The iPhone 16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro are among the best smartphones on the market. Both offer top-tier performance and a variety of AI features, but how do their cameras differ in real-world use? I tested both devices in various conditions to see where each camera truly shines.
A Closer Look At Each Device’s Camera Hardware
Before diving into the shots, let’s quickly review the camera hardware of each phone. As you’d expect from flagship offerings by Apple and Google, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro are both equipped with top-tier camera systems.
The iPhone 16 Pro has a 48MP primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture, along with features like dual-pixel Phase Detection Auto-Focus (PDAF) and sensor-shift OIS. Accompanying the primary camera is a 12MP 5x telephoto optical zoom lens and a new 48MP ultra-wide camera. Apple also includes a LiDAR sensor alongside the camera module for depth sensing.
On the Pixel 9 Pro (our review), you’ll find a 50MP primary camera with an f/1.7 aperture, dual-pixel PDAF, and sensor-shift OIS. Similar to the iPhone 16 Pro, the Pixel 9 Pro also offers a 5x telephoto optical zoom lens, though it features a higher resolution at 48MP. There is also a 48MP ultra-wide lens with a 123-degree field of view (FoV).
Rules of the Camera Showdown
Before we proceed, let’s review a few points. This comparison focuses only on the rear cameras of these phones, not their front-facing selfie cameras. Additionally, all photos in this test were captured using a straightforward point-and-shoot approach—no adjustments to exposure, white balance, or any Pro mode settings—as the goal was to mimic how most people typically use their smartphones.
For the iPhone 16 Pro, I chose not to use the new Photographic Styles or the Camera Control button for this test to ensure a fair and consistent comparison—though admittedly, I don’t like the Camera Control button anyway.
In the image galleries below, you’ll find photos from the iPhone 16 Pro displayed first (on the left) and those from the Google Pixel 9 Pro shown second (on the right), making it easier to compare the results side by side.
Daylight Photography
Let’s start with the shot of two buildings with glass windows. It’s evident that the iPhone 16 Pro prioritizes a warmer tone that gives the scene a softer and more realistic feel. In contrast, the Pixel 9 Pro adopts a cooler tone, producing a slightly less vibrant and somewhat duller look.
The iPhone 16 Pro also handles the sky better, capturing a smooth gradient, whereas the Pixel 9 Pro struggles to achieve the same level of detail and nuance.
The iPhone 16 Pro continues its warmer tone in the shot of the red train, delivering a clean and balanced look. The red paint on the train appears rich and true to life, while the gold accents are detailed without being overly bright. However, the trees in the background seem slightly muted, losing some vibrancy.
The Pixel 9 Pro, on the other hand, takes a more subdued approach. The red paint looks slightly duller compared to the iPhone, favoring a more natural tone, while the gold highlights are arguably processed better. In comparison, the Pixel 9 Pro’s background stands out as sharper, with trees and parked cars appearing more defined.
This shot, taken in the hazy daylight of New Delhi, India outside a Starbucks, highlights the contrasting HDR processing styles of the two phones. The iPhone 16 Pro leans toward a darker tone, with deeper shadows, especially under the umbrellas. While the sky appears warmer and softer, it also looks slightly washed out. The darker processing impacts the umbrellas, rendering them in a less accurate shade of green compared to the Pixel 9 Pro.
The Pixel 9 Pro, by contrast, emphasizes clarity and brightness. It brings out more detail in shaded areas, such as under the umbrellas and along the tiled floor. It also renders the sky in a cooler tone, creating a more balanced feel between bright and shaded regions. Additionally, elements like the palm trees and background cars are more sharply defined without appearing overprocessed.
Against the light, the Pixel 9 Pro handles HDR noticeably better than the iPhone 16 Pro.
Despite the hazy day and poor air quality, this shot highlights the distinct color science of the two phones.
The iPhone 16 Pro maintains its warmer tone, giving the grass a slightly more vibrant appearance than the Pixel. But the shadows, particularly around the trees and beneath the benches, are poorly rendered. This diminishes the image’s sense of depth, reducing visibility in darker areas. The orange signage appears bold and vibrant, though the overall image tone leans softer and less sharp.
In comparison, the Pixel 9 Pro delivers a brighter and crisper result, with cooler tones bringing out the greens in the grass and trees. The shadows are less pronounced than the iPhone 16 Pro. While the orange signage on the Pixel 9 Pro looks even more saturated and vivid than the iPhone 16 Pro, the overall image maintains much better processing for clarity and vibrancy.
5x Zoom Test
Next, let’s look at the shots taken with the telephoto lens on both phones at 5x optical zoom. You’ll notice there’s an immediate difference between the two.
The iPhone 16 Pro’s shot leans on the softer side, likely due to its lower megapixel sensor, and it emphasizes a slightly broader depth of field. The colors maintain the iPhone’s characteristic warmer tone with a touch of vibrancy, but sacrifice some subtle details in shadowed areas.
The Pixel 9 Pro delivers a sharper, more detailed image with impressive color accuracy. It clearly does a better job of isolating the subject than the iPhone 16 Pro. Not only that, but it also highlights the vivid colors and crisp textures more effectively—particularly in the cups’ design.
The limitations of the iPhone 16 Pro’s lower-megapixel telephoto lens become apparent in this comparison shot of a staircase. At 5x zoom, the iPhone captures a softer image where finer details lack sharpness, like the texture of the plants and railings. In contrast, the Pixel 9 Pro’s shot produces a slightly sharper image.
Portrait Shots
Both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro deliver excellent portraits, but differ in style and processing. The iPhone leans towards a natural skin tone with balanced colors (again with a pinch of warm hue) and a smoother background blur. In comparison, the Pixel opts for a dramatic look, with cooler skin tones and a stronger bokeh effect for greater subject isolation.
Indoor/Artificial Lighting
The indoor lighting shots turned out to be surprisingly inconsistent on both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro. In the above snaps, the iPhone 16 Pro adopts a cooler tone, resulting in an excellent shot with impressive detail, clarity, and very little lens glare. However, the shallow depth of field leaves the background wooden paneling slightly soft and lacking sharpness.
The Pixel 9 Pro, in comparison, struggles with this scene, producing an uneven, warmer tone and noticeable glare around the bulbs. However, it excels in capturing the wooden paneling, even in the harsh indoor lighting conditions.
However, the roles reverse in the photo of the golden staircase. Here, the iPhone 16 Pro opts for a warmer tone, delivering a vibrant image, but the shot suffers from an overly yellow tint. Meanwhile, the Pixel 9 Pro handles the HDR and colors exceptionally well, creating a balanced and accurate representation of the scene.
The Ultra-Wide Lenses
Lastly, when comparing ultra-wide lens shots, the iPhone 16 Pro maintains its warmer tone, delivering a bright image with excellent detail. The lines on the wall in the foreground are sharply defined, and the greenery is rendered beautifully, adding to the shot’s overall appeal.
In contrast, the Pixel 9 Pro’s ultra-wide shot appears slightly dimmer, with a darker tone that diminishes the vibrancy and overall impact of the image.
iPhone 16 Pro vs. Pixel 9 Pro: Which Has the Better Camera?
Overall, it’s tough to declare one camera better than the other, as the iPhone 16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro excel in different scenarios. However, the differences in their camera approaches are evident from the shots above. The iPhone 16 Pro consistently leans toward warmer tones and more vibrant imagery, while the Pixel 9 Pro favors neutral, cooler tones with a slightly more subdued appearance.
Regarding HDR performance, the Pixel 9 Pro arguably has the edge, especially in managing shadows. That said, the iPhone 16 Pro’s color science often feels more appealing in general, offering an eye-catching image even if it sacrifices some accuracy in the process.
