Compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, there's a lack of contrast with the night sky appearing to be dark gray. There's a greater halo effect, too, further detracting from the image's sharpness and clarity. The light appears to be too intense, washing out the finer details of the moon.

The Pixel 9 Pro's screen is brighter, with a touch higher resolution compared to the iPhone, although the real-world difference may be minimal. The iPhone 16 Pro's A18 Pro chip is far more powerful than the Tensor G4 chip in the Pixel 9 Pro.

This time around we’re comparing the very best smartphones Google and Apple have to offer, the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. Both of these smartphones were launched rather recently.