Do DSLRs perform better than a handy cell phone camera for day light landscapes?

Do DSLRs perform better than a handy cell phone camera for day light landscapes?
Not for most of us who do not get paid for our photographs. The photos can be a bit better but when you add the cost of the camera and inconvenience of carry a bulky camera and some lenses, the difference may not worth it for most of us. In broad day light landscapes, a bulky DSLR is not worth the weight compared to a handy cell phone.  However if you are taking photos in low light or early morning/late evening, DSLR do take better photos.

Here are two photos taken around noon of a mountain and a frozen lake in Mammoth Lakes area. One photo is taken with a DSLR pentax K30 with 50mm lens on it and the other photo is taken with Samsung Note 4 camera. As you can see, Pentax did take a nice photo but the photo took with Samsung cell phone is also usable and good when shared with friends.

Make a photo brighter or darker with Exposure Compensation

Exposure Compensation is one of the most powerful tools for taking better photos.
I was in Bishop, CA at the famous Erick Schat's Bakkery. I was eating outside the building and wanted to take a photo of the place. There was significant backlight which was turning the sign and the building too dark.

Regular photo

How can you fix this issue with Trial and Error Photography?
It is simple. The issue was that the things I wanted in the photo were too dark. Solution is simple. I needed to tell camera to take in more light. Thankfully my Samsung Note 4 provides Exposure Compensation. I turned it on and moved it to +1. By changing this control, I simply told my camera to take in double light.

As you can see, the sky is getting washed out but sky wasn't my interest, I need the sign to be clearly visible. I was happy with the photo. However I had time so I tried to take one more photo with different value for Exposure Compensation. This way, having tried 2-3 different exposure values, I was able to get a photo that I liked.

Btw, if you happen to be in or around Bishop and Mammoth Lakes area, try this Erick Schat's Bakkery place. It is busy and offers nice collection of sugar and fat. However if you see this same name, Erick Shat's bakkery in Mammoth Lake, avoid it. Looks like they don't have anything fresh. They seem to get stuff from Bishop bakkery and sell. We had 2 8-year old kids. They loved the Erik Schat's in Bishop but they didn't even finish one donut that we got from Erick Schat's in Mammoth lakes are.