Google Pixel 9a vs Apple iPhone 16e
67
out of 100
VS
74
out of 100
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.3-inch Google Pixel 9a (with Google Tensor G4) that was released on March 19, 2025, against the Apple iPhone 16e, which is powered by Apple A18 and came out 1 month before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 9a
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Delivers 131% higher peak brightness (1927 against 836 nits)
- Comes with 1095 mAh larger battery capacity: 5100 vs 4005 mAh
- Fingerprint scanner
- CPU with a higher amount of cores (+2)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 16e
- Shows 32% longer battery life (26:44 vs 20:15 hours)
- 22% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1612K versus 1321K)
- 2x faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 3281 and 1677 points
- Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
- Weighs 19 grams less
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 | POLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.3 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2424 pixels | 1170 x 2532 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 422 ppi | 457 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (60-120 Hz) | No |
| Max rated brightness | 2700 nits | 800 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1800 nits | 1200 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Ceramic Shield |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 84.5% | 87.1% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 98.2% | 99.9% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Response time | 1 ms | 10 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 154.7 mm (6.09 inches) | 146.7 mm (5.78 inches) |
| Width | 73.3 mm (2.89 inches) | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 186 g (6.56 oz) | 167 g (5.89 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | - |
| Rear material | Plastic | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Red, Purple | White, Black |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
| Repairability | Good (3.53/5) | Average (2.79/5) |
| 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 MP7 | 4 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) | 7784 | 24041 |
| Single-core score | 1677 | 3281 |
| Multi-core score | 4067 | 8035 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 445318 | 485100 |
| GPU | 410687 | 445832 |
| Memory | 175537 | 185536 |
| UX | 289527 | 496320 |
| Total score | 1321069 | 1612788 |
| Samples | [7 tests] | [5 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 81% | 82% |
| Graphics test | 8 FPS | 9 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1060 | 1226 |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Graphics test | - | 21 FPS |
| Section 1 | - | 26 FPS |
| Section 2 | - | 21 FPS |
| Section 3 | - | 15 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 5507 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 10570 | - |
| Video editing | 7547 | - |
| Photo editing | 21264 | - |
| Data manipulation | 12988 | - |
| Writing score | 16308 | - |
Recent User Tests
Google Pixel 9a
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-08-21 (Leif) | AnTuTu 11 | 1590049 |
| 📘 2026-05-13 (kiriguap) | AnTuTu 11 | 1182042 |
| 📘 2026-03-09 (d1ldo) | AnTuTu 11 | 943849 |
| 📘 2026-01-03 (Joy) | AnTuTu 11 | 1487240 |
| 📘 2025-11-11 (VLAD) | AnTuTu 11 | 1507185 |
Apple iPhone 16e
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-03-11 (Matviy) | AnTuTu 11 | 1600106 |
| 📘 2026-02-27 (iPhone user) | AnTuTu 11 | 1591246 |
| 📘 2026-02-10 (Virtuose) | AnTuTu 11 | 1721718 |
| 📘 2026-01-14 (Glib) | AnTuTu 11 | 1656396 |
| 📘 2026-01-13 (киря) | AnTuTu 11 | 1612788 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 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 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 17) | iOS 18.3 (Can be upgraded to iOS 27) |
| ROM | Stock Android | - |
| OS size | 14 GB | 24 GB |
| OS updates | 7 years | 7 years |
| Security updates | 7 years | 7 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 5100 mAh | 4005 mAh |
| Max charge power | 23 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (7.5 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (47% in 30 min) | Yes (57% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:41 hr | 1:50 hr |
| Battery cycles | 1000 cycles | 1000 cycles |
| Web browsing | 08:20 hr | 11:59 hr |
| Watching video | 12:40 hr | 15:01 hr |
| Gaming | 06:06 hr | 05:04 hr |
| Standby | 91 hr | 127 hr |
General battery life
Smartphones With Long Battery Life (#112th place)
Main camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 8064 x 6048 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | Dual 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 | 120° | - |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 13 MP |
1) Standard: 48 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | f/1.6 |
| Focal length | 25 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung GN8 | Sony IMX972 |
| Sensor size | 1/2" (≈ 0.5 inch) | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 0.7 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 13 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | - |
| Focal length | 16 mm | - |
| Sensor | Sony IMX712 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | - |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 145 | - |
| Zoom | 99 | - |
| Samples | Photo samples of Google Pixel 9a from DxOMark | - |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 13 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 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 | 1.12 micron | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | No | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | Yes |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| 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 | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| 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 | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Announced | March 2025 | February 2025 |
| Release date | April 2025 | February 2025 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $499 | $599 |
| Successor | - Google Pixel 10a | - |
| SAR (head) | 0.99 W/kg | - |
| SAR (body) | 1.39 W/kg | - |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
Further details
Notes on iPhone 16e:
- The smartphone doesn’t have a cinematic mode like the higher-end models in the series.
*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 16e is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 306