Google Pixel 10 Pro XL vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: expectations
Google's Pixel 10 Pro XL is right behind the corner. Will a new 3nm chip and redesigned Android be enough to pull eyes and wallets away from the iPhone 16 Pro Max?
Intro
Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max is now 8 months old and you could say it has gathered quite the momenum in the market. Well, minus the fact that it didn't get all the AI software features that were promised — oopsie! However, you could argue that hasn't reduced the iPhone's desirability — it’s Apple’s ecosystem magic and sheer polish that keep it perched comfortably at the top.
So, it's now Google's turn! With the Android Show having given us a pretty good idea of the Android 16 overhaul, and the Pixel 10 Pro XL on the horizon, it should at least cause some heads to turn. One thing that we can say about Google is that it does release the software features it promises (it's not all roses, as Google tends to also bury a lot of features, apps, and services, but that's a whole other topic).
Since last year, the Pixel Pro XL model became a thing — a variation of the Pixel flagships that goes straight for the iPhone Pro Max throne. Can it reach it? While leaks about Google’s new flagship are still surprisingly sparse (for a company that historically couldn’t keep a secret to save its life), there’s already enough info swirling around to get a solid feel for what’s coming.
Pixel 10 Pro XL vs iPhone 16 Pro Max expected differences:
| Pixel 10 Pro XL | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
| Almost no difference from last year, flat sides with curved corners | Also flat sides and curved corners, titanium coating |
| Big camera bar on the back | The signature camera square at the corner |
| 6.8-inch Super Actua OLED display | 6.9-inch OLED screen with anti-reflective coating |
| 3,000 nits of peak brightness | 2,000 nits of peak brightness |
| Google Tensor G5 (3nm TSMC-made) | Apple A18 Pro (3nm) |
| 16GB of RAM | 8GB of memory |
| 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB storage variants | 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB versions |
| 50MP+48MP+48MP rear camera system | 48MP+12MP+48MP rear camera system |
| 42MP selfie camera | 12MP front-facing camera |
| Probably a 5,000+ mAh battery on board | 4,685 mAh battery |
| 37W wired, 23W wireless charging | 27W wired and 25W MagSafe charging |
| Likely coming with Android 16 | iOS 18 |
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Design and Size
Same Pixel look. Same iPhone feel
If you’ve seen the Pixel 9 Pro XL, chances are you have a good idea of what the Pixel 10 Pro XL will look like — according to what we know so far, at least. Google seems to be sticking to its guns with that iconic camera bar and flat design language. And honestly? That’s totally fine, I actually even liked the camera bar better before it became a pill shape last year, but that's fine.
According to early whispers, the Pixel 10 Pro XL might be ever-so-slightly shorter — we’re talking 0.1mm here, basically a rounding error. It won’t affect your pocket, but chances are old cases won't be a fit. It'll apparently still be made of aluminum, though we do expect it to have the shiny finishes yet again.
Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max is pulling some subtle but meaningful tricks of its own. It came with slightly slimmer bezels, and is a touch lighter thanks to that titanium frame that Apple introduced in 2023. The general footprint stays familiar, but Apple’s refinement game is relentless — it's not flashy, it’s solid.
According to early whispers, the Pixel 10 Pro XL might be ever-so-slightly shorter — we’re talking 0.1mm here, basically a rounding error. It won’t affect your pocket, but chances are old cases won't be a fit. It'll apparently still be made of aluminum, though we do expect it to have the shiny finishes yet again.
Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max is pulling some subtle but meaningful tricks of its own. It came with slightly slimmer bezels, and is a touch lighter thanks to that titanium frame that Apple introduced in 2023. The general footprint stays familiar, but Apple’s refinement game is relentless — it's not flashy, it’s solid.
| Pixel 10 Pro XL | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
| Thickness ~8.5mm | Thickness 8.25mm |
| Weight ~221 gr | Weight 227 gr |
Both phones bring that flagship heft and premium feel, both with IP68 water- and dust-resistant (because of course they would have it), and both shoudl be built like tanks.
For buttons, though, Apple is going all out with the extra Action Button and Camera Control button, making it a total of five when you count the power and volume controls. The Pixel 10 Pro XL will likely still only have power and volume with no extra on-hardware controls.
Display Differences
Two top-tier displays walk into a bar…
The Pixel 10 Pro XL will likely sport a 6.8-inch Super Actua OLED display, probably pushing 3,000+ nits of peak brightness. Super Actua is Google's tech that makes sure that the colors don't get skewed when you boost brightness — that's a good thing. It should have a 1-120Hz variable refresh rate, beautifully thin bezels, and that vibrant Pixel color tuning.
Biometrics might see a subtle upgrade too — a faster under-display fingerprint scanner could finally shut down the lag complaints from previous gens, though I can't say I've had an issue with the Pixel 9 family.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max? Expect a 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED (say that 10 times fast) with all the usual Apple punch: ultra-smooth 120Hz ProMotion, industry staple calibration, and a brightness that combats the reflections of the summer sun.
Biometrics might see a subtle upgrade too — a faster under-display fingerprint scanner could finally shut down the lag complaints from previous gens, though I can't say I've had an issue with the Pixel 9 family.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max? Expect a 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED (say that 10 times fast) with all the usual Apple punch: ultra-smooth 120Hz ProMotion, industry staple calibration, and a brightness that combats the reflections of the summer sun.
You should be happy with both displays, though it's worth noting that the Pixels — being Android and all — do give you some fine controls over color calibration, so you can boost the saturation if that's what you prefer.
| Pixel 10 Pro XL | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
| Size 6.8-inch | Size 6.9-inch |
| Peak brightness 3,000 nits | Peak brightness 2,000 nits |
Performance and Software
Tensor enters the 3nm arena. Apple’s already waiting there.
For the first time ever, Google’s Tensor chip won’t be piggybacking off Samsung’s Exynos legacy. The new Tensor G5 will reportedly be a fully custom SoC, manufactured by TSMC on a 3nm process — the same cutting-edge tech Apple’s already using in its A-series chips.
This could be huge for Pixel. We’re talking meaningful performance and efficiency gains, especially when paired with a whopping 16GB of RAM — up from 12GB last year — and AI features powered by Gemini Nano baked into the OS.
This could be huge for Pixel. We’re talking meaningful performance and efficiency gains, especially when paired with a whopping 16GB of RAM — up from 12GB last year — and AI features powered by Gemini Nano baked into the OS.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, holds the A18 Pro — a chip we are well acquainted with. Performance is world-class, with the minor caveat that the huge scores drop fast when it heats up and is forced to throttle (they still drop to fairly high numbers, mind you). We don't have high hopes that the Tensor would rival the A18 Pro in direct raw power — Google's silicon has always been about the AI cores and image processing cores, assisting the general function of the Google features on the stock Pixel Android.
| Pixel 10 Pro XL | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
| Chipset Tensor G5 3nm | Chipset Apple A18 Pro 3nm |
| Memory 16GB | Memory 8GB |
| Storage 128GB 256GB 512GB 1TB | Storage 256GB 512GB 1TB |
While the Pixel might dial that RAM up to 16GB, Apple is still playing it cool at 8GB. iPhones typically don't come with a lot of RAM and the entire lineup was basically "forced" to upgrade, kicking and screaming, to a minimum of 8GB because of AI functionality reasons. We guess that's one good thing about the current AI craze.
Considering that Android 16 is supposedly coming out in May, the Pixel 10 Pro XL should launch with it out of the box, and you can count on seven years of updates. iOS 18 on the iPhone 16 Pro Max has now reached its final form — not the promised form. While we did get the ChatGPT integration, AI text editing features, image editing and even audio editing, the hotly anticipated Siri upgrade has been postponed indefinitely. But the good news is that it should be getting updates at least until late 2029.
Camera
One's a precision shooter. The other’s a computational wizard.
Pixel 10 Pro XL is likely sticking with the tried-and-true camera setup from last year:
- 50MP main
- 48MP ultra-wide
- 48MP 5x periscope telephoto
- 42MP selfie
We wouldn't be surprised if a high-res sensor for the main camera sneaks in there. But we also wouldn't be surprised if Google sticks to the hardware it knows and just proviced better photos and video through the wizardry of its highly-developer image processing pipeline. That's what Pixel phones are known for.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max did get an upgrade — it was the final part of the big camera overhaul, bringing the ultrawide camera up to 48MP to match the main camera. It now has:
- 48MP main
- 48MP ultra-wide
- 12MP 5x periscope telephoto
- 12MP selfie
Add in Apple’s cinematic video mastery and seamless color science, and you’ve got a mobile camera built for content creators. iPhones are currently hailed as the smartphone to beat specifically for video recording, due to their stabilization, detail, framerate smoothness, and extra features and app ecosystem.
| Pixel 10 Pro XL | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
| Wide 50MP F1.68 | Wide 48MP F1.8 |
| Ultra-wide 48MP F1.7 | Ultra-wide 48MP F2.2 |
| Periscope 48MP 5X zoom | Periscope 12MP 5X zoom |
| Front 42MP F2.2 | Front 12MP |
Battery Life and Charging
No revolutions. Just reliable power.
Pixel 10 Pro XL will likely bring back a ~5,000mAh battery — par for the flagship course. Charging speeds will supposedly hover around 37W wired, which is far from the charging sprinters from the East, but should do fine if you have a couple of hours to spare (or charge overnight)
The iPhone 16 Pro Max sticks to a sub-5,000 capacity still, but Apple never chases capacity numbers thanks to its efficiency tunings. The phone has proved that it can confidently last two days, but power users will want to have a charger on hand. Wired charging juices up with 27W, MagSafe has been upgraded to deliver 25W, so whichever one you choose...
| Pixel 10 Pro XL | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
| Battery ~5,060mAh | Battery 4,685mAh |
| Wired charging 37W | Wired charging 27W |
| Wireless charging 23W | Wireless charging 25W |
Specs Comparison
Here's how the Pixel 10 Pro XL and the iPhone 16 Pro Max specs might compare.
| Pixel 10 Pro XL | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|
| Size, weight 162.7 x 76.6 x 8.5 mm 221gr | Size, weight 163.0 x 77.6 x 8.25 mm 227gr |
| Screen 6.8" OLED 120Hz 3,000 nits | Screen 6.9" OLED 120Hz 2,000 nits |
| Processor Google Tensor G5 3nm | Processor Apple A18 Pro 3nm |
| Versions: 16GB/128GB 16GB/256GB 16GB/512GB 16GB/1TB LPDDR5 | Versions: 8GB/256GB 8GB/512GB 8GB/1TB LPDDR5 |
| Cameras: 50MP main 48MP ultra 48MP 5X zoom 42MP front | Cameras: 48MP main 48MP ultra 12MP 5X zoom 12MP front |
| Battery: ~5,060 mAh | Battery: 4,685 mAh |
| Charging: USB-C 37W wired 23W wireless | Charging: USB-C 27W wired 25W MagSafe |
Summary
The Pixel 10 Pro XL is shaping up to be a refined, upgraded, typical yet worthy Google flagship. Custom silicon now upgraded to a 3nm model, more RAM, and a Google's camera system chops should make this a phone something to consider — especially for those deep in the Google ecosystem or curious about Gemini AI integration, which is much more fleshed out than Apple Intelligence.
But the iPhone 16 Pro Max? It’s still the one to beat. With Apple’s usual polish, a blistering A18 chip, world-class display, deep iOS optimizations and rich App Storre, it’s the benchmark for a reason.
A battle of visions and philosophies, somewhat, if you will. 2025 is just heating up — and let's not forget that there's an iPhone 17 Pro Max waiting a few months from now!
But the iPhone 16 Pro Max? It’s still the one to beat. With Apple’s usual polish, a blistering A18 chip, world-class display, deep iOS optimizations and rich App Storre, it’s the benchmark for a reason.
A battle of visions and philosophies, somewhat, if you will. 2025 is just heating up — and let's not forget that there's an iPhone 17 Pro Max waiting a few months from now!
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