Google Pixel 7 vs Apple iPhone 14: Which mid-range flagship is right for you? - XDA Developers

The Google Pixel 7 and Apple iPhone 14 are considered 2 of the champion flagship smartphones you tin buy. From their almighty specs and premium designs to their astonishing cameras and coagulated artillery life, there's a batch to similar astir each phone. But portion they stock a batch of similarities, 1 happening they don't person successful communal is pricing: the Pixel 7 starts astatine $599 portion the iPhone 14 is $799, a $200 difference. Considering they're some introduction points for Google and Apple's flagship smartphone lines, the question is: which should you buy?

We're pitting some devices against each different to assistance you determine which to buy.

• Google Pixel 7

  Google Pixel 7

  The Google Pixel 7 is simply a refinement of the already fantabulous Pixel 6, making for a precise polished flagship telephone without exorbitant prices.

• Apple iPhone 14

  The iPhone 14 is the basal exemplary of the 2022 iPhone series, offering a balanced acceptable of features for the mean user.

Pixel 7 vs iPhone 14: Pricing and availability

The Google Pixel 7 and Apple iPhone 14 are disposable present to acquisition from their online stores and large retailers similar Amazon, Best Buy, and assorted carriers. The erstwhile starts astatine $599, portion the second starts astatine $799. Pricing for each exemplary is arsenic follows.

• Pixel 7 (128GB): $599
• Pixel 7 (256GB): $699
• iPhone 14 (128GB): $799
• iPhone 14 (256GB): $899
• iPhone 14 (512GB): $1,099

Pixel 7 vs iPhone 14: Specifications

Design and hardware: Minimal changes, maximal differences

Year implicit year, neither the Pixel 7 nor iPhone 14 made a monumental leap successful smartphone design. On the contrary, they're astir identical to their predecessors, the iPhone especially. Apple didn't spell retired of its mode to reinvent the wheel, alternatively opting to transportation the iPhone 13's plan implicit to the iPhone 14 with a fewer caller colors. It's the textbook explanation of the phrase, "if it ain't broke, don't hole it."

Google took a akin way with the Pixel 7. It swapped the solid camera visor connected the backmost for 1 made of aluminum, and the measurement and powerfulness buttons person been shifted down slightly. But beyond those changes, you'd beryllium hard-pressed to archer the quality betwixt it and the Pixel 6 from past year.

The differences travel into play erstwhile you spot them side-by-side. Google's Pixel 7 opts for much rectangular corners, curved edges, and a horizontal camera layout. Meanwhile, Apple's iPhone 14 sticks with a rounded display, level sides, and a camera clump successful the apical left-hand corner. The Pixel 7 besides ships with a elemental hole-punch cutout and in-display fingerprint reader, portion the iPhone 14 sticks with a notch and Face ID.

The iPhone 14 is considerably lighter than the Pixel 7 astatine 172 grams versus 197 grams, but the other heft from the Pixel 7 isn't wholly a atrocious thing. It gives it a premium feel, 1 that's not each communal for a telephone astatine this terms point.

It's hard to accidental which instrumentality has the champion colors since they're each beauteous boring. Google didn't opt for a two-tone decorativeness connected the backmost of the Pixel 7 series, truthful you're stuck with static Obsidian (a.k.a. black), Snow (a.k.a. gray/silver/white), oregon Lemongrass (a.k.a. greenish yellow). The iPhone 14 gets Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight, and PRODUCT(RED). They each look... good — thing exceptional by immoderate means.

You've got dual-firing stereo speakers connected some phones, with each utilizing the earpiece and a bottom-firing driver. The Pixel 7 produces awesome dependable prime with bully low-end, but I'd accidental the iPhone 14 sounds amended wide acknowledgment to its much balanced soundstage. You'll besides find the charging ports for each telephone connected the bottom, with the Pixel 7 utilizing USB-C portion the iPhone 14 is stuck with Lightning. It won't beryllium long until the iPhone has a USB-C larboard (if the EU has thing to accidental astir it), but for now, you'll request to retrieve to bring a abstracted cablegram to complaint your phone.

Displays: Both are precise solid

The iPhone 14's Super Retina XDR measures 6.1 inches diagonally. It's an OLED sheet with a solution of 2532x1170 and up to 1,200 nits of brightness. Meanwhile, the Pixel 7 gets a larger 6.3-inch OLED show with a 2400x1080 solution and 1,400 nits of brightness. Google besides throws successful a 90Hz refresh rate, whereas Apple sticks with 60Hz.

If you're looking for a winner, it's the Pixel 7. Sure, Apple's displays person much close colour reproduction than Google's, but you can't bushed higher brightness and a faster refresh rate. Plus, you get an always-on show with the Pixel 7, portion the diagnostic remains exclusively connected Apple's much costly iPhone 14 Pro line.

Both phones are covered by durable glass, with the Pixel 7 sporting Gorilla Glass Victus portion the iPhone 14 gets Apple's, Ceramic Shield. It's hard to accidental which 1 is much durable (glass is glass, and it'll shatter if you driblet it the close way), but regardless, you've got plentifulness of protection.

Cameras: Pixel 7 is smarter, portion iPhone 14 is amended astatine video

Both the Pixel 7 and iPhone 14 person astir identical cameras to their predecessors. Google throws successful immoderate caller bundle tricks portion Apple revised its representation processing pipeline, but beyond that, we're looking astatine precise akin hardware here.

On paper, you'd deliberation the Pixel 7 was acold amended astatine taking photos than the iPhone 14. To immoderate extent, that's true. The 50MP superior lens delivers astonishing photographs successful each lighting condition, with handsome opposition and well-balanced exposure. The 12MP main lens connected the iPhone 14 is nary slouch either, but it tends to overexpose scenes that necessitate dense HDR. Both phones besides travel with 12MP ultra-wide cameras, which are arsenic convenient arsenic ever, but determination are nary telephoto cameras for zoom.

Google's cameras are besides smarter than Apple's acknowledgment to features similar Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, and Real Tone. While they're each incredibly handy, anyone who besides values video prime volition find the iPhone 14 to beryllium the telephone for them. Apple is inactive the king of smartphone videography, and the iPhone 14 bid further cements that with caller features similar Cinematic mode (now with 4K 30fps support) and Action mode. The Pixel doesn't instrumentality atrocious videos necessarily, but they're acold down the prime of the iPhone.

Performance: Tensor G2 vs A15 Bionic

Apple didn't fuss to springiness the iPhone 14 a caller chip. Instead, it reserved the caller A16 Bionic processor for the iPhone 14 Pro and stuck with the A15 Bionic from the iPhone 13. That's not needfully atrocious - it's inactive 1 of the fastest chips connected the market, and it continues to stroke distant galore Android phones successful benchmarks and day-to-day usage.

It's evidently a batch much almighty than Google's caller Tensor G2 chip, debuting successful the Pixel 7 series. The G-branded SoC is plentifulness snappy and efficient, and it powers each of the software's instrumentality learning and AI tasks. This unsocial makes it a large processor and 1 that helps the Pixel 7 consciousness accelerated and fluid, but successful presumption of earthy horsepower, the iPhone 14 is the wide winner.

It's evident successful fundamentally everything you bash (well, beyond instrumentality learning and AI stuff). From editing photos to exporting videos to juggling aggregate apps, the iPhone 14 is amended equipped to grip immoderate you propulsion astatine it. The Pixel 7 tin commencement to choke aft a portion if you're utilizing it heavily, and thing involving contented instauration volition consciousness much sluggish than it does connected the iPhone. Multitasking is besides smoother connected the iPhone, but I'll admit, I'm impressed with however good the 8GB of RAM wrong the Pixel 7 tin grip my workload.

Battery beingness and charging: Similar endurance, precise antithetic recharge speed

The iPhone 14's 3,279mAh artillery lasts astir arsenic agelong arsenic the Pixel 7's 4,355mAh artillery does connected a afloat charge, which is to accidental comfortably each time for mean to dense users. You tin typically get 12-13 hours of usage retired of them, which is capable for astir people. Neither of these are two-day phones, but there's thing incorrect with dependable all-day artillery life.

Obviously, connected paper, the Pixel 7 should beryllium an endurance champion erstwhile compared to the iPhone 14 and its considerably smaller battery. On the contrary, Apple knows however to bash ratio well, and it's proven that yet again with its latest iPhone.

Where the 2 phones disagree is successful recharging. The iPhone 14 tin lone complaint astatine up to 20W with a Lightning cable, 15W via MagSafe, oregon 7.5W with Qi wireless charging. The Pixel 7 gets 30W USB-C charging and up to 21W accelerated wireless charging (so agelong arsenic you usage a Pixel Stand), truthful you'll foodstuff backmost up a spot faster. In our testing, we recovered that the iPhone 14 could spell from zero to 100 percent successful astir 2 hours, portion the Pixel 7 was determination betwixt an hr and a fractional and 2 hours.

What's more, the Pixel 7 throws successful reverse wireless charging truthful that you tin foodstuff up an accessory similar earbuds oregon a smartwatch connected the go. The iPhone 14 simply doesn't person that functionality, which is simply a spot of a shame.

Software: Android 13 vs iOS 16... not!

Look, it's fundamentally intolerable to urge an iPhone implicit a Pixel (or vice versa) based connected whether iOS 16 is amended than Android 13. Do the 2 platforms person their ain strengths and weaknesses? Yes. Are they each large successful their ain right? Absolutely. Does it travel down to idiosyncratic preference? Without question.

Admittedly, iOS and Android person ne'er been much similar. Apple has opened the level up to much customization implicit the years, portion Android has dilatory morphed into a strategy that's easier to usage and feels little geeky to use. With iOS 16, Apple added immoderate large caller features similar fastener surface customization, upgraded Focus modes, and Live Activities. Meanwhile, Android 13 refines Google's Material You idiosyncratic interface, makes managing app permissions easier and helps your telephone tally faster acknowledgment to amended efficiency.

These are 2 mature operating systems, each perfectly susceptible of easy handling your mundane tasks. As acold arsenic enactment is concerned, Google is promising up to 3 years of large Android updates, which is acold little than what Apple's historically done with the iPhone. To enactment this into perspective, the iPhone 8 - primitively released successful September 2017 - tin tally iOS 16. Judging by that, the iPhone 14 volition astir apt beryllium supported until 2027, astatine the least. If you program to support your telephone for a agelong time, the iPhone volition proceed to beryllium supported.

Pixel 7 vs iPhone 14: Which 1 should you buy?

Google's Pixel 7 offers a batch of worth for $599, including a large bundle experience, accelerated performance, large cameras, and all-day artillery life. The iPhone 14 takes definite parts of that equation and makes them better, specified arsenic improved video quality, much almighty performance, and nicer speakers. But justifying a $200 terms leap to get those features is tough.

Google did an fantabulous occupation with the Pixel 7. It's 1 of the astir well-rounded phones you tin get for nether $600. On the different hand, Apple's iPhone 14 mightiness beryllium a minimal upgrade implicit the iPhone 13, but it remains a large go-to enactment successful the iPhone line. Regardless of which you upwind up buying, you'll person a large time.

For much connected the Pixel 7, beryllium definite to cheque retired our different guides connected the champion cases and chargers for Google's flagship, arsenic good arsenic the best deals.

• Google Pixel 7

  Google Pixel 7

  The Google Pixel 7 is simply a refinement of the already fantabulous Pixel 6, making for a precise polished flagship telephone without exorbitant prices.

• Apple iPhone 14

  The iPhone 14 is the basal exemplary of the 2022 iPhone series, offering a balanced acceptable of features for the mean user.