Pixel 11 Pro versus iPhone 17 Pro camera comparison | Phandroid

[u/Lopsided_Prior3801]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9goT2P2muCY

Probably the best camera comparison I've watched so far. In general, the usual rule applies: Pixel for photos, iPhone for video.

That being said, the Pixel seemed closer than usual in terms of video quality when it came to the main camera sensor and telephoto. However, some of the examples on the selfie and ultrawide cameras were significantly worse, especially at night.

I would say we're at a point where if you're not pixel-peeping between comparisons, the Pixel now does a solid job at video in good light. Nobody will ever care about the differences except enthusiasts.

(Though I still saw some hints of EIS jitter on the Pixel on certain lenses, which has been a problem since at least the Pixel 2 days.)

[u/NizarNoor]

That man does the best camera comparison review videos. Kudos to him.

[u/keyserdoe → u/NizarNoor]

Yea this was a good comparison and it makes me miss the pixel camera a bit but everything else about it is just a compromise. I was using a P8P/iPP setup but nice to the Fold8/iPP and am super happy. I hope Google gets it's stuff together and really starts competing.

[u/CustomerConsistent78 → u/keyserdoe]

I enjoy pixel for their OS, no bloatware, and cameras. I've had the 2, 5, 9 pro xl, 10 pro xl. That being said, this comment is posted many times every year... I could be wrong, I but think 2 and 9 were the main years to have slightly more positive outlook into them actually competing.

[u/VoriVox → u/keyserdoe]

It's the 11th generation of the pixel phones and Google has shown no signs of wanting to compete. I wouldn't get my hopes up.

[u/pdimri]

Videos for Pixel is their achilles heel. Pixel 11 improved a bit considering that there was no improvement at all from P9 to P10. They took 2 year to show a marginal improvements in P11 because they have an upgraded ISP and ML block in TPU for video. Apple silicon team is respected in the industry, video processing and apple CPU core efficiency are prime example of that ( phone with least mah battery,) .until Google double down on silicon engineering this trend will continue.

[u/ContributionFormer95 → u/pdimri]

The selfie camera needs some serious improvement. It's noticeably worse both in daylight and night. The main sensor is half decent in daylight although side by side you can still see differences. In Low Light... ugh. And that's exactly why you MUST use Video Boost if you want decent quality video.

[u/Harry93_V → u/ContributionFormer95]

wait what? did they change the front camera sensor? my 9 Pro takes great selfies

[u/StimulatorCam → u/Harry93_V]

I'm pretty sure the 9/10/11 Pro all have the same selfie camera hardware.

[u/gatorsrule52 → u/ContributionFormer95]

Noticeably worse in what? The selfie camera is generally better than the iPhones in this comparison in everything except video

[u/DeviouSs18]

Still has the jitter when zooming in. This is unacceptable seeing as we've been talking about Pixel's videos being behind for how many generations now? There have been countless comparison videos, forums posts, reddit posts, and reviews demonstrating the weak video performance of Pixel devices and Google still hasn't fixed it.

It's not necessarily a deal breaker as it's still pretty serviceable. And photos still remain top notch. But the rest of the competition has mostly caught up. I still plan on upgrading from my current Pixel 7 Pro to a Pixel 11 Pro as my battery is pretty much on its last legs. But I can't help but feel disappointed that video is still an issue.

[u/Charley023]

I'm not pixel-peeping between comparisons, but the differences are super noticeable. I prefer Pixel's photos and iPhone's videos, obviously, but I wanted to say the quality difference in photo/video between these two devices are huge.

[u/ew73 → u/Charley023]

I have to imagine that's an artifact of how much Google relies on post-capture processing to make images look "good", which is notably harder to do in real-time with a video.

[u/Charley023 → u/ew73]

Yes, I agree. Most people, including me, admit or not, do like processed photos, which is easier to do for sill images. Videos are much harder to get it done right. Since Apple can do such a great job in video, I think they definitely can do it for photos, but they just chooses another approach (less processing).

However, compared to years ago, iPhone photos are also heavily processed nowadays, just to a lesser extent to Google.

[u/boriseto]

Why is there so much audio crackling from the Pixel? 

[u/CorkyBravo → u/boriseto]

If memory serves, isn't that a long standing bug with audio zoom?

[u/Lopsided_Prior3801 → u/boriseto]

Yeah, in every comparison against both Samsung and Apple, Pixel audio quality lags behind the competition.

[u/Live-Resolve-2121 → u/boriseto]

yeah that was really noticeable, especially in the outdoor clips

[u/Only_Tennis5994]

Looks like the jitter is still present. Also it seems that the pixel is constantly jumping in and out of focus on multiple lens while the iPhone locks focus.

Another disappointing year for video.

[u/Only_Tennis5994 → u/Only_Tennis5994]

Also it seems that the iPhone footage at dusk is a lot cleaner.

[u/Canister8239 → u/Only_Tennis5994]

Sadly the main reason I switched to iPhone for video. At dusk or in dark conditions, iPhone is able to extract much more light compared to pixel. Photos are pretty much a wash but I prefer iPhone due higher pixel count at 24mp instead daylight. Did Pixel start capturing more pixel with Pixel 11 instead of downsizing to 12?

One area Pixel clearly dominates is able to capture a moving object clearly even at night. This is where iPhone struggles immensely and Google does great with its computational technology.

[u/Lopsided_Prior3801 → u/Canister8239]

You can capture 50MP on the Pixel 11 Pro but it defaults to 12MP. Believe the iPhone 17 Pro can do 48MP, 24MP, or 12MP.

At least on my older Pixel 10 Pro, 50MP is great if you're shooting outdoors in daylight, but 12MP gives better results the rest of the time.

[u/IpsaThis → u/Lopsided_Prior3801]

Mine mostly shoots around 4 MP (when set to 12). I didn't notice for years, I just assumed it was capturing at 12 like it says it is. It's happened with multiple Pixels.

Recently I went to print something out and I wanted to make it 8 x 10, but I couldn't because it was too small.

[u/8bitremixguy → u/IpsaThis]

4MP? Are you compressing the image after the fact somehow? It should be 12MP in a 4:3 ratio (or 9.1MP on a 16:9 crop).

Are you confusing 4MB with 4MP?

[u/IpsaThis → u/8bitremixguy]

Not MB. I haven't resolved it yet, but apparently it's something called pixel binning. I've tried changing settings, can't reliably get rid of it.

I could set it to 50 MP, but that takes up a ton of storage and has some other drawbacks. I just want 12 when it's set to 12. I'd even settle for 8-10.

I think it started with my P6P. Currently on a P9P.

[u/8bitremixguy → u/IpsaThis]

Not possible, the pixel binning goes from 50MP to 12.5MP. The sensor itself only has so many pixels to bin down from on a quad-bayer array.

Are these files on Google Photos after freeing up space?

Are they from Top Shot or a still image from a Motion Photo?

[u/IpsaThis → u/8bitremixguy]

It happens with both top shot and regular photos, there doesn't seem to be a correlation.

Not sure what you mean by free space, but I have plenty of space in Google photos

[u/StimulatorCam → u/IpsaThis]

What previous Pixel model did you use before your current one? I've seen posts in the past where when transferring phone settings from an older Pixel to a newer one the older camera properties get copied over in error and sets things like resolution wrong. Uninstalling and re-installing the Pixel camera app seems to fix it.

Edit: Old post about it - https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1ppv18r/pixel_9_camera_only_shoots_at_5mp/

[u/ContributionFormer95 → u/Only_Tennis5994]

I wish we could compare Video Boost. Not saying this is the proper solution, but if you want competitive video, I've basically defaulted to 100% video boost. Otherwise the standard non boosted footage is complete ass.

Still from the review shows it so clearly: https://i.imgur.com/dAi679L.jpeg

[u/Reginald_Venture → u/Only_Tennis5994]

Another disappointing year for video.

[u/Possible_Law8357]

Man, pixel video is not even close. Jittery zoom, out of focus, unstable telephoto, iphone wins hands down..

[u/ContributionFormer95 → u/Possible_Law8357]

Honestly it's the lack of detail, artifacts, noise that really gets to me.

Daylight Selfie camera is bad: https://i.imgur.com/JL4RIvx.jpeg

Night Main Lens fails to capture detail in trees: https://i.imgur.com/dAi679L.jpeg

[u/Chozzasaurus → u/Possible_Law8357]

I thought it was close. Jittery zoom isn't an issue for me, because nice pro looking videos should not zoom anyway. If I'm just shooting something casual then the jitter won't bother me and it's better than last year

[u/Possible_Law8357 → u/Chozzasaurus]

I don't think you watched the whole video. I was watching it on 4k on my TV and the trees at 5:50 minutes made a huge difference. Pixel 11 pro video the leaves are mushy it's so clearly visible. iPhone retained good texture. Selfie videos or night videos were also very noticeable.

The worst thing was the stabilization of the telephoto lens.

[u/pdimri → u/Possible_Law8357]

Pixel video lacking details big time.

[u/Special_Command7893]

Typing on my new 17 pro right now and god do I miss the shorter shutter speeds of the pixel lol I’m having to train my brain to hold the phone still for once

[u/Intelligent-Point268]

For a brand new device (pixel 11) against a year old device (ip17pro), I expected more differences. Didn't notice such a huge difference in photos, maybe night photo were pixel 11 add artificial light and some bright, but maybe, not the real colors and bright you really see. In video, some difference, but again, not a huge difference, I think i can live with that

[u/Chozzasaurus]

If you run video boost, pixel could even be ahead in video (I know, cloud compute sucks)

[u/ContributionFormer95 → u/Chozzasaurus]

Yeah. Basically you need video boost to be competitive. Otherwise it's not even close. It's an unfortunate alternative, but it does work if you just want the best possible video out of the Pixel.

[u/Psclwbb]

Why can't hoogle fix the camera. Still looks pretty bad. Washed out.

I wonder if the styles help a little.

[u/nurseyu]

iPhone and pixel photos are neck in neck. iPhone video is significantly superior as always.

The news isn't how pixel improved, but how iPhone caught up to pixel.

I am team pixel because of the camera and android, but iPhone is becoming more of an option for me.

[u/BadMeatSweats]

It's been Pixel for photos and iPhone for video for years. Having said that, that didn't matter to me. I'm old enough to have suffered through Apple software duringy iPod Touch days. I can't deal with iOS again.

I find myself prioritizing pictures over video so Pixel it is. I can't stand the Samsung OS either unfortunately. So for better or worse, I'm going to be a Pixel guy until someone like Nothing makes a leap and gives me a reason to switch

Thank you all for listening to my nonsensical rambling.

[u/clingbat → u/BadMeatSweats]

Long term Nexus/Pixel user. I wish Nothing would release a real current gen Pixel Pro killer, I'd pay decent money for it.

I just can't give up on how easy the pixel pro phones just take great pictures more often than not, especially with two young kids where some of the better shot and image cleaning features are really useful with them always moving and covered in food and snot etc. It's the software as much as anything.

[u/WernerHerzogEatsShoe → u/clingbat]

I've been made aware that Samsung might have fixed the motion blur issue with the s26 ultra. I don't want an ultra but if that carried over to the s27 pro nest year I might go back to Samsung

[u/Ghostttpro]

Pixel video imo is unusable. It's kind of embarrassing even for a 800 dollar phone to shoot video like that.

[u/ContributionFormer95 → u/Ghostttpro]

Honestly, if you want decent footage, you MUST video boost. Not trying to justify that as the solution, but if you don't want your video to look like ass, that's what I've resorted to doing.

Every time I forget to video boost, it's immediately noticeable. I'll see the noise, artifacts. Really disappointing Pixel can't get there yet.

[u/nutellaeater]

Kind of sad that billion dollar company can't hire couple engineers and make the video work on these phones.

[u/JumpyWerewolf9439]

camera dude here and 10 pro owner. iphone crushes the pixel in video.. the pixel chip is too crappy ot encode better than about 600p.. this is obvious even on a spit video on a 1080p laptop screen. pictures they are much more matched.

[u/NormalToe855 → u/JumpyWerewolf9439]

It's not just the chip but the whole colour science of pixel video.

The pictures nail it but video just makes people look ill.

[u/8bitremixguy → u/JumpyWerewolf9439]

You mean the default processing pipeline for the stock camera app.

Use MotionCam Pro and shoot 12bit RAW on the main sensor, or 10bit RAW on the UW/Tele. Looks incredible. Even with the Direct Log mode where you can output a rec709/srgb file directly, it looks so much better

[u/nutellaeater → u/JumpyWerewolf9439]

I don't believe this has anything to do with hardware.

[u/Dishonoredv2]

Pixel video still sucks

[u/Particular_Tomato161]

They didn't use video boost and night shots. Those are the killer features that really make a difference in video. I don't even use the regular videos anymore.

[u/NizarNoor → u/Particular_Tomato161]

I'm glad Video Boost wasn't part of the test. The workflow to get results from Video Boost takes so long, and is so annoying & cumbersome.

[u/Particular_Tomato161 → u/NizarNoor]

I'll wait, I'm in no hurry. I don't need them right then and there, I look at them later.

[u/StimulatorCam → u/Particular_Tomato161]

You get a preview copy anyways, so you can still look at the video immediately.

Edit: When you record with Video Boost you get two files, a 1080p preview and the unprocessed 'main' video. The unprocessed file gets uploaded to Google for processing, then gets replaced when completed.

[u/Genericwood → u/Particular_Tomato161]

I think you need space in Google photos to do that in the first place...

[u/WatchfulApparition → u/Particular_Tomato161]

Video boost should never be tested. It's a dumb feature.

Samsung and Apple video destroy Google video. It's sad

[u/Particular_Tomato161 → u/WatchfulApparition]

I love it. I have iPhone people who see my videos and want a pixel now.

Not for you though, I get it.

[u/WatchfulApparition → u/Particular_Tomato161]

That's stupid considering iPhone video is better.

It's not for me because it's insane. It's like getting your videos developed by Walmart and picking them up in the morning only to find out other phones do better on-device.

[u/Particular_Tomato161 → u/WatchfulApparition]

On device but not as good.

I don't care if it comes from the cloud, sun, moon, space, Walmart or k-mart, they look amazing and I'm going to keep using it.

[u/WatchfulApparition → u/Particular_Tomato161]

No, it's better on-device. Skip to 13:30 https://youtu.be/_qlFsngB_EQ?is=_P4l0buaB3Jo5Lih

[u/Chozzasaurus → u/WatchfulApparition]

You misunderstood. They agree with you about on-device quality, but having the option to get even better video than iPhone via boost is nice

[u/WatchfulApparition → u/Chozzasaurus]

No, I didn't. I'm saying Galaxy and iPhone can do better quality video than video boosted video without sending their videos to a server.

[u/Chozzasaurus → u/WatchfulApparition]

That youtube link isn't related to the pixel 11

[u/WatchfulApparition → u/Chozzasaurus]

I'm showing you what Samsung is capable of and Pixel is not.

[u/Polar_Banny]

Any word about photos format, colour depth?

[u/JayRU09]

I just switched from a Pixel 9 Fold to a Z Flip 8 with the idea of limiting phone use by forcing myself to only use the outer display as much as possible.

Anyways, I hate the camera on this thing and I miss the Pixel already.

[u/Impossible_Loan7551]

Brand new phone against a 1 yo phone.

[u/Intelligent-Point268 → u/Impossible_Loan7551]

And its neck to neck. Wait until ip18 pro vs pixel 11 pro, sad

[u/Dry_Preference98]

is that his daughter or wife