Author: Paul Monckton / Source: Forbes
HTC has launched its latest flagship smartphone, the U12+, and in so doing has delivered the highest DxOMark score to-date for any dual-camera phone.
With its overall score of 103 points, the U12+ comes out a single point ahead of Huawei’s formidable P20, making it DxOMark’s highest-scoring smartphone camera, save for the triple-camera of the Huawei P20 Pro.

As usual, that headline overall score hides many important details: strengths and weaknesses which could easily sway your decision when selecting the best smartphone camera for your needs.
HTC U12+ – Key Specs
The U12+ dual rear camera comes with a 12MP 1/2.55” main sensor and f/1.75 27mm-equivalent lens paired with a secondary 16MP 2x telephoto module with an f/2.6 aperture. This puts the hardware specs in the same ballpark as Samsung’s Galaxy S9 Plus, although Samsung’s flagship comes with brighter lenses and a dual-aperture setting.
Unusually, although not uniquely, the U12+ also boasts a dual selfie camera with twin 8MP modules featuring 1.12micron pixels and f/2.0 apertures. Unfortunately for HTC, the selfie camera isn’t tested under DxOMark Mobile and therefore doesn’t contribute to the overall score.
DxOMark Scores
DxOMark scores break down into separate ‘Photo’ and ‘Video’ sections, each of which is further divided into individual subtests targeted at specific photographic abilities. Some deal with performance factors such as speed and accuracy, while others compare various aspects of image quality.
A good all-round camera needs balanced performance in all shooting situations but, as we’ll see, the HTC U12+ performs much better in some sections of the test than in others.
So let’s take a closer look at DxOMark’s results:
Excellent Scores For Both Photo And Video
The U12+ scores very well on both photo and video scores, achieving 106 points and 95 points respectively. However, it should be noted that these are not the highest scores in either category, even when the all-conquering triple-lensed Huawei P20 Pro is excluded from our comparison.
The standard Huawei P20 edges ahead with 107 points for photos, while Google’s Pixel 2 manages to obtain 96 points for video.
The U12+ camera was praised, in particular, for its excellent autofocus performance. As the first smartphone to achieve 100 points in this sub-test, the U12+ delivered the best autofocus score to-date, coming in two points ahead of Huawei’s P20 and P20 Pro and Google’s Pixel and Pixel 2 range.
The test also singled out the U12+ for its color rendition and flash photography. Its scores of 87 points and 93 points respectively delivering two more best-ever results from DxOMark. Color rendition proved to be particularly impressive in low-light situations where competing technologies, such as those from Huawei and Samsung, sacrificed color in favour of detail.
But Not Without Flaws
Unfortunately, these superb sub-scores aren’t maintained across the full suite of DxOMark tests. In particular, rather fundamental ‘Exposure &…
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