DXOMARK has given the iPhone 18 Pro an overall camera score of 172, which puts it second in the lab’s global ranking, three points behind the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra at 175. Its video score of 176 is marked as DXOMARK’s top score for any phone.
The iPhone 17 Pro scored 168 and now sits fifth, so the new phone gains four points and three places. The scores are live on DXOMARK’s iPhone 18 Pro page, but the full written test wasn’t up as of early September 19: the page’s “Read the test results” link returned a not-found page. For now, the numbers and a short list of pros and cons are all there is.
The scores against iPhone 17 Pro
The scores are for the 6.3-inch iPhone 18 Pro. It splits the overall number into photo and video, then by camera.
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| DXOMARK score | iPhone 18 Pro | iPhone 17 Pro | Best score listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camera (overall) | 172 | 168 | 175, Huawei Pura 80 Ultra |
| Photo | 171 | 166 | 180, Huawei Pura 80 Ultra |
| Photo: main | 181 | 175 | 184, Huawei Pura 80 Ultra |
| Photo: bokeh | 175 | 170 | 185, Oppo Find X9 Ultra |
| Photo: ultra-wide | 152 | 150 | 175, Vivo X300 Ultra |
| Photo: tele | 143 | 141 | 173, Oppo Find X9 Ultra |
| Video | 176 | 172 | 176, iPhone 18 Pro |
| Video: main | 189 | 186 | 189, iPhone 18 Pro |
| Video: ultra-wide | 152 | 148 | 152, iPhone 18 Pro |
| Video: tele | 127 | 123 | 140, Vivo X200 Ultra |
Every sub-score went up, but not evenly. The main camera added six points for photos, and portrait-style bokeh added five. The telephoto barely moved, up two points for photos, and it’s still 30 points off the best telephoto DXOMARK has tested.
DXOMARK also rates three use cases. The iPhone 18 Pro scores 150 for low light, marked as the top score, against 143 for the 17 Pro. It scores 157 for portraits, up from 151, where the best is 169 from the Pura 80 Ultra, and 138 for zoom, up from 135, where the best is 161 from the Vivo X300 Ultra.
What DXOMARK liked
Low light leads the list of strengths. DXOMARK calls it “best-in-class low-light photography, delivering excellent detail, exposure and noise control in challenging lighting conditions.” It also praises accurate exposure with “a wide dynamic range that preserves details in challenging lighting,” and video stabilization that stays smooth “even when recording while running,” helped further at 60 fps.
The variable aperture gets its own line: it “helps keep more people in focus in group portraits, while also giving users manual control when needed.” That answers last year’s complaint. DXOMARK’s iPhone 17 Pro page lists “visible limitations for group shots due to the absence of a variable aperture” among its cons, along with “noticeable noise in indoor and low-light environments”.
If you’ve been shooting with the new aperture control, one iOS 27 detail is worth knowing: the Camera app resets your aperture each time it opens unless you tell it to keep your setting.
Where it falls short
DXOMARK lists four weaknesses:
- “Long-range zoom performance falls behind some flagship competitors”
- “Slight color casts and occasional white balance shifts can affect color consistency”
- Flare that “can be noticeable” in some conditions
- “Noticeable brightness shifts between photo and video previews”
The zoom point fits the scores. The phones ahead of it on telephoto and zoom are Android flagships from Oppo, Vivo and Huawei, and the gap there hasn’t closed. On video, though, no phone DXOMARK has tested scores higher.
What the ranking means for buyers
A DXOMARK score is one lab’s weighted average, not a verdict on which phone takes photos you’ll prefer, and the written review should explain how the numbers were reached. For iPhone owners the useful signals are narrower: video remains the iPhone’s strongest suit, low light has improved enough to top the chart, and long zoom is still where the competition pulls ahead.
For a wider view of the new cameras, our photographer’s buying guide covers the four apertures and the 8x zoom, and Apple’s new Reference Image feature explains how the phone marks a photo’s origin.
