I have never held a Pixel in my hands in my life, but the other day I saw one at a friend’s.
The Pixel 6 Pro is now playing the role of “last year’s” flagship, which was released in 2021. It was the first on the Google Tensor G1 processor of its own design, but in the release, everyone was more interested in the finally enlarged camera sensor and how the company “undermined” it with its software.
I’m still using an iPhone 13 Pro from the same year and I’m happy with it. Up to this point, even his camera is exactly like mobile entirely in the population.
Both smartphones are absolutely of the same class, and the prices for them are now the most juice. So the comparison comes naturally.
Moreover, he had a personal interest. I don’t think the photos are from Pixel eighth year they say. How much experience in camera development at Apple and how much at Google? Obviously, the former should know better how to deal with matrices.
it turned out, should not.
Let’s start with the frequency varieties, and then move on to the software ones. The ones that make unrealistic differences.
All have three cameras, all completely different
The Pixel 6 Pro has possible modules:
◍ Super angle 0.6x: analogue 16 mm, 12.5 MP, 1/2.86″, pixel 1.25 µm, ƒ/2.2
◍ Basic 1x: analogue 24 mm, 50 MP, 1/1.31″, pixel 1.2 µm, ƒ/1.85
◍ Telephoto 4x: analog 102.6 mm, 48 MP, 1/2.0″, pixel 0.8 μm, ƒ/3.5
The iPhone 13 Pro (review) and iPhone 13 Pro Max have three cameras:
◍ Super angle 0.5x: analogue 13 mm, 12 MP, 1/3.4″, pixel 1.0 µm, ƒ/1.8
◍ Basic 1x: analogue 26 mm, 12 MP, 1/1.65″, pixel 1.9 μm, ƒ/1.5
◍ Telephoto 3x: analogue 77 mm, 12 MP, 1/3.4″, pixel 1.0 µm, ƒ/2.8
All lenses and sensors are absolutely not the same, even the Pixel 6 Pro’s 24mm FOV camera.
We will not delve into these small details. In the process of shooting, only eye-catching details were chosen, because there was a lot.
Very soon they arrived at the end.
Optical blur in Pixel is noticeably stronger
Left Pixel 6 Pro right, iPhone 13 Pro
The Pixel 6 Pro main camera sensor is about 26% larger than the iPhone 13 Pro, while the lens is not critically darker (the larger the matrix, the less strong aperture is needed).
Comparing the brightness of the lenses of the iPhone 13 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro in quantity (ƒ / 1.5 vs. ƒ / 1.85) will be wrong, just because of the different sensor sizes, but if you figure out the rules of optics, Google’s smartphone cameras are still clean technical necessity four percent brighter.
Therefore, the only difference with the technical moment is seen only as a blur.
The bokeh on the Pixel Pro is more petal-like, not as uniform as on the iPhone 13 Pro. But in the latter I liked it more, because it did not bring the result of “dirty glasses”.
4x zoom on the Pixel isn’t for everyone
On the left is the Pixel 6 Pro on the right, the iPhone 13 Pro, taken from one angle. Much less in the frame
iPhone 13 Pro, 3x, analogue 77 mm
Pixel 6 Pro, 4x, analog 103mm
Left Pixel 6 Pro right, iPhone 13 Pro
I personally don’t like the pursuit of the maximum size in mobile photos. Over the past year, I realized that the most comfortable approximation is “vanilla”, “classic” double. The same thing that Apple did in the iPhone 7 Plus, with a 50mm analog in full frame equivalent.
Increasingly, I find myself shooting in this format the most comfortable and pleasant. The optical description is simple: the human eye builds a picture with exactly the perspective that a 50 mm lens draws.
Since the Pixel 6 Pro is only 4x optically closer, I find this smartphone less practical in shooting every day.
For example, a person has to stand very far for a portrait, the details of the face and along with them are emotionally highly susceptible. “Models” display body textures that everyone doesn’t like.
On the other hand, 4x zoom allows you to notice the pleasant details of the city, if you start hunting for them.
Three times closer to the iPhone 13 Pro with this point of view of creativity neither here nor there. But it is more convenient for portraits definitely.
No macro, but up close you can see beautifully
Left Pixel 6 Pro right, iPhone 13 Pro
The minimum focal length, when you can bring the camera closest to the subject, is ineffective for smartphones.
iPhone with its chic macro mode ultra-wide angle protection break Pixel 6 pro. But in reality – not for creative purposes – they take close pictures of food, drinks, documents, flowers. For this, the main camera is more than enough, which works smarter with contrast in a smartphone from Google.
See. The web above on the Pixel 6 Pro turned out beautifully on the first try, but on the iPhone 13 Pro, I had to twist around to achieve a likely result.
And it still didn’t work out so well. The photo from the iPhone looks objective, a more cloudy impression (the cameras are wiped).
Post-processing plays a role. It felt like the Pixel 6 Pro wasn’t meant to be balanced every time. pixeldid not highlight at maximum shadows, bright contrast.
This was noticed by the very difference in the approach to photographs.
They give out different colors and textures.
Left Pixel 6 Pro right, iPhone 13 Pro
Left Pixel 6 Pro right, iPhone 13 Pro
Left Pixel 6 Pro right, iPhone 13 Pro
Left Pixel 6 Pro right, iPhone 13 Pro
The work is not difficult, why the photos are created so differently. Like, the same place, the result of observation between film and digital.
And only in direct detection: the Pixel 6 Pro does not burn out color and even sometimes makes it more deaf than reality.
I can’t say if this is good or bad. On the one hand, the pixel produces realism and does not produce digital photographs as intended.
On the other hand, when detected with Samsung or an open Chinese phone, footage from Pixel 6 Not addicted to poisonous glut of personnel.
So I came to the main outlier of the whole comparison.
The Pixel 6 Pro has fewer flaws, and that’s all changing
On the left is an iPhone 13 Pro with 3x optical zoom, on the right is a Pixel 6 Pro with 4x optical zoom. Food Scale 350%
Looking at the results, I seriously thought about whether I should switch to Android. In the bubble, Apple didn’t realize that mobile photography could look quite nice in 2023.
The Pixel 6 Pro feels like it does what I’ve always enjoyed the quality of the iPhone experience: Google smartphone produces a neutral optical result that does not hurt the eyes with a bunch of software chips made for sale. I don’t want to adjust the frames with it by lowering the contrast and clarity, they already look high quality.
In recent years, when I go to the Apple website, I believe that the photos with promotional materials are implemented on the iPhone. Because I see the extra sharpness of Deep Fusion, poisonous night mode, vigorous SmartHDR.
Left iPhone 13 Pro, Pixel 6 Pro with 4x optical zoom. Both photos are with the main camera, memory zoom 500%. Halos in objects from artificial sharpening on the iPhone are constantly visible
The pixel does not interfere with this extra juiciness and the texture drawn by AI algorithms.
While writing a comparison, from photo to photo, it’s straightforward that photos from the iPhone are “overripe” due to this post-processing. They look too artificial. I thought that this is now on all smartphones.
And, since I usually use a regular SLR camera (Canon 650D) for shooting, I see the difference instantly.
The Pixel 6 Pro turned out to be the first last phone I’ve had in my hands that produced a texture, color and black and white pattern close to this “analog” shooting.
Now we strongly hope that in the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple will come to its senses and go the same way. In the end, the matrix will eventually become huge compared to the iPhone 13 Pro, and the same cheap neurotricks will no longer exist.
📸 All photos in the article:
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
