Both Apple and Google announced an entirely new lineup of phones this year, but which phone really wins?

The smartphone market is booming this year with more options available than ever before. Both Apple and Google have refreshed their lineups this year, with two new additions to the Pixel lineup and four new iPhones added to the mix.

With so many new phones coming out this year, we wanted to take a closer look at both the Google Pixel 8 and the Apple iPhone 15 so you can figure out which device is best for you. If you want to know more about the display, design, battery, and performance of these two phones, you’re in the right place because we’ll cover everything you need to know.

Pricing

Pixel 8 is much more affordable than these two phones. The starting price is £699/$699 and is available from third-party retailers as well as the Google website.

The iPhone 15 is more expensive, with the base model coming in at a starting price of £799/$799.

Design and Display

Pixel 8 comes with a large 6.2-inch Actua OLED display with 1080×2400 resolution with an adaptive refresh rate that can jump from 60Hz to 120Hz. We found it produced deep, inky blacks when streaming video content, and colorfully animated scenes in shows like Futurama were so vibrant they popped off the screen.

Apple opted to add a slightly smaller screen to the iPhone 15; The 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen comes with a resolution of 2556 × 1179. It comes with Dynamic Island, which works incredibly well to show at-a-glance information like what song is playing on Spotify or how much time is left on your timer, and it’s a welcome change from the ugly notch.

We were disappointed by the lack of ProMotion on the iPhone 15, as it retains the same standard 60Hz refresh rate as the previous model. The lack of ProMotion was noticeable during daily use, as animations were slower and less animated than on the Pixel 8. The OLED panel is non-negotiable as HDR content and photos look accurate and sharp.

In terms of design, the Pixel 8 and iPhone 15 differ in a few key areas. We found the Pixel 8 to be relatively thicker than the iPhone 15, but its metal and glass construction gave it a premium feel to hold. The iPhone 15, on the other hand, has a smooth, frosted back surface that prevents fingerprints and provides a much better grip feel than the iPhone 14’s flat glass.

One key area where they match is the USB-C charging port; Due to some EU law changes, Apple had to switch from the traditional Apple Lightning charging port; This means both phones come with a USB-C connector.

Yield

Both Google and Apple have made a name for themselves in the chipset space over the last few years. The iPhone 15 comes with the custom A16 Bionic chipset, while the Pixel 8 comes with the Google Tensor G3 chip.

When we first look at the iPhone 15, it comes with the same chipset as the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models. The A16 Bionic is extremely capable and produces synthetic benchmark scores that can outperform much more expensive Android phones. We didn’t find any problems with the iPhone 15 during daily use; High-end games from Apple Arcade and the App Store perform perfectly, with no stutters or lags.

Google has done a great job with the Tensor G3 chipset but it can’t compete with the A16 Bionic. Our first few days were marred by stuttering even during relatively simple tasks, but a later software update managed to alleviate the problem. Overall performance was quite responsive, but the same cannot be said for gaming. A brief session of Survivor.io dropped the frame rate and even caused some stuttering.

If you’re looking for a phone that can handle intense gaming workloads and feels comfortable to use in any scenario, the iPhone 15 is definitely a better choice, but the Pixel 8 will still be more than useful for everyday tasks.

Camera

However, Google has nailed it in the camera department. Pixel 8 comes with a 50MP main sensor and a 12MP ultrawide lens. We found that the Pixel 8 can take truly stunning photos; well-lit conditions produced impressive images with plenty of detail and impressively accurate colors. HDR performance was equally impressive, and low-light photography was also a strong point, delivering images full of vibrant colours.

A big part of the Pixel 8’s camera is its multitude of AI tricks. Magic Eraser allowed us to remove distracting objects and photobombers from images, and Best Take actually gives us the option to perfect each group photo by creating an image containing everyone’s best smiles.

Apple’s camera setup is still impressive, but it doesn’t include as many AI tricks as its Google rival. iPhone 15 comes with a 48-megapixel main sensor along with a 12 MP ultra-wide lens. The main lens is able to capture sharp and detailed images thanks to all those megapixels, and the inclusion of Deep Fusion and Smart HDR ensures colors look vibrant without appearing oversaturated.

In our review, we gave the edge to the Pixel 7 Pro for night shots, because the iPhone 15 still has a highly reflective lens, which is evident when shooting in dark environments with lots of street lights.

The Edge may have to go to the Pixel 8 because of all the AI ​​features, but overall both of these phones are very capable in the camera department and can take some really great shots.

Battery life

The Pixel series has come such a long way in terms of battery life; Even with an average of 3.5 hours of screen time and plenty of screen time to listen to music, we still managed to keep around 20-30% left in the tank after a long work day.

More impressively, it managed to charge up to 51% in 30 minutes and hit 100% in an hour and 20 minutes.

Apple doesn’t have the same punch in the durability department, but it’s still much better than older iPhones. This is a phone that needs to be charged every night, and lighter users can use it until lunch on the second day at most. Charging speeds were very similar to the Pixel; It was reaching 50% in 30 minutes and 100% in just over 90 minutes; The USB-C charger wasn’t making any difference in charging speeds.