The iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro are two top models from the US smartphone manufacturers.
The Google Pixel 7 Pro will finally be available from October 13th and the iPhone 14 Pro has been on the market since September 16th. The latter is much harder to get your hands on, at least at the moment, due to the high demand. Both smartphones belong to the absolute top class and now offer identical camera features – at different prices.
If we’re honest, both flagships don’t make any quantum leaps compared to last year’s models and the improvements are mainly found in the details. Nevertheless, we would like to bring you closer to the differences between the two smartphones and, ideally, make your choice easier.
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It doesn’t always have to be the newest and best smartphone! For my colleague Jan, a brand-new mobile phone doesn’t come in the bag at first. His S8 from Samsung is still doing its job today:
Never again a “new” smartphone
iPhone 14 & Pixel 7 are to blame
form fac tor and processing
The form factor of a smartphone is a purchase decision for many people. The Pixel 7 Pro, for example, is generally a large smartphone with a comparatively larger screen size, but more on that in a later section. If you are looking for more expansive cell phones, the iPhone 14 Pro Max could be interesting for you – if you are not afraid of the high price from 1449 dollars.
The exact dimensions of the two competitors are as follows:
- Pixel 7 Pro: 162,9 x 76,6 x 8,9 mm, 212 Gramm
- iPhone 14 Pro: 147,5 x 71,5 x 7,9 mm, 206 Gramm
The model from Apple is not only lighter, but also smaller and therefore certainly more comfortable to use for smaller hands. When it comes to workmanship, Apple can’t beat any other smartphone manufacturer. With the stronger stainless steel frame, the Ceramic Shield coating on the front glass and the rounded edges, the phone is truly a pleasure to hold.
The Pixel 7 Pro wants to impress with an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and back. The display is slightly curved and looks very high quality. A bigger advantage over Apple is likely to be the USB-C port. The latest iPhone still comes with the Lightning connector based on USB 2.0.
Both devices are protected against dust and water and therefore have an IP68 certification. You won’t find an optional way to expand the internal memory from 128 GB on either device, or a headphone jack.
Two powerful displays and an island
With the new iPhone 14 Pro, the well-known and five-year-old notch says goodbye. The display recess on the front of the iPhone is now called Dynamic Island. Thanks to the software, the pill-shaped section intuitively adapts to different events, information or background activities.
The Google Pixel 7 Pro at a glance.
At 6.1 inches, the iPhone 14 Pro’s display is more comfortable to use with smaller fingers. With an adaptive refresh rate of 1 to 120 Hertz, transitions and scrolling on websites look particularly smooth.
The iPhone has a peak brightness of 2000 nits outdoors, making it brighter than any other cell phone. In 2022, the always-on function will finally celebrate its debut on the iPhone, albeit slightly modified compared to the Android version.
The Google Pixel 7 Pro has a 6.7-inch OLED display based on LTPO, which also enables dynamic frame rates. Unlike the iPhone, the Pixel downscales to a minimum of 10 Hertz when viewing static content. For an overview you will find the exact information here:
- Pixel 7 Pro: 6.7-inch, LTPO-based AMOLED display, 10 to 120 hertz, resolution 1440 x 3120, 512 PPI, 1,500 nits peak brightness,
- iPhone 14 Pro: 6.1 inch, Super Retina XDR OLED display, LTPO 2.0, resolution 1179 x 2556; 460 PPI; 2,000 nits peak brightness
The premier class of smartphones – cameras
Both flagships give each other nothing when it comes to cameras and now have a similar range of features. Pixel phones are famous for conjuring up excellent snaps, with Google’s shots getting a proper beef with the help of their prominent artificial intelligence.
With the new series there are even more arrows in the quiver such as Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Real Tone, Guided Frame, Active Stabilization and Cinematic Blur. The latter can also be found on the iPhones with the name Cinematic Mode. In our article on the new Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, we take a closer look at the new features of the two devices:
Pixel 7 and 7 Pro
Google continues to build on its strengths
A triple camera can be found on the back of both smartphones. However, the Pixel 7 Pro stands out from the crowd with a unique design. The main camera or wide-angle camera of the Google flagship has 50 megapixels and the iPhone takes photos with 48 megapixels.
Both smartphone cameras have an onboard function to switch to macro mode with the ultra wide-angle camera. The bigger difference is in the telephoto zoom: The Pixel 7 Pro allows a 5x optical zoom, whereas the Pro model from Apple only
supports a 3x optical zoom.
With Photo Unblur from the Pixel 7, blurred photos should be clearly recognizable again.
In general, iPhones come with a reliable camera and excellent video quality. So if you attach great importance to high-quality and versatile video recordings, the iPhone is the better choice. In the photo area, on the other hand, the Pixel 7 Pro has a larger dynamic range, better contrast and it usually depicts skin tones more accurately.
Here is an overview of the cameras:
- Pixel 7 Pro: wide-angle camera with 50 megapixels (f/1.9), ultra wide-angle camera with 12 megapixels (f/2.2), telephoto camera (5x zoom) with 48 megapixels (f/3.5), front camera with 10.8 megapixels (f/2.2), 4k -Video at 60 fps, auto focus, macro photography
- iPhone 14 Pro: 48-megapixel wide-angle camera (f/1.8), 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera (f/2.2), 12-megapixel telephoto camera (3x zoom), 12-megapixel front camera with autofocus (f/1.9), 4k video at 60 fps , auto focus, macro photography
A16 Bionic and Google Tensor G2
The processors of the two devices make a comparison very easy. The A16 Bionic processor is significantly more powerful compared to Google’s second generation Tensor, as numerous benchmarks show – at least considering the pure computing power.
The search engine giant seems to be more interested in pushing the AI features on its own phones, such as live translation or voice recognition. In everyday life, the difference should hardly be significant and therefore not important for you.
- Pixel 7 Pro: Google Tensor G2, 4nm fabrication, 8-core CPU, 7-core GPU
- iPhone 14 Pro: A16 Bionic, 4-nanometer manufacture, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU
Google’s new Tensor G2 promises many improvements.
The battery life
The first test reports have yet to show how long the Pixel 7 Pro will last with its 5000 mAh battery. It’s possible that the iPhone will continue to come out on top, especially if you turn off the always-on display. Despite the smaller 3200 mAh battery, iPhones have so far been more energy efficient than Android smartphones. We believe that the difference between these two models will not be big enough to make a clear recommendation.
Are you looking for a smartphone with excellent battery life?, the iPhone 14 Pro Max will be your go-to place – but we cannot emphasize the high acquisition costs often enough at this point. Additionally, both manufacturers aren’t exactly known for their groundbreaking loading speeds.
The Pixel 7 Pro supports wired charging up to 30 watts and wireless up to 23 watts. The iPhone 14 Pro performs a little worse in this area and comes with a cable to 20 watts or wireless to 15 watts with the right (MagSafe) accessories. Both devices also support reverse wireless charging, which allows you to charge your wireless headphones by placing them on the device, for example.
- Pixel 7 Pro: 5000mAh battery, 30W wired and 23W wireless, reverse wireless charging
- iPhone 14 Pro: 3200mAh battery, 20W with cable and 15W with MagSafe accessory, reverse wireless charging
Fazit – Google vs. Apple
If you are already at home in the Apple ecosystem, the iPhone 14 Pro (Max) seems to be the safe bet at first glance. However, the Pixel 7 Pro offers similar functions such as cinema mode or smooth filming. With the Dynamic Island, the new iPhone also offers a new software feature that arouses interest. Unfortunately, if you reach for the iPhone, you still have to rely on the Lightning connector, which is increasingly frustrating many users.
With the Pixel 7 Pro, you get better value for money, a full range of camera and AI features, and OS updates ahead of any other Android smartphone. With the back of the smartphone, you also get a visually unusual camera element that, in our opinion, will not wear out anytime soon.
Google is still integrating face unlocking into the new Pixel series, albeit not as extensively as Apple’s Face ID. But the fingerprint sensor is available to you in addition to biometric unlocking.
If you are looking for a comparison to the older models, you will of course also find what you are looking for at GameStar Tech. We have prepared further guides for you in separate articles:
Would you get one of the two smartphones or are you currently perfectly happy with your daily companion? Have you maybe even (pre-)ordered one of the two models or do you prefer to use older models like the iPhone 13 and Pixel 6? Write it to us in the comments!
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