📱 Apple’s iPhone 16 launch event on September 9
🆚 Immediately, it’ll face stiff competition from the Google Pixel 9
💲 Both smartphones will likely be priced at $799
💪 Leaks point to the Pixel 9 having a number of advantages
Apple is gearing up for the iPhone 16 launch event on September 9, where we’ll get to see the successor to last year’s iPhone 15 for the first time. Ahead of its introduction, we got to experience the Google Pixel 9 hands-on, and it’s safe to say that the iPhone 16 will face stiff competition right out of the gate.
Google stepped up its game with the Pixel 9. From the refined design to the impressive, best-in-class cameras, and Gemini AI tricks, it’s easily one of the best phones you can buy for $799. Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 is expected to feature a fair amount of upgrades, such as a new processor, upgraded cameras, and its own AI labeled Apple Intelligence. But the leaks so far don’t point to it being leaps and bounds better than the Pixel 9, especially since we expect it to cost the same $799.
Because of that, the Pixel 9 will put up a difficult fight against the iPhone 16. Based on all the leaks and rumors we’ve seen, here are five key ways it’ll beat Apple’s device come iPhone 16 release day.
1. Artificial Intelligence
🤖 Google is leaps and bounds ahead. While Apple has certainly turned some heads with Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.1 beta, there’s no question that Google’s head start on AI development has given the Pixel 9 a huge advantage – unless Apple has more iPhone 16-exclusive surprises in store.
With Apple Intelligence, iPhone 16 users will be able to generate responses to texts and emails, clean up photos, read summaries of their notifications after a long day, generate images on the fly, and enjoy a much more robust Siri experience. It’s exciting that iPhone users will be treated to a smarter experience once iOS 18.1 launches, likely in October, but when you look at what the Pixel 9 is already doing with Gemini AI, it pales in comparison. We also saw many of these AI features on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra nearly nine months ago.
Google has equipped its phones with AI called Gemini Live, allowing you to have real conversations with Gemini to learn new things in a more natural way than ever before. You also get Add Me, which helps you include everyone in the group photo – including the photographer. Magic Editor can expand your photos to new aspect ratios, Pixel Screenshots lets you sort and extra data from your screenshots, Pixel Studio lets you generate AI images and customize them to your heart’s content, Call Notes can summarize phone calls, and the list goes on.
In our Pixel 9 Pro XL review, we mentioned how useful these features are to the core smartphone experience. Unless Apple comes out and blows us away with iPhone 16 AI features you won’t find anywhere else, it’s fair to say that the Pixel will have the artificial intelligence advantage over Apple, at least for another year.
2. Display quality
📱 The Pixel 9’s is faster and super bright. Rumor has it that the iPhone 16 display will remain the same 6.1 inches as before, complete with a Dynamic Island and 60Hz refresh rate. This means that display snobs (like myself) will appreciate the Pixel 9’s screen even more. It’s a bit bigger at 6.3 inches, giving you more space to stretch out. The resolution is roughly the same as what Apple includes since the pixel density is similar (422 PPI on the Pixel, 461 PPI on the iPhone), but the refresh rate cranks up to 120Hz, making everything look much smoother and more responsive.
The iPhone 16 Pro refresh rate will likely be 120Hz and a bit larger than last year’s iPhone 15 Pro, which is great to see. But on the normal iPhone 16, Apple is expected to keep it locked to 60Hz, giving the Pixel 9 a big advantage. It might also be less bright than the Pixel 9; Apple is rumored to keep the same 2,000 nits of peak brightness as the iPhone 15, which has already been topped by the Pixel 9’s display that can reach 2,700 nits. If you spend a lot of time cranking up your display brightness in the sun, the Pixel 9 will give you an easier time.
3. Battery life
🔋 Apple isn’t matching battery size. The iPhone is notorious for including small batteries. The iPhone 16 battery is expected to be no different; while it’ll technically grow from 3,349mAh to 3,355mAh, it’s dwarfed by the 4,700mAh battery in the Pixel 9. Sure, Apple could ace the efficiency side of the upcoming A18 processor and give the iPhone 16 super-long battery life as a result, but at least on paper, it looks like the Pixel 9 will win the battery life test.
4. Charging speed and ability
⚡ The Pixel 9 is faster. So far, we’ve seen no evidence that the iPhone 16 charging speed will be an upgrade over the iPhone 15. That means you can expect the same 20W charging performance as before, which means it’ll take a good while for your phone to juice back up. Meanwhile, the Pixel 9 ships with 27W charging support, allowing it to go from zero to 50 percent in around a half hour. I’ve been able to duplicate that experience in my own testing, so it’s safe to say the Pixel 9 will have a leg up.
On a related note, the iPhone 16 isn’t expected to get reverse wireless charging either, so you can’t charge up your future AirPods Pro 3 or Apple Watch Series 10 on the back of your iPhone. The Pixel 9, on the other hand, does come with the feature in tow. With the flick of a switch, you can juice up your Pixel Buds Pro or other Qi-equipped accessories and charge them using the phone’s battery for power. I don’t know why Apple doesn’t tack the feature onto the iPhone, but may we’ll see it on the futuristic iPhone 17 Air.
5. Price, especially at Black Friday
💲 Two words: better deals. You can usually get an iPhone at a discount during Black Friday or other sales events during the year through carriers and third-party retailers. That’s expected to be the case with the iPhone 16, too. But if you want the best chance at saving money, the Pixel 9 is the device to get. Not only have we tracked Google Pixel deals all year that have saved our readers thousands of dollars, but Black Friday is typically when we see discounts of $200 to $300 for Google’s flagships, and that likely won’t change in 2024. Make sure you subscribe to The Shortcut so you stay up to date when all those sales begin.
There is no way Pixel is going to beat Apple, not the least with that TenSore chipset.