Say Cheese! Google Pixel phones steal the show in MKBHD's blind smartphone camera test

The popular YouTuber MKBHD (Marques Brownlee) has finally published the complete results for the blind smartphone camera test of 2023, which leaves the Google Pixel devices in a great position.

While it is no surprise to see that Pixel phones perform well in terms of photography, it is still nice to see that Google manages to maintain its position year after year, even taking steps forward to remain at the top.

MKBHD’s blind smartphone test was carried out among a total of 20 smartphone models, whose photographic capabilities were measured in three main categories:

• Day Time winner
• Low Light winner
• Portrait mode winner

Also, the YouTuber added the ‘average ELO rating’ category which was occupied entirely by Google Pixel devices, to the surprise of many.

The photos taken by MKBHD’s team for the blind smartphone camera test were published on a website where you could compare them side by side and vote for your favorite. Of course, the website did not say which particular model the photos were of to avoid any type of bias.

Starting with the Day Time winner, the one chosen by the fans was the Pixel 7a, one of the most interesting devices in the mid-range thanks to its aggressive price and solid cameras whose good results were reflected in the votes.

The Day Time test also had a ‘trick’ since it not only sought to show the photographic capabilities of the devices in ideal lighting conditions, but also challenged their handling of HDR by doing it with a window behind in full sun. Behind the Pixel 7a were the Pixel Fold and the OnePlus Open.

Moving on to the ‘Low Light’ category, the winner was the iPhone 15 Pro, which came as a bit of a surprise since this device finished low in the previous category. Be that as it may, Apple’s smartphone performed admirably under these conditions, and was the public’s favorite in the blind votes.

Although the iPhone 15 Pro took first place in this category, two Pixel devices took both second and third place. More specifically, the Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 7a followed in the ranking, so Google’s mid-range device continues to compete successfully against the big guns in the photography section.

Regarding the ‘Portrait mode’ winner in MKBHD’s blind smartphone camera test, Google once again leads with its Pixel 8 Pro taking first place as the fan favorite for this type of photos.

This time, the next positions in the top 3 were more divided between different brands, with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 taking second place and Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro taking third place.

MKBHD also set the ‘average ELO rating’ category to know the ‘People’s champ’ based on the total average of votes obtained during the tests. The results were very favorable for Google smartphones, since this category was mainly dominated by Pixel devices.

According to MKBHD, the Pixel 7a managed to obtain the highest average ELO rating among all 20 smartphones tested. This is not surprising if you paid attention to the results in the tests, since the device was the winner in the first category and was also present in the top 3 of the second, in addition to having obtained a decent position in the third (although it was out of the top 3).

The second and third places in the ‘average ELO rating’ category were occupied by Google’s Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel Fold, so we have an absolute victory for the brand’s phones among fans of mobile photography.

In the MKBHD’s blind smartphone camera test, there is also a ‘Most votes per dollar’ category determined by both the number of votes obtained and the price of the device in question, seeking to determine which smartphones on the list manage to offer the best photographic performance per dollar paid.

Once again, the Google Pixel 7a comes out as the absolute winner, taking first place in the ‘quality-price’ segment. Without a doubt, Google’s affordable mobile phone stands out as one of the most interesting alternatives for those looking for the best possible mobile camera in its price range.

The second place might surprise you since it did not appear in the top positions for any of the categories tested previously. This is the Nothing Phone (2), whose photographic performance and aggressive price make it one of the public’s favorites in this section. Finally, third place in the ‘Most votes per dollar’ category list is occupied by the OnePlus 11, one of the most underrated smartphones of 2023.

You can see the full video with the tests below.