The iPhone 14 Pro and Google Pixel 7 Pro are — without a doubt — two of 2022’s most capable smartphones. Each one has a striking design, an excellent display, snappy performance, and robust software features. But it’s the cameras that make these phones really interesting.
Comparing iPhone and Pixel cameras is always fascinating, and this year, that’s more true than ever. The iPhone 14 Pro ushers in major hardware upgrades, the Pixel 7 Pro focuses on subtle refinements, and the end result is a camera comparison that’s brutal to the very end.
iPhone 14 Pro vs. Pixel 7 Pro: camera specs
Joe Maring/Digital Trends
As with any good camera comparison, our first step is to look at the specs we’re dealing with. On the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple provides a 48-megapixel main camera with an f/1.78 aperture and its sensor-shift stabilization tech. It’s joined by a 12MP ultrawide camera with a 120-degree field-of-view, along with a 12MP telephoto camera (capable of up to 3x optical zoom). Rounding things out is a 12MP selfie camera with an f/1.9 aperture and autofocus.
Shifting to the Google Pixel 7 Pro, you’ll find a 50MP main camera with an f/1.85 aperture. There’s also a 12MP ultrawide camera with a 125.8-degree FoV, a 48MP telephoto camera with up to 5x optical zoom, and a fixed focus 10.8MP selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture.
In addition to the camera hardware, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro also bring different approaches to software features for their respective camera setups. The iPhone 14 Pro supports Photographic Styles, so you can easily switch up the look of your photos on the fly. It also has Apple ProRAW for anyone looking to take their shots into a photo editor and play around with them. The Pixel 7 Pro puts its emphasis on AI-powered editing features. Magic Eraser allows you to quickly hide photobombers, Camouflage removes unwanted pops of color, and the new Photo Unblur tool helps sharpen and refocus old, shaky pictures in Google Photos.
iPhone 14 Pro vs. Pixel 7 Pro: main camera
Of course, specs and features are just a small part of the story. What really matters is what photos from the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro actually look like. Starting with the main camera on each phone, we have a challenging view of the setting sun against the Manhattan skyline.
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iPhone 14 Pro
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Google Pixel 7 Pro
Looking directly at the sun, both the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro display a green orb over the water and overexpose the sunlight (as you’d expect). But the iPhone 14 Pro does a much better job with the contrast levels. The shadow from the bench is darker, the sky is bluer, and the sun has a deep orange hue to it. The Pixel 7 Pro’s photo isn’t a bad shot by any means, but it looks noticeably more washed out compared to the iPhone 14 Pro’s image.
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iPhone 14 Pro
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Google Pixel 7 Pro
Heading indoors, the tables turn a little bit with the photo of the cat laying on the couch. The cat’s ears and face appear washed out in the iPhone 14 Pro image, whereas the Pixel 7 Pro does a much better job of retaining the various colors in her fur. The Pixel 7 Pro also more effectively blurs the chair in the background, while the patterns on it are more visible (and thus distracting) in the iPhone 14 Pro shot.
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iPhone 14 Pro
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Google Pixel 7 Pro
The next photo of the chocolate chip pancake (which was delicious) reveals an important quirk of the main camera on both phones. Because of the large image sensors each one uses, getting too close to a subject often results in fringing around the edges — something that’s present in both photos. If I had to pick a personal preference, I’d go with the iPhone 14 Pro’s image. The colors in the Pixel 7 Pro’s shot are a bit too cool for my liking, almost to the point where the powdered sugar looks slightly blue. The iPhone 14 Pro succeeds in capturing the warmth of the pancake and the yellowy, creamy nature of the whipped cream.
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iPhone 14 Pro
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Google Pixel 7 Pro
We’ll go back outside for this next picture to check out a downed tree resting in a calm lake. At first glance, both photos look very similar; there are good colors and sharp details across the board. But the Pixel 7 Pro handles the sunlight on the tree bark best. It looks too bright and intense in the iPhone 14 Pro’s image, while the Pixel 7 Pro handles it much more gracefully.
Looking through the dozens of photos I’ve taken with the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro, this is a theme that keeps happening. Sometimes, the iPhone 14 Pro churns out a nicer-looking shot. But other times, the Pixel 7 Pro comes out on top. I’ve been incredibly happy taking photos with both phones, and there’s not one that clearly stands out as an overwhelming winner over the other.
Call it a cop-out if you want, but I have to call this one a draw.
Winner: Tie
iPhone 14 Pro vs. Pixel 7 Pro: ultrawide camera
We have the ultrawide cameras next, and for the first shot, we have a gorgeous view of the Williamsburg Bridge. These photos were taken at around 6:20 p.m. — just minutes before sunset.
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iPhone 14 Pro
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Google Pixel 7 Pro
It’s immediately apparent that both phones took very different approaches to this scene. The iPhone 14 Pro retains many of the shadows underneath the bridge and around its brick base in the water. Comparatively, the Pixel 7 Pro’s HDR processing removed these shadows so you can more easily see the details in the bridge’s framework.
It also makes the sky bluer than it appeared in person while the iPhone 14 Pro gives it a more accurate, darker tone. I fully expect a lot of people will be more drawn to the Pixel 7 Pro’s photo, but personally, I prefer the depth and drama the shadows and contrast add to the iPhone 14 Pro image.
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iPhone 14 Pro
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Google Pixel 7 Pro
Our next ultrawide photo shows us a building near the North 5th Street Pier. The Pixel 7 Pro does a better job handling the sunlight on the concrete of the walkway, but its wider field of view gives the building a slightly wrapped appearance. I also don’t think it captured the sky as well. The iPhone 14 Pro captured the varying shades of blue in between the two buildings, while the Pixel 7 Pro gave it the same, muted tone.
Ultimately, I’m calling another draw with this one. I think the iPhone 14 Pro’s ultrawide camera produces better colors with more contrast. However, this is really a matter of personal taste — and the versatility of the Pixel 7 Pro’s slightly wider FoV shouldn’t be ignored.
Winner: Tie
iPhone 14 Pro vs. Pixel 7 Pro: zoom cameras
The iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro may have tied for the first two rounds, but the Pixel 7 Pro easily dominates when we shift to the phones’ zooming capabilities. The iPhone 14 Pro has dedicated zoom buttons for 2x and 3x, with a maximum zoom range of 15x. The Pixel 7 Pro has zoom shortcuts for 2x and 5x, plus it can go all the way to 30x.
We’ll start with the iPhone 14 Pro’s zoom. The 2x shot looks very good, with crisp details in the water and a beautiful representation of the Manhattan skyline. The 3x image gets us closer to the buildings in the distance, and the details in them are much better than in the 2x photo. At 15x, however, the iPhone 14 Pro drops the ball. While convenient to have the option, the Empire State Building ends up looking like it was stripped from a watercolor painting — displaying soft, mushy details that just aren’t pleasant to look at.
By comparison, the Google Pixel 7 Pro is a totally different beast. I actually think the iPhone 14 Pro produced a better photo at the 2x level. The buildings in the Pixel 7 Pro’s photos aren’t nearly as sharp, and the Empire State Building has an unnatural, pink hue to it.
But move beyond the 2x zoom, and the Google Pixel 7 Pro wins every single time. The 5x optical zoom makes a noticeable difference compared to the iPhone 14 Pro’s 3x zoom. Not only do you get much closer to your subject, but the buildings appear quite a bit sharper in the Pixel’s photo. The difference is even starker at 15x. The Google Pixel 7 Pro actually produces a sharable photo at this distance — retaining good colors and a surprising amount of detail. Going up to 30x puts you in watercolor territory, but you’re also going far beyond what the iPhone 14 Pro is capable of.
Winner: Google Pixel 7 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro vs. Pixel 7 Pro: night mode
Night mode is a hallmark feature for both the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro, though in our testing, there’s a clearly defined winner.
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iPhone 14 Pro
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Google Pixel 7 Pro
Starting with the picture of the tree, the iPhone 14 Pro’s image stands out more with a brighter tree trunk and much greener leaves. Dig a bit deeper into the photo, though, and you’ll find that those leaves are blurry, soft, and lacking clearly defined details. The Pixel 7 Pro does a much better job here, keeping the leaves surprisingly sharp, even with the lack of surrounding light.
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iPhone 14 Pro
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Google Pixel 7 Pro
The next photo of the pond shows us the same thing. The grass in front of the pond is brighter in the Pixel 7 Pro’s image, there’s far less noise in the water, and you get significantly more detail in the trees in the background.
I certainly wouldn’t call the iPhone 14 Pro a bad performer in lowlight scenarios, but compared to the Pixel 7 Pro, it just can’t hang.
Winner: Google Pixel 7 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro vs. Pixel 7 Pro: portrait mode
Moving over to portrait mode, we see the expected same differences in color and contrast that we saw with the main camera comparison. But taking a closer look at how both phones handled edge detection for the portrait shots, we find a clear winner.
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iPhone 14 Pro
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Google Pixel 7 Pro
This photo of a scarecrow is incredibly tough — flaunting tiny strands of fabric and straw all over its body. Both phones struggle with the hat, but the iPhone 14 Pro does a slightly better job. The Pixel 7 Pro also incorrectly blurs the right arm, whereas the iPhone 14 Pro keeps it more in focus.
Looking beyond edge detection, the scarecrow looks much better in the iPhone 14 Pro photo, showing much better details than the somewhat blotchy, soft details produced by the Pixel 7 Pro.
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iPhone 14 Pro
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Google Pixel 7 Pro
The portrait photo of my dog Damon isn’t quite as challenging, though there are still some discrepancies between each shot. Both phones do a good job of blurring the background here, though the Pixel 7 Pro keeps more of Damon’s back and rear legs in focus. The iPhone 14 Pro decides to blur them more, and while the blurring effect is clear and done well, I prefer how the Pixel 7 Pro handled itself.
However, things take a sharp turn in regard to the colors and detail of the photos. In the iPhone 14 Pro’s picture, Damon looks like he does in real life. His fur has a light tan color with a slightly darker face, and he’s being lit up by the afternoon sun. In the Pixel 7 Pro’s photo, he looks totally different. All of his fur is darker than it should be (especially by his face), you can’t see the brightness of the sun on his chest, and all of his fur looks artificially sharpened. Again, I think this is where we see a stark difference between how Google and Apple handle image processing and HDR. The Pixel 7 Pro’s image may appeal to the eye more and be more visually striking, but it’s not representative of real life — and not the photo I prefer.
Combine the color and detail differences with the better edge detection in the first photo, and the iPhone 14 Pro gets its first win.
Winner: iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro vs. Pixel 7 Pro: macro photos
Both the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro support a macro mode using their ultrawide cameras. Get either phone close enough to a subject, and it uses the ultrawide sensor to produce an up-close macro image.
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iPhone 14 Pro macro mode
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Pixel 7 Pro macro mode
Our first macro photo shows us individual grains of sand on a Brooklyn beach. As has become expected, the colors between the phones are a bit different; the iPhone 14 Pro prefers a cooler image here, while the Pixel 7 Pro warms things up. Both shots look really good, but if you zoom in closely, you’ll see slightly more sharpness in the sand with the iPhone 14 Pro photo.
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iPhone 14 Pro macro mode
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Pixel 7 Pro macro mode
It’s a similar result in the second macro photo of the green plant. At a glance, it’s difficult to be disappointed with either image. Zoom in, however, and you’ll find a bit more detail is captured by the iPhone 14 Pro.
This is another close one, but in the end, the iPhone 14 Pro gets the win.
Winner: iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro vs. Pixel 7 Pro: selfie camera
To wrap things up, we have a quick selfie to look at the front-facing camera on both phones. In short, this is yet another area where the iPhone 14 Pro shows its superiority.
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iPhone 14 Pro
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Google Pixel 7 Pro
The biggest thing that jumps out to me is the lack of sharpness in the Pixel 7 Pro’s image. The details in my skin are much too soft, and the fabric of my shirt looks almost pixelated (especially on the collar). You get much better details in the iPhone 14 Pro’s selfie, and I prefer how it handled the color of my skin. I don’t often take selfies, but when I do find myself in the mood for one, I’ll gladly reach for the iPhone 14 Pro over the Pixel 7 Pro.
Winner: iPhone 14 Pro
You can’t go wrong with either phone
Joe Maring/Digital Trends
After seven rounds, the iPhone 14 Pro won three, the Google Pixel 7 Pro won two, and the phones tied in the remaining two rounds. While that technically gives a win to the iPhone 14 Pro, this comparison comes down to small details and personal preference.
With the main and ultrawide cameras, it’s a toss-up between which phone you’ll like more. I personally prefer the colors that I get out of the iPhone 14 Pro, as they’re more true to life and aren’t afraid to show shadows and contrast where necessary. The Pixel 7 Pro regularly delivers brighter shots with heavy HDR processing. You may prefer that style of photo over the iPhone 14 Pro — and that’s absolutely fine. Technically, both phones are excellent.
Beyond your own taste in photos, you should also think about what you want to use your smartphone camera for. If you’re an avid selfie taker, love portrait mode, and want the best macro images possible, the iPhone 14 Pro is better suited for you. But if you want an incredible camera for zooming and taking photos in the dark, the Pixel 7 Pro has an unmistakable dominance in those areas.
This isn’t a comparison in which one smartphone is overwhelmingly better than the other — the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro are both too good for that. We’ve reached a point where flagship camera systems are as good as they’ve ever been — whether that phone is from Apple, Google, Samsung, or someone else. Call it boring if you want, but I think it’s pretty incredible.
Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.
The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.
Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.
The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.
Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.
On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.
The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.
More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.
Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:
You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!
Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.
Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.
There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.
Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.
Successful people tend to be secretive.
Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.
Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.
Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.
TORONTO – A new survey says a majority of software engineers and developers feel tight project deadlines can put safety at risk.
Seventy-five per cent of the 1,000 global workers who responded to the survey released Tuesday say pressure to deliver projects on time and on budget could be compromising critical aspects like safety.
The concern is even higher among engineers and developers in North America, with 77 per cent of those surveyed on the continent reporting the urgency of projects could be straining safety.
The study was conducted between July and September by research agency Coleman Parkes and commissioned by BlackBerry Ltd.’s QNX division, which builds connected-car technology.
The results reflect a timeless tug of war engineers and developers grapple with as they balance the need to meet project deadlines with regulations and safety checks that can slow down the process.
Finding that balance is an issue that developers of even the simplest appliances face because of advancements in technology, said John Wall, a senior vice-president at BlackBerry and head of QNX.
“The software is getting more complicated and there is more software whether it’s in a vehicle, robotics, a toaster, you name it… so being able to patch vulnerabilities, to prevent bad actors from doing malicious acts is becoming more and more important,” he said.
The medical, industrial and automotive industries have standardized safety measures and anything they produce undergoes rigorous testing, but that work doesn’t happen overnight. It has to be carried out from the start and then at every step of the development process.
“What makes safety and security difficult is it’s an ongoing thing,” Wall said. “It’s not something where you’ve done it, and you are finished.”
The Waterloo, Ont.-based business found 90 per cent of its survey respondents reported that organizations are prioritizing safety.
However, when asked about why safety may not be a priority for their organization, 46 per cent of those surveyed answered cost pressures and 35 per cent said a lack of resources.
That doesn’t surprise Wall. Delays have become rampant in the development of tech, and in some cases, stand to push back the launch of vehicle lines by two years, he said.
“We have to make sure that people don’t compromise on safety and security to be able to get products out quicker,” he said.
“What we don’t want to see is people cutting corners and creating unsafe situations.”
The survey also took a peek at security breaches, which have hit major companies like London Drugs, Indigo Books & Music, Giant Tiger and Ticketmaster in recent years.
About 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they have encountered a security breach in their employer’s operating system. Those breaches resulted in major impacts for 27 per cent of respondents, moderate impacts for 42 per cent and minor impacts for 27 per cent.
“There are vulnerabilities all the time and this is what makes the job very difficult because when you ship the software, presumably the software has no security vulnerabilities, but things get discovered after the fact,” Wall said.
Security issues, he added, have really come to the forefront of the problems developers face, so “really without security, you have no safety.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
As online shoppers hunt for bargains offered by Amazon during its annual fall sale this week, cybersecurity researchers are warning Canadians to beware of an influx of scammers posing as the tech giant.
In the 30 days leading up to Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, there were more than 1,000 newly registered Amazon-related web domains, according to Check Point Software Technologies, a company that offers cybersecurity solutions.
The company said it deemed 88 per cent of those domains malicious or suspicious, suggesting they could have been set up by scammers to prey on vulnerable consumers. One in every 54 newly created Amazon-related domain included the phrase “Amazon Prime.”
“They’re almost indiscernible from the real Amazon domain,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering at Check Point in Canada.
“With all these domains registered that look so similar, it’s tricking a lot of people. And that’s the whole intent here.”
Falzon said Check Point Research sees an uptick in attempted scams around big online shopping days throughout the year, including Prime Days.
Scams often come in the form of phishing emails, which are deceptive messages that appear to be from a reputable source in attempt to steal sensitive information.
In this case, he said scammers posing as Amazon commonly offer “outrageous” deals that appear to be associated with Prime Days, in order to trick recipients into clicking on a malicious link.
The cybersecurity firm said it has identified and blocked 100 unique Amazon Prime-themed scam emails targeting organizations and consumers over the past two weeks.
Scammers also target Prime members with unsolicited calls, claiming urgent account issues and requesting payment information.
“It’s like Christmas for them,” said Falzon.
“People expect there to be significant savings on Prime Day, so they’re not shocked that they see something of significant value. Usually, the old adage applies: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Amazon’s website lists a number of red flags that it recommends customers watch for to identify a potential impersonation scam.
Those include false urgency, requests for personal information, or indications that the sender prefers to complete the purchase outside of the Amazon website or mobile app.
Scammers may also request that customers exclusively pay with gift cards, a claim code or PIN. Any notifications about an order or delivery for an unexpected item should also raise alarm bells, the company says.
“During busy shopping moments, we tend to see a rise in impersonation scams reported by customers,” said Amazon spokeswoman Octavia Roufogalis in a statement.
“We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe.”
Falzon added that these scams are more successful than people might think.
As of June 30, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said there had been $284 million lost to fraud so far this year, affecting 15,941 victims.
But Falzon said many incidents go unreported, as some Canadians who are targeted do not know how or where to flag a scam, or may choose not to out of embarrassment.
Check Point recommends Amazon customers take precautions while shopping on Prime Days, including by checking URLs carefully, creating strong passwords on their accounts, and avoiding personal information being shared such as their birthday or social security number.
The cybersecurity company said consumers should also look for “https” at the beginning of a website URL, which indicates a secure connection, and use credit cards rather than debit cards for online shopping, which offer better protection and less liability if stolen.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
