The photo battle between Google’s and Apple’s flagships leads to surprising results.
Two weeks ago, when the new iPhone 17 family was announced, the iPhone 17 Pro got my attention: and how could it not? I’m a big fan of mobile photography – I just love how far we’ve come in terms of hardware and software when it comes to the cameras in these compact gadgets of ours.
The iPhone 17 Pro (and 17 Pro Max), being the most advanced in the lineup, offers the best camera setup in the recently announced iPhone series.
The dedicated telephoto camera now has a 56% larger 48 MP sensor, improving light capture and image quality, while offering 4x optical zoom and up to 8x via software. The selfie camera jumps from 12 MP to 18 MP, retaining Center Stage for group shots. Digital zoom has been extended to 40x, and the updated Photonic Engine enhances detail, color, and noise reduction. Photographic Styles, including the new Bright mode, allow more creative control over images.
Then, a cold shower rained down on my parade in the form of our very own early iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Pixel 10 Pro XL: Sample Photos Comparison.
Let’s check things out!What’s with that zoom?!At 10x (that’s optical zoom territory), the iPhone 17 Pro Max photo looks shockingly bad with smeared details and dull skin tones – it’s like there’s something wrong with the lens on the Apple phone. That being said, the Pixel 10 Pro XL shot has its own shortcomings as well, particularly in the background. The bokeh looks pixelated and very much so unnatural. Also, it could be said that the Pixel oversaturates the whole scene. But the Google photo is the one I think most of you would say is the better one in terms of overall representation:Next, we have the iPhone 17 Pro Max at 4x and the Pixel 10 Pro XL at 5x for an indoor shot of a still object. The Pixel once again has the upper hand with much more clear details and punchier colors:At 8x and 10x of the same subject, things are even worse for Apple’s handset.
