iPhone 18 Pro camera ranking falls to second on DXOMARK

Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro has slipped to second place in DXOMARK’s camera ranking, with the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra now ahead. DXOMARK gave Apple’s flagship 172 points, which still keeps it near the top of the ultra-premium camera class and ahead of every other phone except Huawei.

The iPhone 18 Pro camera ranking has reportedly fallen to second place in DXOMARK’s latest camera assessment, putting the flagship behind the current top-ranked smartphone. The result highlights how quickly smartphone camera competition is changing, with image quality, zoom, video, and low-light performance all playing a role in the final ranking.

For readers comparing flagship phones, the result is a mixed one. The iPhone 18 Pro is not the overall leader anymore, but it still looks highly competitive in the areas many buyers notice first: video quality, low-light performance and stabilization. That keeps it relevant even as the ranking shifts at the top.

DXOMARK iPhone 18 Pro score leads video and low light

The iPhone 18 Pro’s 176 video score is the highest DXOMARK lists for any phone, and that alone is a strong marker for users who care about motion capture. The 150 low-light result is also best-in-class, which suggests Apple continues to do well in scenes where many cameras struggle.

This matters because a camera ranking is not only about a single number. The overall score is useful, but the sub-scores tell a more complete story. In this case, Apple’s flagship is still standing out in video and dim environments, even if it no longer holds the top overall position. That makes it a strong option for people who shoot a lot indoors, at night or on the move.

DXOMARK’s findings also suggest that Apple remains very close to the top tier in the premium segment. The iPhone 18 Pro is still ahead of every other phone in the ultra-premium class except Huawei’s new leader. So while the headline says second place, the wider picture is that Apple is still inside the same elite group as the best camera phones on the market.

iPhone 18 Pro variable aperture helps portraits but zoom lags

Apple’s first variable aperture opens to f/1.48 and closes to f/4.0, giving the main camera more control than previous iPhones. In practical terms, that helps the phone adjust how much light reaches the sensor, depending on the scene.

The iPhone 18 Pro camera ranking also reflects a mixed camera performance, with its variable aperture helping deliver more natural-looking portraits and improved depth control. However, its zoom performance reportedly falls behind competing flagship phones, showing that strong portrait results do not necessarily translate into an overall top camera ranking.

DXOMARK says the feature helps keep more faces sharp in group shots, which is useful for portraits and everyday family photos. It is one of the more noticeable hardware changes on the iPhone 18 Pro, and it appears to support better control over depth of field than earlier models.

Still, the scores show some limits. Apple’s 157 portrait score and 138 zoom score do not match the strongest results in the category. That leaves room for Huawei and Vivo to push ahead in areas such as telephoto performance and portrait separation, where small differences can matter a lot in flagship comparisons.

So the iPhone 18 Pro ends up in an interesting place. It leads in video, performs very well in low light, and introduces a variable aperture that adds flexibility. But in the broader DXOMARK ranking, those strengths were not enough to keep it ahead of the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra overall. For buyers, that means the camera system is still elite, just not untouchable.

In a market where flagship camera rankings can change quickly, the iPhone 18 Pro remains a strong benchmark. The result does not push Apple out of the top tier. It simply shows that Huawei has taken the lead, while Apple continues to post best-in-class results in some of the most important camera tests.