The iPhone-versus-Android debate is always intense, and I’m here to add fuel to the fire.
I used Apple’s and Google’s newest high-end arrivals, the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Pixel 8 Pro, side by side to compare everything from cameras to battery life to displays. Neither of these phones comes cheap (you’re looking at starting prices upwards of $1,000), so here are some takeaways from my experience with both phones, in the hopes that it makes your decision-making easier.
Camera comparison and AI features
Not surprisingly, the camera is one of the biggest areas of focus with any new phone launch.
I tip my hat to the Pixel 8 lineup for having an incredible array of AI features baked into photos and videos. There’s Magic Editor, which lets you move and erase people, change backgrounds and arrange objects how ever you’d like to create an ideal image that’s Instagram-ready (whether that’s ethical is a separate issue).Â
There’s also Best Take, which sifts through a series of photos and lets you swap out faces so that if someone’s blinking in one shot, for example, you can replace it with another where they’re looking at the camera. The result is a single great image where everyone looks their best (and I can stop scolding my friends for blinking).Â
Another feature I’ve been having fun with is Audio Magic Eraser, which lets you edit out distracting background sounds from your videos, whether it’s the wind, music or noise from a crowd. It’s not perfect — I tested it out in one of my CNET videos, and it muffled my voice — but it’s not bad for the first iteration.Â
But AI isn’t everything. In fact, as cool as these features are, I’m just not sure how often I’d reach for them. So, let’s compare the actual picture quality between the two phones.Â
When it comes to standard images without any special effect, the results are surprisingly similar. Colors barely have any variation, and everything looks crisp and true to life.
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