Huawei Mate 20 Pro could have the best camera of any smartphone

There are lots of ways to judge the quality of a smartphone camera, but one of the most useful is the score given to it by DxOMark – a site which takes a more in-depth look at smartphone cameras than just about any other. And going by its DxOMark score the Huawei Mate 20 Pro may have the best camera of any phone yet.

We say 'may' because the Mate 20 Pro hasn’t been announced yet, and nor has its DxOMark score. But someone on Weibo (a Chinese microblogging site) has posted an image, seemingly showing the scores for a number of new and upcoming handsets, and the Huawei Mate 20 Pro takes the top spot with a score of 116.

That's a full seven points higher than the previous top score of 109, achieved by the Huawei P20 Pro, but since the Mate 20 Pro is likely to have an upgraded version of that phone’s camera it’s believable.

Other highlights in the leak include the Google Pixel 3, which apparently scores 107, the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, both of which supposedly sit on 104, the iPhone XR with a listed score of 100, and the OnePlus 6T with 99.

An image seemingly showing new DxOMark scores. Credit: Weibo / Communication Old Willow

An image seemingly showing new DxOMark scores. Credit: Weibo / Communication Old Willow

Don't read too much into it

We would of course take all of this with a pinch of salt, as the image could easily have been altered and the source (who goes by the name Communication Old Willow) isn’t someone we’re familiar with, though they certainly have a large following on Weibo.

It's also worth noting that even if these scores are accurate they don’t tell the full story, as DxOMark gives separate scores for photography and video, as well as a combined score.

The combined score is what we’re looking at here, so even if the Mate 20 Pro has the highest combined score it might be lower than some rivals for either photography or video, with the other score pulling its ranking up.

A score is also ultimately just a number. For a real idea of how good a phone’s camera is you need to read the full analysis, or better yet use multiple sources or even try it out for yourself. Still, when it comes to the latest flagships there’s little doubt that your phone is going to have a very good camera.

Via SmartPrix

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.