Marques Brownlee Took the Same Photo on Every Generation of Samsung Galaxy and Google Smartphone

After Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) took the same photo on each generation of the iPhone, the popular creator followed it up by taking the same photo on each generation of the Samsung Galaxy and Google smartphones.

Brownlee’s first iPhone test was a little underwhelming since he was outdoors in the daytime, and even the original iPhone did a fairly good job of that scene. But he followed that up with a low-light portrait, which really emphasized just how far the iPhone camera has come in two decades.

Brownlee evidently learned his lesson because for his Samsung and Google tests, he used the devices in more challenging scenes. On Tuesday, Brownlee shared a video in which he took a photo on every generation of Samsung Galaxy, from the S26 to the original. “Holy HDR,” he says.

The HDR comment denotes just how flat modern Samsung photos have become, with the computational photography simply not allowing for shadows. Some of the generations further back, like the S22 and S10, actually look a lot more natural and have more contrast. But the further back the generations go, the photos start getting janky.

Then yesterday, Brownlee followed up with another player in the smartphone market, Google. MKBHD took these photos while wearing a black Daft Punk hoodie and sitting in front of a window. “Watch the blue in the sky behind me slowly disappear,” he says.

Photographers know that a bright light source behind a subject makes for a tricky shot. With a traditional camera, it would often require fill light. But modern smartphones, aided by computational photography and machine learning, can produce a much wider dynamic range. They do this by capturing multiple frames in quick succession and combining them, allowing the software to reduce noise and lift shadow detail.

For more on how smartphone photography works, check out PetaPixel’s computational photography guide.

Image credits: MKBHD