If you’ve been interested in technology long enough, you’ve probably been made familiar with the iOS and Android dichotomy. iPhones have long been associated with taste and restraint. They’re uncomplicated and beautiful, whereas Android and most Android phones are chaotic and ugly. That general sentiment has never been wholly true, and even if you believe it, the last several years ofSamsung phonesare proof that Apple doesn’t have a monopoly on beautiful hardware. But with thePixel 9, it feels like something bigger has shifted.
Google’s spent years trying to find the right balance of Android smarts and premium hardware to take on Apple’s smartphones (and act as a competitor to Samsung, the largest Android phone maker). It’s had its ups and downs, hitting its stride with cameras, and layering in all sorts of AI-powered features. But with this new family of Pixel 9 phones, it feels like Google’s got it, not just because the phones feel nice and work well, but because the iPhone hasn’t changed nearly enough in comparison. If anything, it’s gotten more like Android.
It feels strange to say it, but the character of the uncomplicated, smart, and stylish smartphone that many people used to associate with the iPhone has fully transferred to the Pixel.Google’s Pixel 9is a better iPhone than the iPhone, andiOS 18and anew iPhone 16don’t seem particularly positioned to change that.
Google’s Pixel 9 event recap: The top 5 things you missed
Google’s Pixel 9 hardware event for 2024 has come to a close, and there’s plenty of announcements to get excited about.
The Pixel 9 has premium, iPhone-like hardware whether you go Pro or not
Google finally made phones that feel expensive
The iPhone is more than just a status symbol, but its also not-not a status symbol either. Apple makes elegant electronics made from decidedly premium materials (titanium was the hot new thing last year). It prides itself on making hardware that’s worth its price and then some because it looks nice, lasts a long time, and is generally very capable. Whether you’re paying thousands for aniPhone 15 Pro, or several hundred for a vanillaiPhone 15, you’re getting your money’s worth.
Apple is expected to announce new iPhones at its next eventon Sept. 9th, 2024.
The Pixel has long been capable, and fairly unique in a quirky, Google kind of way, but it’s never felt particularly premium. Even when Google started offering “Pro” versions of its Pixels, I can’t say they consistently felt worth the $999 the company charged. Whether weird hardware issues or just an overly opinionated design, Pixels have just been…off. That ends with the Pixel 9, which feels premium whether you’re buying the more expensivePixel 9 Pro XLor just the Pixel 9. The matte aluminum rails and glossy glass back on the Pixel 9 and polished metallic finish of the Pixel 9 Pro clearly call to mind the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, but the point is that all of Google’s feels nice to hold too. They’re sturdy, not too heavy or light, and slapping in an even brighter display makes the phone a pleasure to look at. And critically, they actually come in fun colors rather than the black, gray, silver, and gold Apple’s stuck with.
That ends with the Pixel 9, which feels premium whether you’re buying the more expensive Pixel 9 Pro XL or just the Pixel 9.
The addition of the Tensor G4 feels more minor in comparison, especially because it’s not clear that it’s all that different from the Tensor G3 Google used for thePixel 8, but the Pixel 9 feels just as powerful as an iPhone for normal smartphone tasks, and especially the dozens of on-device AI features Google’s made available on its new phones.
Apple’s iPhone has felt stuck with the same design for years
The iPhone is widely popular, but I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone excited by how it looks or what its mixture of screen, cameras, and custom silicon actually does.
The iPhone Pro has looked largely the same since the iPhone 11 Pro, give or take some flat sides and theDynamic Island. The non-Pro iPhone has changed more, if only because Apple has switched the orientation of its rear cameras, but you’ll see a similar through line from the iPhone 11 to iPhone 15.
The story is the same for Apple’s A-series chips. They’ve been more powerful than anyone needs for so long that it’s hard to get too excited about year-over-year improvements. The advent of Apple Intelligence will change things, if only because Apple is limiting its various AI-features to the A17 Pro and up, but that seems to mostly be about the available RAM in the chip rather than raw processing power. The iPhone was ahead for so long when it came to smartphone hardware that it’s been treading water for years.
The Pixel 9 offers a much simpler software experience than the iPhone
Somehow, iOS has started to lap Android in complexity
The similarities between the two phones' hardware matter because it makes how they differentiate themselves with software even more important. And as of late, iOS has gotten pretty complicated. I’ve generally been excited by Apple embracing customization over the years, but I can’t deny that it’s created multiple layers of complexity that Apple is strangely fine with leaving unexplained.
Widgets might be the most egregious, first appearing in the slide over Today View, then coming to the home screen, and finally the lockscreen. There’s nothing wrong with widgets – they’re a great way to access a sliver of the functionality or information in an app – I just don’t understand why they exist in so many different places, and with iOS 18, in multiple different sizes. The Pixel 9, in comparison, only offers widgets on your home screen.
You could make the same kinds of complaints about iOS' Control Center, which went from a catchall menu for adjusting volume or turning off Wi-Fi you accessed by swiping up from the bottom of your phone, to a similar menu you accessed by swiping down from the top right corner of your phone, to a customizable, multipage monstrosity when iOS 18 launches later this year. The Pixel 9, and Android 14, again keeps things much simpler with a notification shade that you pull down from the top of your phone, that you can then swipe down again to access Quick Settings.
Apple was slow to add many things that Android has had from the beginning, like multitasking or copy and paste. As has often been the case, arriving late let the company offer something more considered and well-designed than its competitors. But there’s something messy to many of the additions it’s made to iOS as it embraced Android’s version of customization and glanceable information. Apple only seems to add, hanging on to old versions of current ideas and letting them live alongside new ones. Wander off the prescribed path of using an iPhone or even just hold down on your home screen for too long, and you’ll quickly be bombarded with options and interface elements that only exist to customize the interface. Somehow, the Pixel has become the more sensible, easy to understand option.
The hidden gems in iOS 18 that help you customize your home screen
The iOS 18 public beta is now available, and it’s offering brand new ways to customize your home screen.
The iPhone of Android is finally here
Google’s Pixel 9 is everything the iPhone used to be
Apple will likely always offer a better experience if you’re looking for a whole ecosystem of products that work well together, but the days of an iPhone being easy to understand right out-of-the-box are gone. iOS is mature and increasingly complex, and Apple doesn’t seem too intent on changing that.
Google Pixel 9
Pixel 9 features a 6.3-inch display and a familiar design. It supports the addition of a 48-megapixel ultrawide lens to its rear camera array alongside Google Gemini and AI features.
Who knows what Android or Google’s Pixel phones will feel like to use a few years from now, but at present, the Pixel 9 feels like it’s achieved a thing many assumed Google was doing from the outset: In terms of polish and ease-of-use, it’s the iPhone of Android. That doesn’t mean its perfect or thatall of its AI featuresare actually beneficial to the average person, but it does mean the stakes for Apple’s iPhone 16 announcement feel higher than they have in a long time.
