Google’s Pixels and Apple’s iPhones are a number of the most extremely regarded telephones within the enterprise, particularly in terms of digital camera prowess.
I’ve been fortunate sufficient to make use of the most recent and biggest digital camera telephones from each firms since they launched. In that point, I’ve learnt lots about every telephone’s strategy to cellular pictures and, now, in contrast the 2 to see which is likely to be higher for you.
The Pixel 10 Professional line continues Google’s custom of including extra AI-backed photographic performance, which this technology is most evident within the addition of (as much as) 100x Professional Res Zoom. The iPhone 17 Professional collection, in the meantime, embraces decision parity between its three rear sensors and even adopts skilled, industry-standard performance, like GenLock (extra on that within the video part beneath).
Whereas I’ve used each telephones for months at this level, this function makes use of a collection of comparable pictures, so we will see precisely how every telephone approaches a given situation, and extra importantly, how they differ. In the end, we’ll make it easier to determine which digital camera telephone most closely fits your wants.
Notice: Until in any other case specified, pictures are offered with the Pixel 10 Professional digital camera samples on the left and the iPhone 17 Professional’s samples on the appropriate.
Foremost Sensor
It’s typically the case that you simply simply pull your telephone out and hit the shutter button; no tweaking settings, and maybe not even zooming in. These pictures are designed to characterize such basic point-and-shoot circumstances.
Seashore sundown
There’s a transparent distinction in the place every telephone locations its focus on this seaside scene. The Pixel wipes the ground with the iPhone with regard to element seize, providing much better sharpness, proper via from the foreground to the again. The collection’ long-standing propensity for hotter color processing comes via too, nonetheless, and though you get a sexy closing end result, there are some evident shortcomings with regard to color accuracy and dynamic vary.
Facet by aspect with the 17 Professional’s shot, the Pixel’s digital camera manages to one way or the other blow out the solar, but in addition darken specular highlights on the rocks proper of body, suggesting a narrower dynamic vary. The iPhone serves up a extra genuine rendition of the sky too, retaining the blue-to-orange gradient that’s wholly absent from the Pixel’s shot.
As for precisely capturing the sooner movement of the rolling waves, as with total sharpness, the Pixel does a greater job between the 2 telephones on this space as properly.
The Pixel demonstrates some technical benefits, however the iPhone gives a extra natural-looking and correct shot total.
Wave breakers
The Pixel, as soon as once more, miscolours the scene – with a barely magenta hue (one thing we’ve seen from earlier entries within the collection) – however in any other case delivers the higher total shot on this comparability.
The iPhone depends on far heavier sharpening, a lot in order that the ultimate end result seems over-processed and synthetic, whereas the fall-off intimately –particularly in darker areas of the Pixel’s picture – seems rather more pure.
Christmas bushes
On this darker scene – lit not directly by synthetic gentle – there’s one thing of a reversal by way of every telephone’s strategy to processing. The iPhone gives a brighter picture, however overcorrects on the white steadiness, turning the biggest ‘tree’ nearly blue, as an alternative of darkish inexperienced. Brightening does supply superior shadow element, nonetheless, with seen features of the scene crushed to flat again on the Pixel’s shot.
The Pixel, once more, gives up extra element all through the body, although, and surprisingly serves up higher color rendition, regardless of its narrower dynamic vary.
Macro
Each telephones possess a devoted macro mode, which robotically switches to every telephone’s ultra-wide whenever you draw them near a topic.
As a secondary sensor, the principle trade-off when swapping to the ultra-wide is depth and total picture high quality, in comparison with pictures taken with the principle sensor. As such, these first samples beneath are macro pictures taken utilizing every telephone’s most important digital camera (achieved by disabling macro mode).
The Pixel’s smaller 1/1.31-inch most important 50Mp sensor sports activities a touch wider ƒ/1.68 aperture and a wider 82º FoV (discipline of view), in comparison with the 17 Professional’s 1/1.28-inch 48MP ƒ/1.78 most important sensor’s equal 73.7º FoV.
The result’s a considerably smaller minimal focus distance and extra natural-looking fall-off in comparison with the iPhone. Apple, as soon as extra, delivers superior white steadiness, dynamic vary and color rendition, with a wider and pleasing total shot.
Flip these telephones’ devoted macro modes again on, and whereas the Pixel provides you higher central-frame element, the lens distortion and focus fall-off look ugly and unnatural in comparison with the iPhone’s. Each telephones processed color and distinction surprisingly equally right here, although.
Zoom
Each of those telephones boast superior zoom skills in comparison with their respective predecessors. The Pixel 10 Professional collection introduces ‘Professional Res Zoom’, which depends on picture technology to fill within the particulars at greater magnification, which the telephone’s sensor can’t naturally resolve. As such, the Pixel’s zoom now maxes out at 100x, reasonably than the 30x on the Pixel 9 Professional and 9 Professional XL.
The iPhone 17 Professional, in the meantime, opts for a much more hardware-centric improve, with a brand new 4x telephoto snapper bringing megapixel parity to the Professional iPhones’ rear sensors, at 48Mp. Though nonetheless utilizing the corporate’s progressive tetraprism folded optics, the transfer from the 16 Professional line’s 5x to 4x magnification anecdotally proves to be an improve in most customers’ eyes, with higher utility when capturing portraits, in addition to zoom pictures.
Grabbing samples at 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x, 30x, 50x and 100x, the flexibleness afforded to you from the Pixel’s digital camera is simple, with pleasing element retention all through its focal vary.
Professional Res Zoom robotically kicks in at 30x and above, however you may have the choice to see these zoom pictures with out the generative AI inside the telephone’s gallery after seize, and the beneath 100x instance exhibits simply how a lot of the unique picture is ‘actual’.
As such, with the Pixel, it’s a matter of whether or not you may reconcile utilizing this generative crutch. If not, you may disable Professional Res Zoom, at which level the telephone’s zoom vary caps out at 30x once more, similar to its predecessor.
By comparability, the iPhone 17 Professional’s digital camera is of course extra genuine in its pictures, and gives notably higher consistency by way of color, distinction, white steadiness and dynamic vary. Its ultra-wide sensor additionally demonstrates higher lens correction than the Pixel’s equal sensor.
Though extra genuine and correct than the Pixel, you do need to determine whether or not the iPhone’s considerably shorter focal vary and lack of zoom element are compromises you’re prepared to simply accept, particularly when you continuously take telephoto pictures. It additionally struggles with holding focus, and pictures from that new telephoto sensor include significantly extra noise than the others for some cause.
Low Gentle
Drop the lights down, and – with any telephone digital camera – element and color accuracy are the photographic attributes most certainly to undergo first.
Within the case of the Pixel 10 Professional (like its predecessor), its desire for magenta-leaning color science attire the entire shot in a dreamy violet hue, that, though interesting and eliciting the thought of capturing at nightfall, is inaccurate. The second shot beneath is the results of flipping to the telephone’s devoted Evening Sight mode, with an extended publicity leading to but sharper and brighter particulars.
By comparability, the iPhone 17 Professional nails the white steadiness, regardless of the dim capturing circumstances. What’s extra, regardless of falling wanting the Pixel’s centre-frame element, it truly delivers higher retention within the total scene, notably when evaluating Evening Sight to Apple’s Evening Mode end result (the second picture beneath).
The Pixel does have a low-light occasion piece, nonetheless, within the type of Astrophotography mode. This captures near-enough a 4.5-minute publicity that permits you to snap footage of astral our bodies; one thing not potential on an iPhone.
Portrait Mode
Capturing with every telephone’s most important sensor with Portrait Mode enabled separates the topic from the background by including synthetic bokeh (background blur) to the scene. The purpose is to emulate the high-quality bokeh that comes from high quality lenses on devoted cameras.
By default, each telephones additionally default to their 2x zoom when Portrait Mode is first enabled (the equal of round 48mm, much like the human eye’s FoV, and supposed to create extra natural-looking outcomes). The iPhone gives up extra versatility on this mode, supporting the function at 1x, 2x and 4x, whereas the Pixel can solely snap in Portrait Mode between 1x and 2x.
Each telephones additionally allow you to regulate the digital aperture (which impacts the diploma of synthetic background blur), each at seize and after the very fact. These samples had been taken utilizing every telephone’s default bokeh settings.
Whereas not as evident in these pattern pictures, some of the prevalent points I’ve encountered with the Pixel’s portrait mode is edge detection; typically struggling to render a clear separation between the topic and background, particularly when the background is patterned or busy. This results in undesired components of the background left unblurred when they need to be, or the perimeters of your topic overtly blurred once they shouldn’t be.
Whereas that situation doesn’t readily rear its head within the above shot, Google’s algorithm clearly labored time beyond regulation to brighten the face and likewise color right past what is definitely applicable for the scene.
By comparability, the iPhone’s interpretation gives extra true-to-life colors and extra pure, professional-looking fall-off, whereas additionally retaining pleasingly genuine and clear definition between the topic and the background.
Whereas, as all the time, not as sharp because the Pixel 10 Professional’s shot, the iPhone serves up a extra refined and interesting portrait end result total.
Selfies
Whereas the Pixel makes use of the identical selfie snapper {hardware} as its predecessor, all the iPhone 17 vary (plus the iPhone Air) has obtained an progressive new entrance digital camera improve that rivals are certain to ape going ahead.
The 17 Professional encompasses a new sq. 24Mp sensor (which takes 18Mp decision stills). The principle benefit is that you simply don’t have to show your telephone to take full-resolution panorama stills while the telephone is in a portrait orientation, and vice versa.
Apple’s Centre Stage function means the 17 Professional can even robotically reframe selfies at seize, based mostly on what number of faces it detects in-frame. It’s an apparent answer which maximises selfie high quality, and it’s truthfully a shock no different telephone maker has tried such an improve earlier than.
Sticking with the 17 Professional, selfies supply up good dynamic vary, pleasing, correct colors and pure pores and skin tones. At each telephones’ widest settings, the iPhone suits extra in-frame in comparison with the Pixel, too.
However the Pixel’s extra stylised look is advantageous right here, with using a seemingly narrower color house and dynamic vary, making a flatter, however extra complementary (albeit much less true-to-life) rendition of the topic. Over-aggressive post-processing as soon as once more provides the shot an overtly sharp look, nonetheless.
Whereas the iPhone technically takes the better-quality selfie of those two, private desire means I favour the look of the Pixel’s shot on this occasion.
Video
Each of those telephones supply wealthy video seize, however the iPhone’s legendary dependability is on present in spades. Evaluating 4K 60fps footage, the 17 Professional showcases superior stabilisation, sooner publicity and autofocus adjustment, and a extra elegant transition between its numerous rear sensors when zooming while recording.
Footage from the Pixel 10 Professional adopts the identical odd color science as its stills, together with weaker dynamic vary and a extra closely processed look. Though solely slight, it additionally doesn’t suppress wind noise as successfully because the iPhone.
Nevertheless, the microphones do seize fuller sound, with slightly extra bass rendered in speech in comparison with the iPhone’s video.
Britta O’Boyle
Whereas footage straight from the digital camera would possibly place the Pixel behind the iPhone, when you’re prepared to add footage to Google’s cloud, the telephone’s Video Enhance function goes some method to iron out a number of the fake pas talked about above, whereas additionally unlocking extra superior video choices, like 8K 30fps recording.
In distinction, Apple views the iPhone as a video manufacturing instrument and, as such, it has options that complement this strategy. The aforementioned GenLock is a professional-grade function that permits you to precisely synchronise a number of cameras at seize, one thing you received’t presently discover wherever else within the smartphone house.
The 17 Professional additionally natively contains help of Apple LOG 2 format, ACES for color grading, and permits for as much as 4K 120fps seize, with Dolby Imaginative and prescient too.
Verdict
Whereas there are some technical benefits to the Pixel’s photographic setup, specifically its element seize, AI-backed zoom performance and Evening Sight skills, the iPhone 17 Professional usually produces extra interesting pictures throughout a wider vary of situations.
Offered you’re prepared to sacrifice Google’s superior zoom and element work, Apple’s newest and biggest iPhone delivers in any other case superior color and dynamic vary with its outcomes, together with extra reliable white steadiness and cleaner-looking footage when capturing video.
Nonetheless, each handsets are up there with a number of the highest digital camera telephones you should purchase, providing pleasing pictures throughout all kinds of situations.
Select the Pixel 10 Professional for:
- Zoom pictures
- Macro capturing
- AI photograph/video enhancement
Select the iPhone 17 Professional for:
- On a regular basis capturing
- Portraits and selfies
- Video seize
The iPhone 17 Professional used on this function was provided by Vodafone UK. Try the most recent Vodafone iPhone 17 Professional offers.