Abstract

  • The Pixel 10 Professional presents loads of enhancements over the Pixel 9 Professional, together with a extra succesful chipset, brighter screens, and magnetic wi-fi charging.
  • Whereas it might need a extra versatile digital camera setup than the iPhone 16 Professional, the Tensor G5 is not any match for the A18 Professional chip’s uncooked efficiency. One other key distinction is the working methods.
  • The Pixel 10 Professional runs on Android 16 out of the field, whereas the iPhone 16 Professional presently runs on iOS 18, and, quickly, Apple’s iOS 26 with a Liquid Glass design.

The Pixel 10 Professional is right here, and it comes with the same price ticket because the iPhone 16 Professional. So, for $999, which of the handsets fits you higher? Is it the Tensor G5-powered Pixel or the iPhone that options the A18 Professional chipset? Let’s discover out.

Value & Availability

The Pixel 10 Pro begins from $999 for the baseline variant with 128GB of storage. Presently out there for pre-orders, the handset will go on sale starting August 28, 2025.

The iPhone 16 Pro has been on sale since September 2024. Regardless of a number of gross sales, the machine is presently out there at $999 for the bottom mannequin with 128GB of storage.

128GB

256GB

512GB

1TB

Pixel 10 Professional

$999

$1,099

$1,219

–

iPhone 16 Professional

$999

1,099

$1,299

$1,499

Horizontal vs. Sq.-Formed Digital camera Module

Picture of the Pixel 10 Pro, showcasing its back, front, and side profile over plain background. Google

Whether or not it’s Google or Apple, each firms have discovered their signature design language, and neither of them is keen to make any vital change to it. And whereas it consists of sure similarities, equivalent to a metallic frame and a glass again panel with matte end, it additionally incorporates some hanging variations.

For Google, the design language features a punch-hole display within the entrance, an aluminum body on the facet, a Gorilla Glass Victus 2 again panel, and, an important ingredient of all, the horizontal digital camera visor that homes the triple rear-facing digital camera setup (together with the temperature sensor).

For Apple, this features a pill-shaped notch up prime (what it calls the Dynamic Island) with minimal display bezels that mix into the titanium frame, and a square-shaped digital camera module (with rounded edges) that homes the three cameras in a triangular alignment (with the LiDAR sensor).

Person holding the Apple iPhone 16 Pro-1 Justin Duino / How-To Geek

With regards to dimensions, the Pixel 10 Professional is taller, wider, and thicker than the iPhone 16 Pro. Additional, Google’s newest handset weighs 207 grams, making it eight grams heavier than the iPhone (and the Pixel 9 Professional for that matter).

Regardless that each telephones include an official IP68 dust and water resistance rating, Google’s smartphone can survive ingress harm as much as a depth of 1.5 meters for half-hour, whereas the iPhone can survive as much as a most depth of six meters throughout the identical time.

Final however not least, the Pixel is out there in 4 colorways: Moonstone, Jade, Porcelain, and Obsidian. However, the iPhone 16 Pro comes in four different titanium-infused shades: Black, White, Pure, and Desert.

Pixel 10 Professional Presents a Brighter Display

Picture of the Google Pixel 10 Pro's front and back profile over a plain gray background. Google

The Pixel 10 Professional boasts a 6.3-inch Tremendous Actua OLED screen, which has a decision of 2856 x 1280 pixels (495 ppi), helps variable refresh fee (1-120Hz as it uses an LTPO panel), and a peak brightness of three,300 nits. This makes the display brighter than the one on the Pixel 9 Professional.

Coming to the iPhone 16 Professional, it additionally will get a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen with a decision of 2622 x 1206 pixels (460 ppi), helps ProMotion technology (1-120Hz), however runs behind with a decrease 2,000 nits peak brightness. Nevertheless, the iPhone’s show can attain a minimal brightness of a nit.

Image of the iPhone 16 Pro in hand.

Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek

It is price declaring that Apple equips the iPhone 16 Professional with the Dynamic Island, a intelligent mixture of {hardware} and software program that makes the pill-shaped cutout interactive and helpful for checking background actions. You may as well get a similar notification system on an Android phone, however by way of a third-party software.

Each telephones assist HDR content material and have the same distinction ratio. Even so, it’s the Pixel 10 Professional that comes out on prime with its brighter display, implying that it could be simpler to make use of the cellphone underneath direct daylight.

Tensor G5 vs. A18 Professional

Creative visualization of Google's new Tensor G5 processor for the Pixel 10 series phones. Google

Yearly, Google launches a brand new chipset with its flagship Pixel collection, and yearly, I sit up for it, hoping that it would come nearer to its opponents when it comes to raw performance. Sadly, that is not the case with the Tensor G5, however Google has certainly made some actual progress in that space.

The Pixel 10 Professional options the brand new Tensor G5 SoC, which, not like the earlier chips, relies on TSMC’s newest 3nm fabrication know-how, which helps enhance the height efficiency and vitality effectivity on the identical time. The chipset features a 3.78 GHz prime core, 5 efficiency cores, two effectivity cores, and helps on-device AI processing.

It runs alongside 16GB of RAM and as much as 1TB of Zoned UFS storage, which is healthier at sustaining peak learn/write speeds and lasts longer than common UFS 3.1 storage modules. With all of the enhancements, the Pixel 10 Professional scores about 20% and 45% higher in GeekBench 6’s single/multi-core CPU check, which is a considerable enchancment over the Pixel 9 Professional.

Depiction of the CPU specifications of Apple's A18 Pro chipset on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple

However regardless of making vital strides in CPU efficiency, the Tensor G5 cannot (or would not wish to) meet up with the chip on the iPhone 16 Pro: the A18 Professional (3nm). The hexa-core chip sports activities two 4.05 GHz prime cores, 4 environment friendly cores, a six-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine for tackling all of the Apple Intelligence features that require on-device processing.

With 8GB of RAM and as much as 1TB of NVMe storage, the iPhone 16 Professional scores a lot larger in artificial benchmarks. The truth is, its single-core GeekBench 6 scores are among the many highest on any smartphone, and Apple might solely enhance upon it with the purported A19 Professional chip anticipated to reach with the iPhone 17 Pro. So what real-world distinction does all this make?

Nicely, the Pixel 10 Professional ought to supply a clean and snappy UI expertise, whereby apps open rapidly and there is not any concern with reasonable to heavy multitasking and different day-to-day duties. Nevertheless, on the subject of extra demanding duties, equivalent to modifying movies or taking part in video games (at higher graphics settings), the iPhone 16 Professional ought to have the ability to deal with these higher.

Android 16 vs. iOS 18

Android 16 hero Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek

The Pixel 10 Professional presents Android 16 out of the field, Google’s newest working system that comes with new options like Live Updates, Notification Cooldown, the flexibility to seize HDR screenshots, new emojis from Unicode 16.0, and different security-related updates.

Just like the Pixel 9, the Pixel 10 collection will even get seven years of major Android and security updates (together with unique Pixel Drops). Google has additionally introduced a few new Gemini AI features, equivalent to speak-to-edit performance by way of the Images app, the Digital camera Coach, and the Magic Cues characteristic that gives useful insights from Google apps.

An iPhone displaying an iOS 18 icon, set against a big Apple logo and the Apple logo pattern in the background Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek

Conversely, the iPhone 16 Professional presently runs on iOS 18 (upgradable to iOS 26), which appears and feels totally different. It encompasses a revamped Control Center, a new Photos app with higher search, extra customization options for the Home Screen, a local app lock, and several other adjustments to Apple’s system apps.

Though Apple would not decide to a particular quantity or vary of software program updates, Apple usually offers round 5 years of iOS assist (six for some fashions). You additionally get loads of AI-based options as a part of Apple Intelligence, apart from the personal context and on-screen awareness for Siri (which could come subsequent 12 months).

Each Telephones Supply a Triple Digital camera Setup

Picture of the Pixel 10 Pro's rear camera setup over a plain gray background. Google

Whether or not it’s the Pixel 10 Professional or the iPhone 16 Professional, each telephones get three rear-facing cameras, together with a major sensor, an ultrawide sensor, and a dedicated telephoto sensor. Nevertheless, it’s the digital camera and editing-related options that make a world of distinction.

Pixel 10 Professional

iPhone 16 Professional

Main Digital camera

50MP (f/1.68, 1/1.3″, OIS) with AF

48MP (f/1.8, 1/1.28″, sensor-shift OIS) with AF

Secondary Digital camera

48MP (f/1.7, 123° FOV, 1/2.55″) ultrawide with AF

48MP (f/2.2, 120° FOV, 1/2.55″) ultrawide with AF

Tertiary Digital camera

48MP (f/2.8, 1/2.55″, OIS) telephoto; 5x optical zoom with AF

12MP (f/2.8, 1/3.06″, OIS) telephoto; 5x optical zoom with AF

Selfie Digital camera

42MP (f/2.2, 103° FOV) with AF

12MP (f/1.9, OIS) with AF

With the telephoto zoom lens, the Pixel 10 Professional offers Professional Res Zoom as much as 100x, whereas the iPhone 16 Professional maxes out at 25x. Though each telephones can record 4K HDR videos, the Pixel can document in 10-bit HDR, whereas the iPhone can seize Dolby Vision (12-bit) footage.

Close up of Apple iPhone 16 Pro cameras. Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek

On the Pixel 10 Professional, you additionally get 8K video recording in as much as 30 fps by way of the Video Increase characteristic (which makes use of cloud processing for upscaling movies). Google additionally presents options like Professional Mode for taking handbook management over footage, a brand new Digital camera Coach characteristic that helps enhance the general composition, and the brand new Edit with Ask Images functionality that permits you to edit images by way of voice instructions (utilizing the Gemini AI assistant).

Some iPhone-specific options embrace ProRes and Log video recording, 4K recording at as much as 120 fps, QuickTake Video, sensor-shift stabilization for pictures and movies, 4 microphones for studio-quality audio, and the Audio Mix feature. The iPhone 16 Professional additionally options the Camera Control button for fast captures and the latest-generation Photographic Types.

Furthermore, it’s the higher-resolution telephoto digital camera and the software-based options that give the Pixel 10 Professional’s digital camera an edge.

Pixel 10 Professional Ought to Final Longer Between Fees

Picture of the Pixel 10 wireless charging accessories. Google

The Pixel 10 Professional sports activities a 4,870 mAh battery that lasts over 30 hours of standard utilization (and as much as 100 hours within the Extreme Battery saver mode). Additional, it will possibly cost as much as 55% in about half-hour utilizing a 30W USB-C PPS charger. The handset additionally helps Google’s Pixelsnap wireless charging at 15W (together with Qi2 charging). What’s odd is that after mentioning the improved battery life within the embargoed spec sheets, Google has backtracked to claiming “24+ hours” of battery life within the official spec sheet (that received revealed on the web site).

In distinction, the iPhone 16 Professional has a 3,582 mAh battery (from unofficial sources), which offers as much as 27 hours of offline video playback. Additional, the cellphone expenses as much as 50% in round half-hour with a 20W adapter (by way of the USB Sort-C 3.2 port).

Apple’s proprietary 25W MagSafe charging is quicker than what you get with common Qi2-compatible chargers. However primarily based on how the Pixel 9 Professional performs in a number of battery assessments, I am assured that the Pixel 10 Professional will reign supreme when it comes to battery life.

What About Connectivity Choices?

Pixel Phone with Satellite SOS open. Justin Duino / How-To Geek

Connectivity choices on the Pixel 10 Professional embrace 5G (mmWave and Sub-6 GHz), Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v6.0, NFC, Google Forged, dual-band GNSS GPS, an ultra-wideband chip for precision monitoring utilizing Google’s Find Hub, and assist for the Thread networking know-how. You additionally get Satellite tv for pc SOS.

The iPhone 16 Professional additionally helps 5G (mmWave and Sub-6 GHz), Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.3, NFC, dual-frequency GPS, a second-generation ultra-wideband chip for Precision Finding by way of the Find My network, and assist for Thread networking. Final however not least, the iPhone additionally offers satellite tv for pc connectivity for emergencies.

Whereas the Pixel 10 Professional offers a USB Type-C 3.2 port, the iPhone 16 Professional has a USB 3 port.

Which Telephone Is Proper for You?

Wanting on the comparability objectively, it’s the Pixel 10 Professional that gives brighter screens, longer software program assist, a extra versatile digital camera setup with modern modifying options, and a battery that lasts longer on a cost.

As compared, the iPhone 16 Professional presents a way more highly effective processor, together with the pliability to document Log and ProRes movies (with glorious stabilization), and seamless connectivity with different Apple gadgets.

You may as well base your resolution in your desire for the working system. For those who desire inventory Android, you possibly can’t go flawed with the Pixel 10 Professional. Nevertheless, when you desire the present options of iOS 18 and just like the Liquid Glass look of iOS 26, the iPhone 16 Professional ought to be the proper technique to go.

  • Pixel 10 Pro

    Model

    Google

    SoC

    Google Tensor G5

    Show

    6.3-inch Tremendous Actua, 20:9

    RAM

    16 GB RAM

    Storage

    128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB with Zoned UFS / 1 TB with Zoned UFS

    Battery

    4870mAh

    The Pixel 10 Professional presents an improve over the bottom mannequin with the highly effective Google Tensor G5 chip, extra RAM, and extra storage (when you want it).


  • iPhone 16 Pro

    SoC

    A18 Professional

    Show

    2,622 x 1,206 decision (460 ppi)

    RAM

    8GB

    Storage

    128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

    Ports

    USB-C

    Working System

    iOS 18

    A model of Apple’s latest iPhone with a bigger display that includes a digital camera button, a programmable motion button, and synthetic intelligence options.



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