iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max Camera Samples
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu01iPhone 16 Pro, macro camera. The improved ultrawide camera on the iPhone 16 Pro models allows for nicer macro shots. This plant kept moving in the wind so I'm quite surprised I was still able to get a crisp photo. Just know that you need *lots* of light for good results.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu02iPhone 16 Pro, “Gold” Photographic Style with 5X optical zoom camera. This is my favorite Photographic Style, which is more than a filter. You can shoot in these styles or change them post-capture. There's now more flexibility to tweak the colors too.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu03iPhone 16 Pro, 5X optical zoom. It might not be tack sharp, but there's great detail here and pleasing colors.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu04iPhone 16 Pro, ultrawide camera. You can use the Camera Control button to snap pictures more easily, even when using the rear cameras like I did here.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu05iPhone 16 Pro, 5X optical camera with Night mode. Compare this with the following photo. The sharpness here is quite amazing considering how dark the bridge was in real life.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu06Google Pixel 9 Pro, 5X optical camera with Night Sight. It's a solid photo (the bridge was *really* dark) but this photo just looks a bit muddy compared to the iPhone image.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu07iPhone 16 Pro, selfie camera with Night mode. The hardware for the selfie camera hasn't changed, but it produces good results. Compare this with the following photo. Apple lets you change how your skin tone appears in the editing options.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu08Google Pixel 9 Pro, selfie camera with Night Sight. I like this picture a little more than Apple's selfie because my face is sharper, and to my eyes, my skin tone appears more accurate.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu09iPhone 16 Pro, Panorama. Apple has yet to update its panorama feature, something Google addressed with its latest phones. If you look closely, the image is surprisingly detailed. It's just really dark, and way darker than it was.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu10Google Pixel 9 Pro, Panorama with Night Sight. This is not too far off from what the scene looked like in real life. Google's new process includes its Night Sight technology, so panoramas can get the same treatment as other photo modes.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu11iPhone 16 Pro, 2X zoom with Night mode. Compare this photo with the following image. There are elements of the Pixel photo I like more than this image, and elements here I like a bit better. I prefer the skyline here; it looks a bit sharper. Both images overall are equally as sharp, but I find there's a bit too much of a yellow note in this iPhone image.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu12Google Pixel 9 Pro, 2X zoom with Night Sight. I like the color separation in this image. There's no yellow undertone across the image but everything feels visually distinct.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu13iPhone 16 Pro, ultrawide camera with Night mode. Apple may have upgraded the ultrawide in this new phone but I don't think it's still as good as the ultrawide in the Pixel 9 Pro. See the following Pixel image for comparison.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu14Google Pixel 9 Pro, ultrawide camera with Night Sight. This Pixel image is sharper, has better colors, and is brighter overall.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu15iPhone 16 Pro, main camera. This is a pleasing photo of a sunset with sharp details, but I wasn't quite getting the vibe I wanted out of this image. See the following Pixel photo for comparison.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu16Google Pixel 9 Pro, main camera. It might be a smidge oversaturated, but it was sunset\! This kind of warm glow was all over the place, and I appreciate that the Pixel brightened up the dark areas to make them visible because the shadows weren't as dark as the iPhone image suggests. Notice the little bee?
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu17iPhone 16 Pro, 5X optical zoom. The iPhone does a far better job dealing with lens flare than the Pixel phones. This is a solid image with the zoom camera, with lovely colors.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu18Google Pixel 9 Pro, 5X optical zoom. There's that lens flare here. This photo has more contrast and greater detail in the objects further away, though the colors are a little bit too strong.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu19iPhone 16 Pro, main camera. Here's a shot where the iPhone did a good job with the white balance. The details are strong, colors are accurate, and there's great natural bokeh.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu20Google Pixel 9 Pro, main camera. The Pixel must have gotten confused by all the orange in the shot because this scene definitely wasn't this tint in real life. It's a little too magenta overall.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu21iPhone 16 Pro, main camera. This is a great shot with sharp details. The iPhone didn't brighten some of the backlit areas as much as the following Pixel image.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu22Google Pixel 9 Pro, main camera. The Pixel has a slightly different ground color that I think is a bit more accurate. The sky is a bit brighter and the subjects too because everything is slightly backlit.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu23iPhone 16 Pro, 5X optical zoom. Compare this photo with the following Pixel image. They're very identical. Looking at the sign, the Pixel image is a hair more detailed, and shows more detail in the inner area whereas the iPhone's photo is darker. The colors also don't pop as much here.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu24Google Pixel 9 Pro, 5X optical zoom. I prefer the colors in this image, but the sharpness is fairly similar across the board.
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