In short: It’s been almost half a year since Huawei’s P20 Pro took the title of the world’s best mobile camera and not even Samsung’s greatest flagship ever created managed to dethrone it, according to established French image benchmarking company DxOMark. In its in-depth review of the Galaxy Note 9 published this week, DxOMark awarded the device with a score of 103 points on its non-finite scale, putting it on par with the HTC U12 Plus and a point above the P20 but below the P20 Pro which still holds a record 109 rating.
Background: Huawei made history with the P20 Pro by managing to commercialize a triple-camera setup inside a mainstream smartphone, consequently delivering an unprecedented level of imaging capabilities. While more doesn’t always equal better, as evidenced by the first two generations of Google’s Pixel flagships, Huawei is widely believed to have made the most of the three rear lenses found on the back of the P20 Pro, having opted for three radically different glass-sensor combos that all excel at different things but also complement one another in an effective manner when needed. The Chinese manufacturer is expected to one-up its latest imaging advancements in mid-October when it’s scheduled to announce the Android-powered Mate 20 lineup, with at least one member of the upcoming product family being set to feature another triple-camera system, as per numerous leaks and rumors.
The impact: Samsung is reportedly going all-in on the Galaxy S10 camera and will deliver at least one Android flagship with a triple-camera setup in the first quarter of 2019, possibly earlier than it originally planned. For presumably the same reasons, the company is looking to unveil its first foldable smartphone as early as November, having pushed the announcement ahead so as to not be beaten by Huawei on another major innovation front twice in a single calendar year. The South Korean tech giant has a solid chance of retaking the title of the most premium mobile camera maker in 2019, according to some industry watchers.
