Thread by @maciej_murawski

Alright, the time has come to compare the telephoto lenses between the #iPhone16Pro and the #Pixel9ProXL!

I won't deny, that probably around 85-90% of all my photos are taken with a zoom lens. I love the perspective and compression it offers, and a nice, natural blur is usually a great addition, that can't (yet) be challenged by the software portrait modes.

Pixel 9 Pro XL:
48 MP, f/2.8, 113mm, 1/2.55"
iPhone 16 Pro:
12 MP, f/2.8, 120mm, 1/3.06"

(no, I haven't by mistake pasted the specs from last year's models, but blink and you'll miss it - sadly, these are mostly the same parts)

Contrary to the main camera modules, this time even the hardware specifications are enough to get worried if you are a #TeamiPhone.
Despite both being marketed as x5, Apple's lens offers slightly longer zoom (it compares to ~x5.5-x6 on P9Pro), but every other spec clearly favours its competitor: high mpix count combined with much larger sensor makes the #TeamPixel rejoice from the get go.

OK, let's look at some photos, starting with a perfect lightning:

Pixel 9 Pro XL

iPhone 16 Pro

We can clearly see a difference with exposure. Just like with the main lens, iPhone tends to set a higher overall exposure, but also you can clearly see more sharpening.

The frame isn't exactly the same, which shows another difference - once again, it's the minimal focusing distance. To be able to catch a focus with the Pixel, you need to be ~75-78cm from the object. It's not a great result, but the iPhone needs even more - over 100 cm! A slight advantage in the focal length helps Apple to mitigate this a bit, but it doesn't change the fact, that when Pixel is able to use it's optical x5 lens, the iPhone still needs to resort to a crop from the main sensor.

Pixel 9 Pro XL x5

iPhone 16 Pro x1, crop to x5

This IS problematic, especially now, where there is no other optical option between the main lens and the zoom lens, and the x5 needs to be digitally cropped from the x1.

And as much as the perspective offered by the x5 lens is great, I fear that not a lot of users will be really using it. iPhone doesn't offer the option to force a specific lens (contrary to Samsung and Google), so you can't control the switch. 🤷‍♂️

Not being able to control the lens is especially frustrating when you're trying to shoot in more demanding conditions. The size of the sensor and its light gathering capabilities are not class-leading, so the phone will just refuse to switch to the optical x5 and you're basically left with one, default x1 camera.

🧵...

But once you're in a good lightning and the object you're trying to photograph is further away, all should be good.

Well, almost.
It's all good except the colours. I have no idea what's going on, but sometimes the default processing is stripping the worlds of life. And I do not mean that the photos, compared for example to Samsung, are natural. They are often bland, even depressing.

Let's take a look at an "ok" example first:

Pixel 9 Pro XL

iPhone 16 Pro

Even though the Pixel was able to better reproduce what my eyes were seeing, I agree that it's mostly a stylistic choice. Both are totally fine.

But sometimes...

Pixel 9 Pro XL

iPhone 16 Pro

The difference is stark here. The weather was funny, behind my back was a clear sky, with a sun shining brightly on the bricks, roof, and the greens, making them look almost like during a classic golden hour, and in front of me the sky was dark grey, foretelling a coming rain.
It's exactly what you can see on the on the Pixel shot. The iPhone, however, drained all the colours away, leaving all the objects in the frame desaturated and grey.

🧵...

What will happen when the conditions aren't that good though? 🤔

A forrest is a good environment to test how the post-processing pipeline will behave when there's a lot of shadows, with some bright highlights.

Pixel 9 Pro XL

iPhone 16 Pro

Mostly it's a similar story - iPhone tends to keep much higher exposure, with Pixel offering a more pleasant image, with a lot of contrast. Once again, both photos are good and there's nothing wrong, that a simple edit (or even a photographic style adjusted to our preferences) couldn't handle.

What can't be fixed, though, is the autofocus. I CONSTANTLY had issues when I tried to set my focus on a small object, surrounded by other elements of the composition.

Pixel 9 Pro XL

iPhone 16 Pro

In the scene above I was trying to set a focus on the lone leaf. The Pixel knew what I was trying to do the second I put the leaf in the center of the frame. It locked the focus instantly and kept it perfectly.
The iPhone was hunting for focus, despite my numerous taps on the object. It struggled to use a proper lens, because it wasn't able to tell if I want to focus on the near concrete, or the tree in the background. I tried different angles, I tried getting further back - all to no avail. The autofocus refused to lock on the leaf and I felt defeated.

This is actually a part of a larger issue - there's no such thing as locking the focus on the object. Yes, I can tap to set the focus and exposure, I can tap and hold to lock the exposure, but I'm not able to tell the phone "ok, keep the focus on this object, even if I'm trying to reframe.
With the Pixel (and other brands as well!) I can just tap on the object, and autofocus will just lock on it and adjust, even if its placement within the frame is changing. That's the feature I miss dearly when I try to take photos with Apple flagships.

🧵...

And now the highlight of the show. Sometimes (more often that I would be able to accept) the iPhone post-processing just 💩 the bed.

I won't even say much, I'll just show the results. Mind that all have been taken with auto setting, with just a tap to focus.

Pixel 9 Pro XL

iPhone 16 Pro

I am our of words here, I don't even know what to say. 😶🤷‍♂️

Pixel 9 Pro XL

iPhone 16 Pro

Yes, you've guessed it, that's a rich brown fence right there.

Where are the colours? Where are the shadows? Where is the contrast? WHAT IS GOING ON, APPLE?!

🧵...

I think it's time to slowly wrap this up.

There are things that Apple won't be able to fix without finally putting a better, larger sensor behind the zoom lens (hopefully next year!).
They are not able to fix the minimal focusing distance.
They are probably not able to fix the autofocus system (or maybe I'm wrong).

Pixel 9 Pro XL

iPhone 16 Pro

There will be less details, there will be much more grain (as seen above).
And I'm not even going into the x5 50mpix mode available on the Pixel (which honestly is my favourite in the right conditions).

But my opinion haven't changed - Apple has a big issue and they need to provide updates to their post-processing pipeline.

Every lens could use some fixes, but from my overall experience, the x5 one (as it has the weakest hardware) needs it the most.

For me, the number of photos that made me say "WTF" after taking them is just too big. If you're an avid user of all kinds of telephoto lenses, this is definitely not a phone for you. And it's, sadly, also not a phone for me. 🤷‍♂️

P.S. Thanks for getting that far! Those threads are getting longer and longer, but I hoped you enjoyed it! Feel free to like and retweet!

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