Huawei P50 Pro vs. Pixel 6: pitting four cameras against two

In terms of cameras, the Huawei P50 Pro outnumbers the Pixel 6. It has four cameras on the back and offers up to 100x digital zoom. In contrast, the Pixel 6 has only two back cameras and 7x digital zoom.

Key specs

The sheer number of cameras alone doesn’t dictate quality. Megapixels are only partially informative – and, in this case, the P50 Pro and Pixel 6 are practically the same. What’s becoming increasingly important on smartphones is the software that processes the photos. On more and more devices – including the two compared here – an artificial intelligence (AI) takes over the exposure settings and post-processing.

The back of the Huawei P50 Pro houses twice the number of cameras as the Pixel 6 – though two of them form a unit. The monochrome camera has only a black-and-white image sensor which provides additional data to the main camera. So, the biggest difference compared to the Pixel 6 is the telephoto lens. If you’re wondering why I don’t have the Pixel 6 Pro with 4x optical zoom, you can check out this article of mine. The Pixel 6 Pro does surpass the P50 Pro’s 3.5x optical zoom, but its 20x digital zoom sounds less impressive.

In the P50 Pro, Huawei has reportedly placed special emphasis on colour reproduction in the display and camera – referred to as «True-Chroma» in ads. The screen covers the P3 colour spectrum and can display 1.07 billion colours. Inside the camera is a «True-Chroma Image Engine» that measures ambient light and adjusts the images to the P3 colour spectrum.

However, it turns out «True-Chroma» is more marketing than true. My monitor covers 100% of the sRGB colour space, and I don’t find that the photos look any different on the P50 than on the monitor. When comparing the photos on my monitor and phone, I don't notice any differences significant enough to impact my conclusions below.

Colours and contrast

My biking adventure takes me through the Port of Hamburg. I snap photos of city sights and the subjects you’d expect at a port.

Both smartphones capture the shipping containers very well in the sunshine. With the Pixel, the shadowy areas appear a bit brighter, but I don’t view that as a difference in quality. Other than that, I notice the wider viewing angle of the Pixel 6’s camera. And no, that’s not distortion you see at the edge – it’s a legitimately crooked street sign.

Both cameras also master the bridge with its many intricate details. However, the AI in the Pixel decides to paint the sky in the background bluer than the P50 Pro. The colours look more intense overall on the Pixel 6. The differences in detail are so small that they can only be seen when viewed at 100 per cent. And who does that on their phone?

Wide-angle lens

To test the wide-angle lenses, I head back to the shipping containers. Interestingly, the Huawei offers the wider viewing angle. It captures more of your surroundings than the Pixel 6. The colours look more vivid on the Huawei – especially the blue in the sky – while the shadows remain darker. The Pixel 6, on the other hand, brightens the shadows more.

Zoom

The Elbphilharmonie concert hall was an expensive build which can now be admired from many points in the city. But from the other side of the Elbe river, it’s very far away. Perfect for testing the zoom on these phones.

Both smartphones produce nice images at 2x zoom, with the Pixel doing a bit more sharpening and thus looking slightly better. However, compared to the standard angle of view, you only get a little bit closer to the subject. You could just as well use a crop from the 1x shot, and it wouldn’t make a difference.

The max zoom level on the Pixel 6 is 7x. The resulting picture is pixelated, blurry and washed out. The AI doesn’t manage to get past the hardware limitation. The P50 Pro, on the other hand, presents a completely different picture. The only giveaway that this is a zoom picture are the blurred edges – but you can only see those if you zoom further in. On the smartphone, the blurred edges aren’t noticeable at all.

A look over to St. Michael’s Church on the opposite side of the Elbe confirms this.

Moving on, only the Huawei P50 Pro offers 10x zoom. This allows you to get noticeably closer to the subject. Image quality is okay, but some initial cracks in the AI’s performance start to appear.

And now, the peak of the Elbphilharmonie building – and the highest zoom level on the P50 Pro. 100x zoom demands a steady hand and is more reminiscent of a watercolour painting than a photograph.

Shooting against the light

Here’s something to challenge the two smartphones: how well does the AI cope with backlighting?

Granted, there’s a cloud partially covering the sun. But it’s still super bright and makes for a contre-jour shot – no problem for either camera.

Night

I didn’t bike back out to the Port of Hamburg to do my nighttime testing. So, this railroad bridge in the Schanzenviertel district will have to do. Alongside the street lamp, this scene provides a challenge for the camera software.

The P50 Pro brightens the image substantially in auto mode. On the Pixel 6, the picture is considerably darker. It kind of looks more like nighttime. Given the lighting conditions, I find the detail impressive on both.

When I turn on night mode, both images change. The P50 Pro amps up colour intensity. The Pixel 6 increases brightness and is obviously bothered by the lamp – it creates an aura around it.

If I could have my way, I’d choose to have the Pixel 6’s auto mode and the P50 Pro’s night mode in one device.

Selfie

Time to snap some selfies on the bridges of the Elbe – with sunshine coming in diagonally from behind.

Both pictures look good at first glance. If I zoom in, though, the P50 Pro provides a bit more detail on my face.

Verdict: the deciding factor is the zoom

If the telephoto lens is important to you, the P50 Pro is the clear winner in this comparison. The 100x zoom is useless, mind you. But up to 10x zoom, the P50 Pro’s telephoto lens provides significantly more options for picture-taking. With the Pixel 6 in my pocket, I do feel a little envious of the P50 Pro. But I did deliberately opt for less zoom back when I got it.

I also prefer Huawei’s night mode. But when it comes to selfies and pictures taken with the main camera and wide-angle camera, the differences are small – though the Pixel 6 does fare a bit better in certain cases.