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Can you tell the difference between these photos?

We tested four phones -- the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, the iPhone 7, the Google Pixel XL and the Motorola Moto G5 Plus -- to see what a dirty lens did to photos.

Patrick Holland
As Managing Editor, I lead CNET's mobile team, covering news and reviews on smartphones, wireless carriers, AI, wearables and more. I oversee the team's product testing and translate our findings into accessible recommendations. With nearly a decade of experience at CNET, I've covered Apple and the iPhone, Google and the Pixel, Samsung and the Galaxy, Motorola and the Razr, iOS vs. Android and much more. I'm passionate about storytelling (hey, former theater director and playwright here).
Patrick Holland
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1 of 8Patrick Holland/CNET

How do fingerprints affect your pictures?

We took two pictures with four phones. One picture had a clean lens and the other had a fingerprint smudge on the lens. Check out the results.

This is a picture taken with the Google Pixel XL and a clean lens.

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2 of 8Patrick Holland/CNET

And here's a picture from the Google Pixel XL with a dirty lens. Not much of a difference.

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3 of 8Patrick Holland/CNET

Here's the photo from the iPhone 7 with a clean lens.

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4 of 8Patrick Holland/CNET

And here's the photo from the iPhone 7 with a dirty lens. There's a very obvious blurry haze.

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5 of 8Patrick Holland/CNET

This is a photo taken with the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus with a clean lens.

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6 of 8Patrick Holland/CNET

And here is the photo taken with the Galaxy S8 Plus with a dirty lens. There is a very subtle haze and softness.

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7 of 8Patrick Holland/CNET

Here is a photo with the Motorola Moto G5 Plus with a clean lens.

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8 of 8Patrick Holland/CNET

And here is the Moto G5 Plus with a dirty lens. Notice there is some haze, but also the camera missed the focus.

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