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iPhone 16 Pro Max vs. Pixel 9 Pro XL: Massive Phone Specs Compared

Apple and Google both have gigantic phones. Here’s how their specs compare.

With a 6.9-inch display, Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max is a real beefy bit of kit. But then Google’s 6.8 inch Pixel 9 Pro XL is also a real pocket-stretcher. Both Apple and Google’s flagships pack a stellar lineup of top tech, from their next-gen processors to powerful camera setups. And of course there’s a host of AI features on both models. 

Let’s dive into the specs to see how these two mobile giants compare. You’ll find a side-by-side spec chart at the end of this article.

The size is the big similarity here, with the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s screen measuring in at 6.9 inches — a mere 0.1 inch larger than the 6.8-inch Pixel XL display. It’s hardly a difference you’d likely notice, but if your primary concern is getting the most screen for your money, then the iPhone leads the way. And while the Pixel’s 486ppi pixel density is slightly higher than the iPhone’s 460ppi, again, it’s not really a difference you’ll likely notice in everyday use.

See more: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Review: Compelling Upgrade With My Favorite iPhone Feature in Years

Both phones run on home-grown processors but the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s Tensor G4 has disappointed in benchmark tests, performing closer to last year’s midrange phones and barely outpacing its predecessor. By comparison, even the iPhone 15 Pro Max blew the Pixel out of the water, and the 16 Pro Max whupped the Pixel’s proverbial on our suite of benchmarks. For your everyday emailing and Instagram scrolling you likely won’t notice any difference, but the iPhone is certainly better equipped for things like ray tracing-enabled video games.

The iPhone and Pixel both pack the standard trio of rear cameras — main, ultrawide and 5x telephoto. The Pixel put up a good fight in my recent camera shootout. However, the iPhone’s inclusion of ProRaw imagery and ProRes video encoding — along with the new 4K slow motion mode — makes the iPhone more appealing to photo and video creators.

Neither phone offers expandable storage, but both offer storage capacities up to 1TB and IP68 water resistance.

iPhone 16 Pro Max specs vs. Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate, brightness 6.9-inch LTPO OLED; 2,868×1,320 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate 6.8-inch LTPO OLED; 2,992×1,344 pixels; 1-120Hz variable refresh rate
Pixel density 460 ppi 486 ppi
Dimensions (inches) 6.42 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches 6.4x3x0.3 inches
Dimensions (millimeters) 163 x 77.6 x 8.25mm 162.8×76.6×8.5 mm
Weight (grams, ounces) 227g (7.99 oz) 221g (7.8 oz)
Mobile software iOS 18 Android 14
Camera 48-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (5x telephoto) 50-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 48-megapixel (5x telephoto)
Front-facing camera 12-megapixel 42-megapixel
Video capture 4K 4K
Processor Apple A18 Pro Google Tensor G4
RAM/storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB 16GB + 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Expandable storage None None
Battery/charging speeds Undisclosed, Apple claims up to 33 hours video playback 5,060 mAh
Fingerprint sensor None (Face ID) Under display
Connector USB-C USB-C
Headphone jack No None
Special features Apple Intelligence, Action Button, Camera Control button, 4x audio mics, Dynamic Island, 1 to 2000 nits display brightness range, IP68 resistance, titanium framecolors: Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, Desert Titanium Satellite SOS; 7 years of OS, security and Pixel feature drops; IP68 dust and water resistance; Video Boost with 8K Upscaling; Macro Focus on ultrawide; Gorilla Glass Victus 2 cover glass; 3,000-nit peak brightness; 45W fast charging (charger not included); 15W wireless charging with Google Pixel Stand (second gen); 12W wireless Qi-charging; Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7; NFC; Bluetooth 5.3; dual-SIM (eSIM + nano SIM); Add Me; Best Take; Magic Eraser; Magic Editor
US starting price $1,199 (256GB) $1,099 (128GB)
UK starting price £1,199 (256GB) Converts to £860 (128GB)
Australia starting price AU$2,149 (256GB) Converts to AU$1,670 (128GB)

Should you buy the iPhone or the Pixel?

Despite all the flashy specs and features, the two biggest factors most people should consider if choosing between these two phones is price and software. The iPhone 16 Pro Max starts a $1,199 compared to the $1,099 Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. Is the Pro Max $100 better than the Google’s biggest Pixel? Honestly, those prices are deceptive. The Pixel comes with 128GB of storage compared to Apple’s 256GB. If you upgraded to a 256GB 9 Pro XL, it costs the same as Apple’s phone.

In terms of software one phone runs iOS and the other Android. Clearly if you, your family or close friends are on Android or iOS, that will be a huge factor in determining which phone is best for you. While Apple promises five years of major OS upgrades, Google commits to seven years. At the end of the day, whether you opt for an iPhone 16 Pro Max of the Pixel 9 Pro XL, you’re getting an excellent phone that should last you for years.

Check Out the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s Cameras, Display and Colors

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Technologies

Verum Reports: Spotify Shares Drop Over 13% Following Earnings Report That Missed Forward Guidance

Spotify shares fell over 13% on Tuesday as cautious forward guidance overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. The streaming giant reported revenue of 4.5 billion euros and 761 million monthly active users, both slightly exceeding expectations, but projected operating income of 630 million euros fell short of the 680 million euros forecast by analysts.

Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.

The streaming giant reported first-quarter revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), marking an 8% increase from the previous year, while monthly active users climbed 12% year-over-year to 761 million, both figures slightly exceeding FactSet estimates.

Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.

Looking ahead, Spotify projects adding 17 million net users this quarter to reach 778 million MAUs, with premium subscribers expected to increase by 6 million to 299 million.

Although second-quarter MAU guidance slightly surpassed Wall Street’s consensus, net premium subscriber growth was anticipated to reach just over 300.4 million, according to FactSet analyst polls.

The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»

Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.

Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.

At Monday’s close, the stock had dropped 14% year-to-date.

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Technologies

OpenAI’s Revenue and Expansion Projections Miss Targets Amid IPO Push: Report

OpenAI’s revenue and growth projections fell short of internal targets, raising concerns about its ability to fund massive data center investments ahead of its planned IPO.

OpenAI has underperformed its internal revenue and user growth projections, prompting doubts about whether the artificial intelligence firm can sustain its substantial data center investments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.

‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.

The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.

Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.

This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.

Read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.

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Technologies

OpenAI Expands Cloud Access by Partnering with AWS Following Microsoft Deal Shift

OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.

Following a recent restructuring of its partnership with Microsoft to allow deployment across multiple cloud platforms, OpenAI announced Tuesday that its AI models will now be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.

‘This is what our customers have been asking us for for a really long time,’ AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in San Francisco.

Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.

‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’

A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.

Microsoft has been a crucial supplier of computing power for OpenAI since before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s revenue chief, told employees in a memo earlier this month that the longstanding Microsoft relationship has been critical but ‘has also limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are — for many that’s Bedrock.’

On Monday, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a significant wrinkle in their arrangement that will allow the AI company to cap revenue share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the announcement ‘very interesting’ in a post on X, adding that more details would be shared on Tuesday.

OpenAI and Amazon have been getting closer in other ways.

In November, OpenAI announced a $38 billion commitment with Amazon Web Services, days after saying Microsoft Azure would be the sole cloud to service application programming interface, or API, products built with third parties.

Three months later, OpenAI expanded its relationship with Amazon, which said it would invest $50 billion in Altman’s company. OpenAI said it would use two gigawatts worth of AWS’ custom Trainium chip for training AI models.

The partnership was announced after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI failed to meet internal goals on users and revenue. Shares of AI hardware companies, including chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, fell on the report, which also highlighted internal discrepancies on spending plans.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

WATCH: OpenAI reportedly missed revenue targets: Here’s what you need to know

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