Ah, I really like a superb face-off, and we’ve acquired a doozy for you this time. In a single nook, you’ve acquired the iPhone 15 Pro Max. A confirmed prizefighter, the 15 Professional Max sits atop many a finest smartphone listing whereas we await the arrival of its successor, the iPhone 16. Armed with Apple’s A17 Professional chip, the cellphone is agile and highly effective sufficient to run console-quality graphics, which is not any small feat.
The Titanium chassis turns what would often be a heavy brick into a light-weight marvel. Plus, you get all-day battery life and the cameras, which at this level have been touted as a few of the finest available on the market. And we will’t overlook that this marks the primary time the iPhone ditched Lightning in favor of USB-C charging.
The largest complaints the cellphone has acquired are concerning the worth. However we’re firmly rooted within the period of over-$1,000 telephones, and there’s no signal of stopping. The Motion Button is polarizing as many have reported not utilizing the nascent button a lot. Lastly, the display screen, the place Apple crowed concerning the new Ceramic Defend, positively reveals put on and tear after months of use.
See iPhone 15 Pro Max at Best Buy
After which you might have the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. Though it’s the underdog on this struggle, you’d be silly to depend it out –– particularly since Google is leaning closely into its AI bag to stage the taking part in area. Google Gemini is a marvel, notably on the picture entrance, the place it effortlessly performs Photoshop-esque edits in mere seconds. And Google’s Pixel line has change into famend for its glorious digicam.
Nevertheless, the extra Google embraces synthetic intelligence, the extra it asks customers to belief it with delicate data, which is an enormous ask.
Past AI and pictures, the Pixel 9 Professional XL is receiving overwhelming reward for its new design, which has the appear and feel of a flagship smartphone. The show can be larger and extra vivid than its predecessor. And also you get a whopping seven years of OS upgrades. The cellphone additionally helps quick charging by means of a 45W charger, which it doesn’t embody. It appears like a rip-off that Google can’t spare a charger after you’ve plopped down over $1,000 for his or her smartphone.
Like its Apple counterpart, the most important grievance is pricing. Then, there may be the ever-present specter of nefarious AI and the necessity to pay for the pleasure down the road.
See Google Pixel 9 Pro XL at Best Buy
So there you might have it. That is shaping into an thrilling match, however who will emerge on high on this battle of premium smartphones?
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL Vs. iPhone 15 Professional Max: Value
What do you get with every dear cellphone?
Let’s simply rip the band-aid off right here. I really feel your ache as somebody who’s bought their justifiable share of $1,000+ smartphones. The bottom mannequin of the iPhone prices $1,199 sans any trade-ins or provider specials. That will get you 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. The 512GB mannequin prices $1,399, whereas the 1TB model will set you again $1,599.
Onto the Google aspect of issues. The Pixel 9 XL Professional’s base mannequin is available in at $1,099. Nevertheless, that mannequin solely offers you 128GB of onboard storage. Nevertheless, each Pixel mannequin comes with a wild 16GB of RAM. The 256GB mannequin shortly involves parity at $1,199, whereas the 512GB unit is barely cheaper than its iPhone counterpart at $1,319. Lastly, the 1TB mannequin of the Pixel 9 Professional XL prices $1,549, which is $50 extra inexpensive than the iPhone 15 Professional Max.
General, dollar-to-dollar, the Pixel 9 Professional XL is the higher possibility. Not solely does it provide you with 4 mannequin choices, apart from the 512GB mannequin, the Pixel is cheaper than the iPhone.
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL Vs. iPhone 15 Professional Max: Design
Will the actual iPhone please get up?
Sure, as many reviewers famous, together with our personal Florence Ion, the Pixel 9 Pro XL seems to be just like the iPhone 15 Professional Max. If imitation is certainly the sincerest type of flattery, Google likes Apple lots. You can simply mistake one for the opposite, from the rounded corners on the shiny metallic siding to the matte glass end on the rear panels with the shiny brand within the heart. I imply, even the matte strains alongside the edges are related.
There are some clear variations, nonetheless. Specifically, the Pixel lacks an Motion button on the aspect that holds the ability and quantity buttons, which, in accordance with some reviewers, is one thing they, too, can do with out. There are additionally the rear modules that home the cellphone’s respective digicam sensors. The iPhone’s module is a rounded sq. within the higher left nook of the rear panel. In the meantime, the Pixel’s sensor is ovular and runs throughout the vast majority of the highest of the rear panel.
Should you take a look at the Pixel’s backside, you’ll see a USB-C port, a nano-SIM slot, and a speaker, which, at a look, seems to be frustratingly like a microSD slot. I felt sheer disappointment on the realization. Apart from its USB-C port on the backside, the Professional Max has a pair of audio system on the backside with nothing on the highest.
In terms of shade schemes, Google is the clear winner right here. The corporate isn’t afraid to play with shade, providing hues of Porcelain, Rose Quartz, Hazel, and Obsidian. Apple has taken a extra enterprise informal method with Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium, and Pure Titanium. Geez, Apple, we get it. You included titanium into the design; you don’t must beat us over the top with it.
Or not. As a result of titanium is an enormous deal, it permits Apple to shave some weight off the Professional whereas including sturdiness. At 7.81 ounces, the 6.3 x 3 x 0.32-inch slab feels virtually insubstantial in comparison with its 8.47-ounce predecessor. However not so quick! To not be outdone, the Professional XL is a scooch lighter at 7.8 ounces and thinner (6.4 x 3 x 0.3 inches).
Magnificence, and design, by proxy, is within the eye of the beholder. And it could be controversial, however I’m going to present this spherical to Google. It’s thinner and lighter, and hey, I like pink.
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL Vs. iPhone 15 Professional Max: Efficiency
A slobberknocker if I’ve ever seen one
The iPhone 15 Professional Max is probably the most highly effective smartphone available on the market till the iPhone 16 Professional Max launches in a number of weeks. Then, all bets are off. However for now, the iPhone 15 is dusting all challengers due to that A17 Professional chip, which is an absolute beast. Actually, it makes me yearn for the times of lap docks the place you could possibly plug a cellphone right into a laptop computer shell and have a functioning laptop computer, utilizing the cellphone because the trackpad. However I digress.
It’s onerous to place a dent within the iPhone’s efficiency, and I couldn’t institute any actual chugging regardless of opening an inordinate variety of apps and internet browser tabs. I even began taking part in by means of Resident Evil 4 Remake, which, in the event you instructed me I’d be typing that sentence even a 12 months in the past, I’d counter with a suggestion for a gently used bridge on the market in Brooklyn. However exterior of some dropped frames, right here and there ran with none points, and the cellphone didn’t flip right into a blazing slab of metallic.
The Pixel 9 Professional XL and its Google Tensor G4 processor carried out simply as with the a number of apps and internet browsers. I even did gentle picture enhancing in Adobe Photoshop Specific and Google Pictures with no ailing results. Sadly, Resident Evil 4 Remake isn’t on Android, so I resorted to getting my thrills with Alien Isolation. And regardless of being brutally murdered by the Xenomorph a number of instances, the sport performed fairly easily and didn’t get uncomfortably sizzling.
We ran Geekbench 6 on each gadgets and as anticipated, the iPhone 15 Professional Max blew it out of the body with scores of two,975 and seven,438 on the one and multithread checks, in comparison with the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s scores of 1,932 and 4,631. However understand that the iPhone has crushed each smartphone debuted this 12 months by a big margin. Nonetheless, concerning efficiency, the iPhone 15 Professional Max is king.
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL Vs. iPhone 15 Professional Max: AI
Cool options, however at what value?
Whereas Microsoft, Samsung, and different OEMs have been beating us concerning the head with their fancy AI buzzwords, Google is definitely giving us one thing completely different than chatbots, noise canceling, and background blurring. The secret right here is generative AI. Reimagine is among the breakout stars in Google’s photo-editing arsenal. A function in Google’s retooled Magic Editor, Reimagine makes use of AI to switch your image as you see match. Simply kind what you need and let Reimagine do its factor. It took a photograph of my boyfriend’s lovely daughter in entrance of our entrance gate and changed it with a photorealistic ocean setting. It was wild to see in actual time.
Then you definitely’ve acquired options like Add Me that actually allows you to add your self to a gaggle shot after the preliminary picture’s been taken. Zoom Improve is that function you at all times see in crime reveals in your smartphone. As a substitute of shedding picture high quality once you zoom in, the magic of generative AI will fill within the lacking pixels for sharp photos. Better of all, the function can be utilized earlier than or after taking the shot. Google additionally has some AI sauce for video, bringing the flexibility to upscale to 8K and lowering or enhancing audio as you see match.
And that’s earlier than we get to Gemini correct, or ought to I say, Gemini Superior. You’ll get your common AI abstract instruments and “Her”-inspired digital help, full with a soothing voice. Gemini may set up and summarize your screenshots with Pixel Screenshots. Talking of group, Google Preserve can now make lists for you. The Name Notes function permits Gemini to report your name, summarize, and create a dialog transcript. Simply be sure you inform the opposite occasion on the decision. Critically. Recording somebody with out their data is prohibited in a number of locations. Don’t get caught on the market. This brings us to a significant level of rivalry for lots of potential Gemini customers. Do you belief Google to report your calls and reside conversations with Gemini?
When you ponder that, let’s transfer on to Apple Intelligence. Presently, in Preview, there’s not a lot I can say about it exterior of the options revealed on Apple Newsroom. Like Gemini, you’ll be getting a heaping serving to of generative AI that will probably be there to jot down and summarize textual content, create AI-generated photos by way of Picture Playground, and even create Genmojis – generative AI emojis. Get it? Genmojis!
Shifting on, Siri can even change into extra conversationalist and can be capable to chat realistically. You’ll additionally see your notifications summarized into simply scannable bites. Emails will probably be floated to the highest of your inbox by precedence, whereas longer ones will undergo the abstract machine. The brand new Focus mode will do one thing related, prioritizing vital notifications and saving the remainder for later. Like Gemini, Apple Intelligence can report calls, create transcripts, and summarize every thing.
Tough sketches might be reworked into one thing extra professional-looking with Picture Wand. You possibly can create customized reminiscence motion pictures out of your stills and movies. Apple Intelligence will even discover applicable music. And talking of images, Apple Intelligence will assist you to type by means of your ever-growing assortment of photos by merely typing what you’re on the lookout for. I can’t wait to see how obscure or exact you have to be with that one. And eventually, you’ll be capable to take away undesirable picture components much like Magic Erase with the brand new Clear Up function.
Apple, like Google, needs you to belief them along with your calls, notes, and searches, stressing a rigorous privateness coverage. Once more, we’ll have to attend and see as soon as this goes reside.
Each AI options are presently free. And whereas Apple has but to announce plans to cost customers, Google needs people to pay $20/month for the privilege.
For now, Google takes this spherical. However keep tuned for when Apple Intelligence absolutely launches.
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL Vs. iPhone 15 Professional Max: Digicam
The very best shooters within the sport duke it out
Now, it is a battle for the ages. What Google lacks in blistering CPU efficiency, it’s traditionally made up for in its picture capabilities, notably in low-light settings. And that is earlier than all of the AI razzmatazz. However Apple has no slouch on this division both, convincing some that they could not must put money into an costly DSLR.
Apple comes out field swinging, equipping the Professional Max with a 48-megapixel major sensor with a ƒ/1.78 aperture. Each the ultrawide and telephoto have 12-MP sensors. The previous has a ƒ/2.2 aperture whereas the latter has a ƒ/2.8. As for the telephoto, you’ve acquired a 5x digital zoom and a 25x digital zoom.
The Professional XL barely improved the digicam, beginning with the 50-MP huge sensor, which has been enlarged ever so barely to seize extra gentle. The first digicam lens has an f/1.68, which is useful for night time mode and depth results. The ultrawide digicam sensor acquired the most important bump, leaping as much as a full 48-MP sensor in comparison with its predecessor’s 12-MP. The telephoto digicam is untouched at 48-MP, with final 12 months’s 5x optical zoom and 30x Tremendous Res Zoom.
Editor’s Notice: Should you’re having bother studying the captions. Within the side-by-side comparisons, the Pixel 9 Professional is first then the iPhone 15 Professional Max.
Large
I took each telephones with me to stroll my canine and took some photographs across the neighborhood. Wanting on the outcomes, it instantly grew to become clear that the iPhone is juicing its images as the colours produced in my check photographs had been way more vibrant than the precise topic. As an example, in a shot of a brownstone with a facade coated in vines, the precise constructing appeared extra brown, whereas the vines appeared lifeless. Nevertheless, within the Pixel picture, the vines appeared alive and properly. I by accident hit a filter, however this was the ultimate end result after retaking it a number of instances on the iPhone.
I had higher outcomes when on a flower shot. Whereas the iPhone’s picture had deeper shade (which I want), the Pixel was as soon as once more the extra correct of the 2. Wanting on the leaves in each photographs, the iPhone gave a greater take a look at the fragile veins working by means of the leaves and stems. I additionally had a transparent view of the flower’s stamen on the Professional Max.
In a shot of some notably fluffy clouds taken at 0.5 magnification, the Pixel Professional gave me a wider shot than the iPhone. The Professional Max’s picture had a blue tint that accentuates the element within the clouds and simply makes for a extra melancholy shot. Nevertheless, it additionally washes out the colour of the constructing within the shot whereas the Pixel shows its true shade. The purple graffiti working down the aspect additionally pops extra on the Professional XL. And zooming in on the development within the background, the Pixel had sharper element.
Ultrawide
The Pixel continued its wins on the colour accuracy and sharpness fronts. Whereas the iPhone continued serving up scrumptious shade. A view of the Manhattan skyline at 7.5x yielded a stunning shot on each telephones. Nevertheless, you may see the raindrops dripping from the metallic railings on the constructing subsequent door clear as day on the Pixel, whereas you must zoom in to see it on the iPhone. The Professional XL additionally confirmed off extra home windows. The constructing on the far left appeared very muddy on the iPhone.
By way of scope, the iPhone received this second shootout because it merely captured extra topic space than the Pixel. The darker shadows make the signal stand out greater than on the Professional XL. Nevertheless, as a lot as I really like the iPhone’s vividness, it seems to be like I took the images at completely different instances of the day, which is much from the case. Whereas the iPhone produced the extra creative picture, it’s nowhere close to as correct.
Low gentle
For the low gentle check, I organized a row of tchotchkes on my leisure heart on the second flooring of my residence as my check topics. I dimmed the lights as little as they’d go within the first shot and took a number of photographs. The Professional XL got here by means of with superior shade and minutia. You learn the lettering on the pink tin. And my Michonne Funko Pop, Hulk, and Sully collectible figurines, they’d higher shade on the Pixel. There have been extra shadows within the iPhone check picture, which led to muted colours and obfuscated options within the determine. As an example, you may barely see Hulk’s tooth.
I turned the lights off in the course of the subsequent check, leaving the tv on and a close-by gaming desktop with some light RGB lighting pulsating. Wanting on the Professional Mox picture, you may clearly see the golden dragon on the backside of the leisure console. Nevertheless, the Michonne Funko is nearly utterly submerged in shadow. You possibly can barely see any element on the sport decoration subsequent to Hulk. Whereas the Pixel supplied richer shade, as evidenced by Sully’s vibrant blue cover, Hulk’s type was virtually utterly hidden within the shadow.
Selfie
And now for some true parity. The iPhone’s 12MP entrance sensor with its f/1.9-aperture lens gave nearly as good because it acquired towards the Pixel’s 42MP entrance shooter and its f/2.2-aperture lens. In a shot taken on the canine park, each telephones captured the precise yellow of my costume, the pink of my boyfriend’s shirt, and the cavalcade of shade in my locs. Taking a more in-depth take a look at each photos, I needed to give it to the Pixel because it’s simpler to see the person grays in my boyfriend’s beard.
One factor the iPhone goes to do is provide you with some good bokeh. On this rooftop selfie, the buildings within the background are virtually completely blurred, permitting you to concentrate on the parents within the shot. My hoodie seems to be extra orange within the Professional Max picture, and our pores and skin tones look darker. That’s fantastic, however that bokeh is a bit of aggressive, blurring a few of my locs out. Nevertheless, the cellphone additionally confirmed my boyfriend’s beard finest.
Panorama
This goes to the Pixel just because the cellphone can seize a 360-degree panoramic picture. I actually like how the digicam offers you information factors to fulfill as you slowly flip to seize the picture. The end result was a full shot of the world round my rooftop. That’s to not say the iPhone takes shabby photos; it doesn’t. The rules aren’t as correct on the iPhone; you may solely seize 180 levels.
Digital Zoom
That is merely no contest. Though the iPhone’s 25x digital zoom is nice in most circumstances, it’s no match for the Pixel’s 30 Tremendous Res Zoom or digital zoom. In my first set of photographs, I captured the highest of a Manhattan skyscraper miles away from my rooftop. The iPhone did an admirable job for the gap, but it surely’s considerably blurry. And when you can see some home windows, even the lighted ones appear like shapeless blobs. The Pixel’s picture is smoother and has extra element, permitting you to see probably the most home windows out of each photographs, lighted or not.
I needed one thing extra colourful for my second shot, so I appeared down into my yard and targeted on the huge pile of canine toys on the desk. As soon as once more, the iPhone’s digital zoom produces a picture with significantly fuzzy element. The desk’s cross-hatching is barely seen, and you may’t see the ridges on the stuffed pumpkin or the person fur on the duck. It’s the other of the Pixel, with crispy particulars and extra exact shade.
General, I’m giving this spherical to the Pixel; whether or not it’s low-light, panoramic, huge, or ultrawide photographs or perhaps a selfie, the Pixel 9 Professional XL persistently delivers color-accurate photographs with clear, clear strains.
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL Vs. iPhone 15 Professional Max: Battery
A severe marathon
Nothing is worse than a smartphone whose battery dies in the course of the day. You received’t have that downside with the Professional XL or the Professional Max. With its 4,441mAh battery, the iPhone 15 lasted 25 hours on our battery check (taking part in by means of a 24-hour YouTube video with the brightness set to 200 nits. The Pixel’s 5,060mAh battery tapped out 22:58, which isn’t unhealthy, however I anticipated extra with the bigger battery.
Each smartphones have quick charging capabilities. The Pixel might be charged 70% in half-hour, and the iPhone 15 might be charged 50% in half-hour. Each gadgets help wi-fi charging.
With an extended two-hour runtime, this spherical goes to the iPhone 15 Professional Max.
Google Pixel 9 Professional XL Vs. iPhone 15 Professional Max: Verdict
We’ve gone by means of six grueling rounds with the Google Pixel 9 Professional XL and iPhone 15 Professional Max. Every smartphone has displayed its strengths and weaknesses to nice impact, and when the smoke is cleared, it might go both approach. Relating to efficiency and endurance, nobody does it higher than the iPhone. Actually, at this level, the one factor that may beat an iPhone is one other iPhone (I’m you, 16 Professional Max). However these are just a few issues that make a flagship cellphone nice.
So, let’s speak concerning the Pixel 9 Professional XL. It copied Apple’s homework on the design piece. Nevertheless, it managed to do it a bit of higher with a barely thinner, lighter body. And a pop of pastel by no means harm anybody. Till we see what Apple Intelligence provides, Google would be the king of cell AI. Hell, it’s the AI to beat relating to consumer-grade synthetic intelligence.
Lastly, there’s the digicam. Google continues to create a few of the finest smartphone cameras within the enterprise, and matched with its AI options, will probably be onerous to knock the Pixel off its pedestal. For these causes, the Google Pixel 9 Professional XL is the undisputed winner of this face-off.
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