The Pixel 8 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max are two of the best flagship phones you can buy right now; the former starts at $999 while the latter starts at $1,199. If you’re not sure which one is right for you, we’ll help you compare the two and check out their major differences.
Design and Durability
The Pixel 8 Pro is taller, slightly narrower, thicker, and lighter than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Both devices have a glass back with a matte finish, but the Pixel uses an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection on the front whereas the iPhone uses a Grade 5 titanium frame and Ceramic Shield coating on the front glass.
Of course, for buyers in the US, the iPhone is eSIM-only whereas the Pixel still has a physical SIM card slot. Neither of the two phones has a microSD card slot, though. Both devices have an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.
The Pixel 8 Pro comes in three colorways: Bay, Porcelain, and Obsidian. The iPhone 15 Pro Max comes in four colorways: Natural Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, and Black Titanium. Of these, the darker colors are more likely to show scratches.
Both devices come with a 6.7-inch 120Hz OLED FHD+ display, but the Pixel 8 Pro will go slightly brighter at 2,400 nits while the iPhone is limited to 2,000 nits.
Both devices have LTPO technology which means they can dial the refresh rate from 120Hz all the way down to just 1Hz when you’re looking at something static to save battery life.
While the Pixel 8 Pro has a minimal punch-hole notch we’ve come to expect from Android phones, theDynamic Island on the iPhoneis getting better every year as third-party app developers optimize their apps to make better use of it.
Camera Quality
The Pixel’s camera certainly needs no introduction; it has been a fan favorite ever since the lineup first launched. With the Pixel 8 Pro, you’re getting new and upgraded camera hardware for sharper selfies, better low-light photos and videos, and higher-resolution ultrawide shots.
You’re also getting a range of newPixel camera software featuresincluding Best Take, Night Sight for video, Macro Focus, Audio Magic Eraser, and more.
iPhones don’t evolve much in terms of image quality year after year, allowing them to stay consistent over generations. That means with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, you’re still getting natural-looking photos, stellar video quality, and smooth lens transition.
The only thing that’s new here is the 5x optical zoom telephoto camera to take shots of faraway objects. However, since the iPhone shoots 24MP shots by default instead of 12MP, photos from it are likely to be more detailed when zoomed in.
Both phones are capable of running all modern apps and games with ease, but the A17 on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is far more powerful and efficient than the Tensor G3 on the Pixel 8 Pro, which helps it deliver longer sustained performance and minimize power consumption
In fact, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is also capable of running console games such as Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Resident Evil: Village, and more that will soon be available on the Apple App Store.
In comparison, Google’s Tensor is less about raw power and efficiency and more about enhancing the AI and machine learning capabilities of Pixel phones. This allows them to be great at things like image processing, voice recognition and translation, natural language processing, and basicallyeverything that makes a Pixel phone unique.
RAM and Storage
Because iPhones are better at RAM management, 8GB of RAM on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is comparable to the 12GB of RAM on the Pixel 8 Pro, so there shouldn’t be any major difference in terms of multitasking capability, i.e., the number of apps you can keep in memory.
Both devices offer up to 1TB of storage, but the iPhone 15 Pro Max starts with 256GB base storage whereas the Pixel 8 Pro starts with just 128GB which might not be enough if you’re planning to take a lot of high-res 4K videos or download large files or games.
Battery and Charging
Despite having a physically smaller cell, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will likely deliver better battery life than the Pixel 8 Pro. That’s because of its super-efficient software and A17 Pro chip that minimizes power consumption. The Tensor G3 is more power-hungry in comparison.
However, the Pixel does allow slightly faster wired and wireless charging. It also supports reverse wireless charging so that you can charge your accessories such as earbuds or smartwatch on the go or if you’re away from a power source. The iPhone does not support reverse wireless charging.
The iPhone Is a Refinement, the Pixel Is a Redesign
On paper, it may seem that both devices have gone up in price, but remember that the iPhone 15 Pro Max comes with 256GB of base storage instead of 128GB. The same storage on the Pixel 8 Pro will set you back $1,099—$100 more than its predecessor.
Regardless, you should pick the iPhone if you want a titanium frame, more battery life, better video quality, and more power. You should pick the Pixel if you want amazing photo quality, helpful software features, a brighter display, faster charging, reverse wireless charging, an arguably prettier design, and the smarts of Google Tensor.
