iPhone 17 Pro Max vs. Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: I compared both phones, and it’s a close one

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It appears like yesterday after I sat in a Brooklyn warehouse to observe Jimmy Fallon introduce the Google Pixel 10 collection to the world. Since then, Apple has joined the fray with the brand new iPhone 17, and now I’ve bought a number of too many new handsets on my thoughts.

Between what Apple and Google introduced, the iPhone 17 Professional Max and Google Pixel 10 Professional XL stand out as the most effective of the most effective. They’re the fashions that tech fans drool about, followers wait in traces for, and journalists like me itch to match earlier than the year-end awards are due.

In the event you’re deciding on which of the 2 telephones to purchase, I’ve laid out the largest variations beneath, based mostly on specs, hands-on expertise, and years of testing each iPhone and Pixel telephones.

Specs

You can purchase the iPhone 17 Professional Max if…

1. You are a video (and selfie) aficionado

The iPhone 17 Professional Max obtained a number of digital camera upgrades this 12 months, however the two that I would wish to give attention to are the ProRes Uncooked video help and the 18MP Heart Stage entrance sensor.

With the previous, videographers can document content material whereas bypassing all the standard, automated picture processing, like adapting colours and sharpness. The result’s footage that is friendlier to edit, will be matched to the tone that you just’re after, and, maybe most significantly, seems extra per content material captured by different cameras.

Apple has additionally upgraded the entrance digital camera, which may now take images and movies with a wider area of view. It is achieved this by choosing a square-shaped sensor versus an oblong one, permitting the iPhone to crop in or out (learn: take images in panorama or portrait orientation) with out requiring you to rotate the gadget.

2. You understand how to make a telephone flip scorching

Whether or not you are a hardcore cellular gamer or regularly multitasking, the iPhone 17 Professional Max is arguably the better-performing handset of the 2. A giant motive for the hole is the brand new A19 Professional chip, which Apple claims affords a 40% enchancment in sustained efficiency in comparison with the iPhone 16 Professional. (Understand that after we examined final 12 months’s mannequin, the efficiency was already spectacular.)

Apple has additionally launched a brand new vapor chamber cooling system for the iPhone, which leverages a liquid-filled again panel for warmth dissipation. I am anticipating this to maintain the iPhone operating at peak efficiency for longer whereas lowering the toll intense workloads would normally have on the gadget’s battery life.

3. You want 2TB of storage in your telephone 

We now reside in a actuality the place you should buy a $2,000 iPhone from the Apple retailer, because of the brand new 2TB configuration for the iPhone 17 Professional Max. For content material creators, photograph buffs, and people who merely obtain extra apps and recordsdata than wanted, there’s now an iPhone geared for you.

Comparatively, the Google Pixel 10 Professional XL maxes out at 1TB of inside storage. That is nonetheless loads for many customers, however these with excessive calls for ought to gravitate towards the iPhone.

You can purchase the Google Pixel 10 Professional XL if…

1. You need AI options that promise and ship 

There is no denying that the AI options on iPhones are remedial in comparison with what’s on the Pixel. It has been an uphill battle for Apple because the starting, and the hole has solely gotten wider with the launch of the Pixel 10 Professional.

Google’s newest AI tips embody generative picture enhancing by way of textual content and a Magic Cue ticker that populates messages, notes, and even telephone calls with related info (corresponding to flight info, restaurant bookings, and extra). 

I’ve discovered Google’s newest AI options delicate, uninvasive, and extremely practical, a mix that many others, together with Apple, are nonetheless making an attempt to match.

2. You need probably the most forgiving digital camera available on the market

Whereas the iPhone 17 Professional Max will get my choose for taking pictures movies, the Google Pixel 10 Professional XL, with its triple lens setup and bounty of computational touch-ups, makes it probably the most forgiving digital camera telephone proper now.

One function that is impressed me probably the most this 12 months is Professional Res Zoom, which makes use of generative AI to right noise and distortion once you’re taking photos of distant topics. Meaning pictures of buildings and skyscrapers, statues, and even signage that is distant seem extra in focus. 

You can even activate Auto Greatest Take, which robotically picks out the most effective facial expressions of topics and morphs them right into a single photograph — successfully eradicating any likelihood of imperfections.

3. You resonate extra with Materials 3 Expressive

This 12 months, Google and Apple’s approaches to software program and person interface design diverged considerably. Google centered on unified colours, pure actions, and distinctive visible cues, whereas Apple’s design language emphasised translucency and reflections.

Apple’s Liquid Glass idea for iOS 26, which makes the UI parts transfer like water droplets on a glass panel, is sensible in idea. Nonetheless, many iPhone beta customers have identified a scarcity of distinction and discernment.

In distinction, Google’s Materials 3 Expressive theming has been well-received by Pixel customers. It permits for personalizing units with out being distracting.

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