Apple just lately made its grand (re)entrance to the mid-range smartphone market with the iPhone 16e, changing the older iPhone SE variant. After all, now the one factor to do is see the way it compares to probably the greatest mid-range smartphones round, the newly launched Google Pixel 9a.
Each telephones present loads of worth for these in search of a flagship-like expertise for a a lot lower cost, however there are advantages and disadvantages to every. Let’s get into it.
Google Pixel 9a vs. iPhone 16e
Two telephones enter, however just one can slot in your pocket. Which is able to it’s?
Worth and specs
The Pixel 9a is a good worth.
Credit score: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
In the case of value, there’s a clearly superior possibility right here. The Pixel 9a begins at $499, whereas the iPhone 16e begins at $599. Whereas $100 is not the most important distinction on the earth of flagships, it is a big quantity for anybody out there for a finances telephone.
This is what you get within the Pixel 9a for that value:
And for $100 extra, that is what the iPhone 16e will get you:
We’ll get into show and efficiency evaluation later, however Google is definitely successful the worth recreation to this point. You get an even bigger and (in some methods) higher show and an even bigger battery for much less cash. Apple, to its credit score, gives extra storage choices, however these will solely make the telephone much more costly; the 512GB iPhone 16e is $899, which makes it not even actually a finances telephone anymore.
Design
Apple stored it easy.
Credit score: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
Neither of those telephones are on the chopping fringe of smartphone design, however that is not essentially a nasty factor.
The iPhone 16e, for its half, seems like a barely older iPhone mannequin. It does not have the standalone Dynamic Island cutout on the high of the show such as you’d see in a current flagship iPhone, as an alternative going for the traditional notch look. There isn’t any residence button, which differentiates it from the outdated iPhone SE fashions, however there is not one on the Pixel 9a, both. Sadly, it solely is available in two very boring colours: black and white.
Google’s mid-range telephone is barely bolder in its design. Particularly, Google went and eliminated the horizontal rear digital camera bar that had change into such an iconic a part of the Google Pixel look over the previous few years. Now, the rear digital camera is barely noticeable, missing even a bump to make it stand out. That is fairly good should you like your telephone to lie utterly flat on a desk, but it surely does make the Pixel 9a appear like a generic telephone prop in a TV present.
Mashable Gentle Velocity
That stated, the Pixel 9a gives 4 colours, twice as many because the iPhone 16e. There are black and white choices, in addition to one referred to as “Iris” and a beautiful pink colorway that needs to be the one one anybody buys, in my humble opinion.
Show
Google’s show is superior.
Credit score: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
In my eyes, there is a fairly definitive winner within the show class.
Pixel 9a’s show is just not solely barely larger (although that may really be problematic for people with smaller palms), however its refresh charge is twice as excessive. Not everybody values this as a lot as I do, however easy scrolling is very good to have on a smartphone, and it is a little bit wild that Apple continues to be so behind the occasions on this problem in every little thing apart from iPhone Professional fashions. You additionally stand up to 2,700 nits of peak brightness, which makes it nice for out of doors use.
Apple’s panel is not dangerous, by any means. Its 2532×1170 decision is barely increased than what Pixel 9a gives (2424×1080), and it’s an OLED display screen with HDR assist. Nevertheless, with simply 1,200 nits of peak brightness, it probably will not look nearly as good underneath daylight because the Pixel 9a.
Efficiency
Apple went with USB-C for this one, which is sweet.
Credit score: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
In the case of efficiency, there actually is not a dropping selection right here.
Each telephones are wonderful when it comes to day-to-day use. Apps load rapidly and neither telephone slows down an excessive amount of when there are too many open. I did discover the Pixel 9a getting a little bit heat to the contact after extended use, however a case may simply alleviate that.
If you wish to put it in numbers and technically select a winner, it might be Apple. The iPhone 16e’s Geekbench benchmarking metrics are higher than Pixel 9a’s, with Apple netting a 7,423 multi-core rating and Google coming in at simply 4,358. Nevertheless, on a sensible stage, both telephone will do exactly wonderful for you.
Battery life
Each telephones have good battery life.
Credit score: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Battery life is one other space the place you may solely win.
In my testing, the Pixel 9a was roughly a 24-hour system between costs, and will in all probability last more should you turned the refresh charge right down to 60Hz or took different power-saving measures. I by no means immediately examined the iPhone 16e myself, however our reviewer Stan Schroeder famous that he was in a position to go about two days between costs on what he described as “heavy use.”
It is potential, then, that the additional money you pay for the iPhone 16e is getting you a greater battery than what is out there on Pixel 9a. Nevertheless, I would not describe the Pixel 9a’s battery as “dangerous” by any means. It is simply much less good.
Digital camera
The iPhone 16e takes good nighttime photographs.
Credit score: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
Each the iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a have equivalent (when it comes to megapixels) 48MP major shooters on the rear aspect. Nevertheless, Apple solely included the one digital camera lens on the telephone’s bottom, whereas the Pixel 9a additionally has a further 13MP ultra-wide lens.
Since these are each finances telephones, cameras are the place the most important compromises are to be anticipated. That stated, you may positively get nice-looking photographs on both the Pixel 9a or iPhone 16e. One good bonus that the Pixel 9a has over the Pixel 8a is the addition of Macro Focus, which helps you to stand up actual near tiny objects and seize them in nice element. Sadly, the iPhone 16e does not have this characteristic in any respect, as a result of lack of an ultra-wide lens.
Provided that Google’s telephone has that additional lens and a minimum of one characteristic the iPhone 16e cannot declare, I am inclined to suppose the Pixel 9a has a greater digital camera system.
