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It seems like yesterday after I sat in a Brooklyn warehouse to look at 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 acquired just a few too many new handsets on my thoughts.
Between what Apple and Google introduced, the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Google Pixel 10 Pro XL stand out as the very best of the very best. They’re the fashions that tech lovers drool about, followers wait in traces for, and journalists like me itch to match earlier than the year-end awards are due.
Additionally: Apple Events live updates: iPhone 17, iPhone Air, AirPods Pro 3, and reactions to new wearables
Should you’re deciding on which of the 2 telephones to purchase, I’ve laid out the largest variations under, primarily based on specs, hands-on expertise, and years of testing each iPhone and Pixel telephones.
Specs
| Apple iPhone 17 Professional Max | Google Pixel 10 Professional XL | |
| Show | 6.9″ AMOLED with 120Hz, 3000 nits peak | 6.8″ QHD AMOLED 120Hz, 3300 nits peak |
| Weight | 233 grams | 232 grams |
| Processor | Apple A19 Professional | Google Tensor G5 |
| Dimensions | 78 x 163.4 x 8.75mm | 76.6 x 162.8 x 8.5mm |
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Battery | N/A | 5,080mAh |
| Digital camera | 48MP Fusion / 48MP Extremely Extensive / 48MP telephoto / 18MP entrance | 50MP large / 48MP telephoto (5x) / 48MP ultrawide / 42MP entrance |
| Value | $1,199 | $1,199 |
You should purchase the iPhone 17 Professional Max if…
1. You are a video (and selfie) aficionado
The iPhone 17 Professional Max acquired a number of digital camera upgrades this yr, however the two that I would wish to concentrate on are the ProRes Uncooked video help and the 18MP Heart Stage entrance sensor.
With the previous, videographers can file content material whereas bypassing all the same old, 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 according to content material captured by different cameras.
Additionally: Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: I compared both, and here’s the winner
Apple has additionally upgraded the entrance digital camera, which might now take photographs and movies with a wider subject 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 photographs in panorama or portrait orientation) with out requiring you to rotate the machine.
2. You understand how to make a telephone flip sizzling
Whether or not you are a hardcore cell gamer or regularly multitasking, the iPhone 17 Professional Max is arguably the better-performing handset of the 2. An enormous motive for the hole is the brand new A19 Professional chip, which Apple claims presents a 40% enchancment in sustained efficiency in comparison with the iPhone 16 Professional. (Understand that once we examined final yr’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 working at peak efficiency for longer whereas decreasing the toll intense workloads would normally have on the machine’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, picture buffs, and folk who merely obtain extra apps and recordsdata than wanted, there’s now an iPhone geared for you.
Additionally: You can preorder Apple’s new devices this week: iPhone 17, Watch 11, AirPods Pro 3 and more
Comparatively, the Google Pixel 10 Professional XL maxes out at 1TB of inside storage. That is nonetheless lots for many customers, however these with excessive calls for ought to gravitate towards the iPhone.
You should purchase the Google Pixel 10 Professional XL if…
1. You need AI options that promise and ship
There isn’t any 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.
Additionally: I replaced my Samsung S25 Ultra with the Pixel 10 Pro XL for weeks – and don’t regret it
Google’s newest AI methods embrace generative picture enhancing through textual content and a Magic Cue ticker that populates messages, notes, and even telephone calls with related info (comparable to flight info, restaurant bookings, and extra).
I’ve discovered Google’s newest AI options delicate, uninvasive, and extremely useful, a mixture that many others, together with Apple, are nonetheless attempting to match.
2. You need essentially 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 essentially the most forgiving digital camera telephone proper now.
One function that is impressed me essentially the most this yr is Professional Res Zoom, which makes use of generative AI to appropriate noise and distortion if you’re taking footage of distant topics. Which means photographs of buildings and skyscrapers, statues, and even signage that is distant seem extra in focus.
Additionally: The secrets that make Pixel 10 Pro the world’s smartest phone camera – from inside Google
You may also activate Auto Greatest Take, which robotically picks out the very best facial expressions of topics and morphs them right into a single picture — successfully eradicating any probability of imperfections.
3. You resonate extra with Materials 3 Expressive
This yr, Google and Apple’s approaches to software program and consumer 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 concept for iOS 26, which makes the UI parts transfer like water droplets on a glass panel, is good in idea. Nonetheless, many iPhone beta customers have identified an absence of distinction and discernment.
In distinction, Google’s Material 3 Expressive theming has been well-received by Pixel customers. It permits for personalizing units with out being distracting.
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