Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Camera Comparison: iPhone 13 Pro Max vs. Pixel 6 Pro

I just jumped from a 6s to the 13pro.
Being that my 6s still works perfectly, I stuck with Apple.
I just gave it to my brother-in-law, so it will be interesting to see how much longer it lasts.
I also replaced its battery myself for $16. Easy Peasy!

This review? Camera wise, it's too close to call,
but with all the other features, and an OS that I trust... Apple wins.

Oh... and nothing was mentioned about the LiDAR lens.
 
Night mode, "The iPhone wins out when it comes to Night Mode photos, and in our testing, it was just much better at preserving detail and accurately recreating color. It also didn't have quite as much of a light source flare issue as the Pixel 6 Pro."
You must have misplaced images
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: klasma and Borisk
MacRumors said:


Shortly after the launch of the new iPhone 13 models in September, Google came out with the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro, its latest flagship devices, which are feature rich and priced at $599 and $899 respectively. We picked up the Pixel 6 Pro, which has the most advanced lens system, and thought we'd compare it to the iPhone 13 Pro Max to see the similarities and differences between the two smartphone cameras.


The iPhone 13 Pro Max includes a 12-megapixel Wide, Ultra Wide, and Telephoto lenses for a total of three lens options, which is similar to the lens setup offered by the Pixel 6 Pro. It features a 50-megapixel wide angle camera, a 12-megapixel ultra wide angle lens and a 48-megapixel telephoto lens that supports 4x optical zoom, a wider range than the 3x optical zoom offered by the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

With smartphone cameras this advanced, both the iPhone 13 Pro Max and the Pixel 6 Pro take incredible photos and there's often not a lot of difference in quality just because they're both offering excellent camera options. There are some small differences that might make you prefer one over another, but even from image to image, these differences can vary.

pixel-6-pro-iphone-docks.jpg

You'll notice that at times, the Pixel 6 Pro is warmer and more natural looking than the iPhone, which primarily factors in with the sky. Apple tends to make the sky very blue, which looks striking, but not always true to life. There are also differences in the highlights and the shadows, with the iPhone tending to lose a bit of the black tones and the Pixel trending towards higher exposure for the highlights.

There's not a lot of difference with the ultra wide lenses, and for the telephoto, Google's Pixel 6 Pro can be a bit sharper (and it can zoom in further), but it does not let in as much light as the iPhone 13 Pro Max's telephoto lens so when taking photos of light sources, there's too much flare.

pixel-6-pro-iphone-skeleton.jpg

The iPhone wins out when it comes to Night Mode photos, and in our testing, it was just much better at preserving detail and accurately recreating color. It also didn't have quite as much of a light source flare issue as the Pixel 6 Pro.

As for Portrait mode, the Pixel 6 Pro is producing better photos. Subjects are sharper and more in focus, with more detail preserved, and it produces great bokeh. That's not to say that iPhone Portrait mode images aren't nice, but Google still seems to have better software algorithms for edge detection.

pixel-6-pro-iphone-portrait.jpg

Apple's iPhones almost always have superior video compared to Pixel smartphones, and that's still true, but Google has made improvements to image quality and stabilization. The Pixel 6 Pro can take decent video, but the iPhone 13 Pro Max is better, especially with Cinematic Mode and ProRes support.

Google also built in some neat little features to its Pixel 6 Pro camera. There's a Magic Eraser that can use the Tensor chip inside to erase objects that you don't want from a photo, and it works super well so it's a great option to have available natively.

pixel-6-pro-iphone-arcade.jpg

So both the Pixel 6 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max have their pros and cons when it comes to camera quality, and realistically, the differences are minor. These are incredibly advanced smartphone cameras and you're not going to be disappointed by either one. Make sure to watch the video up above for our full comparison, and let us know which images you preferred in the comments below.

Article Link: Camera Comparison: iPhone 13 Pro Max vs. Pixel 6 Pro
Click to expand...
MacRumors said:


Shortly after the launch of the new iPhone 13 models in September, Google came out with the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro, its latest flagship devices, which are feature rich and priced at $599 and $899 respectively. We picked up the Pixel 6 Pro, which has the most advanced lens system, and thought we'd compare it to the iPhone 13 Pro Max to see the similarities and differences between the two smartphone cameras.


The iPhone 13 Pro Max includes a 12-megapixel Wide, Ultra Wide, and Telephoto lenses for a total of three lens options, which is similar to the lens setup offered by the Pixel 6 Pro. It features a 50-megapixel wide angle camera, a 12-megapixel ultra wide angle lens and a 48-megapixel telephoto lens that supports 4x optical zoom, a wider range than the 3x optical zoom offered by the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

With smartphone cameras this advanced, both the iPhone 13 Pro Max and the Pixel 6 Pro take incredible photos and there's often not a lot of difference in quality just because they're both offering excellent camera options. There are some small differences that might make you prefer one over another, but even from image to image, these differences can vary.

pixel-6-pro-iphone-docks.jpg

You'll notice that at times, the Pixel 6 Pro is warmer and more natural looking than the iPhone, which primarily factors in with the sky. Apple tends to make the sky very blue, which looks striking, but not always true to life. There are also differences in the highlights and the shadows, with the iPhone tending to lose a bit of the black tones and the Pixel trending towards higher exposure for the highlights.

There's not a lot of difference with the ultra wide lenses, and for the telephoto, Google's Pixel 6 Pro can be a bit sharper (and it can zoom in further), but it does not let in as much light as the iPhone 13 Pro Max's telephoto lens so when taking photos of light sources, there's too much flare.

pixel-6-pro-iphone-skeleton.jpg

The iPhone wins out when it comes to Night Mode photos, and in our testing, it was just much better at preserving detail and accurately recreating color. It also didn't have quite as much of a light source flare issue as the Pixel 6 Pro.

As for Portrait mode, the Pixel 6 Pro is producing better photos. Subjects are sharper and more in focus, with more detail preserved, and it produces great bokeh. That's not to say that iPhone Portrait mode images aren't nice, but Google still seems to have better software algorithms for edge detection.

pixel-6-pro-iphone-portrait.jpg

Apple's iPhones almost always have superior video compared to Pixel smartphones, and that's still true, but Google has made improvements to image quality and stabilization. The Pixel 6 Pro can take decent video, but the iPhone 13 Pro Max is better, especially with Cinematic Mode and ProRes support.

Google also built in some neat little features to its Pixel 6 Pro camera. There's a Magic Eraser that can use the Tensor chip inside to erase objects that you don't want from a photo, and it works super well so it's a great option to have available natively.

pixel-6-pro-iphone-arcade.jpg

So both the Pixel 6 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max have their pros and cons when it comes to camera quality, and realistically, the differences are minor. These are incredibly advanced smartphone cameras and you're not going to be disappointed by either one. Make sure to watch the video up above for our full comparison, and let us know which images you preferred in the comments below.

Article Link: Camera Comparison: iPhone 13 Pro Max vs. Pixel 6 Pro
Click to expand...
Take the same pic. They’re too different to make a comparison. Zooms are different, pose of subject different. And yah a color gradient or some other comparison would work as well.
 
imho the only shot where the pixel may have a better result, is the night shot. the rest look very gray and depressing. of course, those may be the conditions :)
 
If the Pixel 6 Pro was $100 USD cheaper AND sold by a different company, NOT Google, it would be viable competition for Apple !

Also, I'm NOT a fan of Pixel Binning-based solutions, & never have been !

I like the image sensors Apple chose for the 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max; 1.9 micron pixels !
 
If you have most of the devices from Apple, then the answer is yes the iPhone is the better choice because it synchs all your devices across platforms. Do you really want to deal with yet another crappy implementation of software, then try to get your calendars, and messages, and what naught to share info across all devices.

The seamless interconnectability across the platform is the genius and the key to the iOS. Gone are the days of trying to synch my Palm device to my Mac, or get the photos from my Konica camera into my laptop. Also gone are the days when uploading music to my Diamond Rio required two types of software designed by other companies.

Please say you don't want to still use your handspring visor, and your apple quick shot with it's massive 2MB memory card to upload 8 640x480(pixels) photos to your laptop for posterity. As the band Boston has said, "Don't look back!"
 
I'm as guilty as anyone - 3 kids and tens of thousands of pics I never look at except when photos gives me a memory slide show. these camera comparisons are really not worth it. google, Samsung, apple...they all have a phone and camera for whoever wants what and the differences at various levels are so minute it comes down to personal preference. and instantly fine detail is lost as soon as it gets compressed on social media. people will chose their phone based off the ecosystem their already entrenched in and within that will pay for what they can afford. I love the new 13 pro's camera. better than the 11 pro I upgraded from and I like it. I'm sure the pics I'd take with pixel 6 would be great too, but I'm not leaving apple's ecosystem over the phone's camera. neat to see the differences, but nothing here a deal breaker or maker either way for majority of people.
 
Zaft said:
Really no one cares at this point but camera enthusiasts. They both have good cameras now a days. All the detail is lost anyway once people post it to social media.
Click to expand...

I think since it's one of Apple's major marketing points in you and I getting a new phone they should step it up. And as such they must know that a lot of people care about the quality of the cameras, to a point where they're willing to upgrade just for that one reason.
 
Wildkraut said:
Senseless color comparison without holding up a color chart board. Simply because we don’t know how the real environment colors was.
Click to expand...

I think the point was to show the native output of the devices and how they compared to each other not how each one compared to "actual". Maybe we have a different interpretation of what the articles was trying to demonstrate?
 
creediddy said:
I understand that these are default, non-touched photos, but these camera comparisons make no sense. Depending on the look and color we are going for we can adjust the picture temperature to warm or coolest look as well as build shadow details and sharpness. All camera phone apps give us the ability to adjust the picture. I think the comparison should be zooming capabilities and night mode shots. This is where the iPhone struggles with zooming.
Click to expand...

I’d prefer if the default would be a natural look that mirrors what I see with my eyes. Then if you want a different look you can adjust it. But that’s not how current iPhones behave.
 
I think the fortunate thing is that both cameras are very good and the differences seem to be minor. Shout out to the Google Pixel. If I could, I would complement my iPhones with the Pixel 6 Pro and the last Galaxy Note series android phones.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973
I watched the video in its entirety and I have to disagree with Dan. The bokeh on the Pixel 6 looks way too artificial. The subject looks copy and pasted on a blurred background. The iPhone delivers a much more realistic depth of field.
 
  • Like
Reactions: George Dawes and 5105973
I’ve seen a number of these comparisons in Pixel 6 reviews and I must say the Pixel 6 has an amazing camera. There were a number of instances where I thought it’s photos looked better than the iPhone 13 Pro.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bawstun
I'm much more partial to the Google OS, and have used my fair share of Nexus and Pixel phones, but have always been disappointed with the video quality on Pixel phones.
I was considering going to iPhone 12 or 13 from my next purchase, because I was tired of these mid-range spec phones with continued bad video quality. When I heard about the upcoming launch for Pixel 6 and how upgraded they were going to be in both terms of hardware, camera hardware, etc, I was thrilled for the return of a flagship standard phone. Google hyped the amazing video quality that would be coming to the pixel 6 with improved camera hardware and the tensor chip. However, now that the initial reviews are out from various sources about the video quality, I am yet again disappointed. I don't know why Google just can't make a phone that has at least the same video quality as an iPhone. This was their opportunity to make that correction with the new camera hardware, their software, and the new tensor chip, but now we just have average video quality that we should have had 5 years ago...and still not on par with an iPhone. Looks like I might be purchasing an iPhone after all unless Google can improve the video through a software update.
 
GuruZac said:
I watched the video in its entirety and I have to disagree with Dan. The bokeh on the Pixel 6 looks way too artificial. The subject looks copy and pasted on a blurred background. The iPhone delivers a much more realistic depth of field.
Click to expand...
Completely agree.
 
A lot of this comparison is the result of the iPhone's computational photography, for example the bluer sky and higher contrast.

That processing is completely amazing 95% of the time, but for people like me who do weird things with pictures, something you want to turn off 5% of the time (which is why I use an app called Halide that lets you do that). It can over-sharpen and -brighten some of the time.

Also, bear in mind that a lot of the detail is preserved if you shoot in ProRAW.

Also also, you can edit photos to change the color temperature. People who are concerned about the relatively subtle differences in this comparison are likely to do at least that kind of editing.
 
The iPhone looks better in almost every shot.
The Pixel 6 photos are rather... bland.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GuruZac
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back