From jibes to full-blown homage, the Pixel 10 Pro XL owes a lot to the iPhone and, by extension, the 16 Pro Max. Just how does Apple’s best device of last year stack up against Google’s best of this year? Here’s all you need to know.
Before we start comparing Apples to Googles, we must acknowledge that things can’t be like-for-like. If you’re an Android person—like us—you probably don’t care about iOS things. If you’re an iOS person, you probably don’t care about Android. That’s absolutely fine, but in the interest of seeing just how far Google has come, it wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t at least see how the market-leading smartphone maker compares to the minnow.
Hardware and design
Google’s design brief was “an iPhone but Android” last year, and, well, it stuck. Let’s not sugarcoat things here; these phones look like long-lost relatives. Good artists copy, great artists steal, after all. It’s just more of the same that we saw last year. It has almost the exact same dimensions, the same standout camera bar differences. It’s all a retread.
The bigger camera bar is but a blip. Adding magnets to the rear completes the metamorphosis. This is as close as an iPhone and an Android can get without exchanging chassis and logos. The “G” logo on the Pixel 10 Pro XL has even increased in size to mimic the larger Apple logo on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Maybe next year, we’ll get a whole backplate with a massive “G.”
Advertisement - scroll for more content
One thing to note is that the Pixel 10 Pro XL is about 5g heavier. In the hand, the iPhone feels far sturdier. I would put this down to a bit of build quality gap. Although the Pixel stills feels great and has improved year-over-year in that regard.
Pixel 10 Pro XL iPhone 16 Pro Max Size 6.8-inch 6.9-inch Dimensions 162.8 x 76.6 x 8.5 mm 163 x 77.6 x 8.3 mm Weight 232g 227g Display 120Hz / LTPO / QHD+ / Gorilla Glass Victus 2 / 1,344 x 2,992 pixels / 486ppi / 3300 nits 120Hz / LTPO / QHD+ / Ceramic Shield / 1,320 x 2,868 pixels / 460ppi / 2000 nits Chipset Google Tensor G5 (4nm) Apple A18 Pro (3nm) RAM 16GB 8GB Storage 256 / 512 / 1TB UFS 4.0 256 / 512 / 1TB NVMe Battery 5,200mAh 4,685mAh Rear camera 50MP wide / 48MP ultra-wide / 48MP telephoto 48MP wide / 48MP ultra-wide / 12MP telephoto Front-facing camera 42MP 12MP Biometrics In-display Ultrasonic fingerprint / 2D Face Unlock 3D Face Unlock Colors Obsidian / Moonstone / Porcelain / Jade Black Titanium / White Titanium / Natural Titanium / Desert Titanium
Another copycat decision is the lack of a SIM tray in the US. Yes, neither of these devices can take a physical SIM in the United States. You will need to contact your carrier or get an eSIM issued to use them on a cellular network. You still get that in global markets if you must have the option. Luckily, eSIMs are becoming more and more common all over the globe, so this isn’t as much of a problem as it once was.
There are no dedicated buttons for anything on the Pixel, so cases don’t have weird cutouts. It’s just seamless metal on one side and volume and power buttons on the right. Being biased, the color options are also a little more vibrant this time. The Moonstone is a particular standout, and the color-matched cases with button covers are just the icing on the cake. It’s hard not to argue that the matte rails on the iPhone still look incredible.
... continue reading