Pixel 10 vs iPhone 16: The $799 Android that will make iPhone owners switch

The Pixel 10 is Google's latest base flagship model, and it is arguably the company's best-value phone ever. It comes with Google's first fully custom-built chip, an even larger battery, magnetic wireless charging, and a third, 5x telephoto camera.

Compared to the Pixel 10, the iPhone 16 feels severely outdated in some regards, especially when it comes to its display. That said, it also comes with its own set of benefits, such as the fact that it has a more compact body while maintaining a larger screen, better performance, and better video quality.

If you are coming from an older iPhone, the Pixel 10 must be looking extra tantalizing right now, so is it worth the switch?

Get the Pixel 10 at Amazon

The Pixel 10 is finally here! The latest model features the new Tensor G5 chip, paired with 12GB RAM, providing incredible AI features and a smooth performance. You can get it at its standard price on Amazon.

Buy at Amazon

Get the iPhone 16 for $0.00/mo. at Verizon

$0

$729 ⁹⁹

$730 off (100%)

Get the iPhone 16 to experience Apple Intelligence and save $730 with a new line activation. The promo is available at Verizon and requires you to set up a line on the Unlimited Ultimate. Unlimited Welcome, or Unlimited Plus plans.

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Both phones are built to modern flagship standards, with aluminum frames, reinforced glass, and IP68 dust and water resistance. Apple uses its second-gen Ceramic Shield on the iPhone 16, which the company claims is three times more scratch resistant than the first generation. Google, on the other hand, has equipped the Pixel 10 with Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which is the same used on its Pro line and the toughest Gorilla Glass at the moment.

The Pixel 10 is the heavier, thicker phone. Google made this trade-off to make room for a larger 4,970 mAh battery and built-in Qi2 magnets (first on an Android phone), which support Google’s new Pixelsnap ecosystem of accessories like magnetic chargers and ring stands. In fact, this makes the Pixel 10 compatible with MagSafe accessories too.

The iPhone 16 introduced two new buttons: Capture Control, for adjusting zoom and exposure, and the Action button, carried over from the Pro models. The Action button is a genuinely useful addition, but it is hard to say the same for the Capture Control, as its placement feels awkward, which eliminates its whole purpose.





Pixel 10 colors include Obsidian, Indigo, Frost, and Lemongrass, while iPhone 16 colors comes in Pink, Teal, Ultramarine, White, and Black.

When it comes to display quality, however, the Pixel 10 clearly outclasses the iPhone 16. It has a slightly larger 6.3-inch OLED panel that goes as high as 120Hz and hits up to 3,000 nits peak brightness — one of the brightest displays in any phone. The iPhone 16 has a 6.1-inch OLED that maxes out at 60Hz refresh rate.

Biometrics-wise, the Pixel 10 uses an updated ultrasonic fingerprint scanner that is now a bit faster. Also, since the Pixel 8, Google also offers Face Unlock that's secure enough to allow payments, just like Face ID on the iPhone.

Display Measurements:

The Pixel 10 not only gets significantly brighter (nearly doubling the iPhone’s brightness when the screen is completely white) but it also delivers more accurate colors. The iPhone’s grayscale accuracy weaker, with more noticeable shifts at different brightness levels. Apple still holds a small advantage in minimum brightness, which makes it easier to use comfortably in the dark, but overall, the Pixel’s display is simply better.

Test results aside, though, both display look great in everyday use. The iPhone might not get as bright, but it is still perfectly usable even in broad daylight.

The iPhone 16 runs on the A18 Bionic, built on TSMC’s N3E 3nm process. It delivers major CPU and GPU gains, cementing its place as the most powerful mobile chip available today. Games and pro-grade apps run effortlessly, and Apple’s thermal design helps sustain that performance over longer sessions.

The Pixel 10, meanwhile, debuts the Tensor G5 — Google’s first fully custom SoC, also fabbed on 3nm. Rather than chasing Apple’s benchmark crown, it’s tuned for AI-first performance. Google claims a 34% CPU boost, 60% faster TPU acceleration, and 2.6× faster Gemini Nano execution compared to Tensor G4. A new ISP also enables better low-light video and default 10-bit HDR capture.

CPU Performance Benchmarks:

Even with its new custom-built chip, Google still can't match the CPU performance of last year's iPhones. The iPhone 16 beats the Pixel 10 both in single and multi-core performance by a landslide. 

GPU Performance

The results are closer to each other when it comes to GPU performance. The Tensor G5 does admirably here, scoring 3368 points in its best loop and 2025 points in its lowest one.

When it comes to thermals, the iPhone 16 stays a bit cooler under longer workloads, like editting photos and video content, or when gaming. The Pixel can get a tad too warm at times, but nothing extreme.

It is important to note, however, that the Tensor G5 isn’t built to chase Apple's raw performance. Its focus is on AI and machine learning. In practice, that means features like:

If you care about AI, the Pixel 10 can do things the iPhone 16 simply cannot. In fact, Apple Intelligence is still rolling out. The most anticipated feature, Siri’s long-promised upgrade, has been delayed into 2026, with some reports even claiming 2027.

For years, both Apple and Google kept their base models limited in camera options. Apple stuck with a dual setup, and Google’s standard Pixels weren’t much more versatile.

That changes in 2025. The Pixel 10 finally adds a telephoto lens, giving it a full triple-camera system at the entry flagship level. The iPhone 16, on the other hand, relies on just a wide and ultra-wide camera.

There's the iPhone 16’s Capture Control button helps switch zoom/exposure modes quickly, but as we said earlier, it's not exactly comfortable.

Google has made a big shift this year with the Pixel 10, adding a triple-camera setup that includes a 10.8 MP 5x telephoto lens. To accommodate it, however, the other two cameras use smaller sensors than before.

The 48 MP main shooter (f/1.7) now relies on a 1/2.0-inch sensor instead of the Pixel 9’s larger 1/1.31-inch, while the 13 MP ultra-wide drops to a 1/3.1-inch sensor compared to the previous 1/2.55-inch.

Google has also included brand new AI-related changes:

• Camera Coach: real-time tips for better framing, lighting, and angles.
• Auto Best Take: analyzes up to 150 frames for the best group shot.
• C2PA Content Credentials: embedded photo authenticity.
  

PhoneArena Camera Score:

The iPhone 16 narrowly comes ahead of the Pixel 10 in our overall camera score thanks to its reliable video performance and slightly better selfies. The Pixel 10, unsuprisingly, comes with the higher zoom score thanks to its dedicated telephoto camera, making it a more versatile option.

Main Camera

Here, both phones offer seemingly equal dynamic range, but there is an obvious difference when it comes to processing. The Pixel 10 has a more "flat" look to it. Compared to that, the iPhone 16's image has a lot more contrast and it feels already edited. This is a bit weird, considering it used to be the other way around when comparing Pixels to iPhones.



Pixels are unmatched when ti comes to capturing skin color, and that shows here. Our collegue Preslav looks a lot more natural on the Pixel 10's shot compared to the iPhone 16's. Not only that, but the Pixel also seems to have captured more light, reaving more in the shadows.

Zoom Quality

At 5x zoom, for a phone that doesn't have a dedicated telephoto camera, the iPhone 16 does admirably. But it simply cannot match the Pixel 10's dedicated 5x telephoto camera, which is not only sharper, but also has more realistic colors — the iPhone faield to capture the right colro temperature (everything is more yellow).

Ultra-wide Camera

Once again, we see a clear difference in color representation, with the Pixel 10 doing a much better job at capture true-to-life colors. There's a lot more to unravel here, though. The iPhone's ultra-wide camera definitely strugles more with dynamic range and shows a lot less in the shadows compared to the Pixel. What's more, there is a light reflection that, in my opinion, completely ruins the image. If you look a bit closer, the Pixel also has a light reflection, but it is more of a smudg than an obvious white line, making it a lot less distracting.

Selfies

Despite having a lower-resolution camera, the Pixel 10's image from the selfie camera looks significantly better. Most likely, that's because the camera comes with a larger 1/3.1" sensor, vs the 1/3.6" one on the iPhone 16. What the iPhone 16 has going for it is the wider angle, which helps capture more in the shot — useful if you are taking group selfies.

More Camera Samples

The Pixel 10 has a huge battery capacity of 4,970 mAh vs the iPhone 16’s 3,561 mAh. Google claims 30+ hours on a single charge, and I have a feeling it would outlast the iPhone by a wide margin.

The Pixel 10 is the first major Android phone to support Qi2 magnetic wireless charging with Pixelsnap accessories, offering MagSafe-like convenience on Android. Apple’s MagSafe remains excellent at 25W, but the Pixel now finally matches that feature.

PhoneArena Battery and Charging Test Results:

The Pixel 10 outlasted the iPhone 16 in our browsing and video playback tests, making it the better pick for day-to-day use and media consumption. The iPhone 16, however, proves more efficient when it comes to gaming, lasting nearly twice as long.

Charging speeds are not that different, though. 

Here's a quick overview of the Pixel 10 vs iPhone 16 specs:

The iPhone 16 is a compact powerhouse with stellar CPU and GPU performance, efficient gaming performance, and best-in-class video recording. But it also feels dated in some key ways, with a 60Hz display, shorter browsing and video battery life, and no telephoto lens. Thankfully, the iPhone 17 fixed some of those, so it is well worth checking out.

But Google is offering a lot with the Pixel 10. Its brighter 120Hz screen, triple-camera system with real optical zoom, long battery life, and Qi2 magnetic charging make it the easiest phone to switch to if you are coming from an iPhone. On top of that, you have Google’s magic-like AI features, which add unique functionality you won’t find on iOS.

At $799, the Pixel 10 offers so much value that it is hard to gloss over as an option. It does lack in a few areas where the iPhone has excelled for years like chip performance and video recording, but it definitely deserves a consideration.