Editorials · Reviewer Insight
iPhone 18 Pro Max vs Pixel 11 Pro XL: Sample Photos Comparison
The battle for the ultimate smartphone camera of 2026.
This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
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iPhone 18 Pro Max vs Pixel 11 Pro XL | Image by PhoneArena
The iPhone 18 Pro Max is here with a new variable aperture main camera, manual camera controls, and new Photographic Styles that now allow you to add texture and grain. But there are no changes to sensor sizes this year.
Google's Pixel 11 Pro XL does something similar with manual controls this year, but it also introduces a new and much larger telephoto camera sensor, which promises better image quality.
So I thought this is a perfect opportunity to see how the photos from these two phones look in real-world conditions.
iPhone 18 Pro Max vs Pixel 11 Pro XL Camera Specs:
|
|
| Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max | Google Pixel 11 Pro XL |
| Main camera | |
|---|---|
| 48 MP (PDAF, ToF 3D depth sensing, Sensor-shift OIS) Sensor name: Sony IMX905 Aperture size: F1.5/F4.0 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.28" Pixel size: 1.22 μm |
50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.7 Sensor size: 1/1.3" |
| Second camera | |
| 48 MP (Ultra-wide, Sensor-shift OIS) Sensor name: Sony IMX972 Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 0.7 μm |
48 MP (Ultra-wide) Aperture size: F1.7 Sensor size: 1/2.51" |
| Third camera | |
| 48 MP (Telephoto, Periscope, OIS, PDAF) Sensor name: Sony IMX973 Optical zoom: 4.0x Aperture size: F2.8 Focal Length: 100 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 0.7 μm |
48 MP (Telephoto, Periscope) Optical zoom: 5.0x Aperture size: F2.8 Sensor size: 1/1.95" |
| Front | |
| 18 MP (Time-of-Flight (ToF), Autofocus, HDR) | 42 MP (PDAF) |
See the full
Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max vs Google Pixel 11 Pro XL specs comparison
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If I were to focus on two highlights from the specs, the first one would be that the iPhone 18 Pro Max can now open its lens to f/1.48 aperture, which lets in roughly 50% more light than the previous model. This is a significant improvement for low-light photography and bokeh.
The Pixel 11 Pro XL, on the other hand, has upgraded to a much bigger telephoto sensor, which helps it achieve better quality.
Let's take a look at the samples and see which phone wins the camera battle of the year.
Main Camera
Portraits
Zoom
Ultra-wide Camera
Selfie
So which of these two do you prefer: the iPhone 18 Pro Max or Google's Pixel 11 Pro XL?
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