MANILA - Samsung's Galaxy S9+ is the new mobile camera leader, based on a review by industry tracker DxOMark, ahead of flagship phones from Google, Apple and Huawei.

The Galaxy S9+, which will be available locally from March 16, got an overall score of 99, ahead of Google's Pixel 2 with 98 and the Huawei Mate 10 Pro and Apple iPhone X which both got 97.

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The Galaxy S9+ camera takes "excellent" shots in good light and "impressive" photos in low light, DxOMark said. Samsung "struck a very good balance between noise reduction and retention of detail," it said.

The DxOMark review, however, noted purple "fringing" on the edges of high contrast images, corners that are "a little softer than the center" and "slight blue or pink" color in bright light.

"These are fairly minor issues, however, and overall, the Galaxy S9 Plus is an excellent bright-light performer," according to the review.

Zoomed images on the S9+ are also "noticeably cleaner" compared to the competition, it said.

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The S9+ has a dual lens rear camera a first for the S series and a 6.3-inch screen that curves around the edges. The smaller S8 has a 5.8-inch screen and a single lens read shooter.

Samsung's dual lens implementation allows for optical zoom, like the ones on Apple's iPhone X, 8 Plus and 7 Plus.

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