Galaxy S21 Ultra gets a lower DxOMark camera point than Galaxy S20 Ultra

The Galaxy S21 Ultra has received excellent reviews worldwide, thanks to the improved design, faster and more reliable performance, longer battery life and better cameras. The new phone brings along two telephoto cameras (3x and 10x optical zoom), which significantly improves the zoom range compared to the Galaxy S20 Ultra. However, the Galaxy S21 Ultra actually has a lower DxOMark score compared to the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

In DxOMark’s camera review of the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the phone received an overall score of 121 points. By comparison, last year’s Galaxy S20 Ultra received 126 points after being revised with version 4 (the latest version) of the review process. To break the score, the Galaxy S21 Ultra receives 128 points in the photo segment, 98 points in the video segment and 76 points in the zoom segment. The Galaxy S20 Ultra scored 128 points in the photo segment, 106 points in the video segment and 88 points in the zoom segment. According to DxOMark’s review, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is not as good as the Galaxy S20 Ultra in video and zoom quality.

We know that the Galaxy S21 Ultra has more reliable focus, better light photos and videos, and a longer zoom range than its predecessor. But the phone still has a lower score than the Galaxy S20 Ultra. So, what actually went wrong? DxOMark was not impressed with the two zoom cameras, and according to them, the new zoom cameras are not worth much over the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s single 5x periscope zoom camera. DxOMark says that artifacts and noise in images lower the score of the phone.

In terms of video recording, the Galaxy S21 Ultra receives a score similar to the Pixel 4a. Apparently video stabilization is the main problem of the phone. However, DxOMark only tested the 4K 60fps mode and not 4K 30fps and 8K 24fps video modes. The company says it has not tested the 8K video recording mode due to the lower quality stabilization.

Overall, the Galaxy S21 Ultra not only got a lower score than its predecessor, but also the flagship smartphones of last year. It ranks lower than 16 other smartphones, including the Huawei Mate 40 Pro + (139), Huawei Mate 40 Pro (136), Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra (133), Huawei P40 Pro (132), Vivo X50 Pro + (131), iPhone 12 Pro Max (130), iPhone 12 Pro (128), Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro (128), OPPO Find X2 Pro (126), Galaxy S20 Ultra (126), Honor 30 Pro + (125), iPhone 11 Pro Max (124), Huawei Mate 30 Pro (123), iPhone 12 Mini (122), iPhone 12 (122) and the Honor V30 Pro (122).

Our own review of the Galaxy S21 Ultra revealed that it offers a more reliable camera performance compared to the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Several other experts and judges share our opinion and say that the Galaxy S21 Ultra is currently the best smartphone camera, so it is up to you to believe the testing methods of DxOMark. What do you think of the Galaxy S21 Ultra camera review from DxOMark? Let us know in the comments below.