Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Counterpoint: Considering how much it costs, the Pixel 2 XL shouldn't have had bad everything else.
We are talking about cameras though and the Pixel is still less expensive than the iPhone and there haven't been any issues besides the first batch of Pixel 2 (Non XL) with LCD issues which was LG's fault, just like the screens on Macs having the exact same issues.
 
Considering the price of the iPhone XS even if it takes great pictures it should have beaten every smartphone camera in the industry which wasn't the case.
Very rigorous testing done in the link you posted :rolleyes:

In picture #1 I’d argue the iPhone handled the low light way better, you can barely see the slats on the pixel shot.

Picture #2....isn’t even a comparison, they’re completely different shots. One is clearly more zoomed in *or taken from a different angle* and thus nothing about them can be compared.

#3 we see again a completely different angle, which when dealing with reflections are going to completely change the shot because the light source is now in a different position.

The pixel camera may very well take better photos, but THIS is not an even remotely useful “comparison” article.
 

Attachments

  • CE9E05C6-236B-44F8-BA86-68B144B149EF.png
    CE9E05C6-236B-44F8-BA86-68B144B149EF.png
    790.8 KB · Views: 135
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: TechGod and 5105973
We are talking about cameras though and the Pixel is still less expensive than the iPhone and there haven't been any issues besides the first batch of Pixel 2 (Non XL) with LCD issues which was LG's fault, just like the screens on Macs having the exact same issues.

I had the BT die for no reason on one, one of them stopped charging after I used USB C headphones after a while, one of them refused to activate and it was the warranty replacement. But sure, all problems solved.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973
Very rigorous testing done in the link you posted :rolleyes:

In picture #1 I’d argue the iPhone handled the low light way better, you can barely see the slats on the pixel shot.

Picture #2....isn’t even a comparison, they’re completely different shots. One is clearly more zoomed in *or taken from a different angle* and thus nothing about them can be compared.

#3 we see again a completely different angle, which when dealing with reflections are going to completely change the shot because the light source is now in a different position.

The pixel camera may very well take better photos, but THIS is not an even remotely useful “comparison” article.
So basically the pictures don't match your liking so they're not in the "right" angle lol.
The first picture is not zoomed, what you are seeing is the non existant wide angle camera on the iPhone, the second the iPhone picture is overexposed thus making it yellowish and not a real representation of the scene. Any argument you may "try" to find here it's not gonna work because facts are facts and the Pixel 2 is still the king in smartphone photography.
[doublepost=1537486133][/doublepost]
I had the BT die for no reason on one, one of them stopped charging after I used USB C headphones after a while, one of them refused to activate and it was the warranty replacement. But sure, all problems solved.
I had an iPhone 6 Plus dying on me with non responsive screen, does that mean all of them are affected? :confused:
 
So basically the pictures don't match your liking so they're not in the "right" angle lol.
The first picture is not zoomed, what you are seeing is the non existant wide angle camera on the iPhone, the second the iPhone picture is overexposed thus making it yellowish and not a real representation of the scene. Any argument you may "try" to find here it's not gonna work because facts are facts and the Pixel 2 is still the king in smartphone photography.
[doublepost=1537486133][/doublepost]
I had an iPhone 6 Plus dying on me with non responsive screen, does that mean all of them are affected? :confused:

Are you serious? Pixel 2XL problems are well known and you're the only one pretending otherwise.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TechGod
iPhones have a higher level of quality than the Pixel.
It's the least to be expected since they are available for sell worldwide and they are MORE EXPENSIVE. Yet again we are talking about camera quality and you come up with something else off topic to run from the main argument. For further off topic comments I will not reply.
 
Focus is fast on my new Max. No more blown out highlights or details lost to blown out highlights. I am going to have to test more to see if I like how the new camera plays with light the way the Pixel 2 does.

A camera is but one aspect of the overall device and I do have to give it to the iphones for having nicer displays and good performance and features so far over the Pixel 2’s, in my opinion anyway.

The real and fair test, though, will be between Pixel 3 and XS. That’s going to be exciting. I can’t wait. No I won’t be making the tests, but some of you will, and I have the popcorn ready!
 
Focus is fast on my new Max. No more blown out highlights or details lost to blown out highlights. I am going to have to test more to see if I like how the new camera plays with light the way the Pixel 2 does.

A camera is but one aspect of the overall device and I do have to give it to the iphones for having nicer displays and good performance and features so far over the Pixel 2’s, in my opinion anyway.

The real and fair test, though, will be between Pixel 3 and XS. That’s going to be exciting. I can’t wait. No I won’t be making the tests, but some of you will, and I have the popcorn ready!
Are you finding the battery life of the Max acceptable compared to the Pixel?
 
Can't comment on the pixel comparision but the camera on my max is stunning. Portrait mode really is very good now.

If pixel is still better it is no real difference for me personally. Average person won't really notice. Both have great cameras.
 
The iPhone is just some cheap made Chinese phone, with a fruit logo on it. But it proves marketing garbage and brainwashing is real, fooling the masses into thinking it's something good and people buy it in droves. Apple is a business and making money is #1. And if it helps to cheapen up the phone, or not produce the best of the best to save money, but market it as the best, the iFans will believe it.
 
Last edited:
The iPhone is just some cheap made Chinese phone, with a fruit logo on it. But it proves marketing garbage and brainwashing is real, fooling the masses into thinking it's something good and people buy it in droves. Apple is a business and making money is #1. And if it helps to cheapen up the phone, or not produce the best of the best to save money, but market it as the best, the iFans will believe it.

If you're not careful, somebody might think you actually believe such a ridiculous statement.
 
Are you finding the battery life of the Max acceptable compared to the Pixel?
Definitely. :D But it’s hard to say completely because my Pixel 2 does not currently have a sim in it. And I’m getting only 2 bars of AT&T signal at my house on my Max. Full bars on my S9+ fluctuates to 2-3 as I sit on the ground floor of my house. Same thing was happening when I had the sim in my 8 Plus so I don’t know what’s going on. This all started about 2 weeks ago.

Anyway considering the drop in signal strength my Max is going great.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1050792 and jamezr
The iPhone is just some cheap made Chinese phone, with a fruit logo on it. But it proves marketing garbage and brainwashing is real, fooling the masses into thinking it's something good and people buy it in droves. Apple is a business and making money is #1. And if it helps to cheapen up the phone, or not produce the best of the best to save money, but market it as the best, the iFans will believe it.
People buy iphones as to those people it's the best phone on the market for their needs. People don't spend huge amount of money just because of a logo. It works and works damn well. There isn't another company that gets devices to work together like apple do. Hense why the ecosystem is brought up all the time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tbayrgs
Honestly I have yet to call an overall winner between my two phones, but below are my personal observations. For whatever its worth, I still prefer my DSLR for regular shooting, but do find these phones are great tools at times.

Portrait Mode = ⅔ Pixel
The Pixel can handle a wider array of items than the iPhone overall, however when the iPhone nails the shot, it is really no dispute IMO. Where the iPhone struggles is with translucent, or narrow items. When it does get the shot correct, the out of focus effect appears to be much more realistic to what a wide open lens will do.


i-8NdN6pr-X3.jpg


i-dxXMQ3V-X3.jpg


i-zxHwhLb-X3.jpg


i-DscN84x-X3.jpg


To be honest, I like the iPhone's shot of the leaves a bit better as it is doing a little more of what an Actual wide aperture lens would do. Focus would fall off quite quick on my sigma 1.4 when shooting this same scene wide open. The Pixel keeps most of the leaves in true focus, which isn't true to life. Where the iPhone continues to struggle is with narrow or translucent objects near your focal point as seen with the bars in the top portrait shot. Neither compare to a true wide aperture picture as taken on Film, mirrorless or a DSLR though.


Video = iPhone Xs Max
The auto exposure on the new phone does far better than the 2017 X did at adjusting from dark to light. The phone also has less jittery video when OIS is needed, or when panning. Stereo audio recording also puts this phone in an entirely different league. I am ashamed it took Apple this long to record stereo audio considering they have had dual Mics since the iPhone 4! No excuse for any phone to lack it for the past 5 years IMO.

Zoomed images
Anytime you need to go to 2X zoom I feel the iPhone is superior since it does this optically, as opposed to cropping. Don't get me wrong, the pixel's shots still look amazing at face value, it's when you crop in or do larger prints that it sheds light on this issue.

i-9FbVLw8-X3.jpg

IMG_4598.jpg
100% crop (Click for larger)

i-tGCmQvt-X3.jpg

IMG_20180921_174114.jpg
100% crop (Click for larger)

i-pBqwhjz-X3.jpg

IMG_4613.jpg
100% crop (Click for larger)

i-vVSTpXk-X3.jpg

IMG_20180921_175556.jpg
100% crop (Click for larger)

In both cases the 100% crops look more like paintings than true images, however you can see more of a Picasso effect in the Pixel 2.

Undecided
Low light photos, areas with vast lighting differences, meaning low light, bright light in the same scene. Pixel is sometimes too dark, and the iPhone sometimes brings up shadows far too much.

Storage = Pixel 2
Unlimited full resolution photo cloud storage.. No contest here. Come on Apple, you are the richest company in the world, why aren't you matching this?!?




We are talking about cameras though and the Pixel is still less expensive than the iPhone and there haven't been any issues besides the first batch of Pixel 2 (Non XL) with LCD issues which was LG's fault, just like the screens on Macs having the exact same issues.
Let us be real now. The Pixel 2 is / was, far from a perfect device.

Personally I am on my 2nd device as I had a hardware fault that would cause the phone to crash / power down when running graphics intensive tasks. IIRC there was other user or two here on MacRumors with a similar issue.

And then there was this Camera problem with many phones

Than an update that caused annoying buzzing and hot phones.

What about lagging / slow phones.

And an Audio recording issue, which for some of us (including myself) results in a now much less useful mic (everything sounds muted).

So no, the Pixel wasn't without problems, and the XL screens were not the only phones with this problem.
 
Last edited:
Just three pictures?? Or did I HAVE to watch the video for the rest?? What a joke. First picture of the hallway, the iPhone exposes the light better, and the hall is better exposed. Pixel is darker, but adds sharpening.

The city block scene was a toss up. iPhone was again brighter.

The plant picture both looked very similar.

Go watch a real comparison. ZoneOfTech does an awesome comparison on YouTube between the XS and Pixel 2.
[doublepost=1540166606][/doublepost]
iPhone's finally being seen for what they are, over priced average smartphone, but with juggernaut marketing and brainwashing.

Stock Google is hands down the best smartphone OS today. The Pixel 3 XL the best smartphone of 2018. Notch and all.
LOL. Googles software trick is just extra contrast and sharpening. I agree pixel 2 sometimes beat the iPhone X in some stills. But the XS is a whole different animal. Dynamic range is better in the iPhone cameras. And with all the 4K options, slow mo, panorama, better video, better sound recording. Id say the XS bests the pixel 2 and 3. Hope google fixes the laundry list of issues the pixel 2s had.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.