Sony Xperia X vs iPhone 6s: which has the better camera?

If in 1876 someone told Mr Alexander G. Bell that the telephones of the future would also take photographs, he would have probably laughed at their silly prediction. Yet here we are, 140 years later – everyone and their grandma now owns a phone with a camera. In fact, smartphones have long surpassed point-and-shoot cameras in popularity. That's likely why our smartphone camera comparisons draw the attention of so many of our readers and tend to spark heated discussions in the comments.

Today's camera comparison isn't likely to be any different. The star of the show is the Sony Xperia X – the company's latest leading phone. One of its key highlights is the 23MP main camera with super-fast autofocus, object tracking capabilities, and extra-wide field of view. Sounds great on paper, but its opponent, the iPhone 6s, is not one to be underestimated. Its 12MP camera is loved by millions of users for its ability to take great photos with ease, without the need to mess around with settings. 

Here's an overview of what these two phones have to offer in terms of camera specs:

It should be noted that while Xperia X boasts a 23MP camera sensor, we've taken the photos at 8MP of resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. This is the default shooting mode set on the device and the one most people are likely to use. Also, the slide-over galleries used below contain cropped-scaled down photos for easier general comparison. The original, full-resolution photos can be found in a gallery at the very bottom of this article. With all of this cleared up, let us comment on some photos.

Someone got really wet soon after they took these photos, but the view of the storm cloud stampede was worth the discomfort. Anyway, right from the start, it becomes clear that the two cameras may have a strikingly different way of "seeing" things. The Sony Xperia X has gone for a colder tone, which is actually fitting for this particular scene, while the iPhone leans on the warmer side, as it tends to do. Overall, the Xperia's image gets closer to reality, while the iPhone's photo appears a tad forced and artificial in tone. As far as detail quality goes, both cameras have captured plenty of it, allowing us to zoom in and explore the images from up close. 

It looks like a mansion some aspiring musician might live in, but it is actually a museum. The building itself is over 160 years old. That aside, there's quite a difference in image quality for this particular scene. We expected more of the Sony Xperia X – its photo is unpleasantly colder in appearance, and details in it are lacking compared to what the iPhone has captured. In fact, zooming in on the X's photo reveals that fine detail is mostly smudged across many areas of the photo, especially as go you go further away from the center. Sure, the image looks fine on its own, but the iPhone did a better job in this particular scene.

Shooting photos in low light isn't among the Xperia X's strengths, it seems. Not that its photo is bad or anything. Surely, it will get a bunch of likes on Facebook, but the iPhone took an even better photo of this scene. The latter has captured more details in the shot – something that's clear to see without even having to zoom in. This is most likely related to the fact that the Xperia X took the photo at much higher sensitivity setting (ISO800 vs ISO320 for the 6s), which inevitably produces more noise. Also, the iPhone has achieved better, more realistic color accuracy, although both phones leave room for improvement in this respect.

Oh boy, where do we begin with this one. The pair of photos we have here compares the two phones' camera performance when using flash – to compensate for shadows cast by the poor lighting, in this case. As it is clear to see, the photo from the Sony Xperia X is overly and unnaturally bright, with a blueish tone cast by the LED. The iPhone 6s, on the other hand, has balanced colors more naturally and has produced a much more pleasing photo. Actually, the viewer might not even realize that a flash has been used, as the extra light provided is neither too little, nor too much.

It is odd to see that Sony – a company with decades of experience in digital photography – can't quite produce a phone with a killer camera. Last year's Xperia Z5 couldn't shake the dominance of Apple, Samsung, and LG in the field, and neither could the Xperia Z3 before it. Same is now the case with the Sony Xperia X, it seems. Sure, its camera is fast and can take good photos, especially in favorable conditions, but the iPhone 6s is still a step ahead in terms of overall quality.

The camera on the Xperia X does have its advantages over the iPhone 6s, however. For instance, it has a much wider field of view, allowing it to see more of the scene from the same distance – both horizontally and vertically. This could be of use when taking photos of picturesque sceneries or in tight spaces. On the downside, with the Xperia X we observed a drop in sharpness and detail in areas far from the image's center, while the iPhone maintains a uniform level of detail across the photo. 

Sony can do better in the camera department. We're sure of this. At the end of the day, however, we'd say that the iPhone 6s had the upper hand in this camera comparison against the Sony Xperia X. Apple's smartphone may not be leading by a mile, but it is ahead just enough for us to recommend it over the Xperia X, especially to folks who just want to take good photos without effort. 

The gallery below contains all of the photos used in this comparison – uncompressed, in their original resolution. On PCs, use double-click to zoom and the fullscreen option to get a closer look at the images.