Observe ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
It looks like yesterday once 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 most effective of the most effective. They’re the fashions that tech fanatics drool about, followers wait in strains for, and journalists like me itch to match earlier than the year-end awards are due.
Additionally: iPhone Air vs. Samsung S25 Edge: I compared both ultra-thin phones to decide a winner
If you happen to’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
| 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 |
| Worth | $1,199 | $1,199 |
You can 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 12 months, however the two that I would wish to give attention to are the ProRes Uncooked video help and the 18MP Middle Stage entrance sensor.
With the previous, videographers can report content material whereas bypassing all the standard, automated picture processing, like adapting colours and sharpness. The result’s footage that is friendlier to edit, might 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 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 system.
2. You know the way to make a cellphone flip scorching
Whether or not you are a hardcore cellular gamer or continuously multitasking, the iPhone 17 Professional Max is arguably the better-performing handset of the 2. An enormous cause 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. (Take into account 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 working at peak efficiency for longer whereas decreasing the toll intense workloads would often have on the system’s battery life.
3. You want 2TB of storage in your cellphone
We now reside in a actuality the place you should purchase a $2,000 iPhone from the Apple retailer, due to the brand new 2TB configuration for the iPhone 17 Professional Max. For content material creators, picture buffs, and people who merely obtain extra apps and recordsdata than wanted, there’s now an iPhone geared for you.
Additionally: You can preorder Apple’s new devices30: iPhone 17, Watch 11, AirPods Pro 3, and more
Comparatively, the Google Pixel 10 Professional XL maxes out at 1TB of inner 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 not 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 for the reason that 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 embody generative picture modifying through textual content and a Magic Cue ticker that populates messages, notes, and even cellphone calls with related info (resembling flight info, restaurant bookings, and extra).
I’ve discovered Google’s newest AI options delicate, uninvasive, and extremely purposeful, 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 cellphone proper now.
One characteristic that is impressed me essentially the most this 12 months is Professional Res Zoom, which makes use of generative AI to appropriate noise and distortion once you’re taking footage of distant topics. Meaning pictures 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
It’s also possible to activate Auto Finest Take, which routinely picks out the most effective 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 12 months, Google and Apple’s approaches to software program and consumer interface design diverged considerably. Google targeted 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 components transfer like water droplets on a glass panel, is good in concept. Nevertheless, many iPhone beta customers have identified a scarcity 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.
Need to observe my work? Add ZDNET as a trusted source on Google.
