The iPhone 16 Pro Max is on the market, and many people are curious if this new phone is better compared to Google’s biological child, the Pixel 9 Pro XL. After all, both phones focus on their camera functions and their advantages Earlier DxOMark tests showed that the difference between the two phones was only one point. This time we compare the two flagship camera phones of iOS and Android to see what are the advantages and disadvantages of real shooting.
This article uses wide-angle, ultra-wide, telephoto, and selfie lenses as four main sections, and conducts real shooting tests for different scenes or functions of this lens. The photos are arranged in order of iPhone 16 Pro Max first, and then Pixel 9 Pro.
▲ The main cameras of these two mobile phones have three lenses: wide angle, wide angle, and telephoto 5x Next, we will examine and comment on the photos taken by each lens in different activities and situations. .
Prime lens comparison
As for the main lens, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is equipped with a 48-megapixel 1 / 1.28-inch sensor with an F1.8 aperture, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL is equipped with a 50-megapixel 1 / 1.31-inch sensor with an F1.7 aperture The size of the sensor and the aperture of the lens are the same, but the actual image styles of the two are very different.
In images of general scenes during the day and large backlights, the Pixel prefers to keep the atmosphere of the white scene, which is more inclined towards what the naked eye can see, while the iPhone is more likely to have a more accurate white balance, and it is estimated that the image is more biased towards the white light scene. We really like the Pixel’s image when shooting landscapes at dusk, as the bright parts in dark areas are more noticeable, especially in strongly backlit scenes.
However, when shooting in portrait mode, we find the iPhone’s performance to be more beneficial Whether it’s day and night images, the iPhone’s overall background edge is better than the those of the Pixel Furthermore, in both sets of portrait mode views, the iPhone is better than the Pixel During the day, the weather is much bluer, and the real difference seen with the t -slightly large open eye.
(The following real photos, left / top: iPhone 16 Pro Max, right / bottom: Pixel 9 Pro XL)
▲ General view during the day
▲ Large backlight view
▲ Day photo mode
▲ Night photo mode
As for the triple close-up with the main lens, both phones are very good at focusing, but in the imaging part, we think that the iPhone is better than the Pixel, and the a flower visible to the naked eye.
In night scenes and real night scene scenes, the shooting stability of both phones is very high, and the image stability is more stable than expected. Last time in the real night scene scene, both phones reached a high 3 seconds , the pictures taken are not blurry. Regarding the imaging style, the iPhone also maintains the brightness or color that is more biased towards what the naked eye can see, it is a bit brighter, and the white balance also appears more cold When it comes to night scene shooting, I personally prefer Pixel images.
▲ The main three-lens telephoto macro
▲ Night hunting
▲ Real night photos
In addition, the video recording effects of two mobile phones have also been taken for your reference.
▲ iPhone 16 Pro Max video images
▲ Pixel 9 Pro XL video image
Ultra wide angle lens comparison
The specifications of the ultra-wide lenses are very similar to those of wide-angle phones They both use 1 / 2.55-inch sensors and have 48 million pixels you have macro shooting functions. However, the Pixel’s aperture value is F1.7, which is much larger than the iPhone’s F2.2.
From the images themselves, it can be seen that the Pixel’s ultra-wide viewing angle is wider than the iPhone’s, which means that more photos can be taken at the same angle in landscape images through day, it will be seen that the iPhone is more reserved.
However, in this view of macro photography of frangipani flowers with an ultra-wide angle lens, we believe that the iPhone has the advantage The iPhone is relatively sensitive to the subject and keeps the dynamic that the naked eye can see However, compared to the picture taken by the Pixel, it looks It is a bit similar to the previous image, but it looks smaller.
▲ General hunting during the day
▲ Macro shooting
Finally, let’s look at comparing the results captured with the ultra-wide lens in very dark night scenes. night scenes much more pleasant, which is very different from the iPhone image When comparing the two images together, it is almost as if there is a difference between lights or not.
▲ Real night photos
telephoto lens comparison
Next, we will talk about the telephoto lens specifications F2.8 aperture From the size of the sensor If you look at it, you will know that Pixel has an advantage. The most surprising thing about both phones is that the maximum telephoto focal lengths provided are very real, which are 25 times longer than the iPhone and 30 times longer than the Pixel They are not made for gimmicks Increase 100x. Unfortunately, the 5x focal length lenses of both phones do not support macro shooting When you preview at 5x focal length or higher, the system automatically switches to the main lens for crop when it finds a close picture.
In our actual image comparison results, we found that the strength of the iPhone is not as weak as expected. Perhaps due to the blessing of the algorithm, the performance of the two cameras is comparable in terms of focal length within 15 times It is not so good has been taking pictures from the bow of the sight.
As for when the focal length is extended to more than 15 times, the quality of the images of the two mobile phones can be very different. the Pixel has greatly increased sharpness in telephoto night vision shooting and the white balance is less stable, overall the Pixel performs better due to hardware advantages.
▲ iPhone 16 Pro Max shooting telephoto during the day at 5X and 25X focal lengths.
▲Pixel 9 Pro XL daytime 5X and 30X telephoto shooting focal length
▲iPhone 16 Pro Max 5X, 10X, 15X, 20X, 25X telephoto shooting focal length at night
▲Pixel 9 Pro XL 5X, 10X, 15X, 20X, 25X telephoto shooting at different levels at night
Front lens comparison
Finally, let’s compare the front lens camera effects of the two mobile phones. The front lens of the iPhone 16 Pro Max is an aperture of F 1.9 12 million pixels 1 / 3.6 inches; as for the Pixel 9 Pro 2.51-inch IMX858. After all, the front lens is mainly used for selfies, so the most important parts usually focus on whether it supports autofocus, wide angle, and effect night photography.
In the autofocus part, the two phones pass, as both phones support autofocus on the front lens, but in terms of wide angle, the Pixel is slightly better in shooting scenes through day, both phones turn on the widest angle If you take pictures in different states, you will see that the viewing angles of the two things are very different. The advantage of the wide angle front lens is that, apart from making your face look smaller when taking selfies, it is also more suitable for portraits. group.
When shooting night scenes, you can see that the Pixel’s image quality is much better than the iPhone’s. We think that the Pixel wins a lot in the front lens because the hardware difference This is another one that is weighted with specifications to say that the specifications of the front lens of the iPhone, which has been used for many years, really need to be updated.
▲ Wide angle shooting during the day
▲ Night hunting
Summary: Two systems battle for supremacy, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.
After reading the tests above, you will find that it is still difficult to say that a particular mobile phone has wide camera advantages Take the iPhone 16 Pro Max for example, although its telephoto performance and front lens relatively weak, but in video and main The performance of the camera and photo mode is still good, especially for people with high video recording needs, of course, the iPhone is the first priority.
Regarding this year’s DxOmark, it is not unreasonable to give the Pixel 9 Pro XL a higher score than the iPhone 16 Pro Max For readers, the choice of the Pixel 9 Pro series may be based on their needs.
