Opinion | DxOMark somehow thinks the iPhone 11 Pro Max takes worse selfies than most other 2019 flagships

Every once in a while, DxOMark manages to come up with a controversial review that goes against just about every other existing information. The OnePlus 7 Pro's at-the-time amazing overall score of 114 was one of such, and the website's latest review of the iPhone 11 Pro Max's selfie camera is yet another.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max recorded an overall score of 91, which implies that it offers worse selfie performance than other flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S10+ (96), Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G (99), Google Pixel 3 (92), Huawei Mate 30 Pro (93), Huawei Nova 6 5G (100), and Asus Zenfone 6 (98).

The iPhone 11 Pro Max earned a score of 93 in the photo category, and a score of 90 in the video segment. The video score places it in the same bracket as the aforementioned phones, but all the phones record much higher scores in the photo category—and that is, well, nonsensical.

I'm a member of the school of thought that prefers evaluating the sample photos DxOMark provide myself, and they tell a story that's entirely different from what the website's scores would suggest. The iPhone 11 Pro Max was benchmarked against the Galaxy S10+ and Asus Zenfone 6, and bar a select few shots, the Apple flagship outperformed the competition.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max consistently produced images with great dynamic range, exposure, and detail. That may have come at the expense of some noise, but it's always a better option than the over-smoothening that was ever-present on the S10+'s shots. Colors were also more accurate on the iPhone's shots, even though they tended to stray towards the warmer side of the spectrum.

As always, though, it's important to note that DxOMark's scores aren't to be taken as a comprehensive representation, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max's selfie camera review is more evidence of that.

What do you think about the iPhone 11 Pro Max's selfie camera? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.