Technologies

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Max, Galaxy S23 Ultra: Top-End Phones Compared

The Pixel 8 Pro brings new media-editing software tricks, but how else does it compare to the top premium smartphones?

The Pixel 8 Pro is Google’s latest top-end phone, packing a new processor, a brighter display and better cameras than its predecessor. But it faces stiff competition from two other handsets that dominate the premium smartphone market: the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. How do they really compare?

The Pixel 8 Pro runs on the new Tensor G3 chipset, the third generation in a line of silicon Google has designed to augment its on-device AI processing. Tensor chipsets don’t seem to be quite as much of a performance powerhouse in benchmarks like Geekbench as the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro Max or the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip in the Galaxy S23 Ultra. We’ll have to wait until we can fully test the Pixel 8 Pro to see how it performs compared with the others.

But the Tensor chipset does enable many of the Pixel family’s neat media-editing tricks, like Magic Eraser for taking elements out of photos, Audio Magic Eraser for diminishing background noise, and Best Take for combining the best bits of a burst of photos. These are the flashiest software advantages the Pixel 8 Pro holds over the competition (among others), even though Magic Eraser is technically available for other phones through the Google Photos app.

The other big advantage the Pixel 8 Pro holds is a guarantee of seven years of Android operating system and security updates. That’s far more than Samsung phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s four years of OS updates and five years of security updates. And Apple is unclear about how long phones will be supported — the just-released iOS 17 update, for instance, leaves behind the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, both released in 2017, so five years of OS updates is the low-end estimate for a new iPhone.

The Pixel 8 Pro’s rear camera hardware includes a 50-megapixel main shooter, a 48-megapixel ultrawide and a 48-megapixel telephoto capable of 5x optical zoom. On paper, those cameras will likely produce sharper photos than the 12-megapixel ultrawide and 12-megapixel telephoto cameras on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, though we’ll have to test to compare it to Apple’s unique «tetraprism» technology in its zoom camera (the iPhone’s 48-megapixel main camera may be roughly comparable to the Pixel 8 Pro’s main shooter).

As far as rear cameras go, the Pixel 8 Pro might face the biggest challenge from the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which has a 200-megapixel main camera. While it has only a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, Samsung’s top-of-the-line phone has two telephoto cameras: a 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom and a 10-megapixel 10x optical zoom, which is capable of up to 100x digital zoom. But with the phone’s starting cost of $1,200, those souped-up camera specs make sense considering the Pixel 8 Pro’s $1,000 starting price and the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s $1,100 price tag.

All three phones have pretty similar selfie cameras: the Pixel 8 Pro has a 10.5-megapixel selfie shooter, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Galaxy S23 Ultra both have 12-megapixel front-facing cameras.

Regarding design, the three phones have very different looks. The Pixel 8 Pro retains its predecessor’s wide horizontal camera block spanning the width of the phone. A metallic stripe wraps around the phone’s three rear cameras, with a flash and new temperature sensor on the right side (for checking food and, pending FDA approval, your own skin). The rest of the phone’s rear cover is a matte glass, and its sides are rounded.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max has its predecessor’s flat sides and square camera block, with lenses that are larger and stick out farther than those of previous iPhones. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is the physically largest of the bunch, though its design has tended toward minimalism, with just the five cameras popping out of the undecorated back cover (i.e. no big camera block), as well as rounded sides.

The Pixel 8 Pro’s 6.7-inch OLED display (3,120×1,440 pixels) is the same size as its predecessor’s, but it’s brighter, maxing out at 2,400 nits with a 1 to 120Hz refresh rate. It has a slightly sharper resolution than the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 6.7-inch OLED (2,796x 1,290-pixel) screen, and it’s on par with the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 6.8-inch AMOLED (3,088×1,440-pixel) display (both Apple’s and Samsung’s phones have 120Hz adaptive refresh rates).

The phones are also pretty similar in terms of other hardware specs. The Pixel 8 Pro comes with 12GB of RAM and 128GB to 1TB of storage. Apple never specifies the amount of memory in its phones, though GSMArena says the iPhone 15 Pro Max has 8GB, and the phone comes with 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage. The Galaxy S23 Ultra starts with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but it can also be configured for 12GB of RAM and 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage. None of the three has a slot for expandable storage, so you’ll have to store your extra files in the cloud or hook up an external SSD.

Similarly, Apple doesn’t disclose battery capacity on its phones, saying only that it gets up to 29 hours of video playback (in other words, it should last all day without needing to recharge). The Pixel 8 Pro has a 5,050mAh battery, while the Galaxy S23’s battery has a capacity of 5,000mAh.

In a first for Apple, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a USB-C port instead of its Lightning connector and has 25 watts of wired charging as well as 15 watts of wireless charging. The Pixel 8 Pro has up to 30 watts of wired charging and 23 watts of wireless, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra has the fastest speed, with 45 watts of wired charging and 15 watts of wireless.

To see how else the Pixel 8 Pro stacks up against the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Galaxy S23 Ultra, we’ve placed each phone into this side-by-side comparison chart:

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

	Google Pixel 8 Pro	Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max	Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate, brightness	6.7-inch OLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate	6.7-inch OLED; 2,796×1,290 pixels; 120Hz adaptive refresh rate	6.8-inch AMOLED; 3,088×1,440 pixels; 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
Pixel density	489 ppi	460 ppi	500 ppi
Dimensions (inches)	6.4x3x0.3 inches	6.29×3.02×0.32 inches	6.43×3.07×0.35 inches
Dimensions (millimeters)	162.6×76.5×8.8 millimeters	159.9×76.7×8.25 millimeters	163.3x78x8.9 millimeters
Weight (grams, ounces)	213 g (7.5 oz)	221 g (7.81 oz)	234 g (8.25 oz)
Mobile software	Android 14	iOS 17	Android 13
Camera	50-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 48-megapixel (telephoto)	48-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (5x telephoto)	200-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto), 10-megapixel (10x telephoto)
Front-facing camera	10.5 megapixels	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Video capture	4K	4K	8K
Processor	Google Tensor G3	A17 Pro	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
RAM/storage	12GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB	256GB, 512GB, 1TB (RAM undisclosed)	8GB + 256GB; 12GB + 256GB; 12GB + 512GB; 12GB + 1TB
Expandable storage		None	None
Battery	5,050 mAh	Undisclosed; Apple says up to 29 hours of video playback (25 hours streamed)	5,000 mAh
Fingerprint sensor	Under display	None (Face ID)	Under display
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	None	None	None
Special features	5G (Sub 6 and mmWave); VPN by Google One; 7 years of OS, security and Feature Drop updates; front-facing camera has autofocus; 13W Qi wireless charging; 30W wired charging; USB-3.2 speeds via USB-C; IP68 dust and water resistance; Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on front and back	5G (Sub6, mmWave), Action Button, Always-On display, IP68 water resistant, MagSafe, Dynamic Island, 5x optical zoom (120mm equivalent), satellite connectivity, eSIM, thread networking technology	5G (Sub6, mmWave), IP68 water resistant, wireless PowerShare to charge other devices, integrated S Pen, 100x Space Zoom, 10x optical zoom, UWB for finding other devices, 45W wired charging
US price off-contract	$999 (128GB)	$1,199 (256GB)	$1,200 (256GB)
UK price	Converts to £825 (128GB)	£1,199 (256GB)	£1,249 (256GB)
Australia price	Converts to AU$1,575 (128GB)	AU$2,199 (256GB)	AU$1,949 (256GB)

Technologies

Cloudflare Says Winter Olympics Cybersecurity Is at Risk in Spat With Italian Regulators

But Cloudflare’s global head of policy tells CNET the company is open to an agreement with Italy.

The CEO of the networking company Cloudflare is lashing out at Italy in response to regulatory anti-piracy fines, threatening to withdraw from the country and potentially the 2026 Winter Olympics.

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Italy announced on Jan. 8 that it had issued a fine of 14.2 million euros (approximately $16.5 million) against Cloudflare for failing to block access to pirated content. Soon after that, Cloudflare’s CEO Matthew Prince took to X to call out the fines, describing Cloudflare’s decision not to comply as a fight over censorship. Prince said that complying with Italy’s demands under its Piracy Shield policies would affect content globally.

Italy’s Piracy Shield is a program implemented by the country’s telecommunications regulator, AGCOM. In order to cut down on piracy in the country, such as hosting illegal streams of sporting events, the program allows IP holders to report content violations to a rapid-response automated system. However, some have complained that the 30-minute window given is not enough time for ISPs to properly vet complains, and is resulting in legitimate, non-pirated content being blocked as well.

«In other words, Italy insists a shadowy, European media cabal should be able to dictate what is and is not allowed online,» Prince said.

Yesterday a quasi-judicial body in Italy fined @Cloudflare $17 million for failing to go along with their scheme to censor the Internet. The scheme, which even the EU has called concerning, required us within a mere 30 minutes of notification to fully censor from the Internet any… pic.twitter.com/qZf9UKEAY5

— Matthew Prince 🌥 (@eastdakota) January 9, 2026

In his posts, Prince specifically mentioned the 30-minute timeframe that Italy requires for Cloudflare to disable access to suspected piracy traffic.

«We block pirate streams every time we find one,» he wrote. «We hate them.» But, he said, «we can’t put in place a system where a shadowy cabal can require us to remove GLOBALLY anything they don’t like on the internet within 30 minutes. That’s insane.»

Some of the proponents of Italy’s piracy rules are soccer teams that want to prevent the illegal streaming of their matches.

Prince went on to list steps his company might take, including pulling its cybersecurity service from the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, removing Cloudflare servers from Italian cities and holding off on any plans to invest in the country. Prince also suggested he would get US government leaders involved, tagging Vice President JD Vance in his post. Prince also reposted a message addressed to the Italian prime minister, along with an article about Italy’s actions.

The Winter Olympics, scheduled to take place between Feb. 6 and Feb. 22 at sites across Lombardy and Northeast Italy, are a sensitive subject when it comes to cybersecurity, considering the potential that many may use VPN technology to view broadcasts of the event.

Door is open to an agreement, Cloudflare says

In an interview with CNET, a Cloudflare representative said that while the fine from Italy represents more than the company’s total revenue from the country, Cloudflare is still open to an agreement to avoid saying arrivederci to the country.

«We’re still evaluating, and we’re still open to working something out,» said Alyssa Starzak, Cloudflare’s deputy chief legal officer and global head of policy. «That would be a better solution. The hope is we can have some discussions for a more reasonable result.»

Starzak said the company has posted information and conducted outreach to Italian stakeholders about the ways Cloudflare is working to combat unauthorized streaming. But Italy’s law, she said, leaves no room for negotiation or nuance.

«It’s been very much a ‘You must do what we say’ » situation, she said.

Technologies

Transport Your Dungeons & Dragons Hero Off the Page With This Tabletop Gadget

At CES 2026, I found a couple ways that players and dungeon masters can use tech to upgrade their gameplaying experience.

As I walked around CES 2026, my eyes drifted over a poster awash with fantasy heroes, dastardly monsters and rolling dice — and I failed my saving throw to look away. If you’re a fellow tabletop gaming nerd, you might want to follow this pair of gadgets due out later this year.

Tabletop gaming continues to appeal to players with its deliberately analog gameplay, using miniatures, maps, dice and other physical trinkets to keep the focus on real-world play. The niche has grown in popularity over the decades, and a supporting industry has risen around it, offering third-party materials and accessories to enhance the experience. Digital gadgets and software have been added to this mix in recent years, and a new company, Arcalink, has its own supporting products for the avid Dungeons & Dragons player.

The first of Arcalink’s upcoming tabletop augmentations is a gadget that’s small but mighty. About the size of a film canister, the Arcalink One is a rectangular display around 2 to 3 inches long that’s covered in fantasy decorations. These can be swapped out, with one looking like a doorway in stone ruins and another appearing like a blue wizard’s portal (a third, not present but described to me, would look like a Mimic, the classic D&D monster that appears as a treasure chest to trick adventurers).

The Arcalink One’s screen shows a player’s avatar, and since it was built with the fantasy roleplaying game D&D in mind, animations for popular spells that can be triggered by voice commands. Tabletop RPGs encourage the theater of the mind, with players envisioning their characters through vocal descriptions, but the Arcalink One seems like a neat way for them to accessorize with a digital version of their hero (uploaded in JPG or MP4 file formats) that’s neither essential to play nor large enough to be obtrusive — a totemic treat to take from one game to another, swapping out character portraits by using the paired app.

The basilisk in the room is the price tag: the Arcalink One is expected to cost between $100 and $150, Arcalink founder Lizheng Liu told me. While the company hasn’t hashed out the final numbers, that first number is the device itself, and the high end of the range will bundle more of those clip-on decorations along with it.

Over $100 for an optional device is prohibitive for most tabletop players, but I imagine this would appeal to adventurers with deeper pockets who want a neat little plug-and-play gadget to bring more flair to the game table. Also, let’s not pretend tabletop fans aren’t already spending a good amount of money on accessories, dice and miniatures (looking at you, wargamers).

The company plans to let a select group of supporters start backing the Arcalink One in March or April, with a full Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign launching around June.

The second product, Arca Studio, is entirely digital: AI-powered software to help dungeon masters, the thankless gameplay managers who tell the story and give voice to their world’s denizens for their characters to experience. No, it’s not using generative AI to spit out campaign ideas — this AI software records your game sessions and will make it easy to go back and search for characters and plot events while planning ahead of your next game day.

Yes, this is a sort of gaming version of the AI summaries that productivity apps offer when, say, you’ve finished a video chat, but there are a few unique features tailored to tabletop gaming. One makes a word cloud grouping together recurring names and concepts in your campaign recordings to visualize the themes and frequent elements — great for dungeon masters to see which plot lines and adventure types they might be overusing to switch them up.

Arca Studio will launch around May or June and will be a subscription service, though Arcalink hasn’t decided on an expected monthly cost yet. It’s worth pointing out that anything could change in pricing or product features before these two products reach the market — and just like a good tabletop campaign, there might be some last-minute twists that change everything.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Jan. 13

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 13.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It features one of those annoying elements, where the puzzlemakers tie two clues together. In this case, you can’t really solve 4-Across and 7-Across separately, so you need to fill in the other answers to see these answers develop. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.