Joe Maring / Android Authority
🗣️ This is an open thread. We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments and vote in the poll below — your take might be featured in a future roundup.
Apple’s big iPhone event this week created a lot of buzz. And not just because of the iPhone 17 Pro or the iPhone Air, but also the base model iPhone 17.
While the iPhone 17 looks visually identical to the iPhone 16, there are a surprising number of upgrades this year. Apple’s base model iPhone finally has a 120Hz display, the new selfie camera looks really promising, and the A19 chip should be a performance monster. Plus, Apple increasing the default storage from 128GB to 256GB while maintaining the same $799 starting price is shockingly consumer-friendly.
The iPhone 17 announcement comes just about a month after Google launched the Pixel 10 — one of the iPhone 17’s most direct competitors. We came away really impressed in our Google Pixel 10 review, with my colleague Robert Triggs calling it “one of the best phones Google has ever made.”
But in a world where the iPhone 17 now exists and seemingly trumps the Pixel 10 on numerous levels, is Google’s new Pixel already in trouble? A lot of folks on the r/GooglePixel subreddit have been debating that very point, and the general consensus is that Apple may have out-classed Google this year.
At the time of writing, the most up-voted comment on that thread says, “Google is lucky I find iOS infuriating to use or else I would leave to get better hardware for less money.” Another comment below that reads, “I think the base iPhone is the star of the show. Starting at 799 with 256gb as well. It’s a superb device and, yes, it puts the base 10 to shame for the money.”
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Comments like this continue throughout the thread. One person writes, “It’s actually embarrassing how much better value you get from the base iPhone vs the Pixel, especially if you’re outside North America.” Another commenter says, “The iPhone 17 base model just won this battle no doubt. Google Pixel team better do their homework and offer huge hardware elements to the p11 series.”
In addition to the specs mentioned above, other comments throughout the Reddit thread mention additional advantages the iPhone 17 has over the Pixel 10, such as an LTPO display that can go down to 1Hz and how the iPhone 17 is significantly lighter and thinner. When you add it all together, it’s hard not to be impressed with what Apple did with the iPhone 17 this year.
iPhone 17 vs. Google Pixel 10: Which do you think is the better $799 phone? 11 votes iPhone 17 64 % Google Pixel 10 36 %
That said, I don’t think I would go as far as to say that the iPhone 17 killed the Pixel 10. Do aspects of it look better? Sure. However, there are several reasons why I still prefer the Pixel 10 over the iPhone 17.
I like that the Pixel 10 has a dedicated telephoto camera. I’d much rather use Gemini instead of Siri. I think Android 16 with Material 3 Expressive is leaps and bounds ahead of iOS 26 and Liquid Glass. And that’s to say nothing of Google’s excellent Pixel-exclusive features that make using a Pixel unlike any other phone on the market. My colleague Ryan Haines recently shared similar thoughts about why he also still prefers the Pixel 10 over the iPhone 17.
Now that you’ve gotten a glimpse of what other people are saying and have heard my take on things, I’d love to know where your head is at. Do you think the iPhone 17 has put the Pixel 10 to shame? If so, why? And if you still think the Pixel 10 is a better buy, why is that?
Whatever you’re thinking, vote in the poll above and make your voice heard in the comments below.
Follow