Camera Comparison: Pixel 7 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max

[MacRumors]

Google in October launched the Pixel 7 Pro, its newest high-end flagship smartphone. The Pixel 7 Pro came out just weeks after Apple's new iPhone 14 Pro Max, so we thought we'd compare the cameras of the two smartphones, pitting the high-end iPhone against the high-end Pixel 7.

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On paper, the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Pixel 7 Pro have similar camera systems. The iPhone is equipped with a 12-megapixel Ultra Wide lens, a 12-megapixel Telephoto lens, and a 48-megapixel Wide lens, which Apple calls the "main" camera. The Pixel 7 Pro has a 12-megapixel ultra wide lens, a 48-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 50-megapixel wide-angle lens. The Pixel 7 Pro wins out in terms of raw megapixels, especially for the telephoto lens.

What we've learned from camera comparisons over the years is that high-end smartphones all take similar pictures, and they all turn out great. For the most part, you are going to get stunning images with both the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Pixel 7 Pro, though there are some differences to be aware of.

With standard photos, the shadows are darker in the iPhone images, with the Pixel 7 Pro lightening things up a bit. Images from the Pixel 7 Pro are less saturated, and we are seeing more vibrant colors from the iPhone. In some cases, the images coming direct from the Pixel 7 Pro camera look sharper, though that could be a software effect and a difference in the editing that Google does behind the scenes.

Both wide angle and ultra wide images come out similarly, but the Pixel 7 Pro's telephoto capabilities are much better than the telephoto features offered by the iPhone. Google added 5x optical zoom, compared to 3x optical zoom for the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and it makes a difference. In fact, there's a 30x Super Res digital zoom option that's impressively sharp.

In Portrait Mode, the Pixel 7 Pro offers more depth of field for more background blur, which some people will prefer. It can sometimes have trouble separating the subject from the background, and it works better with people than it does with objects.

As for Night Mode, both smartphones have pros and cons. The Pixel 7 Pro is better at nighttime portrait shots of people because the iPhone tends to be too soft around the face, but the iPhone is better at shots that include the sky. The Pixel 7 Pro is sharper across more images and it wins out when it comes to astrophotography, but there are issues with artifacting in some images.

With video, the iPhone 14 Pro Max does a better job, which is a theme that we've seen for several years now. The iPhone's video is crisper, though Google has made some strides with stabilization. Cinematic Mode on the iPhone has improved in 2022 with support for 24 and 30fps 4K video, while the Pixel's Cinematic Blur is limited to 30fps.

All in all, the Pixel 7 Pro has an edge when it comes to photos, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max wins in the video category, but both smartphones take excellent images and it's often hard to decide which one is better. What do you think of the Pixel 7 Pro? Let us know in the comments below.

Article Link: Camera Comparison: Pixel 7 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max

 

[Freida]

Pixel 7 looks way better than the 14 Pro
Interesting

 

[Kulfon]

I would mostly agree with Waclaw here

 

[rpmurray]

Pixel photos don't look as washed out and don't have the warm cast of the iPhone.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Pixel 7 Pro looks nice but iPhone 14 Pro for the win 🏆

 

[Eldaerenth Faexidor]

Hmm doesn’t look bad tbh, but the iPhone wins.

 

[neuropsychguy]

I agree that the Pixel 7 photos look somewhat better (assuming the labels on the images are correct ). However, differences could be largely corrected with post-processing and both phones produce excellent images.

That 5x optical zoom is great though.

 

[happydude]

kinda surprised but think the pixel 7 takes better photos from this article's examples. I'll never get a pixel phone, too steeped in the apple ecosystem and no reason to change. but do wish apple would focus on pictures more than video - which seems less and less necessary.

and in all cases really, professionals aren't using their phones for print sales or marketing. handheld dslr's, mirrorless cameras are still the game there. vast majority of phone pics go up on social media and get compressed in doing so making any raw data from a phone picture negligible anyway. it's all just a space race to keep the tech specs at the top, not at all reflective of every day, real world use.

 

[grilledcheesesandwich]

iPhone lighting just looks off in comparison

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Both phones seem to produce excellent images. I sort of tick-toked between both phones in the article, but that was maybe down to photographic style preference than image quality. The low-light / night shot looks better on the Pixel though.

Hopefully in the future we'll see a larger sensor on the telescopic lens. I'd rather have that over a further optical zoom.

 

[fjarl]

The iphone looks pretty bad in comparison, weird colours and Apple's now trademark oversharpened look (foliage looks particularly bad). I hope other manufacturers continue to improve so pressure is put on Apple's imaging team.

 

[TechRunner]

Every review I've seen so far says what this one does, that the Pixel has a slight edge in photos, but iPhone is the video champ.

 

[Damtoft]

Wow the Pixel 7 Pro looks so much better!

 

[Wildkraut]

Pixel photos don't look as washed out and don't have the warm cast of the iPhone.

Yeah but it’s much easier to color correct than to fix blurriness.

 

[DocMultimedia]

Best camera is the one you have in your hand. And I have/prefer the iPhone.

 

[ChadJK]

Honestly, without being there in person to see what the subject of the photo actually looks like to the naked eye, it's too hard to tell which camera is best at capturing something.

 

[ratspg]

Based on the pictures above, the Pixel 7 Pro is winning. Big time.
Just use the phone, take a photo, enjoy life.

 

[oneteam]

I think the pixel photos look good... Would that make me buy a pixel? Nope.

 

[BigBlur]

The Pixel 7 does look better in a side-by-side comparison, but that's not to say the iPhone takes bad pictures. They look perfectly fine too when you don't have anything to compare them with.

 

[dabi]

Pixel takes slightly better photos, iPhone takes way better videos. Nothing new, been the same for the past few generations.

 

[Rogifan]

In that photo of the pumpkins I actually prefer the Pixel. The iPhone shot looks way too bright like you’re right next to an outdoor patio light or something.

 

[Reason077]

Not much in it for many of them, but the Pumpkin shot looks dramatically better on the Pixel 7!

So much so that I wonder if the lighting actually changed between the two shots - note the hard shadows in background of the Pixel shot that are missing in the iPhone shot?

 

[DMG35]

That pumpkin photo the Pixel 7 took is next level.

 

[Osxguy]

I don't care how good of a quality product google puts out... My spidy tingly sensations and my tin hat theory is that I do not trust google to take care of my data as well as apple does. If it had a google logo on it, it hasn't earned my respect or trust to handle my data.

 

[madler]

I would like it if MacRumors would show images taken from both phones of the same subject and lighting conditions side-by-side, randomly on the left or right without identifying which phone it is from. Then I get to pick which one I like best. At the bottom, I can hit a button to reveal my selections for each phone model.