In the Camera Shootout Battle, Pixel nPro XL Triumphs Over iPhone 15 Pro with a Surprising Twist - Detailed Review by ZDNET

In the Camera Shootout Battle, Pixel nPro XL Triumphs Over iPhone 15 Pro with a Surprising Twist - Detailed Review

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The Pixel 9 Pro XL is the new top-of-the-line flagship from Google. The Pixel 9 Pro is closer to the iPhone 15 Pro , which I’ve had since launch. The two Google phones differ in pricing and size but the Pixel 9 Pro sports the same camera setup as the Pixel 9 Pro XL; so this comparison is valid for both $999 and $1,099 Google flagships with the $999 Apple phone.

I spent the past week shooting and comparing photos with the two flagship phones . I wasn’t surprised with the results but this gave me insights on where Apple needs to improve with the iPhone 16 Pro and alerted me to certain Pixel limitations that make no sense.

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ZDNET RECOMMENDS Pixel 9 Pro XL The Pixel 9 Pro harnesses AI to bring a handful of new quality-of-life features to Google’s flagship line of smartphones. View at Google

The Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL come equipped with a 50MP primary camera, a 48MP ultrawide angle sensor with a 123-degree field-of-view, and a 48MP 5x optical zoom-capable telephoto lens. By comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro sports a 48MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide angle lens with a 120-degree field of view, and a 12MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. On the front, you get a 42MP camera, while the iPhone has a 12MP selfie shooter. The on-paper specs aren’t enough to know the full story. Here’s why.

Note: All photos were taken in point-and-shoot, which means I didn’t tap to focus on the subject. The phones were pointed on the subject and the choice of focus was left on the algorithms. I’m choosing limited sample photos because of web limitations.

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Pixel gets skin tones right

Both primary cameras shoot great images in daylight. They offer details in the shadows, good dynamic range, and vibrant colors. However, when it comes to skin tones, Google gets closer to real colors. While the human subjects shot on the iPhone look fine, when comparing side by side, you’ll notice the warmer skin tones and Google colors being closer to reality. The differences start showing up in tricky lighting situations and humans as subjects – both situations that are most prevalent in day-to-day life.

Primary camera Portrait shots from the Pixel 9 Pro XL and iPhone 15 Pro.

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The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL shoots portraits in 1.5x or 2x with an option to zoom in for 3x. By contrast, the iPhone 15 Pro takes portraits in 1x, 2x, and 3x. The above shot was taken in 1.5x and 1x, respectively. The iPhone struggles with darker skin tones, while the Pixel did well to bring out the face. Both the shots look smoothed due to the light source behind the subject, but the story of the appearance of better skin tone continues with the telephoto cameras.

Also: Pixel 9 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra: I tested both and here are the key differences

Google uses the primary camera to take portraits. The 5x telephoto on the Pixel 9 Pro XL can’t be used to take portrait shots and is limited to certain photo and video modes. I asked Google why it is that way, and the reply was, “Today, we support 1.5x and 2x photos in Portrait Mode. For 5x portraits, we recommend using Portrait tools in Google Photos (such as Portrait blur and Portrait light).”

I’m not impressed with the reasoning because I use the telephoto camera on other phones to take a lot of portraits. It would be easier to shoot a 5x portrait than to go to photo editing and blur the background – which works well but takes time to process.

2x and 3x Portrait shots

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The above shots were taken on max zoom toggle present on the screen for both phones (2x on Pixel 9 Pro XL and 3x on iPhone 15 Pro). You can zoom in to 3x on the Pixel but it further degrades the details in portrait shots. I prefer the iPhone shot here because of more details on the face and better, more natural software blur around the hair. It looks better overall.

Also: 5 reasons why Pixel 9 stopped me from ditching Google phones for Nothing

I have taken 5x portraits on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and they look absolutely fantastic; sometimes close to a DSLR in natural light. I can always take a 5x photo and use Photo Blur in Google Photos on the Pixel 9 Pro but the user experience for getting a good 5x portrait bugs me every time. Moreover, when shooting in 5x Photo mode, the viewfinder pixelates, so the subjects appear to be grainy, but post-processing is fine.

5x Photo

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In Photo mode (not Portrait), I found the Pixel 9 Pro XL shots to be better than the iPhone 15 Pro. Even the 3x digital zoom was better than the iPhone’s 3x optical zoom. The above shot is 5x to illustrate the advantage of having a 5x telephoto lens when compared to an aging 3x sensor. Google’s shot is optical zoom, so it was likely to be better, but iPhone’s digital zoom is below average.

The Pixel 9 Pro series’ 5x sensor shoots good skin tones and details even in tricky situations where the light source is behind the subject.

Ultrawide shots

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I use the ultrawide camera to take architecture shots or group photos. While I didn’t meet a group of friends this past week, I could get a sample of at least one use case. The Pixel 9 Pro has a wider field of view and a more prominent fish-eye effect around the edges.

Also: These three AI features sold me on the Google Pixel 9 Pro - and they’re very clever

I would prefer the iPhone shot for this particular image, but I can see myself using the wider FoV and fisheye effect on the Pixel 9 Pro when I’m traveling. The Google phone also fared better in low light with the ultrawide camera. That being said, the colors were consistent across three lenses on both phones.

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A clear winner in night time

1x indoor with artificial lights

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When indoors, I would prefer using the Pixel 9 Pro XL over the current iPhone because the Google phone fares better with getting more light in to produce more details; with all three cameras. The above shot was taken on the primary camera, and both of them look fine. But the differences kick in when you zoom in or use the Portrait mode.

3x shots indoors in artificial lights.

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These are the kind of shots I take indoors – artificial lighting and zoom in to get close to a subject. When at a home party or even having dinner with friends, I use my phone camera to take photos like these. It was taken without toggling the night mode manually and the phones were left doing what their algos told them to.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL shot looks brighter but when you pixel-peep, you’ll notice the iPhone photo to have more details in my hair, which is missing to an extent on the Google phone. The edge detection struggles in Portrait mode on the Pixel 9 Pro when indoors, while the 3x portraits shot on the iPhone in such conditions look grainy. Overall, indoor shots from the Pixel look better than the iPhone, unless you are pixel-peeping on a 3x photo.

1x night shot

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The iPhone 15 Pro holds up well in indoor and artificial lighting conditions but fails in low light. The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is hands-down better in low light situations where the light sources are the moon and lamps. The above shot of the dog was taken on without toggling the night mode manually. The Pixel took 2s to take it, while the iPhone turned it on for 1s.

Also: I went hands-on with Google’s $1,800 Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and I’m ready to leave Samsung

The iPhone 15 Pro shot looks bad, despite the dog not moving, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL was able to capture the subject when it was about to move by the time the shutter was processed. I would pick the new Google phone for night shots unless the iPhone 16 Pro comes with better Night Mode algorithms.

Pixel 9 Pro XL gets good at selfies

Zoomed out selfies

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I like the selfie shooter on the iPhone 15 Pro and have found it better than Android phones. But it tends to blow out highlights sometimes. I didn’t find that to be an issue on the Pixel 9 Pro. The above two selfies were taken in zoomed-out mode to check for the edge distortion (none) and FoV.

I like the Pixel 9 Pro XL selfie here but the iPhone was able to get more details around the hair. But you can see areas around my forehead and cheeks where the highlights are blown out. However, both look social media worthy and I’m impressed by the selfie camera on the Pixel 9 Pro. It does a better job than the iPhone when the light source is behind you.

Pixel 9 Pro XL vs iPhone 15 Pro camera: Which one is better?

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The Pixel’s 5x telephoto camera not supporting portraits is a big miss. I would rather get a good portrait from taking it within the Camera app than to mess around with the edits in Settings. You can still get good results, and Google recommends using the software features but it’s not the ideal solution.

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The iPhone 15 Pro does well with 3x optical zoom and portraits; where the new Google phone struggles with getting the edge detection right. However, the Pixel 9 Pro beats the iPhone in other scenarios. It gets the skin tones right and better exposes the subject in tricky lighting situations. The Pixel also fares better in low light. I was also able to get better selfies out of the Pixel 9 Pro XL than the iPhone 15 Pro.

I expect the iPhone 16 Pro to do better in the aspects where the iPhone 15 Pro lost. However, I would pick the Pixel 9 Pro XL as my phone camera of choice right now.