Google Pixel 9 Pro XL vs. Xiaomi 14 Ultra: Top Camera Phones Tested

The Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL already impressed us in the full review, and the cameras give the powerhouse iPhone 15 Pro Max tough competition. While the 9 Pro line’s triple rear camera takes gorgeous images with vibrant colors and pristine detail, I’ve been blown away by the shots I’ve captured with the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. I’ve tested the phone on a street photography mission around London, and my colleague Katie Collins used it to take some astonishing images of Taylor Swift on the recent Eras tour. 

So I was extremely keen to put both phones side by side in a battle to see which one takes better photos. I’ve walked miles around Edinburgh testing the phones in a variety of scenarios. All images are taken in raw using the standard camera apps, unless otherwise stated.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

First up, a vibrant outdoor scene. It’s a challenging shot, as there’s a mix of extremely bright sky and very dark shadows under the bridge. Both phones delivered great looking images here, but there are strengths and weaknesses on both sides. The Pixel’s shot is marginally brighter, but I don’t like that it’s lightened the shadows and toned down the sky so much as it gives a slightly HDR effect. I also don’t like how much it’s digitally sharpened the image. 

Xiaomi’s shot looks a bit more natural by comparison, though I do prefer the more natural hues of the Pixel’s image.

The first thing I noticed when comparing these two shots is that the Xiaomi has quite a strong vignette, with the edges of the image being quite a lot darker than the center. While I do find it a little distracting, Xiaomi has done a much better job brightening up the fish and chip shack, which looks very dull in the Pixel’s image.

The vignette effect is still noticeable in this image. But again, Xiaomi’s image is brighter and punchier, which I prefer. 

Both phones have done a great job capturing bright, sharp images in this indoor, low-light scene. There’s little to choose between them when viewed at full screen. But zooming in reveals that the Pixel has preserved much more detail overall. I’m able to make out the menu items on the Cheesin sign, which are completely unreadable in the Xiaomi’s shot. 

Both menus are a little unclear. But I can read most of the items listed in the Pixel’s shot, while I can’t tell what any of the items are in Xiaomi’s version.

The most noticeable difference in this shot of a man having a sunny snooze is the exposure. The Pixel leans hard on its HDR algorithm, pulling back those highlights that I personally feel create a slightly unrealistic image. But that could just be my opinion, and you may well prefer the look. 

Switching to the ultrawide camera, both phones have captured vibrant, punchy scenes here. The Pixel’s HDR algorithm has brought in a little bit more shadow detail, but it looks good here. There’s little to choose between them, even when zoomed into the fine details. 

At 5x optical zoom, both phones have captured crisp images of this family of swans, although I do think the Pixel’s bright shadow details has made its image look more washed out. The stronger contrast on Xiaomi’s image looks better to my eye. 

Zooming in shows that both phones blew out the highlights on the swan’s back in exactly the same way.

The Pixel’s color balance in this 5x telephoto shot looks slightly more natural than Xiaomi’s. But when I examine the fine details up close, it’s clear that Xiaomi has delivered the better image.

Zooming in close, it’s clear to see that the Pixel’s heavy-handed image processing has attempted to smooth out some of the textures on this building, while adding noise through digital sharpening at the same time. By comparison, the lines on the side of the building in Xiaomi’s shot remain in tact.

Night mode comparison

The Pixel 9 Pro has produced a slightly brighter image here, with more of the pub building being visible against the night sky. There is also generally better detail in the Pixel’s shot, which makes it the technically better image. However, I shot the Xiaomi’s image using its Pro mode, where I was able to select a slightly narrower aperture which created this awesome starburst effect on the light outside the pub.

This kind of effect would usually be achievable only by using regular cameras with apertures set to at least f/9, and being able to achieve this look on the phone is one of my favorite things about Xiaomi’s device. Sure, it might not be quite as bright, but the starburst effect makes Xiaomi’s shot my personal pick.

In general night time scenes though, the Pixel takes superior shots to the Xiaomi, with brighter exposures and much sharper details.

Switching to the ultrawide lens, the difference is even more pronounced, with the boat in Xiaomi’s shot looking overexposed and more pink than orange in tone. It’s darker than the Pixel’s too, with fuzzier details. Overall, it’s an easy win for the Pixel here.

And an even easier win at 5x zoom at night, with the Xiaomi’s shot looking almost blurry in comparison.

Selfie and panorama mode comparison

The Pixel’s selfie is unquestionably brighter here, but there are several reasons why I would choose Xiaomi’s version. Firstly, while it appears a little dark, I prefer the more natural looking shadows in the scene, which the Pixel has again tried to brighten too much. It’s been heavy-handed with the sharpening too, giving my face a very textured look, which I find deeply unflattering. Finally, I like that Xiaomi’s image has allowed for natural background blur, while the Pixel has kept the buildings behind me in almost the same sharp focus as my face. 

It might be darker, but If I wanted to pick one to use for a profile pic, it would definitely be Xiaomi’s. 

The heavy-handed processing is still noticeable here, but as my face looks relatively farther away, it’s less of a problem for me. That said, I still prefer the more natural look of Xiaomi’s image, despite it being darker.

The Pixel 9 Pro received a revamped panorama mode, but I can’t say I’m especially impressed based on this test. The Pixel’s panorama is quite dull, with a gap in the railing where the software hasn’t stitched the images together correctly. Xiaomi’s panorama is bright, vibrant and doesn’t show any stitching errors. 

Raw image shooting

While I’ve shot most of my test images in JPEG on both phones to give the fairest possible comparison points, I usually shoot in DNG raw on Xiaomi’s phone using the Pro camera mode. The phone captures a ton of detail that can be pulled back in raw, with loads of scope for tweaking colors and adjusting exposure, just like I would on my professional camera. The Pixel 9 Pro’s raw files aren’t great to work with, looking weirdly hazy straight out of camera and requiring much more work in Lightroom to get them anywhere close to usable.

With the image above, I tried to apply the sort of look I would go for when editing shots from my Canon R5, which involves adjusting colors and applying color grades to get a more cinematic look. Editing the Pixel’s image took a lot more work to match Xiaomi’s, and even then I’m not totally happy with the result. 

Which camera is better?

The Pixel has put up a great fight here. But which one is best will come down to what you want most from your phone. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra excels for pro photographers looking to capture natural images, especially those who often shoot in raw and tweak later in Lightroom. The Pixel’s heavy-handed image processing delivers shots that won’t be to many pros tastes. If you want a phone that’s as close to a professional camera as you can get, go for Xiaomi’s.

However, the bright, vibrant nature of the Pixel’s shots mean they will appeal to the likely large majority who simply want to take great looking snaps and upload them straight to Instagram, Threads (or wherever the cool kids are hanging out), without much fuss. If that sounds more like your thing, then the Pixel will suit you well.