Waveform 2019 Year-End Recap: Smartphone Awards & Camera Test

The 2019 Tech Wrap-Up

In this end-of-year episode, the hosts dive deep into the results of their two most highly anticipated annual projects: the Blind Smartphone Camera Test and the Smartphone Awards. They discuss audience feedback, defend their rankings, and explain the thought process behind their selections.

Blind Smartphone Camera Test Insights

• The Galaxy Note 10+ emerged as the final winner, narrowly beating the Galaxy S10e due to the unique influence of phone color on the voting environment.
• The hosts address the challenge of balancing "scientific" accuracy with real-world usage patterns, noting that most social media viewers do not use perfectly calibrated displays and often do not tap to focus.
• There is an ongoing exploration into using pool play structures in future iterations to ensure a fairer path to the finals for highly capable devices like the Zenfone 6.

The Smartphone Awards

The hosts review the winners across several categories, highlighting the OnePlus 7 Pro as the MVP and the Asus ROG Phone 2 as their most dominant performer across hardware-heavy categories.

"Everyone's got different values... I gave my winners based on what I valued. You could make a very legitimate argument for seven totally different phones."

• Best Big Phone: Asus ROG Phone 2.
• Best Compact: Galaxy S10e.
• Best Camera: iPhone 11 Pro.
• Best Budget: Redmi K20 Pro.
• Biggest Bust: Google Pixel 4, primarily due to the gap between high expectations and the delivered hardware experience, including issues with Soli and battery life.

Balancing Innovation and Value

The discussion concludes by recognizing that while the hosts selected their winners based on specific priorities—such as high refresh rate displays and user experience—the subjectivity of phone preference means that alternative choices from viewers, such as the S10 Plus or iPhone 11, are equally valid depending on individual needs.