Each Apple and Google got here out with new high-end flagship smartphones this autumn, debuting the iPhone 15 Professional Max and the Pixel 8 Professional, respectively. As with every costly smartphone, the cameras in each produce superb pictures, however there are some notable variations that may be seen in our comparability video and article.
The ‌iPhone 15 Professional‌ Max has a triple-lens digicam system with 48-megapixel Fundamental (huge) digicam that may be set to 3 focal lengths, a 12-megapixel Extremely Extensive digicam, and a 12-megapixel Telephoto lens that helps as much as 5x optical zoom. The Pixel 8 Professional additionally has a triple-lens digicam system with 50-megapixel Extensive digicam, a 48-megapixel Extremely Extensive digicam, and a 48-megapixel Telephoto digicam additionally with 5x optical zoom.
The Google and Apple digicam methods have similarities in out there lenses and applied sciences like portrait mode, evening mode, HDR, and extra, however there are totally different software program algorithms which might be at work beneath the hood, and that is what brings in a number of the greatest variations that we’re seeing.
Relating to panorama pictures that present lots of sky, the ‌iPhone 15 Professional‌ Max appears extra pure. The colours are extra correct and the variations between sky and cloud are extra pronounced for an total higher trying picture. The Pixel 8 Professional developments towards a extra blue tint for sky pictures, and it additionally tends to overexpose in some pictures. You may additionally discover that the Pixel pictures are typically brighter, whereas the iPhone pictures are downright moody.
There are particular themes to paint temperature, saturation, publicity, and different elements. A number of of the ‌iPhone 15 Professional‌ Max pictures really feel oversaturated in comparison with the Pixel 8 Professional, with Apple giving deeper blacks and extra vibrant colours, whereas Google’s pictures have a brighter really feel with distinction bumped down. Within the taxi picture, for instance, the automobiles weren’t that shade of yellow that Apple produced, however each pictures look good and selecting a favourite will rely on whether or not you favor pictures which might be extra saturated or brighter.
Apple’s 5x Telephoto lens is proscribed to 12 megapixels and it doesn’t have the huge aperture of the Fundamental lens, so it shouldn’t be a shock that the photographs that come out of it look totally different when it comes to sharpness and saturation. 5x pictures from the ‌iPhone 15 Professional‌ Max and the Pixel 8 Professional look related in most cases, however the Pixel 8 Professional appears to have extra pronounced textures as a result of the photographs are brighter with the distinction bumped up a bit greater than what we’re getting with the ‌iPhone 15 Professional‌ Max.
Apple’s 5x zoom lens has an edge in the case of portrait mode as a result of it could possibly seize 5x portraits, whereas the Pixel is proscribed to 2x portraits. The ‌iPhone‌ actually wins out when it comes to background blur, and even in portraits with different lenses, Apple is doing higher with colour, pores and skin tone, and blur. The Pixel’s portrait pictures typically come out higher in conditions with decrease gentle.
As for evening pictures, iPhones have all the time been a bit forward when it comes to a pure look, and that hasn’t modified. The nighttime pictures from the ‌iPhone 15 Professional‌ Max are extra true to life, whereas the Pixel 8 Professional is way brighter and would not have the identical nighttime temper.
Apple’s video stabilization has all the time been powerful to beat, and the ‌iPhone 15 Professional‌ Max produces higher video than you get with the Pixel 8 Professional. Google has caught up considerably with its newest smartphones, however Apple stays a step forward. For execs, Apple additionally has an possibility for ProRes Log recording, so you’ll be able to document a flat picture that can be utilized with customized LUTs in post-processing.
Google has added some enjoyable AI options to its digicam that Apple cannot compete with. Finest Take, for instance, kinds by a number of group pictures which were captured and finds the very best shot. You possibly can go change every individual’s face, swapping in from one other within the collection so that every individual is smiling and searching on the digicam. Magic Editor enables you to erase objects in a picture and makes use of generative AI to fill within the clean spot, and the Audio Magic Eraser can pull out undesirable sounds.
Which pictures do you favor? ‌iPhone 15 Professional‌ Max or Pixel 8 Professional? Tell us within the feedback beneath.
