Google Pixel 10 vs Pixel 9: The Ultimate Camera Test!
I'm going to go in depth on how the cameras on Google's Pixel 10 compare to last year's Pixel 9. There are 14 categories on screen. The winner gets a point, the loser gets nothing, and if they draw, they get a point each. Stick around until the end to see which phone wins.
Camera Specs
Let's start with the camera specs so we know what we're working with. The Pixel 9 has two rear cameras, a 50-megapixel wide and 48 ultrawide. The Pixel 10 adds a third camera to the mix, having a 48 wide, 13-megapixel ultrawide, and a new 10.8-megapixel telephoto. Despite the extra camera, the wide and ultrawide are actually a downgrade from the Pixel 9, using smaller, lower-resolution sensors. In fact, the same ones from the much cheaper Pixel 9a, which could impact low-light shots.
The wide cameras on both phones have optical stabilization, as does the telephoto on the Pixel 10, while the ultrawides rely on electronic stabilization only. Both phones use laser detect autofocus or LDAF, but the 10's multi-zone LDAF versus the 9's single zone should mean faster, more accurate focusing, especially on subjects away from the center of the frame or in low light. Up front, both have identical 10.5-megapixel selfie cameras with autofocus and a 95° field of view.
It's quite difficult to pick a winner in this category because while the Pixel 10 has that extra telephoto, it's at the expense of the other rear cameras, which have seen a significant downgrade over the Pixel 9. Because of this, we're starting off with a draw in the first category. One point each.
Video Quality
Let's move on to video quality. And I filmed this video's sponsorship segment with both these phones, and I'll switch between them throughout the segment so you can decide which you think is better.
Sponsor: Ugreen NASync DH2300
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Video Quality Analysis
What do you think of the video quality? For me, it's clear that the Pixel 9's larger sensors make a big difference. Comparing the 1X cameras, the Pixel 9 has better dynamic range and highlight rolloff, while the Pixel 10 shows some highlight hot spots. So, the Pixel 9 gets the point for dynamic range.
In low light, the Pixel 9's rear cameras perform far better. The Pixel 10's main camera does okay, but its ultrawide and 5x telephoto struggle in anything but perfect lighting due to their small sensors. So, another point to the Pixel 9. And just a note, please ignore the slightly blurry Pixel 10 talking head shot as that was a focus error on my part.
Audio and Front-Facing Video
This is what video looks like and audio sounds like from the Pixel 10's front-facing camera and its built-in microphones. And this is what video looks like and audio sounds like from the Pixel 9's front-facing camera and its built-in microphones. Both phones are virtually identical in this respect, so draw with one point each.
Stabilization
There's barely any difference between the stabilization in the two phones, with the stabilization on the main cameras being decent enough, but the ultrawide cameras in both phones don't seem that great for stabilization, particularly in fairly low light. The 10's telephoto stabilization is fine for static handheld shots, but still a bit jittery. So, due to the lack of difference here, the phones draw again.
For overall video quality and usability, I'm giving a point to the Pixel 9 as it produces a much better image that, in my opinion, outweighs the added versatility of the Pixel 10's extra telephoto.
General Image Quality
Next, let's look at general image quality out of both the phones. For this one, I'm going to do a blind camera test and see if you can tell which one is which. In these photos, you can see photos from phone X and phone Y with the camera used displayed at the top of the screen. We're only comparing the wide and ultrawide cameras here. Otherwise, it would be obvious which phone was which. Which one do you like better? Or can't you see a difference between them? Let me know down below.
So, phone X was the Pixel 9 and phone Y was the Pixel 10. The main differences I noticed were the increased amount of bokeh or background blur that you can achieve on the Pixel 9 versus the Pixel 10 on the main 1X camera as it has a much larger sensor. I also noticed that the Pixel 10 seemed to produce consistently slightly brighter images. However, overall there were sometimes I liked the results out of the Pixel 10 more and some where I liked the Pixel 9 more. And as these were so similar, I would personally take having an extra telephoto over losing this on the Pixel 9. So, I think because of the extra versatility of the Pixel 10, I have to give it the point here.
Close Detail
Moving on, let's look at actual close detail in photos and see if there's any major difference in quality. I shot the same section of wall for each photo here, so we can compare this objectively. And bear in mind that this is in good lighting conditions.
Starting with the wide camera, when we zoom into both photos, there honestly isn't much of a difference at all. Both phones produce a very detailed image that pulls out all the details of the brickwork. For the ultrawide, I was actually quite surprised. The Pixel 9 has more detail in the center of the image, but the corners of the image are a blurry mess, where the Pixel 10 has comparatively great corner sharpness. The Pixel 10 does have quite a bit more distortion, but I would prefer the image from the Pixel 10 in this case personally because the corners aren't distractingly soft.
Next, comparing the 5x telephoto on the Pixel 10 to the 5x digital zoom on the Pixel 9, this is where the Pixel 10 shines. Even though it's a fairly low-resolution sensor, the optical zoom maintains way more detail than the Pixel 9. And this is especially obvious in the detail in the brickwork. So, based on this, the Pixel 10 surprisingly, for me at least, wins this category as it provides more consistent image detail and quality across all its cameras from these tests.
Zoom Capabilities
Next on to zoom, and there's a fairly obvious winner here. The Pixel 9 can only digitally zoom up to 8x, whereas the Pixel 10 can optically zoom up to 5x and go all the way up to 20x digital zoom with its dedicated telephoto camera. If we zoom into 8x on both phones, the Pixel 10 slaps the 9. The Pixel 9 just completely lacks detail at this zoom level, whereas even at 20x, it's impressive how much detail the Pixel 10 can pull out. It's even more obvious when you look at 5x zoomed-in video side by side. The Pixel 10 wins this category easily and gets another point.
Low Light Performance
Now, let's look at low-light performance. I took some controlled photos in this room with Google's Night Sight enabled with only a little bit of light shining through the curtains. And for the main cameras, surprisingly, there isn't a huge difference. There is slightly more dynamic range from the Pixel 9, but the detail and noise isn't noticeably different between the two.
The ultrawide cameras are a completely different story with the Pixel 9 maintaining an impressive amount of detail without being too noisy. Whereas the Pixel 10 is a bit of a noisy, soft mess. The Pixel 10's telephoto is even worse than the ultrawide and just completely falls apart in low light, but that's not surprising given its tiny sensor. For me, the Pixel 9 wins this category pretty easily as all its rear cameras are very usable in low light, especially when compared to the 10.
Macro Photography
Moving on to macro photography, and there's a significant difference here in that the Pixel 9 uses its ultrawide for macro shots, whereas the Pixel 10 uses its main sensor. For me, this results in much more pleasing macro shots from the Pixel 10, as you get less of the distorted ultrawide look to the photos. I've managed to capture some excellent macro shots using the Pixel 10, but I've always struggled to get good quality results from the Pixel 9. So, for me, the Pixel 10 takes this category easily.
Portrait Mode
Portrait mode on both phones was quite interesting as neither of them is excellent at getting the portrait cutout right. However, on closer inspection from the photos I took, the Pixel 9 frequently noticeably messed up the cutout, especially with blurring parts of the hair that are flowing over the body, which was weird. In contrast, the Pixel 10 was a lot more consistent. So, I've got to give another point to the Pixel 10.
Selfie Cameras
As I mentioned earlier, the front-facing selfie cameras are the same on both phones. So, from a detail perspective, there really isn't much difference with both phones producing good enough selfies in my opinion. The only notes I've got here is that the Pixel 10 tends to produce a consistently brighter image than the Pixel 9, but it really comes down to preference as to what you prefer from your phone. I don't really have a significant preference either way here, and I think fundamentally they both produce decent quality photos from the front-facing camera, so we draw with both phones getting a point.
Software Differences
There are also a few minor camera software differences between these two phones. The first is that the Pixel 10 has Camera Coach, which uses generative AI to give you tips on how to take a good photo. It could be good if you're someone who's completely new to photography, but it's not really a feature that's important to me personally.
In terms of video, the Pixel 10 can shoot in the AV1 video codec, which is a very efficient format that allows you to shoot high-quality video with much smaller file sizes than the standard H.264 and H.265 formats. However, AV1 isn't supported by every device quite yet. So, you may come across some compatibility issues if you try and transfer your AV1 video onto another device for editing, for example. These are nice additional software features, particularly the AV1 video, which has already been adopted by all the major social media sites and will probably play a large part in the future of online video. For this reason, the Pixel 10 gets the point from the software features side, although only just as the Pixel 9 has all the same photo editing features and video and photo modes available in the camera as the 10.
Conclusion
So, based on the scoring, the Pixel 10 just about edges the win. Regardless of the scoring though, I hope this video has helped you decide which is best for your specific use case. If you want the best phone for video and low-light situations and want to save some money, then last year's Pixel 9 is the one I'd recommend.
On the other hand, the Pixel 10 provides excellent photography results and much greater versatility with the additional telephoto camera and the better macro mode, all despite the specs looking worse on paper. Although the video quality isn't as good, I still think it would be the one I'd recommend for the majority of people. If the visual difference between the photos out of these phones was more significant, then it would be a different story.
The scoring is obviously based on my interpretation of the results we got in each category, so you might have a different opinion. Let me know in the comments if you would have scored them differently. If you want to pick up either of these phones, then I've put affiliate links down below. If you want to see my long-term review of the Pixel 9, tap here on the screen. And if you want to see my long-term review of the Pixel 10, hit that subscribe button as it'll be coming soon. Cheers.
