Google’s new ad compares night photo taken with Pixel 3 and iPhone XS

Google would like you to know that Pixel 3’s Night Sight camera mode — the one that takes very bright photos in low-light conditions — is vastly better than anything the iPhone XS can muster. 

Marvin Chow, a Product Marketing VP at Google, tweeted on Sunday an ad that compares a photo of the same night scene taken by the iPhone XS (which, for some reason, Google dubs “Phone X;” the actual model used is shared in the fine print below) and the Pixel 3. 

Chow says the comparison “speaks for itself” — but things aren’t that simple. 

Yes, the Pixel 3 does a far better job at highlighting the woman that is the focus of the photo. But as noted by some commenters on Twitter, Pixel 3’s photo also overexposes and destroys some lighting details in the background. 

Google’s point stands, though: Most users would probably prefer the photo on the right, and the iPhone XS doesn’t really have a feature comparable to Pixel 3’s Night Sight. For another comparison between the two phones’ low-light photo-taking capabilities, see here. 

Night Sight, which launched in Nov. 2018, a month after Pixel 3’s launch, takes up to 15 shots and combines them into one photo, with the result being similar to a long-exposure photo but enhanced with software magic that reduces the need of using a tripod.