[Music] How does the iPhone 16 Pro Camera compare to the Pixel 9 Pro? Well, let's find out. Apple's iPhones have always packed some of the best cameras it's possible to find in a phone, and so far in our testing, the iPhone 16 Pro is really proving to be no exception. But the Pixel 9 Pro XL also packs a superb camera that can take some gorgeous photos. So how does the new iPhone stand up against Google's best? Well, I took them for a photo battle around the beautiful city of Edinburgh to find out. I immediately found this scene of some lovely fallen leaves displaying their beautiful golden colors, and straight away I can see that those colors are warmer and more vibrant on the Pixel, with the iPhone shots looking a little drab and cold in comparison. The Pixel has warmer tones in this shot that uses the five times optical zoom on both phones, and the iPhone's colder tone is especially noticeable in this image overlooking these allotments, while the Pixel's image is fairly neutral in tone. The iPhone shot leans quite hard into

the blue end of the white balance spectrum, which I don't think looks all that great. I'm certainly not getting the cozy warm vibes of fall, and the same is true at five-time zoom, with the Pixel delivering bolder warmer tones. I did, however, use the iPhone 16 Pro's new photographic styles to try and add a bit of warmth back into the scene, and I do think it looks much better, but I still prefer the richness of color in the Pixel shot. But things suddenly look different in this example taken in Edinburgh's beautiful Dean Village. The iPhone has captured a brighter scene overall here, which is especially noticeable on the yellow building on the right and on the grasses in the foreground. I certainly prefer the iPhone's version of this image. Diving into the beautiful architecture of the National Museum of Scotland, the iPhone has again produced a brighter, more vibrant image here. I love the warmer tones in the orange floor in particular, while the Pixel shot looks pretty dull overall. It's the same story when I switched to the ultrawide lens.

with the iPhone's image looking bright and colorful, and the pixels looking just pretty flat. But just going Ultra wide wasn't quite enough, so I switched it up to the panorama mode. The pixel has got an updated panorama mode, but I generally find it a little bit disappointing. It's not just that it's produced a flatter image from the iPhone did here; it's also that its method of stitching still images together made it harder for me to centralize the view. Whereas the iPhone's sweet method of capturing a panorama allowed me to start and stop the image capture process at exactly the points I needed to get an even view. At this point in my day, I needed a coffee to refuel, and like any good coffee nerd, I had to take a photo. This indoor shot of my delicious flat white is far brighter and more vibrant on the iPhone, and to be honest, I actually find the pixel's version of this image very disappointing. Caffeine ingested, however, it was time to move on to the pub. There slightly less to separate

these two shots were taken inside one of Edinburgh's many old pubs, but the Pixel has a more even exposure with less of a highlight on the barrel. However, the tones and contrast look better on the iPhone, especially in the flagstone flooring, which really pops in the iPhone's image. And I'm not just going to sit in a pub not drinking, so I got a pint, and it was photographed well by both phones, with a slight magenta shift on the Pixel. There's more background blur or bokeh, as photographers call it, in the iPhone shots, which makes it the more pleasing image to my eye, but there's really not much in it. And then I was off to a different pub because why not make a phone test into a pub crawl. And this one just happened to be full of punters enjoying an afternoon of live folk music. The iPhone shell of the players has better colors overall, but the Pixel just has the edge when it comes to sharpness. Zooming in on this beer tap in the dimly lit room, the

iPhone's image is noticeably brighter and sharper than the Pixel's. Toward the end of the day, it was time for dinner, so I left the pub and headed instead to this vibrant indoor street food market. The Pixel's image here overall is slightly brighter than the iPhone's, but that isn't the whole story. Zooming right in, we can also see that the Pixel has totally blown out this neon sign, reducing it to just a blank white square. The iPhone has done a much better job of balancing its highlights, keeping the sign perfectly under control. But then, the person's hair in the foreground looks a little brighter and sharper on the Pixel. Yet zooming into a different part of the same scene, it's clear that the iPhone has made this person's shirt and hair much sharper than the Pixel was able to do so. Overall, it does feel like a victory for the iPhone, but it really is quite close here. But this one wasn't a close call for me. The Pixel's night mode has artificially brightened the shadows so much in this street scene, but

it makes the whole image look quite unnatural. The iPhone, meanwhile, has maintained much more natural shadows along with more subtle tones in the sky, making it shot the clear winner for me. The iPhone takes an easy win here too. The Pixel has pulled back the highlights to a ridiculous extent in its image, making the usually bright and vibrant ESF sign and the lights in the windows on the left look just plain weird. The iPhone has captured the scene much more evenly. I don't love the lens flare on the iPhone shot, but that does look a little bit more like it might have just been a slight smear on the lens than actually just lens flare. I was quite a few beers in at this point, so maybe I just hadn't cleaned it quite as effectively as I should have. Switching to the ultrawide lens indoors, the Pixel shot has the better colors, but its shot is downright blurry compared to the iPhone shot. A disappointing performance from the Pixel here, but Google's phone did redeem itself to an extent. I prefer the warmer glow the Pixel has captured on the

window lights in this image. Although the iPhone shot is marginally sharper on the chalkboard sign on the right, overall, I probably have to just about give this to the Pixel. But I definitely prefer the iPhone in this zoomed-in nighttime shot. It's kept the bright sign under control, allowing it to appear as a rich yellow rather than the washed-out near-white in the Pixel's version. The Pixel shot is a little bit sharper, though, with more detail in some of the fine areas. So, which one actually takes the better photos? Both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL are both flagship phones, absolutely at the top of their game. So, really, it's no surprise that when it comes to camera performance, there's really not a lot to choose between them. Some of my images, especially those ones taken inside the museum using their wide and panorama mode, the iPhone was the clear winner. Other times, the Pixel's warmer tone and more vibrant colors meant that it came out on top. Overall, I'd probably have to say that I

generally prefer the look of the iPhone's images. They give a slightly more natural look, which gives me a better base to apply my own edits on top. There is, of course, the matter of the iPhone 16's new photographic styles, which give you a lot of scope for tweaking your shot to your exact liking before you've even taken it. I've really enjoyed using them, especially using the high-contrast black and white mode. It's that sort of creative shooting that is lacking on the Pixel. What do you think of the two phones, and what do you think of the images that you have seen from them in this video? If you think there is a clear winner one way or the other, do make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below, and of course, make sure to check out the video description for a lot more information.

iPhone 16 Pro vs. Pixel 9 Pro Camera Comparison

CNET is the premier destination for explaining and navigating the changing world around us. Through news, product reviews, price comparisons, and more, we’ll tell you what’s new in the parts of modern life that increasingly matter more — from health, home, and money to tech, culture, and climate — and how to get the most out of them.

iPhone 16 Pro vs. Pixel 9 Pro Camera Comparison

iPhone 16 Pro vs. Pixel 9 Pro Camera Comparison

Scripts