This past summer, as Apple (AAPL) fans geared up for the release of the new iPhone 6s, many were most eager to get their hands on the beefed-up, 12-mexapixel camera in the device. Apple blogs reported that the iPhone 6s camera would be Apple’s “best camera yet.”
According to one test, it is not.
DxOMark, which conducts tests of every new smartphone camera, has rated the iPhone 6s camera a mere 83 for photo capabilities, and 80 for video. Overall, the iPhone 6s camera got a composite score of 82—that’s the same score that DxOMark gave to the cameras in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus last year, and it’s a lower rating than it gave to cameras on smartphone models from Sony (SNE), Samsung, and Google (GOOG), according to CNET.
“Despite our hopes for the new sensor, the Apple iPhone 6s posts an identical overall score as its predecessor… iPhone 6s is left behind by the two leaders in our database, the Sony Xperia Z5 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge,” DxOMark’s reviewer Kevin Carter wrote.
“Overall,” the reviewer added, “those looking to upgrade from the iPhone 6 Plus might not find it appreciably compelling.” But even if camera enthusiasts are turned off by the lukewarm review, their aversion isn’t reflected in sales: in September, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus notched a record 13 million units in sales in just their first weekend on the market.