Google Pixel vs iPhone Unique Features — 2024/2025
These are always the two phones I’m considering — the latest Apple iPhone or the latest Google Pixel phone. There are many good Android phones, but if I’m going Android, I prefer the Google ones for easier customer support. I’ve updated this in 2024 for the iPhone 16 series (using the latest information available pre-release) and the Google Pixel 9 series.
Right now I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max, a recent and reluctant upgrade from my Google Pixel 5, which was still serving me well as it had for years (only did it because I’m developing an iOS-only app). But I’m always eyeing the latest.
The latest phones are always similar in many ways. They have great screens and are quick. But there are a bunch of features that are unique to each, and I think it’s worth keeping an updated list to help me choose — sometimes I forget something that I later remember is important to me.
Here’s the updated list comparing the Google Pixel 9 Pro and the Apple iPhone 16 Pro (the 2024/2025 models of each, released mid-2024), the highest end of each version, looking at what’s unique in each model — as well as what’s similar.
Features Unique to the Google Pixel 9 / Pro
- No cutout in the display. Pixels have had just a little dot for years. I really don’t like the Apple phone cutout, even the “Dynamic Island”.
- Astrophotography from the phone. I don’t take photos of stars often, but this is a nice feature. You can expose photos for up to 5 minutes! (The iPhone typically maxes out at 15 or 30 seconds, depending on how stable your tripod is.)
- Optical fingerprint sensor. Useful backup for when something means the face unlock isn’t available.
- Google ecosystem integration. If you’re a Gmail, Chrome, and Google Calendar user, like I am, then you’ll appreciate how you never get unwanted apps like Apple Mail, Apple Maps etc. opening on a Google Pixel.
- Can use any browser (and it’s not just skinned Safari) — I use Brave and Chrome
- Easy to use “Find my phone” — just Google “Where is my phone?”. Magical experience, very easy to use.
- An enhanced AI-supported assistant that can even wait on hold for you, can summarise webpages while ignoring ads, can do generative AI tasks, and more.
- I can record videos with sound from Bluetooth headphones. Oddly, you can’t do this with an iPhone, even when using AirPods.
- Can block ads using VPNs (but not without it).
- Better other-language dictation (voice-to-text), including in Chinese, Persian, and Arabic, which I use regularly. On the iPhone I often open up Google Translate to use this feature.
- The “Hold for me” (a.k.a. auto hold) feature that’s exclusive to Pixel. Google Assistant waits on hold for you. (Thanks to the reader who reminded me of this one.)
- Google Home Compatibility — They have similar features, but more devices are compatible with Google Home than with Apple HomeKit.
- More other-language keyboards. GBoard on iPhone is more limited.
- File management — I can find files I’ve downloaded and do things with them. I can access them easily via USB from any computer.
- Easier access to the camera via double tap of the power button. It’s not “hard” on the iPhone, mind you.
- Side-loadable apps — Sometimes I have to install a custom app or one not available in my country — you can do this with Android by downloading a pkg file.
- Better notification tray — you can do a lot more from it. For example, while using the phone to do something else, I can swipe down to see the tray and pause music or see what the next step in navigation is (e.g. how many stops are remaining).
- Seven years of updates — Which means the Pixel 9 will be supported until 2031.
- Easy custom ringtones. You can set an mp3 on the device or even a song from a music app as a ringtone. You have to employ workarounds on an iPhone (this is how I do it).
- Better keyboard – This is subjective but I prefer Google’s keyboard. Its corrections are more intelligent. Its language support is better. I can access frequent punctuation more often (commas, for example). As a small example, when I wrote the above sentences on an iPhone, it first wrote “Googles”, and then when I corrected it to “Google’s”, it changed that to “Google’S”.
- Cheaper! Equivalent iPhones are usually ~30-50% more expensive and don’t tend to go on sale. This has been the case for ages.
Older Pixel phones had Google Photos’ “Magic Eraser” which lets you cut out unwanted background things easily. This has been superseded in AI features on newer phones.
Features unique to Apple iPhone 16/Pro
- Adblock in Safari, the core browser. Safari is essentially the only browser you can run on iPhones, so it’s nice to be able to block ads in it. To block ads on Android I need to use a third-party non-core browser like Brave.
- Facetime and Messages. I don’t like SMS being the default, and I really do enjoy the experience of Facetime and Messages (though I personally use Signal and WhatsApp more — it’s much more common with my overseas friends, and businesses in Europe, Asia, and Africa often use Whatsapp). Most of my family members have iPhones. I actually had an older iPhone to keep using this with them when they’d accidentally send me a message. Secure RCS messaging will partially fix this, as it becomes the standard.
- Better battery life. Apple iPhones have lasted longer than their Google counterparts for a while. However, you generally have to recharge both after 1.5-2 days, depending on usage.
- Many more accessories are available for iPhones — screen protectors, cases, etc. Whether online or in stores, 70% of the offerings are for Apple phones, and 30% are “other”, of which Google phones are a fraction.
- Apple AirPods / AirPods Pro work better. You get 3D sound and they seem to remain connected more reliably. I also like how it auto-transitions between my computer (an Apple one) and the iPhone. There are more options for iPhones in general.
- Airdrop. It has been out for ages, and there’s no equivalent on Android that makes it quite as easy as on the iPhone.
- Handoff. The copy-paste between Mac OS and iOS is kind of magic. (There are aftermarket solutions for Android but I haven’t tested them recently.)
- Continuity. Sharing the microphone and video (continuity) between the phone and desktop computer is neat, but a major caveat is that it sometimes stops working and is weirdly hard to fix. Since 2024 there’s also “Mirroring” which lets you completely use your iPhone from a Mac.
- Easier to access customer support — if you have an Apple Store nearby, and they’re all over the world in major cities. The Google Pixel return process (mine had a fault) was a bit annoying, as I didn’t have the option of going to a store.
- Video out via USB-C (or Lightning in the past): The iPhone has been able to do video out for a while. The Pixel needs you to have a separate device, a Chromecast, or a display that supports it (many TVs do).
- HomeKey— Apple’s HomeKit has a pretty unique feature where you can swipe your phone as a key. It doesn’t rely on wifi. Android has no equivalent to this.
- OpenAI integration (coming soon, iPhone 16, via Apple Intelligence) — Apple has a partnership with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which will focus on integrating ChatGPT within the Apple ecosystem. Most people prefer ChatGPT to Google Gemini features, so this is a nice addition.
- Apple Maps. This is a surprising one, as it used to be terrible. But Apple Maps is much better for freeway navigation than Google Maps in my city (in Australia). It tells me the specific lane to be in and gives me lots of advanced warning. I frequently miss exits with Google Maps. Apple Maps is at least worth checking out wherever you live — don’t write it off.
Features that are similar between the two (or less important to most)
- AI features — Google has Gemini Advanced (Pixel 9 onward) for asking questions, performing photo editing, and creating images. The iPhone 16 has Apple Intelligence for questions to Siri, text and image generation, image editing, and more — features rolling out gradually. You can get Apple Intelligence on older phones, but need an iPhone 15 Pro at least (so… not that old!)
- Photography is excellent on both phones. Sometimes photos from one look better than the other in various situations… but whatever, it’s splitting hairs.
- They both have basically all the apps. Apple had an advantage years ago, but these days, all the important ones are available on both platforms. Android has a free version of Anki, and iOS has some other ones I’ve forgotten about. But bear in mind that small developers frequently release Apple versions first.
- Both have high-quality watches. The Apple Watch has been around longer, but the Pixel Watch 2 looks like a good alternative. And I prefer its look.
- Both Apple HomeKit and Google Home have a lot of overlapping features.
- Both the latest Pixel and iPhone phones have OLED displays with always-on display. (Android phones have had this for longer… around a decade longer. My iPhone 13 doesn’t have it!)
- Both have USB-C as of the iPhone 15 generation, to the chagrin of some iPhone owners who now have to upgrade charging cables…
- Both have a “nearby share” feature — though the iOS one is more useful to me as it means you can share to a laptop (rather than just to other Android phones)
- Siri and Google Assistant are both similarly useful/annoying. I find myself using Siri more, but I also hate how it says “Mmm hmm?” (Rude, in old-school English/Australian culture, and I’m old!)
- Privacy — Apple makes a lot of noise about privacy, but Google is good at it too. They’ve both had black marks on their records.
- Visual design — at this point, all phones look essentially the same. Some prefer one, some prefer the other.
- Wireless charging — They all have it these days.
- Swiping interface — it seems very similar between the phones, and after a week or so of adjustment, is basically the same.
- Video broadcasting: The iPhone does it via AirPlay, and Android phones do it via the “Cast” feature. TVs seem to support both these days without needing extra devices.
What’s Changing?
The thing that’s changing most quickly in 2024 is AI integration — Google with its Gemini Advanced-powered features, and Apple with “Apple Intelligence” (currently OpenAI / ChatGPT)-powered features.
These will be important to some people and not to others. They’re also going to evolve very quickly. I’ll keep an eye on them, but your personal experience using AI is going to be important.
Below is a snapshot of the AI features in each device family and how they compare. Note that as of announcement in Sep 2024, Apple Intelligence isn’t released, even if you have an iPhone 16 — it’ll be released in December 2024. (See more here.)
But in terms of the core families of features:
Feature | Apple | |
---|---|---|
Assistant | “Gemini”-powered “Hey Google”, integrating into most aspects of the phone using text, images, or voice. You can ask about content on screens, in videos, or maps, for example. Also includes “Gemini Live”, which lets you have free-flowing conversations with Gemini. But you need a Gemini Advanced subscription for Gemini Live, and it’s only in English. (Here’s a demo of it in action.) | Deeper “Siri” integration (coming soon). Early reviews say it’s “slightly more intelligent“, but that may change as Apple Intelligence is fully released.. More in-depth search — e.g. search your device for “books” and see other related keyword content. |
Writing | * Some basic text drafting and editing tools * Unclear what else it has! | * Writing tools to help you draft and proofread messages (emails, text messages, etc.) * Smart replies — Understanding emails and helping you craft answers * Capture messages via audio in Notes or the Phone app, and get summaries. * Smart inbox — understanding priority messages. |
Imaging and Photography | * Super Res Zoom – Combines the telephoto camera with AI to enhance detail. * Add Me — letting you take two photos and combine them. No more doing this in Photoshop later! * Magic Editor — AI features to edit images * Pixel Studio — a prompt-to-image generation model * Zoom Enhance — used to be something you’d see only on CSI Miami. Now reality! | * Image Playground — a tool to create fun images in Messages, Pages, Notes, etc. * Genmoji — Create your own “memoji” or emoji-style images * Memory Movies — Summarising photos you took into movies, based on prompts * Clean up — like Google’s old “Magic Eraser”, focusing on “staying true” to the original image. |
Weather | More advanced weather reporting, like forecasting when rain will start and stop, and a custom weather report. | No mention of this — but Apple has had a good weather app (that predicts rain, for what its worth |
For now, it seems like Google has stronger photography tools, and Apple has more text tools. We’ll have to wait until Dec 2024 until full Apple Intelligence is released to really compare them. And, of course, they’ll continue to evolve.
Other considerations/notes
I have always switched between Google and Apple phones. Usually because of cost, but sometimes because of some feature — like a few years ago, Pixel was the only to support Google Fi (now, many do, and also I don’t really use it much).
In the past, I’ve owned models including the iPhone 3G, the Google Nexus (what the Pixel used to be called), an iPhone 4, an iPhone 5, Google Pixel 3, an iPhone 7S, Google Pixel 5 (one of my favourites!), and now an iPhone 13 Pro Max.
(Why did I like the Pixel 5? It had a great form factor, all the features I could need, and it was the last phone to have unlimited photo upload to Google Photos. I only bailed because I am now developing an iOS app and I have to be familiar with the ecosystem.)
In the past, Google Pixel phones offered unlimited storage in Google Photos (when stored in high resolution, but not original quality). This ended with the Pixel 5, sadly. So it’s no longer an advantage.
Another thing to consider is the pain of switching phones. On both phones, it takes a few hours. Yes, you can just copy over every app — but I have to log in again with two-factor authentication on both. Then there are a few apps that are “security keys” for the websites — switching those over is always tricky. And I seem to always mess up Signal and WhatsApp.
Anyway, hopefully the above is useful. Let me know if so (or if there are any gaps).
this is actually the best review i have ever seen. I like how it focused on things that are important and didnt waste 20 minutes of my time showing me what it looks like when you open the box and what the back of the phone looks like even though it will be in the case
Thanks, stranger. The fact that it helped just a few people is awesome!
Nice review,
One feature I miss from the Google Pixel (I converted to iPhone during the dreaded Pixel 6 hardware failures) is the ‘auto hold’, where it can detect when a human comes on the line and you can pick up again.
Wow, awesome one. I have always wondered why that never made it to iOS. Presumably a patent.
I’ve been using the iPhone for years, but I’m seriously tempted to switch to the Pixel 7 Pro after reading this comparison. That ‘Astrophotography mode’ sounds incredible, and I’m loving the idea of Google’s AI-powered photography enhancements. Does anyone have any personal experience with the new Pixels? Would be great to hear about their real-world performance.
For Airdrop and The copy-paste between Mac OS and iOS, try out Kdeconnect. For me it does both beautifully, and as a bonus you can also copy across Speech-to-text from Gboard entry on Android which makes my drafting workflow easier.
Oh thanks! Over the years I’ve tried a few things and had run out of steam. I will check it out.
Thanks for this article. It highlights all of the tradeoffs that I’m considering (I also have an IPhone 13 Pro currently, and am a past Pixel aficionado, and am considering switching back since the P9s look so good).
The sticky points for me are 1) I might miss Face Unlock (I tried a used P7 and the fingerprint unlock was TERRIBLE in comparison to Face Unlock) 2) I bought a M1 MacBook (the integration is convenient between iOS and macOS), I have officially drank the Apple Laptop Kool-Aid 3) I have AirPods now 4) my family (and most everyone else I know) uses iPhones/Messages-I’ll be a green bubble, but that actually entices me, since I want to break the hold that Messages has on US society and am trying to get WhatsApp to take hold in my circles.
Similar to me. Change is good! But the continuity features keep me stuck on iPhones for now.
Funny how Messages (which still says “iMessage in the chat window) has such a grip in the US. In Europe and Australia (and presumably elsewhere) it’s a non-issue.