If you care about smartphone photography, you’re in for a treat. The iPhone 17 and Pixel 10 both arrive boasting serious camera muscle, making them two camera beasts worth comparing. In this showdown, we break down how they perform in ultra-wide, main, portrait, and selfie modes plus the specs that power the experience.
iPhone 17 & Pixel 10: Core Specs You Should Know
Before we dive into shot comparisons, let’s look at what’s under the hood. The iPhone 17 arrives with a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display featuring ProMotion for silky-smooth 120Hz scrolling. Apple has pushed camera hardware forward with a 48-Megapixel Fusion main sensor and a matching 48-megapixel Fusion ultra-wide, capable of delivering a 2× optical-quality zoom directly from the main lens. On the front, the 18-megapixel offers autofocus and smooth framing, while video capture supports 4K Dolby Vision at up to 60 FPS.
The Pixel 10, its camera system includes a 48-megapixel main sensor with macro focus, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide, and a dedicated 10.8-megapixel telephoto lens offering 5× optical zoom. The front houses a 10.5-megapixel camera. Under the hood, Google’s Tensor G5 chip and 12 GB of RAM handle the heavy lifting, while storage starts at 128 GB.
Mode-by-Mode: How the Cameras Compare
Ultra-Wide / .5x Shots
When you switch to .5× (ultra-wide), the iPhone 17’s 48 MP Fusion Ultra-Wide and Pixel 10’s .5x have wider depth of field and capture a wider area. Dynamic range on the pictures is balanced too. On the other hand, the iPhone has distortion corrected images with color consistent images.
Main Camera / 1x
This is where both phones shine. The iPhone 17’s 48 MP Fusion Main delivers crisp detail, smart HDR and colors are slightly boosted as compared to Pixel 10. Pixel 10 is equally good.
Zoom / Telephoto (2× and Beyond)
I moved to the 2x camera, Pixel 10 has a sharp image with good details however, the colors are a bit off. iPhone 17 captures a wider area in 2x and images are relatively less sharp as compared to Pixel but way more color rich and vibrant, however there is nothing above 2x in an iPhone but up to 5x optical zoom.
Portrait Mode & Bokeh
In portrait mode, edge detection is critical. iPhone 17’s approach usually handles hair, ears, and shoulders cleanly, with smooth bokeh falloff. Pixel 10’s portrait mode also impresses and looks much more natural as compared to Pixel 10.
Selfies & Front-Facing Shots
For selfies, iPhone’s 18 MP front camera offers strong framing and consistent skin tones. Pixel 10’s 10.5 MP dual front camera delivers solid results, but in challenging light, the iPhone often edges ahead in balance and HDR.
Verdict: Which Camera Beast Wins?
Both the iPhone 17 and Pixel 10 are powerhouse camera phones, each with strengths. If you zoom often, the Pixel 10’s dedicated telephoto gives it a real advantage. For well-balanced everyday shots (ultra-wide, main, portraits, selfies) and polished video output, the iPhone 17 is hard to beat.
