The Samsung Galaxy S4 has defeated the iPhone 5 in a smartphone camera test, showing that the South Korean company has set a new benchmark camera-wise that Apple will have to beat when it releases its next generation iPhone.

The recent test was conducted by DxO Labs, a French firm that specializes in camera optics and image sensor analysis.

According to the firm's tests the Samsung Galaxy S4 scored 75 points, beating out the iPhone 5 which scored just 72.

However, interestingly neither of the top two smartphones on the market was the best camera currently available, and that accolade goes to the Nokia 808 Pureview, which scored an impressive 77. But despite its fantastic camera, the phone is relatively much less in demand as it uses the Symbian operating system, which has nowhere near the attraction of the iOS from Apple, nor the Android from Google, which is on the Galaxy S4.

The news that the Galaxy S4 beat out the iPhone 5 will be huge promotion for the Samsung device, as cameras are increasingly becoming important on smartphones as consumers drop dedicated camera devices, instead opting to use their smartphones on the go.

However, when looked at in more detail, DxO confirmed that Samsung's victory was not a clean sweep. For photos and videos, the firm confirmed that S4 beat out the iPhone 5, however, the iPhone 5 did suffer less image-processing artifacts and its video stabilization worked better, DxO revealed.

DxO has stated that the Galaxy S4 showed "impressive detail preservation in bright light conditions. The 13-megapixel sensor shows a significant improvement compared to the best 8-megapixel smartphone cameras."

It was also highlighted that the S4 suffered from noise in low light.