Google's newly announced Pixel 3 is vying for a premium spot in the smartphone market, especially with its high starting price. It's positioned as the phone that raises the bar for what Android can do, but it has to contend with Apple's iPhone XS on the other side of the operating system divide.
A lot looks to be riding on Google's Pixel 3 camera turning out to be one of the best, so until we've had a chance to review its performance in depth it'll be hard to call a true winner here. But, in the meantime, we can take a look at the similarities and differences between the Pixel 3 and iPhone XS.
Design and display
Lately it seems like premium means two things for certain: no 3.5mm headphone jack in sight, and a metal frame sandwiched between a glass front and back. In the case of the Pixel 3 and iPhone XS, both are true. The iPhone XS is using surgical-grade steel and Apple's own glass, while the Pixel 3 uses aluminum and Gorilla Glass 5.
The size of the two phones is also fairly similar. The iPhone XS measures 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm, while the Pixel 3 is just a tad thicker and taller at 145.6 x 68.2 x 7.9mm. The Pixel 3 does manage to come in at a lighter 148g compared to the iPhone's 177g, but, given the similar build, you likely wouldn't be able to tell the difference if they were in your pocket.
Pull them out, and the Pixel 3's two-tone design helps it stand out a little more. It also has front-firing stereo speakers, where the iPhone XS combines the earpiece and a bottom-firing speaker for stereo sound.
The round fingerprint sensor from previous Pixels sticks around on the Pixel 3, while the iPhone XS has done away with fingerprint scanning in favor of facial recognition.
Both phones are protected against water, with the Pixel 3 offering an IPX8 rating, and the iPhone XS going further with an IP68 rating (for protection against dust as well).
While the designs are similar, the differences become apparent when the screens come on. The iPhone XS easily wins this mini-contest, with a virtually bezel-less OLED screen measuring 5.8 inches, boasting a 2436 x 1125 resolution, and supporting Dolby Vision and HDR10. The Pixel 3 has a less dazzling 5.5-inch Full HD+ OLED display with HDR support, but no mention of HDR10 or other media formats. The screen also covers quite a bit less of the Pixel 3's front.
OS and power
The iPhone XS is running Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 12. Meanwhile the Pixel 3 comes running Android 9 Pie. While the difference between the two may be a matter of taste, Google does get the advantage for its Google Assistant.
On the hardware side, Apple's custom A12 Bionic chip simply blows other smartphone processors out of the water. The Snapdragon 845 and 4GB of RAM inside the Pixel 3 are plenty good, but won't keep up with the performance Apple can get.
Storage-wise, the two phones aren't winning any awards. Both come with a base internal storage of 64GB, and with no microSD card support in either, you're stuck shelling out a lot of extra money to expand the storage. In the Pixel 3's case, you can upgrade to 128GB, while the iPhone XS maxes out at 512GB.
Neither phone offers a terribly impressive battery either. The Pixel 3 has a 2,915mAh battery, while the iPhone XS is believed to have a 2,658mAh battery. Both should be able to get you through a day, though. Both phones offer wireless charging as well.
Camera
Based on the specs, the iPhone XS would appear to have a superior camera system on the rear of the phone, while the Pixel 3 wins out on the front.
The iPhone XS rear sensors are both 12MP, with one featuring a wide f/1.8 aperture and wide-angle lens and the other boasting a 2x optical zoom lens. The both have optical image stabilization (OIS) for photos and videos, and the phone can record 4K video at up to 60fps and 1080p video at 240 fps.
The Pixel 3 has just one camera on the rear, and it boasts a 12.2MP dual-pixel sensor with 1.4 micron pixels and an f/1.8 aperture. It also has optical and electronic image stabilization. Not so different from the iPhone XS, except there's only one rear camera, and it can record 4K video at a max of 30fps or 1080p video at 120fps.
The iPhone XS front-facing camera is a 7MP shooter but offers Animoji and Memoji thanks to the phones advanced facial sensors. Meanwhile the Pixel 3 has two 8MP front-facing cameras, one offering a 97-degree FOV and the other offering a wider f/1.8 aperture.
But, those are just the specs. Both Google and Apple have shown off how much behind-the-scenes optimizations can do to improve the photos a camera is able to capture. Both phones have AI working to improve images, and Google has done a good job in the past of raising the bar for the best smartphones cameras. Given how little the Pixel 3 announcement focused on specs, it's a safe bet that Google sees its upgraded camera raising the bar once again.
Time will tell which is actually best.
Price
Neither the iPhone XS nor the Pixel 3 are cheap. The bast price for the Pixel 3 with 64GB of storage is a tooth-gritting $799 (£739, AU$1199). The iPhone XS dials that up a notch with a starting price of $999 (£999 / AU$1,629) for the 64GB model.
That's a fairly substantial difference in price, and for shoppers who prioritize camera performance, the Pixel 3 is likely to be the winning device.
Takeaway
Both the iPhone XS and Pixel 3 are competing at the high-end of the smartphone market. In many ways, the iPhone XS pulls ahead of the Pixel 3. Apple offers a more premium design, better display, superior performance, and its camera has at least a few clear advantages. But, all of that comes at a considerably higher price.
The Pixel 3's offering is somewhat questionable, as none of the internals nor the screen are class-leading, yet it's still priced as or more expensive as other phones in its category, like the Galaxy S9. If the Pixel 3 camera can top the competition, then it may prove itself a worthy contender, but even then, the Pixel 3 XL will give more on the design front while still offering that same quality camera.
from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://www.techradar.com/news/google-pixel-3-vs-apple-iphone-xs
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