That’s it, folks. We can now close the chapter of 2016 because the two most anticipated, most highly acclaimed phones of the year have been released. The new Google Pixel marks arguably the best that Android has to offer and the flagship standard which all Android devices hope to live up to.
More so, it’s now welcome into the arena with its always formidable opponent – the iPhone. Well, now that Google has brought their very best, it’s time to pitch it against Apple’s.
Design
The iPhones and the Pixels both come in twos. One of each for those who like small screens and one of each for those who like it big. But both companies have streamlined appearance translated on each of their iterations.
Both the Apple and Google phones have a metal body, with Google also employing glass into the mix. In all honesty, Google didn’t really make any revolutionary design changes. It looks very familiar to the iPhone in terms of design. And people actually could mistake it for one if they’re not careful. The white model looks more of a prototype than a final build because the back does draw a bit of attention to itself.
It’s still elegant, but it could use a little more stealth. iPhone’s design has been mostly undisturbed through generations while Google’s phones have always adapted and changed design styles. Hopefully, with the Pixel being the first ever real Google phone, it should maintain a steady approach later on.
The iPhone is water-proof and dust proof, but the Pixel is neither. So yeah, this round goes to the iPhone.
Software
Let’s start with Google. It’s got Android Nougat off the bat – a more personalized version just for the Pixel, and is also the first Android phone to come with Google Assistant baked in. It’s too soon to say how the software looks close up after tinkering around with the phone, but can rest assure it’s going to be silky smooth. There is a bit of a face-lift for the launcher as well as the navigation buttons and some icon changes. Apart from that, we get the regular goodness that Nougat has to offer, apart from the perks of being the first in line to get any all updates in software.
iPhone’s iOS 10 runs well too on its hardware. But the software now seems to be playing catch-up with Android seeing as they’re borrowing a lot of features from the platform to open up the feature-set. The addition of widgets, a new bubble styled notifications menu and plenty of other visual changes still seem like they need some more improvement. It seems a little cluttered right now. But it’s still the smoothest phone OS out there.
Multi-tasking, customization, streamlined visual designs and many other features are so well built into Android that it just takes away the thunder of iOS 10 for now. Any Google phone can be made to look like an iPhone today thanks to some clever skinning. Not to forget, the Pixel offers unlimited storage for media on the cloud. So this round goes to Google!
Performance
The Pixels come in 5” and 5.5” AMOLED displays which Google claims, offer true blacks and 16.77 million colours with 2.5D curvature. The fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone has been christened Pixel Imprint. It promises quick unlocking and also has gestures enabled so that if the user swipes down, they get access to the notifications tray. It’s a good trick, and makes us think why no one else thought of that functionality yet.
The battery also promises to be super-fast and efficient. It can get up to 7 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes. Both variants of the Pixel come with a 12.3 MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and an 8 MP f/2.4 aperture. Google promises that these cameras are the best ever. But we’ll take that with a grain of salt thank you very much. Of course, 4K video recording is present.
Storage comes in at 32 GB and 128 GB. Both variants get 4 GB of RAM and both get the new and super powerful Snapdragon 821 quad-core chipset with two sets of Kryo cores running at 2.15 and 1.6 GHz respectively. Pretty sure there won’t be any complains on the muscle side of things for the Pixel.
The smaller Pixel has a battery capacity of 2,770mAh and the bigger one has a 3,450mAh battery pack. It’s got a single bottom firing speaker and USB Type-C storage. Google didn’t forget to mention that it’s still got the 3.5mm jack in its phone.
Both iPhone 7s come with the quad-core A10 fusion chip with the embedded M10 motion processor. The 7 Plus functions higher on the processing scale, going up to 2.23 GHz, with the 7 clocked a little lower. Apple has the Pixel beat on storage capacities offering 32 GB for its base variant all the way through 256 GB at its highest. Memory for the 7 Plus comes in at 3 GB RAM and for the 7, it comes in at just 2 GB.
The iPhone’s cameras are currently one of the best if not the best around and it has been proven. Battery life on both variants carry on for well more than a day and a half. And that pretty much sums up the iPhone’s tech specs.
We like that Google has this time around gone with Sony’s idea of launching different sized devices but not different in specs. Both variants of the Pixel are just as powerful and lack nothing hardware wise. So there’s no compromise. There is some with the iPhone’s case. No headphone jack plus water and dust resistance make an odd combination for the iPhone, but still even the playing ground with the Pixel’s shortcomings.
This round is a tie!
Verdict
Now that the facts are out of the way, which one’s the better phone? Let’s see – Pixel will be the first Daydream compatible phone for Android and makes it a really good contender for being one of the pioneering phones to enter the VR arena. The same can’t be said of the iPhone just yet. They’ve also released their own Daydream View Headset sold separately.
The Pixel offers unlimited cloud storage, Google Assistant (which is just another name for Google Now) and a new gyroscope-centric video stabilization feature. There’s no OIS though. But we’re sure Google has that covered.
The iPhone seems to be doing well, being the all-round phone of the year, squashing its competition. The water and dust resistance, dual camera set up on the 7 Plus, better storage and buttery smooth OS performance make the iPhone a very capable and more than formidable foe for the Pixel, as mentioned in the first paragraph of this article.
Coming down to it, the pricing will either make it or break it for consumers who want to get the most out of their money. The Pixel starts at $649 all the way up to $869 for the base and highest variants respectively.
The iPhone 7 starts at $649 and the 7 Plus starts at $769. So they’re both fairly evenly priced based on their storage capacities. But down to the grit of things, the Pixel is just an example of how Google’s hardware and software come together. It’s the model that every Android phone will live by. And we’re sure the next Galaxy S will not only outdo but also build on that model. The Pixel might well be the alpha of its generation, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best its generation has to offer. It’s how OEMs make sense of the capabilities of the model.
The iPhone doesn’t have that luxury of customization and feature-set that Android is known for. And that’s why the Pixel will come out the victor in most people’s eyes. If the iPhone 7 is what buyers need, then the Pixel is what they deserve.