Head to head
Apple iPhone 16vsGoogle Pixel 9
The short answer
Choose the Pixel 9 for peak brightness, typical brightness, HDR brightness, battery capacity, battery life per charge and faster charging. Choose the iPhone 16 for Geekbench 6 CPU score. The iPhone 16 is £100 cheaper at UK RRP (£699 against £799). The Pixel 9 gets security updates until August 2031; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 16, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2031–2035, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate neither clearly gets them for longer.
- Released
- 2024-09-20endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Price
- £699Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Released
- 2024-08-22endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £799Google Store UK, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- 2031-08-01endoflife.date — Pixel, retrieved 2026-08-20
1 win for iPhone 166 wins for Pixel 94 gaps borderline0 differences you won’t notice£100 apart at RRP
Verdict: Pixel 9 ahead on 6 rows, iPhone 16 on 1 row
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the iPhone 16 wins on Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) (7,558 against 3,797, both from Geekbench Browser); the Pixel 9 wins on peak brightness (2,700 nits against 2,000 nits), typical brightness (1,800 nits against 1,000 nits), HDR peak brightness (1,800 nits against 1,200 nits), battery capacity (4,700 mAh from the maker against 3,561 mAh from GSMArena), battery per charge (49.2 h against 37 h) and fast charging (45 W against 20 W). 4 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: weight (170 g against 198 g) for the iPhone 16, display size (6.3 in against 6.1 in) for the Pixel 9, RAM (12 GB from the maker against 8 GB from GSMArena) for the Pixel 9 and wireless charging (25 W from the maker against 15 W from GSMArena) for the iPhone 16. Both state the same storage (base) and battery lifespan. The other 35 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.
True to scale
Outlines from each maker’s published dimensions, drawn to scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. A row the site has no threshold for says whether the two differ, and that it is not ranking them. = marks the same figure on both, ≠ not ranked a difference with no ranking. Every figure carries its source.
Body
Display
Platform
Memory
Camera
Battery
Connectivity
Benchmarks
3 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for
Google Mobile Services · AnTuTu benchmark · 3DMark Wild Life Extreme. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.
Questions
Is the iPhone 16 better than the Pixel 9?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the iPhone 16 wins on Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core), 7,558 against 3,797 (both Geekbench Browser); the Pixel 9 wins on peak brightness, 2,700 nits (Google) against 2,000 nits (Apple UK), typical brightness, 1,800 nits (Google) against 1,000 nits (Apple UK), HDR peak brightness, 1,800 nits (Google) against 1,200 nits (Apple UK), battery capacity, 4,700 mAh (Google) against 3,561 mAh (GSMArena), battery per charge, 49.2 h against 37 h (both EU energy label) and fast charging, 45 W (Google) against 20 W (Apple UK). Every other row is borderline, too close to notice, or not ranked.
Which has the better battery?
The Pixel 9, by a gap you’d notice: battery per charge, 49.2 h against 37 h (both EU energy label). The Pixel 9, by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 4,700 mAh (Google) against 3,561 mAh (GSMArena).
Which is lighter?
The iPhone 16 is lighter, narrowly: weight, 170 g (Apple UK) against 198 g (Google), a borderline gap most people would not notice.
Which has the brighter screen?
The Pixel 9, by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 2,700 nits (Google) against 2,000 nits (Apple UK). The Pixel 9, by a gap you’d notice: typical brightness, 1,800 nits (Google) against 1,000 nits (Apple UK). The Pixel 9, by a gap you’d notice: HDR peak brightness, 1,800 nits (Google) against 1,200 nits (Apple UK).
Which gets updates for longer?
The Pixel 9 gets security updates until August 2031; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 16, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2031–2035, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate neither clearly gets them for longer. Sources: dates from endoflife.date; Apple’s record from endoflife.date and Apple security releases.
Which is cheaper?
The iPhone 16 is £100 cheaper at UK RRP (£699 against £799). Prices from iPhone 16: Apple UK store; Pixel 9: Google Store UK.
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.