And with the early shipments come early camera samples, which is good news for those impatient to see what Google has cooked up. Let's not forget that the Pixel is called “Pixel” because it's meant to be a camera-centric flagship. These particular camera samples compare the snappers of the brand new Pixels 9 and Apple's almost one-year-old iPhone 15 were provided to us by YouTuber JCVP11.
So without further ado, let me explain why I think Google has once again made a mistake here.
A user who received his Pixel 9 early compares Google's camera to that of the iPhone 15 to show that Google refuses to learn its lesson
The iPhone takes better and more accurate portraits, while the brand new Pixel 9 continues to struggle in portrait mode – just like the Pixel 8, Pixel 7, and Pixel 6.
The only hardware upgrade to the Pixel 9's camera compared to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 7 is the new 48MP ultra-wide-angle sensor, which replaces the 12MP sensor on previous models. The new sensor is larger, which seems to result in clearer photos and videos in mixed and low light (as you can see in the video).
Before I explain why I'm concerned that the Pixel 9's cameras may not be the upgrade we've all been asking for, let me remind you that I've been using the Pixel 8 Pro since launch – alongside the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S24 Ultra.
I have taken hundreds of photos with Google, Samsung and Apple flagships, so I know how their cameras generally behave and function.
With this in mind, based on the examples shown here, I have come to the conclusion that Google has not learned its lesson.
Early camera samples show that Pixel 9 still takes lackluster photos in portrait mode – just like Pixel 8, Pixel 7 and Pixel 6
Google messed up the Pixel's portrait mode algorithm during the transition from Pixel 5 to Pixel 6 and hasn't been able to fix it since.
Unfortunately, this was the case with my Pixel 8 ProPixel 7 Pro and even the Pixel 6 Pro, which I bought and sold in 2021. The portraits have been improved on the Pixel 8, but are still not at the level of the iPhone15 or Galaxy S24, and Pixels 9 might not be enough to change this.
The Pixel's problems with noisy videos persist, show videos taken with Pixel 9 and iPhone 15 from the rear camera and the selfie camera
The Pixel 9's selfie camera seems to capture some of the noisiest videos in low light. The rear cameras can also be noisy.
Judging by the video example in comparison, it looks as if the noisy videos my Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 7 ProAnd Pixel 6 Pro are still a matter with the Pixels 9. The screenshot you see above is from the selfie cameras.
My Pixel 8 Pro's problems capturing accurate colors indoors are recurring on the Pixel 9?
According to the user who took the photos, the Pixel makes the scene yellow, but this is not the case.
The Pixel 9 can't accurately reproduce the color red indoors. I've had this issue on my Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel 6 Pro.
And last but not least, I also noticed another known camera problem with these photos with Pixels 9. I am talking about the enormous difficulty of accurately reproducing colours in indoor lighting, and especially when the scene is artificially lit.
The camera on my Pixel 8 Pro behaves similarly compared to my iPhone 15 Pro Max. When shooting indoors, there is a very high chance that the Pixel will take an inaccurate photo (with inaccurate colors).
As the user who took and shared the samples noted, Pixels 9 takes an inaccurately colored photo of the Coca-Cola bottles hanging from the ceiling, while I notice Google's eternal struggle to capture the color red – as seen in the photo “Taqado Mexican Kitchen.”
Early Pixel 9 camera samples prove that Google continues to ignore annoying camera issues on the Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro
While I highly doubt anything will change (the Pixel 9 used in this comparison is a retail unit), keep in mind that we'll be doing our own detailed camera comparison to see how much the Pixel 9's camera has improved.
Considering the Pixel is considered “the camera phone to beat” and we’re talking about an $800 flagship here, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed.
For example, even a $200 Samsung phone can take a photo with more accurate colors (when shooting indoors) than my Pixel 8 Proand that just shouldn't be the case. I just can't let Google be lenient here.
As it turns out, Google's extremely annoying image processing imperfections seem to be sticking around for the third year in a row, no matter how different the Pixel 9's camera bar design is compared to that of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 7.
But aside from self-sabotage, Google's biggest problem is that the competition doesn't let up.
As you can see, Pixels 9 is already struggling to keep up with the iPhone15 in certain aspects of the camera, three weeks before the launch of the iPhone 16, which is supposed to be even better.
Be that as it may, we look forward to holding our own Pixels 9 Camera comparisons with the Pixels 8, GalaxyS24And iPhone15/16 to see exactly how hard Google has worked over the past year.