The macro modes on the Google Pixel 7 Pro Y iPhone 14 Pro they are, ironically, a big problem. But the gap between the strengths and weaknesses of each phone here is just as big.
Taking photos of tiny things used to be complicated to accomplish on a smartphone, but advances in camera hardware and software are making it a lot easier these days. While some cheaper phones use dedicated macro cameras (sometimes more for the spec sheet’s sake than the user’s), the best phones on the market have moved towards using their existing ultra-wide cameras.
That includes Apple, which introduced a macro feature in the iPhone 13 Proand Google, with the new Macro Focus feature on the Pixel 7 Pro.
As a fan of macro photos and making smartphones fight for dominance, I chose the iPhone 14 ProMax and Google Pixel 7 Pro to see who did better. To spoil the ending a bit, I don’t think I found an overall winner; rather, these are two phones with very different strengths when it comes to shooting small, close-up subjects. Read on to see the photos I took and how they compare.
Google Pixel 7 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max macro mode: the photos
First, a word about the cameras. Take a macro shot with the Pixel 7 Pro and you’ll be using the phone’s 12MP ultra-wide camera with an f/2.2 aperture. Similarly, the iPhone 14 Pro Max also uses a 12MP (f/2.2.) lens for macro shots captured by the ultra-wide camera.
While trying to see what little secrets were lurking on a patch of tarmac outside the TG UK office, I discovered that the iPhone can get much closer to its subject than the Pixel, seen in the photo above. In fact, the only thing that stopped me from getting an even closer shot was that my hand holding the phone was already pressed to the ground.
You can also see this in this shot of the center of a purple flower. The Pixel’s shot is blurry, but the iPhone does a much better job of showing the stamen at the heart of the flower head. That said, Google’s rendering software captures colors more attractively and accurately, whereas the iPhone produced an oversaturated image, plus it’s a bit noisy.
Both phones have the option to use night mode at the same time as macro mode, but that didn’t seem to make a difference to the phones’ color capability when I tried this close-up of a bright yellow cloth bag inside a closet. with the door partially closed. While the Pixel doesn’t have as much definition between the woven fibers, I’d still choose its take over the iPhone’s every time, even knowing this.
The definition and color difference can also be seen in this image of a leaf. This was the closest I could get with either phone while keeping the blade in focus; As before, the color of the pixel image is closer to reality, but you can really see the detail and contrast between the green and red parts of the surface in the iPhone shot.
Lastly, I captured an image of the scraped corner of my leather wallet. Once again, the Pixel couldn’t get as close to the surface as the iPhone,
Another potential advantage with the Pixel is also obvious in this shot: depth of field. A lot more of the wallet seems to be focused on taking the Pixel than the iPhone. That may be because I captured the iPhone shot from closer, but since I took multiple shots for the rest of the photos in this article, I noticed that the Pixel was able to keep more subjects in focus more consistently.
Macro mode Google Pixel 7 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max: verdict
Both the iPhone 14 Pro Max (and the iPhone 14 Pro by extension) and the Google Pixel 7 Pro satisfy with their macro photography modes. With their ultrawide lenses, they can take quality close-ups, though Apple leaned more toward definition at the expense of color, while Google focused more on keeping colors realistic.
I don’t think the presence of macro mode on these phones should solidify your purchase decision one way or the other, even with the respective strengths and weaknesses that the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Pixel 7 Pro exhibit. But if you’re stuck between some of the best phones either best camera phones When trying to pick a phone to buy, knowing that the latest iPhone or Pixel has this extra handy tool on their belts might put you off other options, like Samsung’s camera phones.