Intro
While both devices share striking similarities in design and display quality, their underlying features and capabilities set them apart. The iPhone 16, with its rumored A18 chip and potential camera enhancements, aims to reign supreme. However, the Pixel 9‘s impressive AI capabilities and standout display offer a compelling counterpoint.
Will the iPhone 16‘s traditional strengths be enough to outshine the Pixel 9‘s innovative features? Join us as we delve into the intricacies of these two powerhouses and uncover the ultimate victor in this smartphone battle.
iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15 expected differences:
| iPhone 16 | Pixel 9 |
|---|---|
| Same 6.1-inch display | Slightly larger and brighter 6.3-inch display |
| Ceramic shield glass protecting the screen (more scratch resistant) | Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (less scratch resistant) |
| An Action Button in place of Mute Switch Dedicated Capture Button for the camera |
No dedicated hardware buttons for customization and quick access |
| Much faster chipset, either Apple A18 or A18 Pro | Google Tensor G4, very capable at AI tasks and features but lacks in true raw performance |
| Less memory, 8GB RAM | Significantly more memory, 12GB RAM |
| A rather limited suite of AI features that has a lot of catching up to do | Tried and tested AI integration with lots of creative and fun features powered by it |
| 128 / 256 / 512GB storage models, starts at $800 | 128 / 256GB storage models, starts at $800 |
| 12MP ultra-wide camera with macro support | 48MP ultra-wide camera with macro support |
| Significantly smaller 3,561mAh battery | 4,700mAh battery |
| 20W charging, or faster (uncertain) | 27W wired charging speed |
| 15W MagSafe, or faster (uncertain) | 15W wireless charge |
Table of Contents:
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Design and Display Quality
More alike than ever before
The iPhone 16 will also probably be made from similar materials to those of the Pixel 9, rocking an aluminum frame and glass back. That said, the back of the iPhone will most likely keep the matte finish from last year’s model, which will contrast the glossy finish of the Pixel.
The rest is pretty much the same between the two phones, like their IP68 certification for water and dust resistance.
Oh, and if you are interested in the available colors, here’s what we have:
As for the displays, we expect the same OLED 6.1-inch one on the iPhone 16, but leaks say Apple will be using a new micro-lens technology to give it a brightness boost and to lower its power consumption.
This is much needed if Apple wants to catch up to Google’s Pixel 9, which performed outstandingly in our display lab tests and blew us away with its nominal brightness of 1970 nits.
Sadly, though, no matter how bright Apple makes the iPhone 16‘s display, everything points to it having just 60Hz screen refresh rate. In comparison, the Pixel 9 can go up from 1 to 120Hz, making navigation and gaming much smoother, while also being more power-efficient.
Performance and Software
Apple A18 probably wins the benchmarks, but does it matter?
Listen, we all know that the Apple A18 chipset that the iPhone 16 is expected to come with will probably demolish the Tensor G4 in any benchmark performance test. But the truth to the matter is that most of us don’t know what to do with this amazing raw power anyway.
The Pixel 9 is perfectly capable despite the lower scores it mustered up during the tests we ran on it. It surprised us by how well the new AI features worked. Take Add Me, for example, which lets you combine two group selfies into a single photo so everyone can be in the picture. It feels similar to last year’s ‘Best Take’ feature, and it does have its limitations, but it can blow your mind.
While we are on the topic of AI, just like the Pixel 9 has a good chunk of its 12GB RAM dedicated to on-device AI functionality, so will the iPhone 16. The difference is that the iPhone will be rocking 8GB of RAM instead, although the two phones handle and utilize memory very differently, so this shouldn’t be a big indicator of their performance.
Unlike the iPhone 16, which will keep the same 128GB, 256GB or 512GB options from its predecessor, the Pixel 9 comes only in 128GB and 256GB, so you would have to upgrade to one of the Pro Pixel models for higher native storage.
Both phones will be perfectly safe choices for anyone who cares about software support, as both Apple and Google are committed to more than 5 years of software updates and security patches. That number is 7 years in particular for the Pixel, and between 6-7 for the iPhone.
Camera
The closest this battle has ever been
iPhone 16 expected camera specs:
- Main (wide) camera—48 MP Sony IMX903 sensor, 1/1.14″ sensor size, f/1.78 aperture, 24mm lens equivalent, optical image stabilization (OIS)
- Ultrawide camera—48 MP, 1/2.6″ sensor size, 0.7um pixel size, f/2.2 aperture, 13mm lens equivalent
- Front camera—12MP, 1/3.6″ sensor size, f/1.9 aperture, 23mm lens equivalent, OIS
- Main (wide) camera—50 MP Octa PD, autofocus, ƒ/1.68 aperture, 82° field of view, 1/1.31″ image sensor size, Super Res Zoom up to 8x, Optical + electronic image stabilization on wide
- Ultrawide camera—48 MP Quad PD, autofocus, ƒ/1.7 aperture, 123° field of view, 1/2.55″ image sensor size
- Front camera—10.5 MP Dual PD, autofocus, ƒ/2.2 aperture, 95° ultrawide field of view
Both phones have received an upgrade to their ultra-wide cameras, with higher resolution image sensors of 48MP. This makes the overall camera spec sheets between the two very similar.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the iPhone takes 24MP images by default with its main camera, whereas the Pixel 9 takes 12MP images that have less detail and lower sharpness. With the new 48MP ultra-wide camera on the iPhone 16, Apple might also make photos taken by that snapper default to a higher resolution.
The iPhone 16 is also said to finally come with support for Macro Mode, just like the Pro iPhones. Since the Pixel 9 is also capable of Macro Mode, we can’t wait to test out how the two compare when shooting from up close.
Battery Life and Charging
The Pixel 9 might be the better choice for battery life
While the size of the iPhone 16 will mostly remain the same, rumors say it will have a sightly larger 3,561mAh battery compared to its predecessor, which is roughly a 6% increase. Even with that, though, it still won’t be larger than the Pixel 9‘s 4,700 mAh one.
The Pixel 9 performed amazingly during our battery life tests, scoring a battery life estimate of around 7 hours and 31 minutes, which is almost an hour more than its predecessor. That result placed it at #12 in our list of phones that we have tested for the last couple of years.
But battery size is not the only factor affecting battery life, and we fully expect the iPhone 16 to also come with some awesome battery life improvements, especially considering that the new Apple A18 chipset is said to be much more power efficient than last year’s chipsets.
Charging-wize, the two will probably be somewhat on par with each other. While the Pixel has faster 27W of charging vs. the 20W said to come with the iPhone 16, its battery is larger, so the overall charging time should be similar.
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Specs Comparison
| Specs | iPhone 16 | Pixel 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | Same or very similar to iPhone 15 | 152.8 x 72.0 x 8.5mm |
| Weight | Same or very similar | 198gr |
| Screen | 6.1-inch OLED 60Hz — |
6.3-inch OLED Actua 60-120Hz Gorilla Glass Victus 2 2700 nits peak brightness |
| Processor | Apple A18 3nm |
Tensor G4 4nm |
| RAM, Storage *Price expectations |
8/128GB for $800 8/256GB for $900 8/512GB for $1,100 |
12/128GB for $800 12/256GB for $860 — |
| Cameras | 48MP main 12MP ultra-wide 12MP front |
50MP main 48MP ultra-wide 10.5MP front |
| Battery Size | 3,561 mAh | 4,700 mAh |
| Charging Speeds | Upgrade possible, but not certain | 27W wired 12W wireless |
Which one should you pick?
It’s hard to say until the iPhone 16 lands in our hands and we pace it through all of our tests, just like we did with the Pixel 9.
While Apple is hyping up the iPhone 16 series to be a big step towards AI functionality, the Pixel 9 is already there and it won’t be waiting for the iPhone to catch up.
On the other hand, the iPhone 16 is shaping up to be the better option if you tend to use your phone’s camera a lot, as there is a good chance it will produce higher-resolution images and probably much better video.
We can’t wait to put these two entry-level flagships in real life though, and you bet we will once the iPhone 16 comes out, so stay tuned for a more detailed comparison full with graphs, test results, and photo/video samples!
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