The Google Pixel is often said to be “the iPhone of Android,” mainly because Google supposedly design and built the Pixels from scratch, and because Google makes Android, this gives the Pixels a sense of hardware-software synergy that only Apple can offer. But that wasn’t really true, at least in the early days. The first Pixel was basically manufactured by HTC using leftover HTC parts, and all the way up until a few months ago, Pixel phones still sourced its brain — the SoC — from a third-party vendor. But the Google Pixel 6 changes things. Google has much more control over its hardware production now, and this is the first phone to run Google’s own self-designed SoC, Tensor. This means the Google Pixel 6 is finally, the iPhone of Android.
And just as Apple did with the iPhone 13 series, Google gave the Pixel 6 significantly improved camera hardware (both companies had stubbornly resisted chasing camera hardware trends in years past), and so this year’s camera comparison between the two phones is the most interesting yet. How exactly does the Google Pixel 6 Pro compare against the Apple iPhone 13 Pro when it comes to the camera specifically? Come along as we explore this precise question to see which phone does cameras better.
- The Pixel 6 Pro is the larger sibling that comes with Google’s new Tensor chip, a modern design, and an extra telephoto camera.
- The iPhone 13 Pro has Apple’s most capable camera system ever, with a larger image sensor and an improved 3x telephoto zoom.
Click to expand: Google Pixel 6 Pro and Apple iPhone 13 Pro: Specifications
Google Pixel 6 Pro and Apple iPhone 13 Pro: Specifications
| Specifications | Google Pixel 6 Pro | Apple iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max |
|---|---|---|
| Build |
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| Dimensions & Weight |
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| Display |
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| SoC | Google Tensor | Apple A15 Bionic |
| RAM & Storage |
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| Battery & Charging |
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| Security | Optical in-display fingerprint reader | Face ID |
| Rear Camera(s) |
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| Front Camera(s) | 11MP | 12MP TrueDepth camera system |
| Port(s) | USB-C | Lightning |
| Audio | Stereo speakers | Stereo speakers |
| Connectivity |
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| Software | Android 12 | iOS 15 |
| Other Features | Dual physical SIM | Dual physical SIM or Dual eSIM support |
About this review: This camera comparison was written after testing a Google Pixel 6 Pro that XDA purchased and an iPhone 13 Pro provided by Apple, for a week. Google Ireland did provide my colleague Adam Conway with a Pixel 6 Pro review unit, but it was not used in this piece. Neither company had any input in this article.
Google Pixel 6 Pro vs Apple iPhone 13 Pro: Main camera
The Google Pixel 6/6 Pro relies on a 50MP GN1 sensor sourced from Samsung. This is a sensor used in several Android phones in the past (mainly Vivo’s) to great results. Its large 1/1.31-inch size takes in more light and shoots with a shallower focus pane for increased depth-of-field. Pixel-binning, which combines four pixels’ worth of data into one large pixel, further improves the Pixel 6 Pro’s 12.5MP images.
The iPhone 13 Pro, meanwhile, uses a 12MP main camera with a custom Sony sensor. Apple doesn’t release image sensor size, but calculations have concluded that it’s a 1/1.5-inch sensor, so it’s a bit smaller than the Pixel 6 Pro’s. But it has a faster f/1.5 aperture to the Pixel 6 Pro’s f/1.8.
After shooting over 500 pictures with each phone over the course of a week, I have noticed some overall trends that hold true for most shots captured by the main camera:
- The Pixel 6 Pro’s image is almost always sharper/more detailed if I zoom in and pixel peep.
- The Pixel 6 Pro’s images tend to have a cooler blue tone, while Apple has a warmer, yellow tone.
- However, this isn’t always the case: sometimes the iPhone 13 Pro will dial up the contrast for more striking colors, which is something past iPhones did not do.
- For close-up shots, the Pixel 6 Pro has a stronger focus dropoff, meaning more natural bokeh.
- The Pixel 6 Pro consistently brightens up shadows more than the iPhone, which can be either good or bad.
Main camera, well-lit scenes: Colors, Contrast, Sharpness
This first shot is an easy one, shot under ideal lighting conditions. Both phones captured a very similar image. You can already see the shadows in the Pixel’s shots are slightly less dark than in the iPhone’s shot. But because this is a pretty well-lit scene, the difference is minimal.
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- Pixel 6 Pro
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- iPhone 13 Pro
Zooming in 100%, however, we can see the Pixel 6 Pro’s shot is a bit sharper. This will be the case for almost every shot.
100% crops, Pixel 6 Pro (left); iPhone 13 Pro (right).
Next, let’s move to a slightly more challenging shot. This scene has more contrast, thanks to the random patches of awning/canopy, as well as the coffee shop to the right edge of the photo covered by the building’s second-floor walking path. So we get some very different lighting situations in different parts of the same image.
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- Pixel 6 Pro
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- iPhone 13 Pro
We can see a more drastic example of the Pixel brightening up shadows by a bigger margin, this is likely due to a combination of the Pixel camera just being able to pull in more light and Google’s more aggressive HDR. For this particular shot, because the contrast between lit and shadowed areas isn’t that drastic yet, I prefer the Pixel 6’s shot. The plant in the foreground is better detailed, and you can clearly see more of the coffee shop entrance under shade, particularly if you zoom in 100% like the below crops.
Pixel 6 Pro (left); iPhone 13 Pro (right).
But Google’s stronger HDR sometimes works against it. For some scenes, contrast and shadows add to the mood of a photo, like in this shot below with a bright orange structure. I like the iPhone’s image more because there’s greater contrast between the pastel-colored structure and the deeper shadows. It’s just a more visually striking shot. Interestingly, the iPhone also artificially dialed up the contrast even more to make the shot pop. The structure is closer to the color represented in the Pixel’s shot than in the iPhone’s shot, and likewise, the sky isn’t as perfectly blue that day as the iPhone’s shot has it. In years past, this would definitely not be the case, but Apple really has changed up its cameras processing with the iPhone 13 Pro.
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- Pixel 6 Pro
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- iPhone 13 Pro
But again, zoom in, and the Pixel 6 Pro’s shot is just sharper. This is likely due to the fact the Pixel 6 Pro has 50 million pixels’ worth of data to play with, while the iPhone 13 Pro has 12 million.
Pixel 6 Pro (left); iPhone 13 Pro (right).
In the next set, we move to an even higher contrast scene, shooting directly into the sun. Once again, I find the iPhone’s shot more striking because the shadows are darker. In a shot like this, objects in the foreground should be drenched in shadows.
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- Pixel 6 Pro
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- iPhone 13 Pro
But if we move to extreme contrast shots, like the one below, we see the iPhone 13 Pro simply failed to find the proper balance, completely blowing the sky out the window just to highlight the brown shelf properly.
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- Pixel 6 Pro
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- iPhone 13 Pro
Main camera, close up shots: Sharpness, Depth-of-field
Apple made a big deal about the iPhone 13 Pro phones gaining a larger sensor than in years past. While the iPhone 13 Pro’s 1/1.5-inch image sensor is indeed much larger than previous iPhones, it’s still smaller than the sensors used in almost all Android flagships. And the GN1 sensor’s 1/1.31-inch used in the Pixel 6 Pro is definitely larger — which means it not only takes in more light, but has a shallower depth-of-field for natural bokeh if we take photos of objects up close.
This is clearly noticeable in the image below as there’s more separation between the Mexican dessert (a milkshake with a Mexican Paleta popsicle) and my friend in the background. The extra depth adds drama and flair to the shot, highlighting the dessert as the star of the show.
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- Pixel 6 Pro
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- iPhone 13 Pro
And yes, the Pixel’s shot is also more detailed if we zoom in. Not only can see better texture on the Paleta popsicle, but on the whipped cream too.
Pixel 6 Pro (left); iPhone 13 Pro (right).
Here’s another sample of natural bokeh shots.
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- Pixel 6 Pro
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- iPhone 13 Pro
And the 100% crop. The Pixel’s shot is once again sharper.
Main camera, low light scenes: Dynamic range, Colors, Noise
Next, let’s move to low-light shooting conditions. By default, both the Pixel 6 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro will turn on night mode automatically if there isn’t enough ambient light. The Pixel 6 Pro, because it has a larger sensor, doesn’t need night mode as often as the iPhone 13 Pro, but when it does need night mode, the Pixel 6 Pro will often take much longer for a shot. The iPhone 13 Pro caps the automatic night mode to 3 seconds max, while the Pixel 6 Pro can go up to five or six seconds.
Both the Pixel 6 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro will turn on night mode automatically if there isn’t enough ambient light. But the Pixel 6 Pro, because it has a larger sensor, doesn’t need night mode as often
For every shot here — just like every shot in this entire article — I shot on automatic without any manual tweaks. So I left it entirely up to the phone whether or not to use night mode in these low light shots. This is meant to emulate behavior from average users, people who just want an easy-to-use camera without needing to recognize when to activate certain settings. This is the target audience for both phones and that is how we judge them.
This first set was taken shortly after sunset, and because there are so many neon lights in Chinatown, this is only a moderately low light shot. We can see the iPhone image has dramatically bolder colors (the sky is so much bluer), thanks to the aforementioned random occasions when Apple decides to process colors like Samsung. It’s a more striking shot than the Pixel’s shot to my eyes, but it’s really odd how inconsistent the iPhone 13 Pro has been in handling colors. It’s worth noting the iPhone 13 Pro turned on a short one-second night mode, while the Pixel 6 Pro just captured the shot as is.
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- Pixel 6 Pro
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- iPhone 13 Pro
Zooming into 100% and we can see the iPhone’s colors and contrast look a bit more visually striking, but there’s a bit more noise, particularly if you look at the lower-left corner of the photo below the neon lights.
Pixel 6 Pro (left); iPhone 13 Pro (right).
Next set, we move to a darker scene, 10 pm in downtown Los Angeles, with only street lights lighting up this small park. Both phones needed Night mode here, but the iPhone 13 Pro was able to capture the shot in two seconds while the Pixel 6 Pro needed a bit more than three seconds. The Pixel 6 Pro produces a lot more lens flare than the iPhone 13 Pro, but this could be considered a stylistic choice.
We can see the iPhone shot is noisier, but the tree leaves look a bit more natural. It’s a bit over-processed in the Pixel’s shot.
Pixel 6 Pro (left); iPhone 13 Pro (right).
This next set was captured at midnight in Chinatown on a very…