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Intro
The era of the compact smartphone is over. Wait a second, not so fast! Even though there's no iPhone mini now, and you can shovel snow with most Android and iOS phones out there, there are exceptions.
Enter two of the latest hot flagships: the Pixel 8 and the iPhone 15. Apple officially launched the iPhone 15 series not long ago, so the vanilla model is already a known entity, and we the Pixel 8 is super fresh out of the smartphone oven (Google unveiled the Pixel 8 series on October, 4) so we pretty much have everything we need to pit these two against each other.
These two offer a compact flagship experience, along with the mainstream convenience of a regular Google/Apple phone and operating system. We did our thing, namely meticulous tests that included draining the battery in the most real-life way, measuring the displays of both phones in various ways, testing the performance, both synthetic and real-life, snapping some photos with each of the cameras, and practically living with the Pixel 8 and the iPhone 15 for a couple of weeks.
Today we're going to compare these two and find out which one deserves your hard-earned money. We've meticulously tested both phones in various categories to find every little detail about their performance, aesthetics and longevity. Read on to find out!
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The Google Pixel 8 is available at Amazon right now. The smartphone in Obsidian retails at its standard price, with no discounts on the other paintjobs, either.
When it comes to design, the Pixel 8 and the iPhone 15 are similar and different at the same time. The Pixel follows the same design philosophy started by the Pixel 6 series, with a camera bar on the back and a hole-punch front camera, while the iPhone 15 unsurprisingly takes design cues from all the previous generations, starting with the iPhone 12 series.
What makes these two similar is their compact size. The screens of the Pixel 8 and iPhone 15 are very similar in size, transferring this similarity to the overall size of both devices. The Pixel 8 comes at 5.93 x 2.79 x 0.35 inches (150.5 x 70.8 x 8.9 mm), while the iPhone 15 retains its predecessor's dimensions, measuring 5.78 x 2.81 x 0.31 inches (146.7 x 71.5 x 7.80 mm). Subjectively, these two phones look mid-sized, and even though they're far from the iPhone mini, for example, you'll have easier access to all sides of the screen with one hand, compared to bigger phones.
As you can see, these two are really close in size, with the iPhone 15 ending up being a tad more compact in the end. As far as materials go, both use aluminum and glass. The titanium material is reserved for the Pro models of the iPhone 15 series. There's nothing wrong with aluminum, though, it's a great smartphone building material. In our experience, a good grade of aircraft aluminum can rival stainless steel and even titanium.
The port situation has been normalized by the EU, mandating USB-C on the iPhone 15 series, so there's no more Lightning port for the iPhone. The button situation is also similar, as the new Action Button is present on the Pro models only. The color schemes for the Pixel 8 and iPhone 15 are as follows:
Pixel 8 colors:
Obsidian
Hazel
Rose
We have a dedicated piece about the Pixel 8 series hues, so you should check it out for more detail.
When it comes to user experience, these two feel slightly different in the hand, especially if you used them without a case. During our time with both phones, we found that the Pixel 8 is more comfortable in the hand due to its curved design. The iPhone 15 is not far off, though, and if you're going to use these phones with a case, then any difference is going to be mitigated.
Display Differences
Smooth wins the game
As we already mentioned above, the Pixel 8 and iPhone 15 feature very similar display panels in terms of size (6.2 inches on the Pixel 8 vs 6.1 inches on the iPhone 15). There's one major difference, though, and it lies in the refresh rate.
The Pixel 8 adopts a variable 60-120Hz refresh rate, while Apple sticks with 60Hz for the iPhone 15. Which is really a shame, especially when other flagships and even midrange phones have already moved to higher refresh rates on their displays. Furthermore, everything looks way smoother at 120Hz, and we tested this times and again, there is a perceivable difference!
When you scrolling through text it moves way smoother at 120Hz, and if you play mobile games, the frame rate difference could be crucial and decide your win. We've tried both the iPhone 15 and the Pixel 8, and the latter feels way smoother in the aforementioned tasks.
The resolution of the Pixel 8 is FHD+ (1080 x 2400 pixels, 428 PPI), and according to Google it can output 1,400 nits in HDR mode and up to 2,000 nits peak brightness. The iPhone 15 features an OLED display with 2556 x 1179 pixels resolution, which translates to 461 PPI pixel density.
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Apple also cites up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness, so both phones are again very similar in that regard. In real world scenarios, as shown by our display tests, the Pixel 8 gets brighter, and it's also a tad more color accurate.
We've tested these under bright sunlight and even though both passed with flying colors, there's a clear winner in the display department and it's the Pixel 8.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
As far as biometrics go, things haven't changed since last generation for both the Pixel 8 and iPhone 15. The former comes with an under-display fingerprint scanner, plus the image-based Face Unlock option (which can now be used with sensitive apps like banking), while the latter relies solely on Face ID.
We tested every unlock option continuously and reach the conclusion that the iPhone 15 is faster to unlock, and also more reliable but the Pixel 8 has improved compared to the previous two generations.
Performance and Software
Apples and oranges?
There are some radical differences when it comes to hardware and software between iOS and Android devices, and the Pixel 8 and iPhone 15 are stark examples. Let's take RAM, for example. It's not all created equal when we talk about iPhones and other Android phones, mainly because the apps and OS components are much more optimized on iOS and thus require less RAM to run smoothly. The Pixel 8 has 8GB of RAM onboard, while the iPhone 15 manages to do pretty much the same job with only 6GB.
The same goes for the software; iOS is different than Android in many ways, although both serve the same purpose and, in the end, do exactly the same thing. The Pixel 8 ships with Android 14 onboard, and you can check out our preview for a deep dive, while the iPhone 15 runs iOS 17. We have a detailed review of Apple's new OS as well, so be sure to check this one too.
Looking at the synthetic benchmarks below, it's clear to see that the iPhone 15 wins everything hands down, and the new Tensor G3, even though a clear upgrade compared to its predecessor, is not a match to the A16. In real life both phones work smoothly and you probably won't notice much of a difference. But for the sake of this comparison, the iPhone 15 wins this round.
In real-life scenarios, both phones seem pretty fast, and even though the Pixel 8 can be a little hesitant from time to time we attribute that to the ecosystem and the less wiggle room from the Tensor G3. If you need sheer power, we recommend the iPhone 15, as it has a lot of it.
The software update situation has changed with the Pixel 8! It used to be that iPhones got the longest software support, but not anymore. The iPhone 15 is expected to receive five years of major OS updates, while the Pixel 8 gets a commitment of seven years of major upgrades, all the way until 2030. Impressive!
Speaking of updates, Apple rolled out iOS 17.2 with some really cool features onboard. One such feature is the ability to continue AirDrop transfers over the internet. There are also bug fixes, improvements to StandBy mode, and some new Apple Music features. You can check out everything about the new iOS 17.2 in our dedicated article.
Camera
More similar than different
In the camera department, there are more similarities than differences. The iPhone 15 sports a new main camera sensor, a 48MP one with a 1/1.5" size, which is a 27% increase for the iPhone 15 over the 14 series. The main camera of the Pixel 8, on the other hand, features a 50MP 1/1.31" sensor, under a lens with f/1.68 aperture. In reality, both phones should produce similar results, with the main differences coming from the post-processing algorithms.
The samples from the main camera are pretty close in quality with good level of detail and decent dynamic range. One thing that sticks out is that the Pixel 8 produces colder photos, which are also a tad darker than the shots done with the iPhone 15. But overall, great results from both phones.
Night shots are also very similar between the Pixel 8 and the iPhone 15 but the Pixel does a better job at handling those flares and light artifacts, while the iPhone 15 is letting them run loose. Also, the Pixel 8 seems to produce brighter night shots with just a tad more detail.
Neither of these phones have a dedicated telephoto camera, so they both rely on crops and software algorithms. Looking at the samples, it seems that the iPhone 15 is doing slightly better job at 5X, while the Pixel tends to oversharpen the image.
When it comes to portraits, we have to say that the iPhone 15 produces much more natural images, with natural bokeh, while the Pixel 8 goes to extremes and the end results look like a collage from the early 2000s. Maybe it's down to settings and tweaking things up but as it stands, the iPhone 15 wins this round.
The ultra-wide cameras on both phones are again very similar, with 12 MP sensors and f/2.2 apertures. Unsurprisingly, the results are very similar, with the same difference in tonality we've already noticed from the main camera comparison. The Pixel 8 tends to snap colder images, and the iPhone 15 has some trouble with glare and lighting in night conditions.
Selfies are good on both phones, but the Pixel 8 tends to elongate and soften the face of the subject, and if we're to pick a winner here, it'd be the iPhone 15. The selfies look a tad more natural on the iPhone.
Where the Pixel 8 shines is the sheer number of camera features Google has baked inside the camera system. The list of features is surprisingly long: Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, HDR+, Magic Editor, Night Sight, Astrophotography are only a few of those features.
Video Quality
The video quality looks great on both phones, but the Pixel 8 seems to produce brighter frames. The image stabilization is a tad better on the iPhone, as is the zoomed video sample. In night mode or low-light conditions both phones perform admirably, with the Pixel 8 even resolving more detail at times, and boasting better dynamic range.
Overall, Google has done a great job with the Pixel 8 series in term of photo and video quality, and it's largely down to processing algorithms. You can check out the results of our Blind test camera comparison and get surprised by the results!
Battery Life and Charging
USB-C for everyone!
This year we wave goodbye to the Lightning port, for better or worse (mostly for the better, if you ask us). Sadly, despite the new port, charging and transfer speeds remain unchanged on the iPhone 15 Plus. Apple cites 50% battery in 30 minutes with a 20W wired charger so it's the same old, same old.
The Pixel 8, on the other hand, comes with a 4W bump in charging speed, bringing wired fast charging to 27W, which is pretty close to the iPhone 15. Wireless charging is present on both devices, with MagSafe reserved for the iPhone, and 18W wireless charging support on the Pixel 8.
The Pixel 8 has a slightly bigger battery than its predecessor, clocking in at 4,575 mAh. The iPhone 15 also gets a slight capacity bump in comparison to the iPhone 14. The results of our battery tests are below:
The Pixel 8 outperforms the iPhone 15 by roughly two hours in our browsing and video streaming tests. We'll have to run the gaming test again, as we ran into some issues, but it's safe to say that the Pixel 8 is better and more efficient than the iPhone 15 when it comes to stamina and battery life.
UPDATE: We've redone the 3D gaming benches on the Pixel 8 and the results stand. It seems that the Tensor G3 is still not as efficient as other chipsets on the market. Over 6 hours of 3D gaming is not a bad results per se, but it falls 2 hours short of the iPhone 15 result.
Specs Comparison
Specs
iPhone 15
Pixel 8
Dimensions
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.80 mm 171 grams
150.5 x 70.8 x 8.9 mm 187 grams
Screen
6.1-inch, 60Hz
6.17-inch, 60-120Hz
Processor
Apple A16 Bionic
Google Tensor G3
RAM, Storage and Price
6GB, 128GB, $799 6GB, 256GB 6GB, 512GB
8GB, 128GB, $699 8GB, 256GB
Cameras
48MP wide 12MP ultrawide
50MP wide 12MP ultrawide
Battery Size
3,349 mAh
4,575 mAh
Charging Speeds
25W wired 15W MagSafe
27W wired 18W wireless
Summary
So there you have it! Our comparison of the Pixel 8 and the iPhone 15! These animals roam different territories of the smartphone jungle, and yet they're starting to meet each other from time to time. Both offer similar performance, features, camera experiences, and compact sizes, and both come with similar battery life and charging speeds.
Which one should you choose, then? Well, it depends on two things, basically. First, the price. The iPhone 15 starts at $799, as per tradition, while the Pixel 8 — while slightly more expensive than its predecessor — is still a $100 cheaper than the iPhone.
The second major factor is the ecosystem. If you're using a lot of Apple devices, switching to a Pixel won't make much sense, other than exploring something different on its own. If you're coming from a heavy Android background, you have more wiggle room, so to speak. You can opt for the Pixel and get that definitive Android experience with fast feature drops and the latest updates, and you can also use the iPhone 15 as a gateway to Apple's ecosystem.
Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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