Google Pixel 3 XL has been launched and it’s among the top three smartphones from the top brands. The Apple iPhone XS Max and the Samsung Galaxy Note9 are the two main rivals so far that Google Pixel 3 XL faces, particularly in the camera division. We took some shots from these three smartphones to see the camera quality and compared them. Take a look at the camera showdown of the top-of-the-line flagships of 2018 – the Apple iPhone XS Max vs the Google Pixel 3 XL vs the Samsung Galaxy Note9.
On the camera’s front, the Apple iPhone XS Max and the Samsung Galaxy Note9 come with dual cameras. The Apple iPhone XS Max 12 MP f/1.8 wide-angle and 12 MP f/2.4 telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom and support for OIS. On the front side, the iPhone XS Max offers a 7 MP f/2.2 selfie camera with retina flash which is basically a screen flash.
The Samsung Galaxy Note9 offers dual cameras 12 MP Super Speed Dual Pixel (variable aperture f/1.5 to f/2.4) + 12 MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom and OIS support. The front side carries an 8 MP f/1.7 selfie camera with screen flash.
Unlike the two’s, the Google Pixel 3 XL relies on a single camera while the Samsung Galaxy Note9, as well as the Apple iPhone XS Max both, are powered by dual cameras. The Google Pixel 3 XL equips a 12.2 MP f/1.8 camera with OIS support while the front surprisingly offers dual selfie cameras. There are two 8 MP + 8 MP selfie cameras out of one which is a wide angle camera for snapping wide group selfies.
Google Pixel 3 XL camera has a handful of cool features like Playground, Top Shot, Night Sight, and the popular Portrait mode that takes one of the best Portraits with its single 12.2 MP snapper. The Galaxy Note9 uses its Live Focus, AR Stickers, Super Slow Motion 960fps video capturing, and a host of features in its camera. Apple iPhone XS Max sticks to its last year’s iPhone X features with a few additions to it.
Here’s how the camera samples look like, they are shot on Apple iPhone XS Max, Samsung Galaxy Note9 and Google Pixel 3 XL.
Order: Apple iPhone XS Max (top), Google Pixel 3 XL (middle), Samsung Galaxy Note9 (bottom)
Apple iPhone XS Max vs Google Pixel 3 XL vs Samsung Galaxy Note9 [Camera Samples]
Verdict
As you can see the images, the camera quality of all the three phones are top-notch. I haven’t had much time to use the Pixel 3 XL’s camera, but these are the shots I’ve been able to manage and they seem to be pretty impressive, it does all with just a single lens, surprising to know that.
The Galaxy Note9 captures brighter photos and uses the AI in the camera meanwhile the iPhone XS Max does certainly a good job with the overall images we captured, also Apple has its portrait lighting that can’t be matched.
iPhones still play top when it comes to the camera quality and it’s hard to beat. The Samsung Galaxy Note9 stack up against the iPhone XS Max camera and is better in some areas if you can see in the above shots.
The iPhone XS and Pixel 3 XL do capture details in the low light shots, however, falls behind by the Note 9 camera due to its wider aperture at f/1.5 (versus f/1.8 for the iPhone XS Max and Pixel 3 XL) which results in brighter and better photos. The Galaxy Note9 would definitely benefit in low-light captures. On the price point of view, the Samsung Galaxy Note9 would be the least expensive and would surely offer a bunch of great camera features.
