Google Pixel 8 Pro
The best Google has to offer, the Pixel 8 Pro sports the new, custom-made Tensor G3 chipset and all the machine learning-driven features that come with it. Add in ludicrous battery life, a gigantic high-end display, and 7 years of Android updates, and you’ve got a recipe for large-format success.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro
While it looks remarkably similar to its predecessor, the iPhone 15 Pro makes some key upgrades while retaining the identity and capabilities that makes high-end iPhones so desirable. In particular, its video camera, processing power, and display shine brightly, and make this one of the year’s best compact smartphones.
The operating system might jump out as the biggest difference between theGoogle Pixel 8 Proand Apple iPhone 15 Pro at first glance, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Under the surface, the facts that both use the name Pro, start around $1,000, and can access wireless networks represent the rare few things these two premium flagships actually share.
Plus, we could pitAndroid against iOSall day, but people already do thatad nauseum. Instead, we’ll take a look at the less obvious ways these decidedly dissimilar devices differ, in everything from size (OK that one’s obvious), SoC architecture, design choices, materials decisions, camera implementation, and more. With that said, they definitely have one overarching thing in common: they’re bothexcellent phoneswell worth your consideration if you’re looking for the best on the market.
Price, availability, and specs
The iPhone 15 Pro went on sale in September 2023. The $999 starting price is good for 128GB of internal memory, with up to 1TB available for an extra $500.
Three weeks later, Google’s ambitious Pixel 8 Pro debuted in October. Starting at $999 for 128GB of storage, you’re able to bump it up as far as 1TB for a total of $1,400, or $100 less than the iPhone’s biggest option.
The iPhone Pro’s sticker price remained unchanged from the 14, while the Pixel 8 Pro’s rose $100 (to some dismay). As the showcases for each electronics giant’s own popular OS, they predictably landed in every major market and carrier.
To proud owners of a Pixel, Galaxy, Apple, or one of two OnePlus flagships, Apple offers up to $650 off with approved trade-in (for an iPhone 14 Pro Max 1 TB, anyway), with additional discounts offered by certain carriers if you’re willing to sign a contract.
Google accepts a considerably wider selection of phones for trade-in, but offers slightly smaller discounts, maxing out at a $590 discount for the aforementioned top-shelf iPhone 14 Pro Max. Since Google itself also serves as a carrier, it started with an enticing offer of $700 off with a Google Fi Unlimited Plus contract, although that’s a limited-time deal.
Design: Where the big differences start
On paper, 16 millimeters and 6 millimeters don’t sound like big measurements. But those differences between the two phones' height and width make it clear that the Pixel 8 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro are very different beasts. With the days of truly compact flagships firmly in the rear-view mirror, the latest iPhone and its Pro version sitalongside the Samsung Galaxy S23as the best small(ish) smartphones.
In contrast, the top-level Pixel shares a much more similar form factor with the iPhone 15 Plus and Pro Max. It’s almost 30g heavier than the iPhone 15 Pro, and half a millimeter thicker. So it’s not particularly easy to use with one hand, expecially for those of us in the small hands gang.
Apart from the size, the two premium phones both lean heavily into their respective design languages. The Pixel Pro sports even more rounded corners than in the past, and retains the now-iconic visor camera bar on the back. The iPhone carries over the same identical, square camera housing from before, which is thankfully wide enough to mostly keep the phone from wobbling when laying on a flat surface.
Great vs. good durability
As popular (and thorough) Youtuber Zack fromJerryRigEverything reports, Google made the right choices necessary to level up the Pixel’s construction compared to its predecessor. An updated internal layout and frame engineering helped it withstand his battery of rigorous tests, and the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 holds up to cracks, nicks, and scratches with ease.
The iPhone 15 Pro tells a slightly different story. For context, let’s look to theiPhone 15 Pro Max stress test, where the larger titanium-framed flagship actually failed outright. Due partly to the use of more weight-efficient (but apparently not that much stronger) titanium, the bigger phone bent and broke well before most other models. Due to a smaller size and the resulting lower leverage, the 15 Pro doesn’t display the same vulnerability and is, thankfully, more durable than the 14 Pro. But it’s still not as structurally rugged as the lower-tier iPhone 15s, which still use stainless-steel frames.
This isn’t the end of the world, as people in the real world usually trynotto bend their phones in half. But it’s worth noting that Apple did sacrifice a tiny bit of durability in favor of the lighter material. Luckily, Apple’s (unspecified, Corning-made) glass continues to work great, resisting scratches and nicks roughly as well as Corning’s more widely available version.
Both phones also boast an IP68 rating, although the iPhone claims safety down to at least 6 meters underwater compared to the Pixel’s 1.5-meter standard.
A unique iPhone addition
This time around, Apple’s replaced the typical mute switch above the side volume buttons with a customizable Action button. “It’s just one little button,” you might think, “how much difference could it possibly make?” While seemingly negligible, Android Police expertWill Sattelberg sings its praises, imploring all other Android manufacturers to “adopt [it] in some shape or form.” Unlike the initially maligned Bixby button from Samsung Galaxies of years past, the Action button’s customizable nature gives it the satisfying versatility that smartphone users love.
Google has yet to implement anything similar within the Pixel series, which is unfortunate, considering even less-renowned manufacturers are coming close to this kind of convenience, like with the shortcut button on theMotorola ThinkPhone.
Display: Similarly excellent screens
For years, Apple’s displays sat at the peak of the mountain, with high pixel densities, smooth refresh rates, bold colors, and high brightness. The 15 Pro’s screen upholds that reputation, with a high-resolution OLED panel that produces up to 2,000 nits in peak brightness mode and supports HDR10+ as well as the vaunted Dolby Vision standard, which continues to gain ground with popular streaming services.
This year, though, saw Google actually pull even with and in some wayssurpass Apple’s OLED performance. The Pixel 8 Pro’s display pulls no punches, outshining the iPhone’s at up to 2,400 nits (nominal, that is; real-world measurements almost always come out lower). And even though it’s bigger, it’s still more dense, with 489ppi compared to the iPhone’s 461 (not that you’d notice the difference).
The Pixel also comes out ahead in color depth, producing 90% coverage of the cinematic DCI-P3 gamut. The iPhone displays a respectable 83% of said color space, and actually takes a little more advantage of that when viewing Dolby Vision-encoded content.
Both displays utilize a technology called LTPO, which gives a device fine-tuned refresh rate control. This allows both phones to legitimately refresh at anywhere from 1 to 120 hertz, depending on the onscreen content’s frame rate. Not only does this eliminate screen tearing and ensure a completely smooth experience, it also helps a little with battery efficiency.
In the end, the only win for the iPhone’s display is its Dolby Vision support. The Pixel wins out in every other category, although the differences aren’t super noticeable to the naked eye.
Software: An age-old argument revisited
Android typically allows for more customization, but Google departed somewhat from this philosophy for the last couple Pixel lineups. Its launcher isn’t quite as flexible as, for example, Samsung’s One UI implementation, but it’s still reasonably easy to tailor to your liking. And it still offers access to the absolutely massive Google Play Store catalog, for better or worse.
Google has made reasonable progress withAndroid 14under the hood, which we’vereviewed extensively. The Pixel 8 Pro arrives as Google’s in-house implementation gets a bit more moldable than it was the last few years, while still allowing space for the tech giant’s novel feats of software engineering.
Speaking of interesting software, Pixel owners see their high-end devices used as testbeds for a variety of Google’s most innovative developments. Existing Pixel-specific features like Read Aloud andLive Translatedeliver more realistic-sounding results than ever before. Google also apparently continues to go all-in on the current AI craze, as evidenced by theupcoming Bard chatbot integrationand the host of machine learning-powered functions baked into the latest Pixel phones.
These supposedly AI-powered features get a lot of press, and some (like Photo Unblur andMagic Eraser, for example) do come off like software engineering wonders that can make something out of nothing. Others, such as in-photoface replacement called Best Take, appearborderline creepy.
Whatever your stance on the ethics of photo manipulation, some of the ML features built into the Pixel don’t quite live up to their billing. The exclusive AI wallpapers and article-paraphrasing Summarize feature left us something just south of underwhelmed. On the other hand, somestill-upcoming Tensor-enabled noveltieslike zoom enhancement and audio conversation summary show considerable promise.
Some of these, including improved Magic Eraser and Gboard smart reply functionality, are even exclusive to the larger Pixel 8 Pro. So while some of these AI features appear a little underbaked, there’s room for improvement, and more actual features are on the way.
More of the same great iOS magic
At the other end of the spectrum, Apple played it relatively safe with iOS 17. The operating system’s long-standing devotion to a streamlined, user-friendly experience sees iterative iterative quality-of-life upgrades but doesn’t break any major ground. In one example, interactive widgets now let you navigate surface functions of the Reminders and Music apps without digging all the way into the app’s UI. New inclusions like voicemail transcription, FaceTime video mail, and StandBy mode make the iPhone experience even smoother and more convenient than before.
Of course, iOS and the iPhone’s reputation for excellent app performance has been closely tied to its (in)famous walled garden of software that sets a high bar for Apple Store eligibility. Apple’s carefully curated selection of software includes highly refined and useful solutions to everyday needs, including thestill-exclusive iMessage(and its frustratinglylimited interactions with Android users).
Interestingly, EU regulators have made it clear that disallowing side-loaded apps and thereby entirely restricting users to Apple Store software will constitute an unfair market advantage under the recently adoptedDigital Markets Act. Indeed,a newly documented iOS APIindicates that Apple’s required workaround for installing unapproved apps is nearing implementation of some kind.
While Apple’s likely to take issue with regulatory demands for this kind of seemingly huge change, monopoly busting isalmost always good for consumers. If and when iOS opens up sideloading possibilities, power users (in Europe, at least) will be free to further customize their phones. Meanwhile, Apple Store-approved software will still satisfy the vast majority of iPhone users, and these optional (likely EU-only) side-loading methods won’t affect anybody not actively interested third-party apps.
Under the hood, efficiency remains another benefit of Apple’s tightly controlled ecosystem. With strict requirements on how APIs interact with the underlying OS, iPhones boast remarkable performance and battery longevity despite some inferior specs on paper. Its limitation of 8 GB of RAM doesn’t hinder performance, even when multitasking, and the system’s generally low overhead allows the 15 Pro’s relatively meager battery to last a long while.
At the end of the day, you wouldn’t notice a ton of difference moving from iOS 16 to 17. Naturally, iOS and Android are very different worlds, but it’s largely a matter of taste and familiarity as to which is better for you. As different as the interfaces are, though, both the Pixel 8 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro are good enough phones to make it worth considering switching over to the dark side (whichever side that is to you).
Two impressive OS support lifespans
While it doesn’t make any upfront promises, Apple typically provides full OS updates for about 6 years. Apple’s operating system and app support make it relatively easy for iPhones to perform well over that lifespan, unavoidable battery degradation notwithstanding. And until recently, that 6-year window was the best in the business.
But Google did something with the Pixel 8 family that no other Android manufacturer’s ever done, in guaranteeing at least 7 years of complete OS updates. This unprecedented move makes Google’s latest flagship one of the best long-term investments yet, and could well push other manufacturers to provide similarly long life cycles.
Performance: Two custom SoCs, one processing power champion
Thankfully, Google’s 2023 Pixel 8s pack thethird-generation Tensor G3 chipset, which outstrips its G2 predecessor in raw power, efficiency, thermal management, and dynamic on-device machine learning computation. Altogether, it’s a sound piece of hardware that roundly beats the G2’s lackluster performance and tendency to heat up and throttle.
Unfortunately, it’s still not perfect, since Google apparently wants to focus more on enabling those novel AI calculations than delivering pure, number-crunching power. That’s not necessarily the worst decision, especially if the evolving AI features continue to pan out well.
And it’s not like the Pixel’s slow, by any means; the 2.9GHz Cortex-X3 core that solves the hardest AI math problems does work well, and the 2.4GHz performance and 1.7GHz efficiency cores mop up the everyday tasks with relative ease. But even with its 12GB of high-speed RAM, the Pixel experiences some hiccups and minor slowdowns from time to time, albeit not big ones.
While this isn’t some huge disaster, it is a little frustrating when some of the neatest image editing functions take well upwards of 10 seconds to edit photo backgrounds or individual objects within pictures. Granted, some of these functions take place on Google’s cloud hardware rather than locally on the device, but it ultimately still impacts the Pixel’s performance. On the bright side, we can reasonably expect this to improve over time as Google continues to invest in its AI ecosystem.
The iPhone and its in-house A17 Pro chipset tell a very different story. The top-shelf SoC just aboutleads the packin terms of benchmarks, rivaled by only the nascent Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Mediatek Dimensity 9300, both of which use next-generation cores compared to the A17 Pro.
Despite having two fewer cores than most high-end SoCs (and three fewer than the Tensor G3, in fact), the A17 Pro’s two high-performance cores run at a blistering 3.8GHz. Four 2.1GHz cores round out the efficiency side of operations. The six-core GPU also shines, sporting hardware ray tracing and mesh shading while pushing a more-than-respectable 2.15 TFLOPs.
Combined with Apple’s locked-down software ecosystem and low-overhead OS, the A17 Pro’s raw power leads to an undeniably snappy and smooth day-to-day experience. One obvious place it helps is with resource-intensive apps like games, where the iPhone 15 Pro boasts offers performance in line with sometop Android gaming phones. For that matter, the iPhone already supports somecurrent-gen console games. But some of the A17 Pro’s superiority also ties directly into the Apple flagship’s incredible recording performance, which is one of the device’s biggest selling points.
Battery life: Both better than before
iPhones usually offer above-average battery life, and this one’s no exception. The iPhone 15 Pro improves on its predecessor enough to promise essentially all-day battery life, in all but the most demanding use cases. The 15 Pro did fare worst of all four 2023 iPhones, but about 11 hours of constant web browsing at moderate brightness should leave most users quite happy.
The Pixel 8 Pro doesn’t quite match that figure, but it does beat the disappointing battery life of the Pixel 7 Pro. In that same, demanding web browsing test, the Pixel ran for a hair over 10 hours, about 45 minutes shorter than the iPhone. That’s not great, but it’s also neither terrible or surprising, given the number of pixels and CPU cores it needs to drive. And, moving forward, we actually expect the Pixel’s battery life to improve as Android development continues totake efficiency into account.
Decent charging rates all around
The iPhone 15 Pro charges at up to 27W, but doesn’t hold that number for any long stretches. In fact, you’ll see somewhat diminishing returns with chargers exceeding 20W. From empty to full, expect the iPhone 15 Pro to sit plugged in for an hour and 45 minutes. It also supports Qi wireless charging in addition to the expected MagSafe compatibility, although Qi chargers are limited to 7.5W compared to the 15W peak of MagSafe.
The Pixel 8 Pro battery refills considerably faster, reaching 100% from zero in roughly an hour and 15 minutes. That’s actually a pretty good number, especially given our concern at the uninspiring 30W peak charge speed. It retains the 7 Pro’s 12W wireless charging, and you can bump that up to 20W with the OEM Pixel Stand 2 (although we honestlywouldn’t recommend itfor most people).
Starting from empty, a 30-minute charging session left the Pixel with 59% and the iPhone with about 50% reserves. So if you do find your battery running low, a quick top-off to either phone should get you through the rest of the day without difficulty.
Cameras: The biggest of all the big differences
Back in the day, you needed to carry around a point-and-shoot camera or handheld camcorder to get respectable stills and videos. But in 2023, when actually making phone calls is practically an afterthought, camera performance ranks quite high when buying a flagship smartphone. Today, you’ll want either the Pixel 8 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro to capture top-quality pictures or video, respectively.
To be clear, neither phone significantly underperforms in either realm, but both software and hardware focuses make it clear where each excels. Google’s photography hardware and imaging software routinely place at the top of the field, highlighted by the effort it puts into its largely photo-oriented AI features.
The Pixel’s 50MP sensor lets in 20% more light than the previous iteration, and the 5X telephoto zoom lens is about as good as they get. Even the ultrawide lens sports a 48MP resolution, an impressive proposition for any 126˚ field of view. But the Pixel’s photo performance comes from far more than its hardware.
Like its smaller sibling, the 8 Pro takes some of the best one-shot pictures we’ve ever seen. If you don’t like mucking around with settings much, know that a single snap with the Pixel will almost certainly get you a great image. Add the relative ease of using Photo Unblur, the fan-favorite Magic Editor, and the Best Take face replacer, and even rank amateur photographers can produce pro-quality shots.
And for the more involved shutterbugs, Google finally implemented Pro controls for fine adjustment of shutter speed, white balance, and ISO, among other settings. Combined with the Ultra HDR technology hailed asthe future of photography, it’s hard to argue against the Pixel 8 Pro’s still image performance.
That said, it’s not without its faults. High-speed objects can come out fuzzy, and motion tracking in videos is not up to par with either the iPhone 15 Pro or Samsung’s high-end Galaxy S23 Ultra. While the Pixel’s video recording is far from lackluster, it’s not exactly mind-blowing, and nobody will shoot a feature film on it anytime soon. To be fair to Google, it has yet to release its planned AI-based video enhancement features, which might bring it closer (but not equal) to the iPhone’s recording capabilities.
By comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro (and the larger Pro Max, for that matter) is in some ways purpose-built for high-end video. That’s not to gloss over iOS’s powerful imaging software, which remains up there with the best at getting a great shot on the first try. Its low-light performance is acceptable (but not perfect) and its image stabilization is arguably better than Google’s.
Unfortunately, its telephoto lens resorts to a 12MP resolution and only 3× optical zoom. But it does let you capture images using the ProRAW and HEIF formats, which afford you the full 48 MP of image data for excellent editing flexibility. And the sheer power of Apple’s chipset delivers a quick, snappy response when taking pictures or recording video.
And that video recording is the real story here: The compact, high-end iPhone really shines when it comes to video processing, for some distinct reasons. Motion handling is absolutely top notch, with none of the fuzz or chop that you periodically see from the Pixel. Its sensor-shift image stabilization noticeably outdoes the Pixel, and its consistent, accurate color reproduction wows at every turn. While it doesn’t support Ultra HDR like some Android 14 devices, it can encode in Dolby Vision at 4K and 60 FPS.
For those really serious about recording quality, the iPhone 15 Pro’s a clear winner due to its support for the ProRes codec and LOG color tracking. Apple’s ProRes supplants the relatively compressed HEVC (also known as H.265) codec that iPhones, Pixels, and other smartphones default to. While ProRes isn’t fully lossless, it’s considerably closer to it than HEVC, and a must-have if you plan to go all-in on post-production for studio-quality videos.
While you’ll need an external drive to record significantly long videos in this relatively large-file-size format, you simply won’t get this kind of video quality with an Android smartphone. Top it off with LOG color recording that eschews what the human eye tends to notice most in favor of giving video editors more data to work with, and you won’t find a better pocket-sized video camera than the iPhone 15 Pro.
Which is right for you?
The smaller of Apple’s top-tier flagship pair, the iPhone 15 Pro offers a lot of compelling reasons to consider moving to the long-running smartphone trendsetter. Yes, you’re reading Android Police. Yes, the Pixel 8 Pro is Google’s best phone yet. But the iPhone’s remarkable raw performance gives it a better shot at maintaining peak performance over its update lifespan, and the video recording is out of this world, alongside its respectable photo performance.
Plus, iOS is more customizable than ever, and if you get a European model you’ll eventually have access to endless software from various app stores (probably). In a feat of what may be heresy, we find the iPhone 15 Pro a better choice for most people — if longtime users can stomach theswitch from Android to iOS.
Better for most people, especially videographers
The more compact of Apple’s two top-shelf smartphones delivers unmatched performance, ridiculous video recording quality, and above-average battery life. It’s the most compelling reason yet to ditch the vast Android ecosystem and switch over to Tim Cook’s interpretation of what a smartphone should actually be.
The reality is that these are two very different phones, with glaringly opposed sizes, software implementations, imaging capabilities, and interfaces. If you’re really into large screens and user-friendly (if sometimes a bit unnerving) AI enhancements, the Pixel 8 Pro. In that light, Google’s using its big-screen flagship to essentially redefine how we interact with phones and, more specifically, use them to communicate, research, and take pictures.
Whether or not you’re attached to iOS, Google’s Android implementation offers an intuitive, easily navigable experience that’s almost as polished as anything on the market. And if you’re not interested in nearly lossless video capture and advanced color metrics, you won’t miss the iPhone 15 Pro’s advantages. In that case, the Pixel 8 Pro is one of the most useful and interesting phones available today.
Unrivaled display and cutting-edge photography
It’s big, bold, bright, and brashly smart: The Pixel 8 Pro represents the culmination of Google’s hardware and software engineering to date. Its highly refined interface and novel, still-developing AI feature set make it one of the most interesting pieces of tech we’ve ever used. It’s also really big.
