DXOMARK has given Google’s Pixel 4 camera system a top-10 ranking, but the handset suffers from its lack of an ultra-wide lens.

“Achieving a Photo sub-score of 117 points, Google’s latest device offers a nice step forward for stills over its predecessor, with noticeable improvements in most areas and a notable jump in the quality of zoom shots,” DXOMARK notes in its review of the Pixel 4’s camera system performance. “[But] the Pixel 4 remains slightly behind such recent top performers as the Huawei Mate 30 Pro (131 points), largely due to the lack of both an ultra-wide camera and a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor. These omissions put the Google device at an immediate disadvantage compared to the triple- and quad-cam devices in our wide-angle and bokeh testing, and that affects its overall ranking.”

This is pretty much what I expected, and I pointed out my disappointment with Google poo-pooing its missing ultra-wide capabilities during its launch event last week; Google is only downplaying ultra-wide shots because its latest handset doesn’t offer this crucial feature.

Interestingly, the Pixel 4 also scored highly for its video performance, despite not offering storage-hungry 4K/UHD at 60 fps like other modern flagships. DXOMARK hailed the handset’s excellent noise reduction, color, white balance, autofocus, and gyro-EIS stabilization, and awarded it its highest-ever video score of 101 points, tied with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G.

While I understand the Pixel 4 not beating out the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, given how good that firm’s recent handsets have performed, I cannot for the life of me imagine how the lackluster camera systems in entries like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 or OnePlus 7 Pro outscore it.

Tagged with Google Pixel 4