After finally renewing my Pixel 8 Pro for the Pixel 9 Pro XL, I'd like to do a review of the cameras on my three mobile devices that I currently own. The photographs are all taken at 50MP or, failing that, at the maximum resolution they can offer.
The order of the photos is as follows: iPhone 15 PM, Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, Samsung Galaxy Fold 6.
In the first picture, we note that the white balance of the Samsung and the iPhone is quite similar, while on the Pixel it is somewhat warmer and with a more “violet” tone. At first glance all photos offer a fairly good quality, with a very similar work of the lights, good in all three models.
In terms of detail, the Pixel beats its rivals. If we look at the area of the flag and the signs, the Pixel is the only one where we can read what the sign says with more or less clarity, while on the iPhone it is quite difficult to see what it says. The worst of all is the Samsung, which makes a watercolor effect quite evident. It also makes some weird artifacts around the pole.
The second photo is at 5X. For obvious reasons, the Samsung is the worst (it only has 3X zoom, so the 5X zoom is done digitally). No doubt the photo is pretty bad.
In the other two phones, we see a good job. For my taste, the iPhone contrasts the image too much, while the Pixel does a very good job. The Pixel's level of detail is excellent, better than Apple's. If we enlarge the photo a lot, on the Pixel we can see more than decently the car parked next to the church (a Dacia Spring from Carsharing). On the iPhone the car looks more pixelated.
The third photo is also at 5X. The Samsung is again the worst, although this photo doesn't look as bad to me as the previous one.
Again we find an excess of contrast on the iPhone. At the level of detail, the Pixel again beats them all. If we enlarge the photo, the person lying on the beach and the waves are much clearer than on the iPhone. The Samsung does a fairly obvious watercolor.
The next photo, shot at 1X, shows the good HDR work of all three models, although I think the best in this regard is the Galaxy Fold. The Samsung and iPhone have a more similar white balance, being warmer. The Pixel makes the scene slightly cooler. The iPhone contrasts the scene a lot, especially in the area of the rocks. The Samsung in the corners makes a rather strange blurry effect (it does it also in other shots).
In terms of detail, the Pixel again beats everyone.
The last scene, also at 1X. The iPhone takes a warmer scene than the other two phones. In this case, the HDR I think does a better job on the iPhone because it's able to pull more information out of the sky.
The Pixel's detail is still unsurpassed, with the Samsung being the worst again.
So, the Pixel is still the king of photography, at least of these three phones that I have. I still find it to be the best camera phone overall.
The performance of the Pixel 9 Pro XL I notice it noticeably better than the 8, something that surprised me, since I thought the processor was not noticeably better than last year.
When you shoot at 50MP, it doesn't take as long to take the photo, and the shutter time is much faster than on the 8 Pro, as well as the processing time.
The speakers have also improved quite a bit. The phone is more pleasant to hold in the hand, it seems better balanced to me. The screen looks better, and the fingerprint sensor is noticeably better.
The iPhone is still my primary personal device, while the Galaxy Fold is my professional device. The Pixel I like to have as a second phone, but each iteration (I've had the 7 Pro, 8 pro and, now, the 9 Pro XL) I notice there are noticeable improvements. I really like the AI features (although we don't have all of them available in Europe).
I like the Samsung for its productivity-related features. One UI has a thousand interesting functions, which help me in my day to day work.
The iPhone... well, it's the device I've relied on since 2009. With its pluses and minuses, in the end it is the backbone of my ecosystem, so for the time being it will remain so, because even if it doesn't have a camera as good as the Pixel (both the 8 Pro and 9 Pro XL have better cameras), it is much better than the 13 Pro Max I had before, being pretty solid in all situations.
I leave some pictures I took yesterday with the Pixel 9 Pro XL. (Unedited).
The order of the photos is as follows: iPhone 15 PM, Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, Samsung Galaxy Fold 6.
In the first picture, we note that the white balance of the Samsung and the iPhone is quite similar, while on the Pixel it is somewhat warmer and with a more “violet” tone. At first glance all photos offer a fairly good quality, with a very similar work of the lights, good in all three models.
In terms of detail, the Pixel beats its rivals. If we look at the area of the flag and the signs, the Pixel is the only one where we can read what the sign says with more or less clarity, while on the iPhone it is quite difficult to see what it says. The worst of all is the Samsung, which makes a watercolor effect quite evident. It also makes some weird artifacts around the pole.
The second photo is at 5X. For obvious reasons, the Samsung is the worst (it only has 3X zoom, so the 5X zoom is done digitally). No doubt the photo is pretty bad.
In the other two phones, we see a good job. For my taste, the iPhone contrasts the image too much, while the Pixel does a very good job. The Pixel's level of detail is excellent, better than Apple's. If we enlarge the photo a lot, on the Pixel we can see more than decently the car parked next to the church (a Dacia Spring from Carsharing). On the iPhone the car looks more pixelated.
The third photo is also at 5X. The Samsung is again the worst, although this photo doesn't look as bad to me as the previous one.
Again we find an excess of contrast on the iPhone. At the level of detail, the Pixel again beats them all. If we enlarge the photo, the person lying on the beach and the waves are much clearer than on the iPhone. The Samsung does a fairly obvious watercolor.
The next photo, shot at 1X, shows the good HDR work of all three models, although I think the best in this regard is the Galaxy Fold. The Samsung and iPhone have a more similar white balance, being warmer. The Pixel makes the scene slightly cooler. The iPhone contrasts the scene a lot, especially in the area of the rocks. The Samsung in the corners makes a rather strange blurry effect (it does it also in other shots).
In terms of detail, the Pixel again beats everyone.
The last scene, also at 1X. The iPhone takes a warmer scene than the other two phones. In this case, the HDR I think does a better job on the iPhone because it's able to pull more information out of the sky.
The Pixel's detail is still unsurpassed, with the Samsung being the worst again.
So, the Pixel is still the king of photography, at least of these three phones that I have. I still find it to be the best camera phone overall.
The performance of the Pixel 9 Pro XL I notice it noticeably better than the 8, something that surprised me, since I thought the processor was not noticeably better than last year.
When you shoot at 50MP, it doesn't take as long to take the photo, and the shutter time is much faster than on the 8 Pro, as well as the processing time.
The speakers have also improved quite a bit. The phone is more pleasant to hold in the hand, it seems better balanced to me. The screen looks better, and the fingerprint sensor is noticeably better.
The iPhone is still my primary personal device, while the Galaxy Fold is my professional device. The Pixel I like to have as a second phone, but each iteration (I've had the 7 Pro, 8 pro and, now, the 9 Pro XL) I notice there are noticeable improvements. I really like the AI features (although we don't have all of them available in Europe).
I like the Samsung for its productivity-related features. One UI has a thousand interesting functions, which help me in my day to day work.
The iPhone... well, it's the device I've relied on since 2009. With its pluses and minuses, in the end it is the backbone of my ecosystem, so for the time being it will remain so, because even if it doesn't have a camera as good as the Pixel (both the 8 Pro and 9 Pro XL have better cameras), it is much better than the 13 Pro Max I had before, being pretty solid in all situations.
I leave some pictures I took yesterday with the Pixel 9 Pro XL. (Unedited).
