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We pit the Google Pixel 6 Pro camera against the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra to see which takes the best photos.
Camera Shooting With Google Pixel 6 Pro: Is It Better For Apple And Samsung?
Google’s image processing capabilities have long earned the company a reputation as one of the best in mobile photography. This award has been proven in recent years by stagnating hardware and high-performance competition. we expect a return to form and possibly even a new gold standard for smartphone cameras.
To put the phone to the test, we compared the phone from Google to the ultra-premium smartphones Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, two phones that are among the best in the industry when it comes to photography. more than the Pixel 6 Pro, so a win here would be excellent value for money for Google’s phone as well.
As we explain through our image analysis, you should definitely take a look at the over 200 image examples in full quality in this Google Drive folder.
White and Color Balance
As usual, let’s start with the essentials of any good photograph: colour, exposure, and white balance.
As you’d expect from Samsung, their camera loves a bit of punch and you can definitely spot vivid yellows, greens, and reds in our very colourful first snapshot. The effect isn’t as exaggerated as in previous years, but it’s definitely the most shocking of the three. Both Apple and Google add some bold blue tones to the first click, and Google takes their exposure a bit higher, which can be seen in the black tones in the scene. In fact, it’s hard to see the Nintendo Switch controller logo in the iPhone picture. Samsung is the most shocking and Apple is the most colour conservative of the three.
The rule also extends to our second picture, where the Galaxy S21 Ultra indulges in the warm tones of the scene more than its competitors. Our iPhone 13 Pro Max has a yellow tint on the inside, which turns the blue of the bottle label into the green. You will also often see this yellowing of the grass.
When you’re out and about, things change dramatically when it comes to the Apple phone. The iPhone image sensor uses a more traditional Bayer filter. Does that make a difference? Let’s take a look at some 100% plants.
Starting with a well-lit macro photo, there is very little to say between these three phones. The iPhone is the least detailed in the first example, with noticeable blemishes on the sheet. With the Pixel 6 Pro, we distinguish significantly more details. Meanwhile, Samsung’s flagship offers the best overall focus and a decent level of detail, but the fine lines aren’t as sharp as in the Google photo.
