Google Beats Apple in 2022 ‘Blind’ Smartphone Camera Challenge [VIDEO]

The results of renowned tech YouTuber Marques “MKBHD” Brownlee‘s annual “Blind Smartphone Camera Test” are in, and Google’s 2022 Pixel phones dominated the competition this year.

MKBHD pit a total of 15 phones that launched this year, including the iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone SE 3, Google Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 6a, and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, against each other in a completely blind camera test. This year, the YouTuber opted for a more “scientific” approach than the bracket-style tournament he conducted last year.

Instead, MKBHD opted for an Elo-based rating system that ranked all of the participants across three image categories:

1. Standard — A full-auto shot from the phone’s stock camera app
2. Night Mode
3. Portrait Mode

The rankings were based on over 21.2 million votes from more than 600,000 participants. Google’s Pixel 6a, which launched for just $599 and can often be had for much less, won the contest by average Elo rating across all three categories. Notably, its predecessor, the Pixel 5a, won last year’s competition.

Google’s 2022 flagship, the Pixel 7 Pro, came in at a close second. Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro, meanwhile, was down in the middle of the pack in seventh place.

The complete rankings contained quite a few surprises, though. For example, Sony’s Xperia 1 IV — a smartphone with an astounding camera setup on paper — came dead last.

Take a look at the three phones with the most votes in each of the categories:

1. Standard: 
   1. 1. Oppo Find X5 Pro
      2. Pixel 7 Pro
      3. Pixel 6a
2. Night Mode: 
   1. 1. Vivo X80 Pro+
      2. Pixel 6a
      3. Oppo Find X5 Pro
3. Portrait Mode:
   1. 1. Pixel 7 Pro
      2. Pixel 6a
      3. Realme 10 Pro+

This year’s Pixel phones managed to squeeze their way into the top of every single category. Apple fell behind, however, with the iPhone 14 Pro ranking sixth in the Standard shot, tenth in Night Mode, and fifth for Portrait photos.

The trove of data from the rankings was pretty telling of the things people like in the images they see online. Check out MKBHD’s full video below for more insight into the data:

While the competition is already over, you can head over to vote.mkbhd.com to take the test yourself.