Google Pixel 9 vs Apple iPhone 16 Plus
73
out of 100
VS
82
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.3-inch Google Pixel 9 (with Google Tensor G4) that was released on August 13, 2024, against the Apple iPhone 16 Plus, which is powered by Apple A18. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
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Key differences
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 9
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Has 50% more RAM: 12GB versus 8GB
- Fingerprint scanner
- Delivers 22% higher peak brightness (2220 against 1815 nits)
- CPU with a higher amount of cores (+2)
- Better grip in hands – the body is 5.8 mm narrower
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 16 Plus
- Shows 54% longer battery life (34:32 vs 22:26 hours)
- Has a 0.4 inch larger screen size
- 25% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1949K versus 1561K)
- 91% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 3256 and 1707 points
- Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate DeviceFacts Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.3 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2424 pixels | 1290 x 2796 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 422 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (60-120 Hz) | No |
| Max rated brightness | 2700 nits | 2000 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1800 nits | 1600 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | - |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 87.1% | 88% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 99% | 99.8% |
| PWM | 120 Hz | 256 Hz |
| Response time | 1 ms | 4 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Screen space comparison
iPhone 16 Plus
6.7″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 17.1 in2
Pixel 9
6.3″ (20:9 ratio) = 14.9 in2
~14% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 152.8 mm (6.02 inches) | 160.9 mm (6.33 inches) |
| Width | 72 mm (2.83 inches) | 77.8 mm (3.06 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 198 g (6.98 oz) | 199 g (7.02 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Green, Pink | White, Black, Blue, Green, Pink |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
| Repairability | Good (3.5/5) | Average (2.78/5) |
| Drop resistance | Excellent (A) · 270 drops | Good (C) · 90 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Google Tensor G4 | Apple A18 |
| Max clock | 3100 MHz | 4040 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.92 GHz: Cortex-A520 - 3 cores at 2.6 GHz: Cortex-A720 - 1 core at 3.1 GHz: Cortex-X4 |
- 4 cores at 2.42 GHz: Sawtooth - 2 cores at 4.05 GHz: Everest |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 3 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Neural Engine |
| Graphics | Mali-G715 MC7 | 5 core Apple GPU |
| GPU shading units | 896 | 640 |
| GPU clock | 940 MHz | 1490 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1684.4 GFLOPS | ~1907 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 7536 | 28158 |
| Single-core score | 1707 | 3256 |
| Multi-core score | 4431 | 8096 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 576617 | 585993 |
| GPU | 410060 | 563695 |
| Memory | 210177 | 218294 |
| UX | 364573 | 581763 |
| Total score | 1561427 | 1949745 |
| Samples | [4 tests] | [5 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 74% | 76% |
| Graphics test | 8 FPS | 12 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1047 | 1582 |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Graphics test | - | 26 FPS |
| Section 1 | - | 31 FPS |
| Section 2 | - | 26 FPS |
| Section 3 | - | 20 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 6750 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 10043 | - |
| Video editing | 7463 | - |
| Photo editing | 21077 | - |
| Data manipulation | 13349 | - |
| Writing score | 15810 | - |
Recent User Tests
Google Pixel 9
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-18 -> Oleg 16 cm | AnTuTu 11 | 1423579 |
| 📘 2026-06-13 (Plotwa) | CPU Throttle | 82% |
| 📘 2026-04-14 (LymXT) | AnTuTu 11 | 1577137 |
| 📘 2025-12-09 (enigma) | AnTuTu 11 | 1519937 |
| 📘 2025-11-28 (W1TRAY) | AnTuTu 11 | 1561427 |
Apple iPhone 16 Plus
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-07-18 (Aj) | AnTuTu 11 | 1949745 |
| 📘 2026-04-23 (Ninety6Beast) | AnTuTu 11 | 1995425 |
| 📘 2026-03-03 (Ninety6Beast) | AnTuTu 11 | 1918031 |
| 📘 2026-02-20 (monolog) | AnTuTu 11 | 2007786 |
| 📘 2026-02-14 (Mathachai) | AnTuTu 11 | 1822701 |
Memory
| RAM size | 12 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X |
| Memory clock | 4200 MHz | - |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 14 (Can be upgraded to Android 17) | iOS 18 (Can be upgraded to iOS 27) |
| ROM | Stock Android | - |
| OS size | 19 GB | 18 GB |
| OS updates | 7 years | 7 years |
| Security updates | 7 years | 7 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 4700 mAh | 4674 mAh |
| Max charge power | 27 W | 30 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (12 W) | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | Yes |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (55% in 30 min) | Yes (55% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:25 hr | 1:39 hr |
| Battery cycles | 1000 cycles | 1000 cycles |
| Web browsing | 10:01 hr | 15:57 hr |
| Watching video | 13:38 hr | 21:26 hr |
| Gaming | 05:41 hr | 07:34 hr |
| Standby | 98 hr | 148 hr |
General battery life
Smartphones With Long Battery Life (#16th place)
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8160 x 6144 | 8064 x 6048 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 48 MP |
1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 12 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | f/1.6 |
| Focal length | 24 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung GNK | - |
| Sensor size | 1/1.31" (≈ 0.76 inch) | 1/1.56" (≈ 0.64 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.2 micron | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Laser autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 13 mm |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | - | 0.7 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 75 | - |
| Preview | 83 | - |
| Zoom | 132 | - |
| Samples | Photo samples of Google Pixel 9 from DxOMark | - |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 10.5 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/1.9 |
| Focal length | 20 mm | 23 mm |
| Sensor | CMOS | Sony IMX714 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch) | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.22 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | Yes |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | - |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | August 2024 | September 2024 |
| Release date | August 2024 | September 2024 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $799 | $899 |
| Successor | - Google Pixel 10 | - |
| SAR (head) | 0.99 W/kg | 1.24 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.4 W/kg | 1.33 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
Further details
Notes on iPhone 16 Plus:
- In the USA, the smartphone only supports eSIM, while the international model has 1 physical slot + eSIM. In China, a model with only two physical SIM cards is available.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 16 Plus is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 10