I’ve noticed the same. New iPhones would always look better in the past up until the iPhone 8/X.

I find that the camera of iPhone 8/X looks better than that of iPhone 7. But iPhone XS looks worse to me due to overprocessing, and every iteration after processes more. :(

I just really like the night mode that computational photography brings in, but in every other area it’s a poison pill we’re forced to swallow.