The long wait is over, the last battle has been fought and the last picture has been taken. That’s right, our Smartphone World Cup is over, and we’re ready to name our winner. We were looking for the smartphone with the best camera and we found it: it’s the Google Pixel 2 !

Just as a reminder: we sent eight smartphones out onto the field to find out which had the best camera. And we only chose the best of the best: the Huawei P20 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S9, Sony Xperia XZ2, HTC U12+, OnePlus 6, LG G7 ThinQ and Google Pixel 2 with Android, as well as the iPhone X from Apple to be exotic.

On its way to the final, the Pixel 2 fended off the HTC U12+, OnePlus 6 and Huawei P20 Pro. In the nail-biting final against the iPhone X, the Pixel 2 protected Android’s honor, even when it came to selfies and videos. The Pixel 2 performed brilliantly! In a battle between two smartphones from 2017 that left all the newcomers from 2018 in the dust, Google left no doubt that the Pixel 2 is the smartphone camera champion.

Google on top: Pixel 2 wins the title! / © NextPit

Detailed results of the final

Scene 1: 1A (Google Pixel 2) vs 1B (Apple iPhone X) Winner: iPhone X (76-24 percent)

1A (Google Pixel 2) vs 1B (Apple iPhone X) Scene 2: 2A (Google Pixel 2) vs 2B (Apple iPhone X) Winner: Pixel 2 (80-20 percent)

2A (Google Pixel 2) vs 2B (Apple iPhone X) Scene 3: 3A (Apple iPhone X) vs 3B (Google Pixel 2) Winner: Pixel 2 (81-19 percent)

3A (Apple iPhone X) vs 3B (Google Pixel 2) Scene 4: 4A (Google Pixel 2) vs 4B (Apple iPhone X) Winner: Pixel 2 (73-27 percent)

4A (Google Pixel 2) vs 4B (Apple iPhone X) Scene 5: 5A (Apple iPhone X) vs 5B (Google Pixel 2) Winner: Pixel 2 (79-21 percent)

5A (Apple iPhone X) vs 5B (Google Pixel 2) Scene 6 (Video): 6A (Apple iPhone X) vs 6B (Google Pixel 2) Winner: Pixel 2 (76-24 percent)

This results in a more than clear overall score, 413 to 187 points, a landslide victory for the Google Pixel 2 and a crushing defeat for iPhone X. Congratulations on the title, Google Pixel 2!

Even more impressive: besides the first photo, the street scene in bright daylight, the Pixel 2 was clearly ahead in every other scene, including the selfie and video shots. None of the other categories were really all that close, which was also reflected in the final result. And this was the case in all three of the Pixel 2's earlier match ups, where the Pixel 2 prevailed against all the competitors by a wide margin.

The iPhone X performed well to reach second place. / © NextPit

Yesterday's hardware with the software of tomorrow

It’s embarrassing for the competition. The Pixel 2, with its simple 12MP camera and Sony sensor, swept away all the dual and triple cameras, the AI cameras, and the variable apertures. The strength of Google’s camera lies not in sophisticated or complicated hardware, but in the software behind the camera, meaning the “developing of the photos”. No manufacturer gets better images out of the sensor than Google.

The Pixel 2 doesn’t come with too many camera features for professionals. There’s no RAW mode, no professional mode overloaded with options, no AI support (at least that is explicitly advertised), this is very remarkable and a different approach in comparison to the competition. In the end, Google imitates Apple’s recipe for success: there are better and fewer functions that are especially good and easy to use, instead of trying to do everything. Most photos taken on smartphones are taken in automatic mode and without trying to do anything too tricky, and in this realm, the Pixel 2 shines most brightly.

The best complete package

The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are still the best choices for those who value an easy-to-use camera with excellent results. Of course, there are specialists like the Huawei P20 Pro with mega-zoom or the Galaxy S9 with its giant aperture. But the Google Pixel 2 is undoubtedly the best overall package.

Did you expect Google Pixel 2 to win our smartphone world cup? Let us know in the comments!