes out a fall of dueling scorecards. September's flagship spec comparison lined the iPhone X up against the same field on paper, and weeks later DxOMark handed the iPhone 8 Plus a then-record 94, keeping Apple's camera story on top. The Verge's year-end shootout now splits that story apart: Google's Pixel 2 XL takes stills, the iPhone X takes selfies, and Samsung's Note8 takes versatile video.
First-order effects
- Holiday shoppers get a decisive split answer — Pixel 2 XL for photos, iPhone X for selfies, Note8 for video — instead of a single default camera pick.
- Google lands the headline camera win over Apple and Samsung even as the iPhone X dominates commercially, generating 35% of worldwide smartphone profits in Q4 2017 per Counterpoint.
Second-order effects
- Apple and Samsung are pushed to compete on image processing rather than lens counts, since the Pixel 2 XL beats dual-camera rivals on stills.
- Benchmark bodies like DxOMark gain leverage over vendors' camera roadmaps as manufacturers chase third-party validation of image quality.
Third-order effects
- The crown proves perishable: two years later the iPhone 11 Pro review finds Apple outshooting the Pixel 3 in both bright and low light, making camera leadership a per-cycle contest rather than a durable moat.
- If each generation reshuffles the ranking, camera output displaces screens and raw specs as the primary purchase driver and marketing axis for flagship phones.
The trend: Flagship competition is rotating around computational photography, with the camera crown trading hands between Google, Apple, and Samsung nearly every product cycle.