iPhone 15 Pro Wins Best Camera in MKBHD Smartphone Awards 2023

by

YouTuber Marques Brownlee has chosen the iPhone 15 Pro as the standout device in the best camera category of MKBHD's Smartphone Awards 2023.


Brownlee justified his choice by admitting that while there are smartphones on the market that can produce better results when using zoom, the iPhone 15 Pro offers the most solid all-round performance across the biggest variety of use cases, and its ease of use when taking photos and videos remains unrivaled.

Brownlee particularly highlighted the quality of video recorded on the iPhone 15 Pro, calling it the best and most consistent in various situations. He also applauded Apple for introducing Log recording to its feature set, as well as the ability to save video directly to an external storage device.

In MKBHD's blind smartphone camera test that was run online, the iPhone 15 Pro was also found to capture the best low-light photos. An honorable mention in the category went to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, for its stills camera performance when using the zoom lens.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Plus won the best battery category, which is judged not only on the biggest capacity, but the overall battery experience. The iPhone 15 was chosen for its less power-hungry 60Hz display that allows the device to keep going beyond most rivals.

MKBHD said that the iPhone 15 Plus should be the choice for those looking for a "risk-free, no-brainer" device with great battery life. Brownlee also gave a shout-out to the ROG Phone 7, which does not have wireless charging but has the biggest battery capacity (6000 mAh) of any phone.

Phone of the Year went to the Google Pixel 8. Despite costing $100 more than its predecessor, Brownlee praised its great stills camera, dramatically better display, several excellent software features, and the promise of seven years of software updates.

All of the category winners for the MKBHD Smartphone Awards 2023 are as follows:

Best Big Phone:

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Best Compact Phone:

ASUS Zenfone 10

Best Camera:

iPhone 15 Pro

The Value Award:

Samsung Galaxy A54

Best Battery:

iPhone 15 Plus

The Design Award:

Honor Magic V2

Best Foldable Phone:

OnePlus Open

Most Improved:

Nothing Phone 2

Bust of the Year (Worst Phone):

Saga Solana Cryptophone

Phone of the Year:

Google Pixel 8

You can watch the full video of MKBHD's Smartphone Awards above and on the YouTube website. What are your opinions on this year's winners? Let us know in the comments.

Tag: MKBHD

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Read Full Article • 59 comments
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
Read Full Article • 42 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Read Full Article
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
Read Full Article • 82 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Read Full Article • 118 comments
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
Read Full Article • 159 comments
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Read Full Article • 66 comments
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
Read Full Article • 64 comments
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...
Read Full Article • 84 comments

Top Rated Comments

AgeOfSpiracles Avatar
AgeOfSpiracles
24 months ago

Even Tim Cook listens to MKBDH as he has used quotes from MKBDH during Keynotes.

The troll is not MKBDH here, that is for sure.
It's so funny, there's people here saying he's not to be trusted as a know-nothing with no insight into Apple's practices. And other people saying that he's not to be trusted because he's an insider shill since he has done interviews with Apple execs. The MR crowd just skews stodgy, and tends toward an irrational hatred of youtubers. The only thing that brings out the grumps more is any mention of a music artist under the age of 30. (who? never heard of her, but she sucks and I hate her!)

Having watched a lot of these low-info tech reviewer channels for years, I'd put MKBHD in the top 3 in terms of content and honesty. I don't think he intentionally stirs the pot or trolls. He certainly doesn't shill for Apple, IMO. If anything, he's an Android fanboy at heart, but he's fair and openminded, and therefore see's the good in both platforms.
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WarmWinterHat Avatar
WarmWinterHat
24 months ago

He isn’t the Messiah when it comes to phones it’s just his opinion which is subjective he gave the Google pixel eight best phone of the year that’s nonsense. Why do people think that what he says is the blueprint to tech?
My wife just bought a Pixel 8 on sale for $350, no-contract and out the door, as an upgrade to her Pixel 2. It's a fantastic phone and the price in unbeatable, even at full cost.

I think it's a deserved award.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zest28 Avatar
Zest28
24 months ago

My honest take: This is cool. Good for iPhone. But I stopped caring about this dude's opinion so long ago. He's a professional troll who's good at video editing.

Edit: I should clarify what I mean-- He is someone in a long list of "YouTubers" who thinks he knows things about things and is good at talking about them as if he's an expert. He has no idea what goes on at Apple or how any of this stuff is created. He's a professional armchair quarterback. The most useless kind of quarterback there is.
Even Tim Cook listens to MKBHD as he has used quotes from MKBHD during Keynotes.

The troll is not MKBHD here, that is for sure.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WarmWinterHat Avatar
WarmWinterHat
24 months ago

The Pixel exists as an ad platform for Google so of course it’s cheap. It’s also going to be a piece of junk in two years if all their previous models are any indication.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying there’s a reason it’s cheaper than the iPhone upfront but possibly more expensive in the long run.
She bought the Pixel 2 in 2017 and was still using it without issue until last week...The battery was just getting weak.

I see no reason the Pixel 8 won't last as long.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BrownyQ Avatar
BrownyQ
24 months ago
I like watching his content, because I find him to be one of the more balanced reviewers and presents his opinions in an organized, easy to understand fashion. His little awards show is a great way to look over the options of the year, and keep them in mind for recommending devices to friends and family, since not everyone I know is an Apple fan.

He prefaces the entire video by saying it's all his opinion, so I do find some of the ire in the comments quite funny. I know it's an Apple focused website, but Apple devices are not the greatest things ever made.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
toobravetosave Avatar
toobravetosave
24 months ago

The Pixel exists as an ad platform for Google so of course it’s cheap. It’s also going to be a piece of junk in two years if all their previous models are any indication.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying there’s a reason it’s cheaper than the iPhone upfront but possibly more expensive in the long run.
Such blind hate. iOS is also just a platform to supply Apple with advertising data on you (yes they do this) and funnel you into subscription and in app purchases.

How on earth is a pixel more expensive than an iPhone long term lmao
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments