iPhone 17 Pro Vs Pixel 10 Pro: Here's Which Phone Comes Out On Top

• Technology
• Smartphones

There are two major players in the smartphone software space: Apple and Google. As it happens, both make phones as well. So, if you're in the market for a new smartphone, these are two very solid options, and to be frank, both are pretty great. But each phone has different aspects that make it great.

For the moment, factors like "what does my family use?" or "what phone are you coming from?" don't apply here. If they do, this is a far easier choice. For now, we're going to pretend that you are walking into a smartphone store to buy your very first smartphone. The choice to make is going to be the iPhone 17 Pro or the Pixel 10 Pro.

As is usual with a choice like this, you need to weigh a number of factors like design, battery life, software, cameras, performance, and more. The short answer is, if you're looking for a great camera, tight AI integration, or a continuous evolution of features and perks, the Pixel 10 Pro is a great way to go. If you want a fluid operating system, ridiculously fast performance (read: gaming), or innovative camera features, then pick up the iPhone. Let's break it down.

Hardware and build

The iPhone 17 Pro got a pretty major redesign for this year, keeping the same triangular camera configuration, but extending the camera island across the entire back of the phone. It's subjective to say the least. Meanwhile, the Pixel 10 Pro is keeping the same camera visor design of its predecessors. One thing both phones now have in common is magnetic wireless charging. Apple calls it "MagSafe", while the Pixel has "Pixel Snap," but it amounts to the same thing — Qi2 wireless charging standards, which include internal magnets to properly align coils and open up a whole ecosystem of accessories. Both phones also support eSIM only in the U.S.

Both phones go up to 1TB in storage, but the Pixel 10 Pro starts at 128 GB while the iPhone starts at 256GB. The Pixel 10 Pro carries 16GB of RAM, while the iPhone has just 12GB. Both phones also have gorgeous 6.3-inch displays. Finally, both phones come in a variety of colorways. The iPhone comes in Silver, Cosmic Orange, and Deep Blue, while the Pixel 10 Pro comes in Moonstone, Jade, Porcelain, and Obsidian.

As for cameras, both phones come with a triple camera setup including an ultrawide, main sensor, and a periscope telephoto zoom lens. The iPhones sensors are all 48 megapixels across the board including an ultrawide sensor with a 120-degree field of view (FOV) and a 4x telephoto lens, while the Pixel 10 Pro has a 50-megapixel main sensor and 48-megapixel ultrawide (123-degree FOV) and telephoto (5x) sensors.

Horsepower and battery

Internally, both phones run their own custom-made processors. The iPhone has Apple's A19 Pro and the Pixel runs Google's Tensor G5 — both of which are built on a 3nm process. That does absolutely not make them equal, though. Apple's A19 Pro chip is among the fastest you can buy today, eclipsed only by reference designs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 that I saw at Snapdragon Summit and now resides in the OnePlus 15. Meanwhile, the Tensor G5 processor in the Pixel 10 Pro is more, let's call it, conservative.

Geekbench scores bear that out with the iPhone 17 Pro clocking 3,774/9,647 single/mutli-core scores, while the Pixel 10 Pro checks in at 2,322/6,308, or roughly about a third less powerful in both categories. GSM arena's AnTuTu scores of 2,430,575 and 1,107,978 back that up. Put simply, if you want a powerful phone, the iPhone is the obvious choice.

The same could be said for battery life. SlashGear doesn't have a rundown test, but Tom's Guide has its own custom battery test where the iPhone 17 Pro clocked 15:32 while the Pixel 10 Pro only managed 13:43. When it comes to power and performance, the iPhone is the clear winner.

Software and AI

When it comes to the overall software experience, it's very much a subjective experience — it's just a question of what your preferences are. Personally, I prefer Android for my workflow. Notifications on the iPhone are still not ideal, and the software keyboard still does not have a number row, which in a world of complicated passwords is gob smacking, but I digress.

The Pixel has the iPhone beat hands down in AI features and in ongoing upgrades. While Apple tends to favor yearly releases for major features, Google uses Pixel Drops to roll out new features to its phones every few months. As for AI, Gemini is not only miles better than Apple Intelligence in terms of usability and feature set, but it's among the leaders in AI models overall.

Siri is still okay for some limited interactions with your phone. Gemini, the artist formerly known as Google Assistant, can interact with your phone and online with a level of understanding that Apple had to outsource to ChatGPT — which is still not great by the way.

Camera shoot out

You can read more about each individual camera in our full reviews of each phone, but I recently had the opportunity to test both cameras side-by-side at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL, so I can show you some highlights. In these samples, the iPhone will be on the left and the Pixel on the right.

During the day, all the cameras shoot great photos, with the Pixel skewing more toward brighter, punchier photos, while the iPhone has a more realistic tone.

This is also true for the ultrawide sensor. The wider FOV on the pixel allows you to capture a slightly wide scene, but it's not really enough to skew one way or the other.

Zooming in with the iPhone gets a smoother photo while the Pixel retains a bit more texture, but the difference isn't great.

Zooming in beyond the sensor capacity is where AI kicks in. The iPhone's max zoom is 40x, while the Pixel can manage up to 100x. For this comparison, I had the iPhone at 40x and the Pixel at 30x, but you can see the iPhone falls apart quickly beyond 8x, which is not great. The Pixel on the other hand is pretty good at retaining detail and accuracy.

Most cameras on phones in 2025 do well in good lighting. It's at night when performance tends to drop pretty fast. In general, the iPhone skews toward grainier photos which softer focus, but not by much.

The ultrawide camera is the same way, though neither is great in terms of sharpness.

For the selfie cameras, I prefer the iPhone's result, which retains a lot more detail in my face while the Pixel is again blurrier than I would like.

But it should be mentioned that all of these photo samples look just fine on a phone screen. It's really only when I put them up on my 32-inch computer monitor and zoom in to 100% that I start to see these imperfections. For all intents and purposes, these phones perform very well, day or night.

Who is the winner?

As someone who carries both Android and iOS phones all year, I can confidently say that both of these phones are great. I generally prefer Android and therefore the Pixel because the software works better with my workflow. When it comes to camera performance, the iPhone has a couple of X-factors, like the camera control button and the square selfie sensor that allows me to shoot landscape photos and videos while holding the phone vertically — I like that a lot more than I thought I would.

If you want raw performance and battery life, the iPhone is the clear winner. You can play AAA game titles on the iPhone 17 Pro with no issues, and the battery will last you well into the second day easily. If you use AI on the regular, you'll probably love the Pixel 10 Pro, which integrates AI into almost every part of the phone experience. Ultimately, it comes down to preference, but if I had to pick one, it'd be the Pixel 10 Pro.