Ryan Haines / Android Authority
If you buy a Pixel 10 Pro series phone, or even last year’s Pixel 9 Pro, you get one full year’s worth of Google’s Gemini Pro subscription. This $20-per-month service unlocks the powerful Gemini 2.5 Pro model and a suite of cutting-edge AI tools. Until very recently, the crown jewel of this package was Veo 3, Google’s impressive text-to-video generator that could turn any description into a hyper-realistic short video.
But the AI world moves at lightning speed. This past week, OpenAI announced its competing Sora 2 model, meaning Google’s video generator is no longer the only game in town. While Sora 2 is invite-only for now, the model already has an active user base. So naturally, I took OpenAI’s Sora 2 for a spin vs Google’s Veo 3 to find out which AI video generator has the upper hand.
Google Veo 3 vs OpenAI Sora: The results are astounding Let’s start with a simple prompt without any characters or complex details that could trip up any of the AI video generators: “A photorealistic shot of espresso being poured into a white cup in slow motion.” Given the static nature of this shot, you’d expect all models to nail the task. However, the results were strikingly different.
Veo 3 Sora Sora 2
The first-gen Sora model’s attempt was passable at a glance. It understood the objects — cup, liquid, machine — and assembled them in the correct order. But the illusion quickly fell apart. The “espresso” had a thick, gloopy consistency and splashed into the cup with unnatural physics. It was a video of the words in the prompt, but it lacked any sense of artistry or realism.
Veo 3’s generation, by contrast, felt like it was captured by a professional videographer. The espresso flowed with convincing viscosity, and the liquid swirled realistically as it settled. It’s not a perfect result as the coffee only dispensed from one side of the portafilter, but still a significant improvement over Sora’s attempt.
Sora 2 is the newest and best of the bunch — it showcases realistic physics without any of the errors exhibited in Veo 3’s result. But is it a vast improvement? Not really. But luckily for OpenAI, we’re just getting started.
Veo 3 Sora Sora 2
What about animals? The first-gen Sora model actually did an acceptable job of capturing the frenetic energy of a golden retriever in a crowded park. Veo 3 did a slightly better job, but the random sea of background characters were a clear sign of AI’s presence.
... continue reading