DxOMark claims smartphone manufacturers offered money for camera reviews

Smartphone manufacturers, in recent times, have started to include DxOMark scores in their launch presentations. In an attempt to separate good camera phones from the average, websites like DxOMark conduct scientific tests on the phone. Two prominent companies that recently joined this particular list are Huawei and Xiaomi.

According to an AndroidHeadlines report, Nicolas Touchard, the marketing VP of DxOMark Labs said that they were offered money quite a number of times from phone and camera makers. He however clarified that the offers could not be termed as bribes as the companies that made the offer had never worked with DxOMark before. He said the companies were unaware of DxOMark's business model and they did not comprehend how DxOMark worked.

Mr. Touchard said DxOMark had never accepted any money for better reviews, nor will it do so in future. He added that their reviews were scheduled and they were not obliged to do any reviews. According to him, once the manufacturers got to know about how DxOMark worked, they adjusted accordingly.

DxOMark Image Labs is a Paris-based imaging company that provides in-depth camera reviews. It publishes camera reviews on its website and it is to primarily promote - benchmarking, consulting and seminar services. However, the website, where the company publishes all its reviews is not monetized and the company plans to continue with the same business model.

DxOMark's reviews are considered to be the most scientific take on mobile camera standards available online and companies can also purchase its modular lab configuration called the Analyzer, to calculate the ratings themselves. DxOMark has five labs where the devices are tested. The review process takes almost ten days to complete, where half the days are spent shooting and the rest are spent on analysis.

In the report, Mr. Touchard said there were 60 engineers and technicians currently employed at DxOMark. Though DxOMark mostly focuses on flagship smartphones, recently they also started working on non-premium Android devices as the image quality of these devices is beginning to match up with the high-end handsets. The company, in recent times has reviewed the Vivo X20 Plus, the Lava Z25 and the Energizer E520.

DxOMark will continue to review camera of smartphones without any charge. In case any company wanted assistance, the manufacturers can hire them for consultation and seminar services. Smartphone company OnePlus did the same when it decided to get the OnePlus 5 ranked on DxOMark.