PC World - USA (2019-11)

90 PCWorld NOVEMBER 2019

FEATURE iPHONE 11 NIGHT MODE VS PIXEL 3 XL, GALAXY S10+ & ONEPLUS 6T

interfere with what you’re shooting. It also

differs in the control you have over how slowly

it shoots. The camera app tells you exactly

how long the processing will be—generally

one or two seconds, depending on the

available light—so you know ahead of time

how long you need to keep your hand still. It’s

a mystery with the other phones. The iPhone

process was also quicker than the rest of the

pack on average because it optimizes as it

processes, eliminating the extra step.

You can manually adjust the processing

time up to 10 seconds to enhance the image

further. Plus you can actually see what’s

happening in your shot as it processes, a rarity

for processing-heavy modes. None of the

other night modes offers nearly as much

transparency or control, and it shows how

much thought and detail Apple has put into

its system. Apple may be playing catchup, but

Night Mode doesn’t feel rushed or

duplicative. It’s unique, intuitive, and even a

little innovative, and people will enjoy using it

more than they would the others here.

THE RESULTS

But how you shoot doesn’t mean nearly as

much as what you shoot. I’m simply blown

away by what Apple has accomplished with

Night Mode on the iPhone 11. When I first

tried Night Sight on the Pixel 3 last October, I

couldn’t believe what Google was able to do

with its AI and processing. In no uncertain

terms, Apple’s Night Mode makes Night

Sight look amateurish.

I tested the four cameras in various settings.

With barely any light the iPhone 11 (left) produced an image with remarkably more color and detail than

the Pixel 3 XL (second from left), Galaxy S10+ (second from right), and OnePlus 6T (right).