Pixel 9 vs. iPhone 15: The winner may surprise you (2024)

Now that Google's new Pixel 9 is here, it presents a very interesting dilemma to platform-agnostic smartphone buyers.

On the one side, there's the good ol' trusty iPhone 15 — "old" is the operative word here because it came out last September. Plus, a new successor, the iPhone 16, is expected to hit the market in about a month.

Next, we have Google's new Pixel 9. This is not to be confused with the new Pixel 9 Pro nor the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The Pixel 9 is not the most powerful new Google smartphone, but it still packs a punch and is best directly compared with the iPhone 15 — at least until the iPhone 16 comes out.

Let's say you're good with either Google's Android or Apple's iOS platform, and you need a new phone. The question is: Should you get the very new, very fancy Google Pixel 9, or the not-so-new Apple iPhone 15? Or should you wait for the iPhone 16 and then decide? It's not an easy choice, but we have some thoughts on the matter.

Here's the lowdown on the Pixel 9. It's got a totally different design from its predecessor, with a humongous camera bump on the back. The display is slightly bigger, brighter, and better than before. Plus, it has a much-improved ultrawide camera and a new Google Tensor G4 chip inside. It's a significant improvement over the Pixel 8 and a worthy competitor to the iPhone 15.

Pixel 9 vs. iPhone 15 price

Both the new Pixel 9 and Apple's iPhone 15 start at the exact same price: $799. (You can purchase the iPhone 15 from Apple's official website and the Pixel 9 from Google's official product page.)

For the money, both phones offer 128GB of storage, so this is a total draw — so far.

Pixel 9 vs. iPhone 15 design

This will obviously depend on everyone's preferences. But the comparison will definitely a little unfair as the Pixel 9 is as new as they come, while the iPhone 15 has been around for nearly a year.

In any case, both phones have radical redesigns compared to their predecessors. The iPhone 15 has the Dynamic Island feature (first introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro), giving it that characteristic black pill cutout that makes it stand out from most non-Apple phones. On the back, the two cameras easily betray that it is not, in fact, a Pro model because it lacks a third sensor (e.g., telephoto), but it still looks pretty fresh in our opinion. You can get it in Blue, Pink, Yellow, Green, and Black.

On the other hand, the Pixel 9 is a pretty dull affair on the front, with a tiny, circular cutout for the selfie camera and round corners, making it look pretty much the same as any other Android phone. On the back, however, there's a massive pill-shaped camera bump, which is a nice departure from the Pixel 8's dull-ish design. Here are the Pixel 9's color options: Obsidian, Porcelain, Wintergreen, and Peony.

Pixel 9 vs. iPhone 15 specs

The iPhone 15 has a 6.1-inch OLED display with the Dynamic Island cutout on top and a peak brightness of up to 2,000 nits. It's powered by Apple's A16 Bionic chip, starts with 128GB of storage, and has a 48-megapixel camera on the back, coupled with a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor.

Battery is rated for 20 hours of video playback, and the phone is dust-and-water-resistant to IP68 specifications. Apple-specific features include Face ID, MagSafe accessories and charging, Siri digital assistant (about to get better with iOS 18), car crash detection, and sending emergency messages via satellite when there's no cell connectivity.

The Pixel 9 has a slightly larger, 6.3-inch Actua display with up to 2,700 nits brightness. It's powered by Google's Tensor G4 chip, coupled with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of starting storage. Battery is good for 24+ hours of use per Google's specs, and the camera system consists of a 50-megapixel main camera and a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera.

The Google phone is also dust-and-water resistant to IP68 specs. It boasts similar safety features as the iPhone, including satellite SOS messages and car crash detection. Perhaps its most important traits are Google's software and AI smarts, which are typically top notch on Pixel phones, with access to features that trickle down to other Android phones much later.

Pixel 9 vs. iPhone 15 battery life

The way these two companies rate battery life for their phones could not be any more different. Google says the Pixel 9 has 24+ hours of battery life, which can be extended up to 100 hours with Extreme Battery Saver. Google also revealed that the typical battery capacity of the Pixel 9 is 4,700mAh.

Apple does not say how big the iPhone 15's battery is (we know that its capacity is 3,349mAh from reports). And it does not have a rating for regular use. Instead, the company says you'll get up to 20 hours of video playback,16 hours of streamed video playback, and up to 80 hours of audio playback.

Pixel 9 vs. iPhone 15 camera

We'll have to keep this one short, as we haven't had enough time to thoroughly experiment with the Pixel 9's cameras.

The specs are similar: The iPhone 15 has a 48-megapixel main camera with 2x optical zoom and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. We've found it to be pretty great, unless you really need more zoom.

The Pixel 9 is slightly more powerful on paper: a 50-megapixel main camera with 2x optical zoom and a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera with macro mode. The megapixel count here isn't necessarily important. Image processing and software algorithms can step in to compensate for any hardware limitations — and do it well. For example, I've reviewed some horrible cameras with a high megapixel count. Still, the Pixel phones have a reputation of delivering excellent photos due to Google's AI enhancements.

We'll have to get the Google Pixel 9 and iPhone 15 cameras in for review to really put them to the test.

Pixel 9 vs. iPhone 15: AI

Oh boy. This is a tough one. In broad terms, Google is ahead of Apple when it comes to AI, though it has had its share of issues. Apple's got big plans for the iPhone, some of which is coming with iOS 18 (but it will be applicable to the iPhone 15 as well), and some of it coming at a later date. To make matters even more complicated, Apple reportedly plans to incorporate Google Gemini into Apple Intelligence.

As such, it's difficult to say which phone will end up being better when it comes to AI-related features in the long-term. Right now, though, the iPhone 15 is very limited when it comes to AI, whereas Google Pixel 9 already has Gemini on board and boasts a number of AI-enhanced features integrated into Google services, including Gmail and Google Maps. Let's stay in the present and call this one a win for Google, for now.

Google Pixel 9 vs. Apple iPhone 15: Which one should you get?

For the vast majority of users, it's all about the ecosystem. You either prefer Android or iOS — and that's how you'll choose your next phone. (Among Android devices, though, the Google Pixel 9 is a top choice). For those who don't have an allegiance to either operating system, the Pixel 9 edges out the iPhone 15 by a narrow victory.

Sure, it matches the iPhone in most cases, but it's slightly larger with a brighter display. Plus, it has better AI integration.

Keep in mind, however, that all of this might change when the iPhone 16 comes out in a month.