iPhone 16 vs. Google Pixel 9: What are the differences?

Credit: Mashable Composite; Apple, Google

The world is full of rivalries, each side convinced that theirs is the best. In this semi-regular series, we pit two competitors against each other to see how they stack up.

If you’re looking for an iPhone 16 vs. Google Pixel 9 showdown, you’ve come to the right place. Now that Google and Apple have released their flagship phones for 2024, it’s time to compare them.

The iPhone 16 and Pixel 9 are both officially here. Since they’re technically competitors, let’s have a little competition. Which of these phones is better? Is it the ever-reliable iOS device or the one made by the folks who developed Android?

Let’s find out together.

iPhone 16 vs. Pixel 9: Price and specsIn terms of basic specs, here’s what you get from the $799 Google Pixel 9:

6.3-inch display

Google Tensor G4 chip

12GB RAM

128GB/256GB Storage

And here’s what you get from the $799 iPhone 16:

6.1-inch display

Apple A18 Bionic chip

128GB/256GB/512GB storage

Both phones have the same price, which makes this part easy. The main differences in this category are display size and storage. The Pixel 9 is 0.2 inches larger, but the iPhone 16 offers an additional 512GB storage option the Pixel 9 doesn’t have. Frustratingly, Apple’s spec sheet doesn’t specify how much RAM the iPhone 16 has, so it’s hard to compare the two phones in that regard.

iPhone 16 vs. Pixel 9: DesignDesign-wise, Google did some work on the Pixel 9 that may or may not work for you. Simply put, Google flattened all the edges so that the phone doesn’t have the same natural grip that the Pixel 8 provided with its rounded edges. The camera bar, which used to run horizontally across the entire back of the phone, is now a floating camera box, too. The color choices are solid, though: Peony (pink!), Obsidian, Wintergreen, and Porcelain.

The iPhone 16 doesn’t significantly change from previous models. The camera bar on the back is vertically oriented, and the sides appear to be flat (or flat-ish) like the Pixel 9, which is unfortunate for those of us who prefer curved edges. The most important thing is that Apple finally added a pink colorway for the iPhone 16, joining black, white, teal, and ultramarine as the available colors.

iPhone 16 vs. Pixel 9: DisplayThe Pixel 9 has an excellent display for a phone in its price range. The 6.3-inch screen’s refresh rate is adaptive between 60 and 120Hz, giving it a premium level of smoothness. The 2,700 nits of peak brightness also make the Pixel 9 fantastic for use in broad daylight.

We’ve already established that the iPhone 16’s display is 0.2 inches smaller than the Pixel 9’s. It also has a couple of other disadvantages worth noting. For starters, Apple’s 2,000 nits of peak brightness pale in comparison to Google’s 2,700 nits, so the Pixel 9 should be a better phone to use in direct sunlight. Additionally, the iPhone 16 is still stuck at a 60Hz refresh rate. The Pixel 9, meanwhile, can go all the way up to 120Hz.

Mashable Light Speed

The main benefit to buying an iPhone display-wise is the presence of Dynamic Island, the little oval-shaped guy at the top of the screen that can expand or change shape to serve various needs. Other than that, Google’s display has better specs overall.

iPhone 16 vs. Pixel 9: FeaturesListing all of the little feature differences between iOS and Android would take forever; frankly, you might know the main ones anyway. Green text bubbles vs. blue ones, etc. You get it.

Rather than focusing on OS-level differences, it makes more sense to worry about AI features. Both of these phones are heavy on AI parlor tricks of varying usefulness. The Pixel 9 can summarize emails, generate text messages, create photos from thin air using the Pixel Studio app, create group photos that never happened using the Add Me feature, and carry on human-like conversations using Gemini Live.

Apple’s suite of AI features is…very similar to Google’s. Apple Intelligence allows you to generate images on the fly with Image Playground, summarize and transcribe audio recordings, summarize emails and notifications, and even create new emoji on the fly. Google doesn’t let you create custom emoji, but most of those other things are also present on Pixel 9.

The only problem is that Apple isn’t rolling them all out at the iPhone 16 launch; many Apple Intelligence features are slowly rolling out in beta form after launch instead.

iPhone 16 vs. Pixel 9: CameraAs always, the Pixel 9 has a really solid camera setup. Here are the specs:

50MP wide lens

48MP ultra-wide lens

10.5MP selfie lens

Those specs are bolstered by Google’s photographic tricks, some of which rely on years-old software tricks, while others use newer generative AI. You can use the Magic Editor to quickly and easily alter photos, try Add Me to put yourself into a group photo you had to take yourself, and even turn roads into rivers. The Pixel Screenshots app is legitimately useful, acting as a searchable database of every screenshot on your Pixel phone.

As usual, the base-level iPhone has two rear cameras and a selfie cam. Here are the specs:

48MP wide lens

12MP ultra-wide lens

12MP selfie lens

Without testing the iPhone 16 cameras out first, we can’t definitively say which set of lenses is better than the other yet. But it’s worth noting that iPhone 16 lets you record spatial videos and pictures for Apple Vision Pro, and Pixel 9 can’t do that.

iPhone 16 vs. Pixel 9: BatteryUsing our standard test (looping a TikTok video on the phone’s screen at 50 percent brightness until the battery runs out), the Pixel 9 got 19 hours and 20 minutes of juice. That’s incredible and is better than the Pixel 9 Pro XL.

We don’t know how long the iPhone 16 lasts on a single charge yet (and we don’t want to give you the manufacturer’s claims), so just wait for our in-house testing. We’ll update this piece once we get the official battery runtime for the iPhone 16.

iPhone 16 vs. Pixel 9: Which is best?Without direct testing, we can’t render a verdict here.

However, as always, you know your own needs better than anyone. Do you have a social circle that would judge you for having green text bubbles? Get the iPhone 16. Do you prefer the openness of Android or generally have problems with the Apple ecosystem? Get the Pixel 9.

Mashable’s currently on the ground in Cupertino for the Sept. 9 “Glowtime” Apple event. Check out our live blog to keep track of all things iPhone 16 before, during, and after the event.

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