Why I am shopping for the iPhone 16 over the Pixel 9

When Google revealed the Pixel 9 lineup in August it was loads sooner than anticipated, and that was most likely achieved with one factor in thoughts: the recently-announced iPhone 16. As a lot consideration as Google’s Pixel gadgets get in tech media, the iPhone continues to be the king of the North American market, and launching a few months early might have helped Google churn up extra publicity and gross sales. We’ll have to attend and see if that call paid off.

Personally, nevertheless, I really feel that each one of Google’s efforts haven’t helped. I am nonetheless going to be shopping for an iPhone 16 this month as an alternative of a Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro. I’ve received a number of good the reason why, even when the overriding one is not one thing I am terribly pleased with.

Apple’s walled backyard

There is not any escape but

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  iPhone 16

  This yr’s iPhone 16 line blurs the road between the “Professional” and the base-level iPhone by providing a brand new digicam button and the Motion Button, alongside the A18 chip.

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  iPhone 16 Professional

  Apple’s iPhone 16 Professional line options a number of notable upgrades over final yr’s iPhone 15 Professional, together with a devoted digicam button, a brand new A18 Professional chip, an even bigger display, and several other AI-powered Apple Intelligence options.

I’ve owned and loved a number of Android telephones up to now, and nonetheless personal a OnePlus 9 5G. However I’ve mainlined iPhones because the iPhone 6, and Apple’s ecosystem hooks are dug in deep. I ultimately picked up an Apple Watch, which has turn out to be a vital part of my weightlifting and works completely with iPhones. I usually use my iPad Professional to handle calls and texts, and I generally management media on an Apple TV and HomePod with both my iPhone or Watch. My sensible dwelling setup was depending on HomeKit, too — the one cause I’ve shifted to different platforms is that Apple’s software program has all of the sudden refused to detect my equipment.

May I transition again to utilizing an Android cellphone full-time? Actually. I benefit from the trendy Android interface, and being a tech journalist, I understand how to port important apps and information. However there is not any sturdy incentive to try this, and I would lose out on conveniences I’ve turn out to be accustomed to. I would should spend a large chunk of cash on a brand new Garmin watch simply to maintain health information going. I would moderately not let Apple monopolize my digital life, do not get me incorrect — however its dark patterns have a grip on me.

There’s extra to images and movies than high specs

Snapping on the proper second

Apple

I was a professional photographer, and I nonetheless closely use the picture and video tech on any cellphone I get. One factor I’ve discovered through the years is that it is best to by no means obsess over specs — it hardly issues if a digicam sensor has an additional 2 megapixels if its interface means you miss the shot. So, whereas the Pixel 9 has superior numbers in some areas, like a 50-megapixel main shooter, I am extra excited concerning the Digicam Management button on the iPhone 16.

It will imply lacking fewer moments, which is all of the extra important given my loopy household life and hobbies. In reality, I am at the moment leaning in direction of iPhone 16 Pro, which is able to later get a two-stage shutter on the Digicam Management, letting you lock focus and publicity. That is a characteristic I did not even notice I missed from my professional cameras.

There are issues I would like to have from the Pixel 9 Pro, reminiscent of larger zoom and shutter pace choices, however I will say it proper right here — I am not an enormous fan of Google’s picture algorithms. I are likely to choose the iPhone’s output, which feels much less synthetic to me, although I do know there’s loads of processing happening. I am even much less keen on Google’s emphasis on AI modifying, since I nonetheless care concerning the authenticity of a photograph’s content material. I would modify ranges and shade grading, however I hate the thought of eradicating objects from a scene, a lot much less inserting issues that had been by no means there. I do it with Photoshop solely when there is not any different selection.

Would something persuade me to change?

Not going anytime quickly

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  Google Pixel 9

  Pixel 9 contains a 6.3-inch show and a well-known design. It helps the addition of a 48-megapixel ultrawide lens to its rear digicam array alongside Google Gemini and AI options.

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  Pixel 9 Professional XL

  The Pixel 9 Professional XL is Google’s first move at an iPhone 15 Professional Max-style large smartphone, with a Tensor G4 and new AI options like Pixel Screenshots. It is out there on August twenty second.

The ball could also be in Apple’s courtroom with this one. As a lot as I complain about ecosystem lock-in, it is doing sufficient proper — on high of its digicam tech, iOS is easy to make use of, and its A-series processors are a few of the quickest within the enterprise. The Pixel 9 lineup is aggressive, but there is not any one characteristic that screams “must-have” — Google’s bluster about AI is simply that. And it is solely a killer characteristic that may persuade folks like me to sacrifice tons of or hundreds of {dollars} in product investments.

I might be persuaded to change if Apple made some catastrophic error or Google supplied one thing smartphone patrons have been demanding for many years, like sensible multi-day battery life. Quietly, I have been hoping that the rising stress on Apple’s competitive practices may lead to wild fantasies, reminiscent of with the ability to use Apple Watches with Android. I am not holding my breath — however a person can dream of a world the place there are fewer boundaries to altering manufacturers.