Can the Pixel 9 Pro beat my iPhone camera? I did a test to find out | Digital Trends

I’m the kind of person who takes a ton of photos, whether it’s of my pets, my daughter and her shenanigans, my husband and I, or various things at Disneyland.

I am primarily an iPhone user, currently using the iPhone 15 Pro, with which I have taken hundreds, if not thousands, of photos over the past year. However, the Pixel 9 Pro is also one of my favorite phones of 2024, and Pixels are known for their reliable cameras. As such, I wondered which device would have the better camera, the Pixel 9 Pro or the iPhone 15 Pro? And I decided to find out.

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro: camera specs

Before we get into the photos, let’s first look at the camera hardware on both phones.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro is equipped with a triple-lens camera system on the rear. It packs in a 50-megapixel primary camera with f/1.68 aperture and 82-degree field of view (FOV), a 48MP ultrawide camera with autofocus and f/1.7 aperture, 123-degree FOV, and a 48MP telephoto camera with f/2.8 aperture, 22-degree FOV, 5x optical zoom, and Super Res Zoom up to 30x. For the selfie camera, we have a 42MP with autofocus, f/2.2 aperture, and 103-degree FOV.

For the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple packed in a 48MP primary wide camera with f/1.8 aperture, a 12MP ultrawide camera with f/2.2 aperture and 120-degree FOV, and a 12MP telephoto with f/2.8 aperture and 3x optical zoom. The front-facing selfie camera is a 12MP lens with f/1.9 aperture.

As you can see, the Google Pixel 9 Pro is more impressive in terms of raw specs. But is that the only thing that matters?

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro: primary camera

For most people, the main/primary camera is used the most. That’s because it’s the default option when you launch the camera app, and it works best in most scenarios.

Here’s a Halloween display in Downtown Disney featuring Mickey and Minnie in royal Halloween outfits. The colors are a tad brighter with the Pixel photo, which you can notice on the display itself, as well as the orange pumpkins and flowers in the arch behind Minnie. The iPhone image appears darker in many spots, like the arch and even the flowers surrounding the sides of the giant pumpkin in between them.

However, the iPhone image does seem to do a better job of focusing the entire scene, as you can see with the flowers in front of the display. The iPhone version also has more detail in the tree trunk, as the Pixel image appears much softer and even a bit washed out there. Still, since the decor is the focus of the image, I prefer the Pixel 9 Pro for this one.

Now, look at this fun little Donald Duck Halloween display in Downtown Disney. Both images look pretty good, but the iPhone version is actually a bit better with the colors, especially when you look at the black sleeves on Donald’s robe — it’s much more black on the iPhone. The colors of the greenery around Donald also look brighter with the iPhone image over the Pixel. And I’m not sure why, but the Pixel makes the green bat in the back look more blue, almost like it’s teal. It should be more green.

In this photo, we have the pumpkin displays of the Fab Five at the main entrance to Disneyland Park. The picture was taken a little after noon, so the sunlight was quite harsh. This is apparent in the iPhone image, with heavy shadows and contrast. The Pixel version is overall brighter and much more pleasant to look at. The colors of the display pop so much more than the iPhone.

This is a photo of the Disneyland train station you see when you first enter the park. Again, the iPhone version is harsher in color than the Pixel version. With the Pixel, the colors are brighter and more vivid with the flowers, though some parts of the building look a tad washed out. The iPhone does do a better job of capturing the details of the building, though. For this one, it feels like the Pixel does better with the plants and the sky, but the iPhone does better for the building. If I could, I’d combine the best of both images into one.

Ah, the famous and very popular Pumpkin Mickey display at Disneyland for Halloween. Once again, while the color pops more with the Pixel, the iPhone image does a good job of keeping the texture on the pumpkin’s surface intact, which looks a bit smoothed out on the Pixel. This is even more true with the stem and leaf at the top, as well as the autumn-colored banners at the top of the buildings in the background. The shadows do add more contrast to the overall pumpkin display.

For this image, we are looking at this year’s Halloween confectionary display inside the Grand Californian Hotel lobby. Both photos look good, but the Pixel edges out the iPhone a bit in terms of color. Especially with the poison apple, the colors look more vivid and pop more than the iPhone, but only so slightly. Some parts of the iPhone image appear a bit washed out, like the witch’s face and the green on the apple. But the details and textures are better on the iPhone, especially when you look at the front of the cauldron — the “rust” parts look soft and a bit out of focus on the Pixel, and even the bone looks smooth.

Sorry for all of the spooky photos, but Halloween Time at Disney just has so many things to take photos of! Here, we have the Headless Horseman display at Disney California Adventure, which is one of my favorite Halloween decorations at the park. As usual, the iPhone image has harsher colors and shadows, which don’t work in favor of the dark color of the front of the horse. The Pixel handles the color better by not being so heavy on the shadow in the front, making it easy to see the entire front of the horse. I also prefer how the pumpkin’s color is in the Pixel image.

Winner: Pixel 9 Pro

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro: ultrawide camera

Now, let’s take a look at some ultrawide shots. For these, you’ll have to zoom in to scrutinize the small details.

This is a classic view at Disney California Adventure: on the waterfront at Pixar Pier, with the Mickey Fun Wheel in the background and the Pixar Pier signage in the Incredicoaster loop. Both images look very similar if you don’t zoom in. But once you do, you can see that the iPhone version is noisier, has more grain, and even appears pixelated in some parts.

Meanwhile, thanks to the higher megapixel count, the Pixel image does a better job of retaining the detail when you get close to it. The Pixel image is also a bit brighter with the colors, as the iPhone photo is a bit strong with the shadows in the background.

This ultrawide shot is of the waterfall at the Grizzly River Run ride at Disney California Adventure. Oddly enough, you can see two different tones going on here, with the Pixel being more warm and the iPhone being more cool. Like the previous photo, they both look decent on the surface, but the iPhone image starts to lose detail when you zoom in, as it gets noisier and pixelated. The Pixel image has less detail loss because of the higher resolution. Colors also pop more with the Pixel.

Here, we have a look at the water area for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage ride. From the get-go, you can tell that the Pixel version is sharper with the scene overall, even with the background, while the iPhone image is a bit more muddled. The water also appears to have more noise with the iPhone image, and when you zoom in, the loss of detail is very apparent. It’s less of an issue with the Pixel image here, and the colors of the Pixel photo are also preferable for me.

Winner: Pixel 9 Pro

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro: telephoto camera

On paper, the Pixel 9 Pro seems to have better telephoto specs, with a 48MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom, compared to the iPhone 15 Pro’s 12MP telephoto lens with only 3x optical zoom. For this comparison, I only did a quick 2x and 3x optical zoom for both phones since the iPhone 15 Pro lacks the 5x optical zoom capability.

Palm trees are all over California, even in my neighborhood. It’s just one of those things only Californians will understand. This is a 3x zoomed-in shot of a palm tree across the street from my house, which I took from my backyard. The Pixel version is a lot brighter with the colors, and the details are clearer, whereas the iPhone image is a bit darker in terms of color because of heavy shadows. Though the textures seem a bit better with the iPhone than the Pixel, with the dark shadows, it’s barely noticeable if you don’t zoom in.

This is another zoomed-in shot of a palm tree against a blue sky covered in splotches of clouds, with the sun in the back trying to break through. Again, the iPhone has a big shadow problem, as the palm tree is basically all black, with no hints of other colors because of the lighting. The Pixel version seemed to fare better, as some green and beige popped out from the top of the tree, and you could see individual leaves. The texture on the trunk is also visible, whereas the iPhone is just black. The sky and clouds also look more visually appealing in the Pixel image, as everything just looks dark with the iPhone.

Winner: Pixel 9 Pro

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro: low light

Since it’s spooky season, there will be plenty of amazing displays that you’ll want to snap photos of at night. Let’s see how these phones perform with low-light photos.

I absolutely adore this display of Mickey and Minnie in Halloween outfits. Yes, we featured this display already, but the lights make it look even more magical at night. Though the Pixel image has colors that pop a bit more, you can tell that the lights in the arch display behind Minnie are a bit blown out, and the details are a bit soft and don’t look entirely in focus. The iPhone image, however, looks much better with fewer blown-out lights, more fine details and textures, and everything is sharp and crisp. The color is a bit darker, but it doesn’t feel as artificial as the Pixel image.

One of my favorite things about the Halloween season is seeing the Oogie Boogie sign at the entrance of Disney California Adventure. Out of these two shots, the iPhone did a much better job of not making the backlights blown out, keeping detail, texture, and focus intact and less noisy in the night sky. The Pixel image has some of the lights inside the pumpkins bleeding from the cutout, and the words “Disney California Adventure” don’t look as sharp as the iPhone image. The cluster of palm trees in the back is also a muddied mess with the Pixel, while it’s clear and detailed on the iPhone.

Winner: iPhone 15 Pro

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro: portraits and selfies

Who doesn’t take selfies these days, right? I typically take most of my selfies at special places like Disneyland, but sometimes I’ll snap a selfie at home, too. Portrait mode is always an excellent way to make one of those photos or selfies look even more professional, as it’s one of my favorite ways to shoot photos of my daughter and family.

Here’s a selfie of me showing off my Reaper’s Delight 3.0 shirt from RSVLTS for the spooky season. This was taken quite early in the morning, around 7 a.m., so the lighting wasn’t too harsh. Both images look similar, but you can see the Pixel’s wider FOV at work. Both also capture my skin tone pretty accurately, but the Pixel image has a tiny bit more oomph with the colors on the shirt and the greenery behind me. The Pixel one edges out the iPhone, but only by a margin.

This is another selfie with Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park, as I’m donning a Haunted Mansion-themed outfit. With this one, the iPhone did a better job of getting the colors on the castle right and my shirt. But the iPhone made me a bit paler than I am in the picture, while the Pixel is more accurate. However, the castle in the Pixel image is a bit washed out. This is one of those images where I want to combine the best parts of both to create a single, great image.

And finally, here’s a quick portrait selfie I took of myself as I try not to melt outside in a sweltering heat wave in Southern California. While I prefer the color of my skin tone in the Pixel image, it seems to struggle with edge detection and focus, as parts of my hair and the front of my shirt are blurry. The iPhone does a better job with edge detection, even detecting the bit of hair frizz on the left side and keeping all of my hair in focus and most of my shirt. The bokeh effect is also a tad stronger on the iPhone.

Winner: Draw

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro: verdict

I’ve been using the Pixel 9 Pro for a few weeks now and the iPhone 15 Pro since launch day. From my testing for this comparison, the Pixel 9 Pro has a better camera overall in most aspects, but the iPhone still stands strong and does better in low-light scenarios.

Honestly, both phones have their own set of strengths and weaknesses. The iPhone 15 Pro seems to be better at getting the smaller details and textures right, while the Pixel 9 Pro usually has more eye-popping color and more optical zoom range — though it needs work with edge detection and low-light images.

It’s very interesting to see how the Pixel 9 Pro compares against last year’s top iPhone, but of course, we’re also eager to see how it fares against the new iPhone 16 Pro. Will the new iPhone get an even bigger lead? Will it be a step down? We’re very eager to see, and we’ll do another test soon to find out.