Alexandre Schmid21 October 2021 at 09:5121 © Google / Apple

Can the Pixel 6 compete with the iPhone 13? When comparing specs and features, Google's new smartphone model has a hand in it.

Google has launched its Pixel 6, which will hit stores on October 28. A smartphone at an aggressive price given the technical specifications it presents and which could become the new showcase of the Android ecosystem. So inevitably, we wanted to compare it to its rival under iOS, the Apple iPhone 13. Note that this is for the moment a theoretical comparison: we took the Pixel 6 in hand, but not long enough to get a very precise idea. A full test will soon arrive on Clubic.

The iPhone 13 is more compact than the Pixel 6

The first glaring difference comes from the design, with two divergent visions. At the front, the Pixel 6 houses its front camera in a discreet central punch, while Apple is still relying on its notch system which eats up a good part of the screen. On the iPhone 13, the panel is strongly rounded at the edges, which is much less the case on the Pixel 6.

On the back, the iPhone 13 houses its photo sensors in a block in the upper left corner, as has been customary for two years. Google has opted for a more original approach with a horizontal layout, forming a black band that separates the rear panel into two parts.

Handling the smartphone seems easier on the iPhone 13, which is smaller (146.7 x 71.5 x 7.7 mm) and lighter (174 g) than the Pixel 6, which has dimensions of 158.6 x 74.8 x 8.9 mm for a weight of 207 g. In addition, the design and the coating of the Google mobile seemed to us somewhat slippery.

The 6.4-inch screen of the Pixel 6 is larger than the 6.1-inch screen of the iPhone 13. Some will prefer to gain in display comfort, others in comfort of handling and use. The AMOLED panel of the Pixel 6 has a Full HD + 2400 x 1080 pixel definition and a refresh rate of 90 Hz, where the Super Retina XDR OLED of the iPhone 13 offers a slightly higher image quality of 2532 x 1170 pixels but remains stuck at 60 Hz for fluidity.

The Pixel 6 offers HDR10+ support, while the iPhone 13 supports HDR10 as well as Dolby Vision. A very practical feature of Android, the Always-on which allows you to permanently display certain information on the screen (time, date, battery level, notifications) is present on the Pixel 6 and absent from the iPhone 13.

An Android smartphone finally as powerful as an iPhone?

iPhones have historically outperformed the best Android smartphones. And the iPhone 13 hit hard again this year with its A15 Bionic chip engraved in a thinness of 5 nm. The big news at Google is to equip its Pixel 6 with its very first in-house SoC, the Tensor, developed with the help of Samsung. The first benchmarks are promising, but we are waiting for more precise measurements before deciding whether the Tensor is at the level of the A15 Bionic.

As a reminder, the latter is made up of a hexa-core CPU with in particular two cores clocked at 3.22 GHz for heavy tasks, while the Tensor processor is octa-core and has two Cortex-X1 cores at 2.80 GHz to name the most powerful.

The Pixel 6 has 8 GB of RAM, compared to 4 GB of RAM for the iPhone 13, but the latter does not really need more as long as it is well optimized. When it comes to storage, the Pixel 6 only offers one option at 128GB (UFS 3.1), while the iPhone 13 offers 128, 256, and 512GB (NVMe) to choose from.

The autonomy will not be able to be compared precisely for a few days, but the Google Pixel 6 leaves with a head start with its generous battery with a capacity of 4614 mAh, against 3240 mAh for the accumulator of the Iphone. A difference that should make the difference, even if we know that the Android system is more resource-intensive than that of iOS, and that the smoother and larger screen of the Pixel 6 is undoubtedly more energy-consuming. The energy consumption of the different chips must also be taken into account.

The duel of the photo: advantage Pixel 6 or iPhone 13?

On one side, we have the main sensor of 50 MP, aperture of f/1.9, pixel size of 1.2 µm, omnidirectional phase detection autofocus and with optical image stabilization of the Pixel 6. On the other hand, the iPhone 13 defends itself with a 12 MP, f/1.6, 1.7 µm module, dual pixel phase detection autofocus and mechanical image stabilization.

It is difficult to decide between them just by looking at these specifications. The pixel size and sensor aperture are better on the iPhone 13 for capturing bright shots, but the Pixel 6 hits back with its 50 MP with pixel binning, a technique that involves merging four pixels into one in order to capture more light. Special mention finally to the mechanical stabilization of the iPhone 13.

The Pixel 6's 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle offers a 114˚ field of view with distortion correction, while the iPhone 13's 12MP f/2.4 wide-angle widen the field 120° vision. On video, both smartphones are capable of filming in 4K at 60 frames per second and enjoy a similar slow motion mode in 1080p up to 240 frames per second. But Apple has made a specialty of video and the iPhone 13 stands out with support for HDR, Dolby Vision and stereo sound.

The Pixel 6's 8 MP and f/2.0 front camera is limited to 1080p at 30 fps, while the iPhone 13's 12 MP and f/2.2 front camera allows you to shoot in 1080p up to 120 fps or in 4K up to 60 fps. Not to mention TrueDepth 3D sensors for Face ID and augmented reality.

Android vs iOS

For many users, the sinews of war is on the software part. Between Google's semi-open system and Apple's double-locked system, everyone has their preference. And of course, the services associated with these platforms (music, games, storage, etc.) play a key role in consumer decision-making.

We invite you to consult our file dedicated to iOS 15 and the one that details the new features of Android 12 in order to learn more about the two operating systems, their interface, their functionalities...

Be aware that the Pixel 6 is entitled to some exclusive features that are not found on other Android smartphones. Google has promised that thanks to AI and machine learning, the smartphone learns from our uses and adapts to them in order to improve its autonomy. The device also makes it easy to remove unwanted elements from the background of photos.

For its part, Apple has tamed the AI ​​for its cinematic mode in video, which applies a background blur effect behind the subject in the same way as for portrait mode in photo.

Price

On paper, the iPhone 13 seems a little more complete than the Pixel 6, which still manages to stand out in certain categories. And one of the strongest arguments in its favor is surely its price since it is marketed at 649 euros, an aggressive price for a smartphone of this positioning.

The iPhone 13 is much less affordable. It is available from 909 euros in its 128 GB configuration, with a cost that rises to 1029 euros for 256 GB and 1259 euros for 512 GB.