* Yes, the iPhone 13 Pro Max might have produced slightly better results, but with a longer zoom on its telephoto, it starts to suffer the 'zoom gap' in much the same way as the Pixel 6 Pro, so there would be mixed messages below. Note also that I shot all the scenes with my trusty Lumia 950 XL as well, but because that's so zoom-limited and because so many tests included a zoom element, I've refrained from including the Lumia shots. I also did the scenes with my Xperia 5 ii, so maybe there's an extra article in there.
As a reminder of the specs of the main two cameras on the Pixel 6 Pro (I've omitted the ultra-wide - although I tested this, I had no definitive comments to make and I still consider these lenses something of a fun option):
| 50MP, f/1.9, 25mm focal length, 1/1.31" optical format, Laser autofocus, OIS, 'spectral and flicker' sensor | 48MP, f/3.5, 104mm focal length, 1/2" optical format, PDAF, OIS, 4x magnification |
The 'zoom gap'
The astute will spot the 'zoom gap' immediately between the main lens (1x, obviously, and note that this is a Quad Bayer sensor supplied by a third party and that there's no access to full resolution captures, and therefore no smart cropping, 1020/PureView style into the sensor's RAW output) and the periscope telephoto at 4x. So the vast majority of day to day shots that use zoom, typically 2x and 3x, to better frame people, pets, and scenes, will all be in danger of lossy digital zoom and subsequent blockiness and uncertainty, especially beyond 3x and up to 3.9x.
Which isn't good. Now, most smartphone camera systems have a 2x or (at most) a 3x telephoto, so that's a lower cap on main sensor digital zoom. The iPhone here (12 Pro Max) has a 2.5x telephoto, and 2.4x is about the limit of Apple's digital zoom algorithms, so they just about get away with claiming a 'zoom continuum'. But asking algorithms to 'stretch' zoom from a 12MP capture up to four times the actual resolution is asking too much.
Now, Google has an answer to this - in theory. Previous Pixels used Google's 'Super Res Zoom' (SRZ) technique, whereby natural hand shake from the user while taking a photo would be used, while zooming, to capture several frames and use the tiny differences in framing to 'fill in' the missing zoom detail at the pixel level. It worked after a fashion and enabled Google to ship all its 2020 Pixel phones without telephoto lenses, since 2x SRZ was easily good enough for the man in the street.
Google claims SRZ is on the Pixel 6 Pro, but - at the time of writing and after several system updates - I can't see much evidence of it, as you'll see below. Now, SRZ was designed for much smaller camera units and generally smaller and lighter phones, so perhaps it can't work on something as huge and heavy as the Pixel 6 Pro? Perhaps it has been disabled on this device until Google can retune its software and that an update will add SRZ back in? We just don't know.
Image comparisons
But on with the testing. Note that the iPhone isn't being tested here, or commented on unduly, so I didn't go through the usual 'shoot with ProRAW with less edge enhancement and then save as JPG' workflow. I left it on full, populist settings, as a regular user data point.
As usual on this site, most photos were taken on full auto and handheld, as a regular user would do. No tripods or RAW editing sessions needed!
Let's pit the results against each other, using our Famed Interactive Comparator (FIC). All 1:1 crops are at 900x500 for comparison, though I've put up the originals, for you to download if you want to do your own analysis.
| Note that the interactive comparator below uses javascript and does need to load each pair of images. Please be patient while this page loads, if you see a pair of images above each other than you've either not waited long enough or your browser isn't capable enough! You ideally need a powerful, large-screened tablet or a proper laptop or desktop. This comparator may not work in some browsers. Sorry about that. On Windows 10 Mobile, use the 'AAWP Universal' UWP app, which handles the comparator very competently (see the tips in the app's help screens) |
Test 1: HDR Landscape
A bright winter morning in the UK, shooting obliquely into the sun in order to get the framing I wanted. You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
Scaled for the web here (crop examples will come below), from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Both photos are pretty good, of course, as you'd expect, with the Pixel's HDR processing pulling out more detail in the shadows (for example, in the Autumnal tree right behind the plane). But the most notable aspect is the lens flare in the Pixel shot - with the much larger lens and sensor (twice the size of the iPhone's) come a greater likelihood of internal reflections when shooting into light - it's simple optics, as any 'pro' photographer will tell you. Arty or distracting? You decide! I'm not going to dock points here, as the subject is err... subjective(!)
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 10 pts
Test 2: HDR Landscape, 2x zoomed
The same scene, but zoomed x2 (ish. Don't worry, I'll come to the Pixel's 4x periscope too). You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
1:1 crops this time then, from central detail, from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Now, this is both fair and unfair to the Pixel 6 Pro. Obviously, the iPhone result is dramatically clearer and closer, since I was using the native 2.5x telephoto, while the Pixel 6 Pro is having to use its main lens and software zoom.
However... Google claims that its 'Super Res Zoom' and various clever zoom algorithms can handle 2x zoom on its huge 50MP sensor. But I disagree - and this will become part of my main complaint about the Pixel 6 Pro. You can see above that its crop above is decidedly 'meh', in terms of detail and purity - and this is only 2x zoom - Google specced the Pixel 6 Pro to have a 4x telephoto, meaning that this software zoom will be in use, getting less and less precise, all the way up to 3.9x. And that's a worrying thought, since 90% of all real world 'zooming' in phone cameras is around the 2x and 3x mark - check your own image galleries if you don't believe me.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 9 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 7 pts
Test 3: HDR Landscape, 4x zoomed
The same scene, but time I'm upping the ante so that the Pixel 4 Pro can use the native output from its large 4x periscope system. (I thought I'd shot a 4x version with the iPhone, but apparently not. So I'll leave its 2.5x telephoto for the comparison. These things happen in the world of complicated phone camera comparisons!)
You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
1:1 crops this time then, from central detail, from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
As usual with my imaging comparisons, physics normally wins and the large 4x periscope system in the Pixel 6 Pro is stunningly good. As you can see for yourself. Sharp and clear and with accurate colours. I'm very impressed. (Again, I wish I'd remembered to try a 4x hybrid shot with the iPhone, but I don't think it would have been close to the Pixel shot here.)
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 8 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 10 pts
Test 4: Sunny Suburbs
After missing a shot above, I'm trying again with my standard suburban landscape. Here's the scene:
You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
Here are 1:1 crops from central detail, from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Both shots look processed, of course, down at the pixel level (no pun intended), but the version from the Pixel (note the uppercase 'p') is a little more heavy handed, edges are more pronounced and there are 'jaggies'. Not that the man in the street would notice such pixel-level defects, but it's enough to knock a point off to my eyes.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 9 pts
Test 5: Sunny Suburbs, 2x zoomed
So telephoto on the iPhone and software zoom on the Pixel, as before. You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
Here are 1:1 crops from central detail, from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Oh dear oh dear. As before, the software zoom on the Pixel 6 Pro is just appalling. Well, no more appalling than software zoom on most phones, I suspect, but given Google's usual Super Res Zoom (SRZ) pretensions, this is very disappointing. Blotchy, uncertain detail, jagged everything. In contrast, the iPhone 12 Pro Max's telephoto nails the shot with terrific crisp detail even at 1:1 level here.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 7 pts
Test 6: Sunny Suburbs, 4x zoomed
Reversing the advantage, it's now hybrid zoom on the iPhone (2.5x telephoto plus 1.5x software) and pure telephoto on the Pixel. You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
Here are 1:1 crops from central detail, from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
As expected, the Pixel 6 Pro's fabulous 4x telephoto is in its element here, with a perfect shot, right down to the pixel level. The iPhone's hybrid zoom shot isn't terrible, but is characteristically 'soft', since half the detail is effectively being made up. No surprises, and an easy win for the Pixel 6 Pro this time.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 8 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 10 pts
Test 7: Dazzling meadow
On a walk, I was struck by winter sun on this dewy meadow. Here's the scene:
You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
Here are 1:1 crops from central detail, from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Top marks to each, they capture the greens and the sunlit grass well, plus levels of edge enhancement are similar (and at 1:1, not too egregious). The only significant difference between the photos is that Google's extra HDR emphasis takes a little of the drama out of the scene. But that's being picky.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 10 pts
Test 8: Shady close-up
A pretty little clump of blossom in the shade, shot as close as the phone cameras would let me get and still achieve focus. You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
Here are scaled shots, from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Technically, both shots have similar depth of field (remember that as phone cameras get bigger, you have to accept that depth of field decreases for any given focal length, so you have to accept that parts of close-up subjects may be out of focus - that's physics!), but there's certainly more colour and life in the iPhone shot. Enough to give it a small win here.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 9 pts
Test 9: Zoom to the max
Well, perhaps not absolute 'max', but a lot is needed here. A locked aviation museum and an aircraft that was a good 40m away meant that zoom is king here. I went up to 6x on the iPhone and 10x on the Pixel 6 Pro, both with healthy amounts of software zoom on top of the native telephotos. Here's the overall scene, unzoomed:
You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
Scaled for the web here (crop examples will come below), from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Although neither shot would stand up to 1:1 crop inspection, due to the digital zoom involved, I'm happy with both snaps, though the Pixel 6 Pro has to take the win, of course, because of the extra 70% or so closer the native telephoto takes the user.
I have a suspicion that Google's SRZ system is indeed working on the telephoto, which is why zoom results over 4x are so good (I have many more examples). The odd thing is why it's not working on the main lens, see thoughts at the bottom, below.
For now though, enough with the zoom tests, it's time to head into low light and see how the new Pixel behaves.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 8 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 10 pts
Test 10: Street cycling
A clear set of instructions on the pavement at night. Plenty of street lights around, so not totally dark, though the scene was darker to my eyes than the phones make out. You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
Scaled for the web here (crop examples will come below), from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Both shots are admirably crisp, but what's interesting is the differences in white balance. And I'm honestly not sure which is 'right'. Maybe there is no 'right' here, since - especially in low light - every person's sense of light and colour will be slightly different anyway. Plus, as you'll see from the shots, there was traffic around, with some car rear lights adding colour differently, so I'm not docking any points here.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 10 pts
Test 11: Train spotting
A train ready for the off, at night, and with arty mood lighting (well, I think so, as a train spotter...!) You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
Scaled for the web here (crop examples will come below), from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
In terms of colouring and handling of light, both phone cameras do well, though there's something not quite right about the Pixel 6 Pro shot in terms of crispness - it's notable that the Camera application on the new Pixels can take up to 10 seconds to actually take a 'Night sight' photo. And there's no way to cut this short, leaving you as the photo taker hanging in there looking like a bit of a wally for ages. And, despite all the alignment algorithms, ten seconds is a long time to keep a phone even vaguely still. And I think this is what has gone wrong here, giving the iPhone a slight win for the web-scaled test, at least.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 9 pts
But I do also, I think need to look down at 1:1 as well, since this is a pretty typical night time snap...
Although we're only talking alignment differences of a few pixels, the 10 second exposure here on the Pixel is enough to create the visual wobble seen above. While the iPhone 12 Pro Max grabbed its auto-night-mode snap in two seconds, so many times faster, and with less opportunity for gross human error.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 7 pts
Test 12: Night time HDR
A set of posters lit up on a station wall at over 100m distance, at night. Here's the scene:
You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
Here are 1:1 crops from central detail, from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Wow to both. Although the Pixel 6 Pro image is more contrasty and not quite as pleasant to the eye at the pixel level, just look at the genuine detail in those posters. At 100m at night! I can't really fault the iPhone's result either, especially as the newer 13 Pro Max would have been even better had I had it to hand.
Two super night shots.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 10 pts
Test 13: Late, late night
Heading to bed, my standard suburban road. Here's the scene, showing how dark things were to my eyes:
Turning night into day, you can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
Here are 1:1 crops from central detail, from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
A very slight win to the Pixel 6 Pro and no sign of wobble or misalignment due to the 10 second Night Sight exposure, which is good. The iPhone, admittedly here in default and not ProRAW shooting mode, tries a little too hard to enhance edges and reduce noise in its 3 second auto-Night mode exposure. But both shots are tremendous in terms of what you can now capture handheld with no worries at all, I'm not going to deduct any points.
In fact, my biggest concern is that both the smartphone cameras are now so good at taking night shots that there's no such thing as 'night' any more. Both the shots could have been taken on a rainy day, late afternoon. Oh well. Night mode is a thing now and there's no going back! If you do grab the original files, note that both phone cameras captured clear star constellations!
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 10 pts
Test 14: Portrait time
One final test, of the built-in Portrait modes, loathe though I cam to have my ugly mug up on screen yet again. You can grab the original photos from the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Pixel 6 Pro for your own analysis.
Scaled slightly for the web here, since I really don't want people judging my complexion in gory detail, from the reference iPhone and then the Pixel 6 Pro, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
As you can see here, Google's algorithms aren't great with skin. Not helped by having to crop in on the main sensor to get the framing (and then interpolate colour and detail), the Pixel 6 Pro is already struggling - and then we add in the way Google loves to ramp up contrast and HDR. No issues with the portrait mode fake bokeh, but my face is some leagues behind the natural (err....) beauty of the iPhone's portrait, which is nigh on perfect.
(Note that both Google and Apple do also offer '1x' portrait modes, using the main and ultra-wide cameras, but these necessarily require the shooter being much closer and there's then some distortion.)
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Google Pixel 6 Pro: 7 pts
Scores on the doors
For the record, the scores add up as:
- iPhone 12 Pro Max (2020): 143 pts (/150)
- Google Pixel 6 Pro (2021): 135 pts
So falling short of 2020's top iPhone then, by a significant margin, but this is a case where you have to look beyond the overall scores. You see, the Pixel 6 Pro can take astonishingly good photos. In fact, most of the time. Yes, there's loads of HDR all the time, but many people like this and you can't argue with the detail levels. Plus the periscope 4x telephoto is a triumph, working well up until 10x zoom.
However, there are some takeaways and caveats that are vital to note:
- Try to avoid zooming at all on the main lens, since purity rapidly suffers. If you need to zoom a bit then walk closer to something. Or walk back and use the excellent 4x telephoto. I'm not kidding - I wouldn't be happy using any zoom at all on the main lens, at least with current software. It's entirely possible that Super Res Zoom is currently disabled on this camera and will appear at a later date in an update.
- Before attempting a night time snap, be aware that it can take up to ten seconds to finish it (and there's no way to cut if off sooner, as far as I can see). So you'll be in 'capture pose' for that long, trying to stay still and not get in peoples' way or to try their patience. It also takes three or four seconds to process a night shot in the background, before it's ready for admiring, so you need to allow for this too, if checking what you just grabbed. Just to repeat, we can be talking of a 15 second shot to shot time here!
- Don't expect much from portraits - and if you must take these then stick to 1x shots and accept a degree of space invasion and face shape distortion.
- As with other large-lensed, large-sensored phone cameras, be careful when shooting things close up, since the depth of field is naturally quite shallow - you may have better results moving back and cropping a little later or, in good light, moving back further and sticking to the 4x telephoto.
As to whether you should have this many caveats in a £900 (or so) super-phone, that's up to you and your own buying criteria. I rail slightly against the zoom gap in my 2.5x telephoto iPhone 12 Pro Max, I get more angry with the 1x-3x gap in the iPhone 13 Pro range, and the 1x-4x 'zoom gap' here is clearly insane in terms of expecting software to fill things in. It just can't. (An ideal set-up would perhaps to be a main lens, a 2x telephoto and a 4x periscope - a combination which we've yet to see.
PS. It's worth noting that the Pixel 6 Pro does have a few extra tricks up its sleeve, notably a superb handheld long exposure mode, but you'll have to watch for my full review in order to see examples of that in action.