Can it persuade me to change?

Typically, it appears like I’m the one Android person in my buddy group. I’m not — there are two or three of us — however it’s nonetheless an isolating feeling when you recognize you’re one of many inexperienced bubbles breaking apart the iMessage get together. Typically, that isolation is dangerous sufficient that I’m nearly prepared to change to iOS till I keep in mind what else I’ll hand over. For a number of years, shifting away from Android meant shedding color-matched themes, skipping out on the power to put apps wherever I needed, and residing with out creature comforts like an always-on show or a 120Hz refresh charge.

Now, that hole between iOS and Android isn’t fairly as large, and it’s letting a few of that temptation creep again in. In any case, iOS 18 is extra customizable than ever, RCS has made messaging rather less awkward, and Apple Intelligence is on its means (or so we’ve been instructed). So, I pulled my private SIM out of my beloved Pixel 9 Professional, downloaded an eSIM right into a model new iPhone 16 Professional whereas additionally pocketing a vanilla iPhone 16, each of which we purchased for the needs of this overview (we all the time purchase our Apple take a look at units), and got down to see if the grass is greener on the opposite facet of the 2024 Android vs iPhone divide.

In some methods, it’s becoming that I swapped from a Pixel 9 Professional to an iPhone 16 Professional for my annual dip into the world of iOS. In any case, it wasn’t way back that I wrote about how Google had created my favourite iPhone, the bigger Pixel 9 Professional XL. I praised nearly each inch of its {hardware}, glad that the digicam bar had turn into an island and that the waterfall shows had dried up. It felt like Google had lastly constructed a flagship Pixel worthy of main the Android fleet, and it was premium sufficient to go toe-to-toe with the perfect that Apple needed to provide. I wasn’t a lot praising Google for making an iPhone as I used to be rejoicing that it was righting a few of its earlier {hardware} wrongs.

And but, when Apple sticks to its design ideas and churns out yet one more set of well-built flagship iPhones, I can’t assist however really feel a little bit dissatisfied. Whereas I felt like Google was taking a long-awaited step ahead with the Pixel 9 sequence, diving into the iPhone 16 and 16 Professional felt like I used to be unboxing the earlier iPhone 15 sequence another time. Sure, the construct high quality is on level, and sure, the button placement is so constant (save for a couple of additions) that my grandma might decide one up and begin utilizing it with out concern, however it’s more durable to get enthusiastic about sustained excellence. It’s like when Actual Madrid wins the Champions League — followers are excited, however in addition they anticipate it to occur.

Slight boredom apart, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Professional do really feel nice within the hand. Apple’s sharp edges softened a bit with the iPhone 15 sequence, they usually’re the identical this time round. The mix of Corning-made glass and aluminum retains the iPhone 16 feeling remarkably mild, and the titanium body on the iPhone 16 Professional definitely looks like it’s right here to remain. This time, although, I feel Apple has improved its colour therapy, as I haven’t observed the identical stage of smudging on my Black Titanium end that many reviewers noticed on the iPhone 15 Professional and Professional Max. It’s definitely about as sharp as the colour black could be, pairing a frosted again with a satin body, each of that are straightforward to wipe clear.

However the place the iPhone 16 Professional appears to be like good for its understated colour, the iPhone 16 shines for simply how vibrant it’s. Apple swapped its palette of beforehand pastel finishes for a handful of a lot punchier tones, together with the Teal end that at present calls my desk house. It’s simply colourful sufficient that I’m tempted to point out it off with out a case. Exterior of the brand new coat of paint, the iPhone 16 has extra variations in its design than the iPhone 16 Professional, too. Its beforehand diagonal cameras now sit one above the opposite, whereas it’s swapped the traditional mute change for a extra programmable Motion Button. I’ve saved mine programmed as a mute button, however I’m certain somebody out there’s being extra adventurous with theirs. I’d get extra use out of it if I might program a double-press otherwise from a single-press, however that’s not the case.

The opposite new button that graces the facet of the iPhone 16 sequence — all 4 fashions this time — known as the Digicam Management. Should you ask Apple, it’s way more than a button, however to me, it’s type of only a button. It has a foolish stage of overlap with the Motion Button as a result of you need to use both one (or each) to open your digicam. That’s to not say I wasn’t excited concerning the Digicam Management at first as a result of I believed bodily digicam controls sounded nice. I attempted my hardest to make use of it for some time, however I’ve observed my reliance on it trailing off as days with the iPhone 16 Professional flip into weeks. Sure, it’s a simple option to open your digicam settings, however as soon as they’re open, it’s a lot sooner to scroll and choose from the show itself, defeating the purpose of a swipeable button. It’s additionally proving troublesome to beat the muscle reminiscence of urgent an on-screen shutter button or just utilizing the amount button like I all the time have.

Regardless that I haven’t fallen in love with Apple’s new buttons in the best way that I may need anticipated, it’s to not say that the modifications to the iPhone 16 sequence have been all dangerous. I fairly like that each one 4 iPhones now come in numerous sizes. Sure, it means you’ll need to be extra cautious about which case you purchase on your new cellphone, however it additionally implies that the case will provide a tighter match and higher protection — at the very least for those who decide up the dual-camera iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus.

Do you have to determine on that base mannequin, you’ll get an iPhone that’s precisely the identical measurement you’ve used for generations. Its Tremendous Retina OLED nonetheless sits at a wonderfully palmable 6.1 inches, full with a woeful 60Hz refresh charge and as soon as once more lacking an always-on show. There’s nearly nothing else price stating about Apple’s most reasonably priced iPhone 16 — from the entrance, it’s virtually the identical cellphone I reviewed in late 2023.

The iPhone 16 Professional, however, determined it was time for a progress spurt, leaping to a 6.3-inch Tremendous Retina LTPO OLED panel that’s the identical measurement as my beloved Pixel 9 Professional. And truthfully, I admire the additional actual property. Maybe it’s the truth that I’m coming straight from one 6.3-inch machine to a different, however it barely appears like I’ve needed to retrain my grip outdoors of memorizing the completely different button placements. Nonetheless, Apple’s smaller Professional is barely smaller than the Pixel 9 Professional, because of razor-thin bezels — apparently Apple’s thinnest ever. They’re definitely slim and look fairly good, however we’re nearing the purpose the place individuals may begin unintentionally urgent the sting of their show whereas reaching for one thing else. After all, if you would like the largest Apple boi on the market, the iPhone 16 Professional Max is obtainable for much more money. My colleague Paul checked out that one, and you’ll hear all of his ideas within the video beneath.

As you may in all probability inform by now, my concern with the iPhone has by no means been its {hardware}. Has it all the time (or ever) been thrilling? No, however it’s all the time been dependable. An iPhone is an iPhone is an iPhone, because it had been. Google in all probability wouldn’t have made two variations of the Pixel 9 Professional if not for the success of the smaller iPhone Execs. As an alternative, the place I’ve normally run out of persistence with switching to an iPhone has been, properly, iOS. Each model because the daybreak of time — at the very least since I first used the iPhone 7 again within the day — has regarded and felt nearly equivalent, proper as much as the purpose that it’s as uninteresting as the general iPhone design.

However now, the instances are lastly altering. Apple is lastly acknowledging a couple of issues that Android has all the time performed higher, and it’s lastly making a model of iOS that’s at the very least a little bit bit extra enjoyable. And by that, I imply I can lastly customise iOS 18 in a means that makes it usable. After years of utilizing further widgets and random apps to sink those I have to the underside of my show, I can lastly place apps and folders wherever I’d like — which implies that, sure, that is the very first thing I did with my new iPhone. I not need to dwell with a wallpaper that’s blocked out by issues I’ve by no means used, however moderately, I can manage my structure to enrich my chosen picture.

Versatile group isn’t the one increase to return out of iOS 18, both — I can color-coordinate my apps now, too. Nonetheless, this piece of Apple’s customization overhaul might nonetheless use some work. Sure, it’s good that I can swap between massive and small icons and select a light-weight theme or a darkish one, however Apple’s colour selections are lower than spectacular. As quickly as you determine to recolor your app icons, all of them swap to a darkish grey base, which makes it nearly unimaginable to see any colour darker than a light-weight beige. Thus far, I’ve tried a purple structure to match the Philadelphia Phillies (my childhood staff) and an orange one to match the Baltimore Orioles (my adopted hometown staff), and each have felt like I used to be making an attempt to move a colorblindness take a look at regardless that I’ve excellent imaginative and prescient.

After a bit extra fine-tuning, I lastly have a house display screen that I’m largely proud of. I could be the baseball jinx this 12 months, however such is life. I’ve swapped the sports-themed wallpaper for a hipster model of Ichabod Crane, and I’ve slimmed my structure all the way down to 4 major apps with folders for social and work apps simply above them. It’s nearly, dare I say, Pixel-like, with only one key exception: Apple’s App Library stinks.

Should you’ve ever used an Android cellphone, you understand how handy the app drawer could be. Typically, like on a Pixel, it will get sorted alphabetically, whereas others, like a Samsung Galaxy machine, it populates within the order you obtain apps. It’s straightforward and clear, and there aren’t any folders except you make them.

The App Library, however, generally appears like I’m looking for my means via an precise library however with out the Dewey Decimal System as my information. I imply that iOS 18 types every part in its App Library into folders based mostly on objective. You get one for Leisure, one for Social, one for Journey, and extra — all the best way all the way down to a catch-all folder known as Different.

My drawback with that is that a few of the sorting selections make no sense. Apple’s climate app will get shoved into the Different folder, whereas the cellphone app will get sorted into Social. Translate lands in Different, but one way or the other, our benchmarking apps like 3DMark and Geekbench 6 land within the Utilities bin. Combine in the truth that you may solely see seven apps in every class at anyone time, and also you nearly need to memorize your whole iPhone once you wish to discover one thing. I believed I saved my iPhone fairly lean, downloading solely the apps I exploit, but I’m continually tapping on two or three folders earlier than I discover what I would like.

It’s not all dangerous, although, I promise. I haven’t even talked about the perfect a part of iOS 18 but: RCS help. No, I do know it’s in all probability not probably the most thrilling piece for longtime iPhone customers, however as a man able to return to his beloved Pixel, I’m glad it’s right here. Apple lastly “bought the message” and made sending full-resolution footage and movies simpler throughout Android and iOS. RCS help opens the door for learn receipts and typing indicators, too. I’m usually not one to make use of learn receipts, however I’ll fortunately welcome a step towards characteristic parity in messaging. Now, I simply need to persuade my Android buddies who use Samsung Messages to take the RCS plunge, too.

After all, you’ve in all probability observed one large piece of iOS 18 that I haven’t touched on. That’s proper, it’s Apple Intelligence — or moderately, the shortage thereof. Sure, it’s coming, the teasers at WWDC and the Glowtime launch occasion have instructed us as a lot, however it’s not right here but. Does that make it a lot more durable to overview Apple’s newest set of flagship telephones? You guess it does.

Nonetheless, we have now a reasonably good concept of what Apple Intelligence will seem like when its beta rollout lastly begins. Apple has already promised a brand new, extra conversational, better-informed Siri, a slate of instruments to rephrase and proofread absolutely anything you write in your cellphone, and an Picture Playground that ought to go toe-to-toe with Google’s Pixel Studio and Samsung’s Portrait Studio. And but, none of it’s obtainable at the moment. Most of it would by no means turn into obtainable to most iPhone customers — save for these with the iPhone 15 Professional sequence or any of the iPhone 16 fashions.

Surprisingly, Apple’s sluggish, regular AI rollout leaves me extra conflicted than anything on the iPhone 16 and 16 Professional. On the one hand, I respect that it’s introducing options slowly to repair them a couple of at a time moderately than suddenly. On the opposite, persons are already paying increased costs than ever to place a flagship iPhone of their pocket, they usually’re doing so with the promise of future options. There’s a unfastened timeline for when Apple Intelligence shall be prepared past the beta stage, however for now, you simply need to belief the corporate along with your $800 or extra.

I’m certain by the point we attain the total Apple Intelligence rollout, every part will really feel fairly clean. In any case, top-level optimization is the title of Apple’s sport. Within the meantime, although, I can’t see anybody shopping for an iPhone 16 for the promise of AI.

What I can see individuals shopping for an iPhone 16 for, nevertheless, is the cameras — or at the very least these on the iPhone 16 Professional. I get why individuals like them, as a result of they simply work. The processing isn’t nearly as good as on a Google Pixel, and the zoom isn’t as spectacular as on an Extremely-grade Samsung Galaxy machine. Nonetheless, the general expertise is easy, whether or not you utilize the digicam management or not.

Processing apart, it’s fairly straightforward to match the iPhone 16 cameras to these on the Pixel 9 sequence, Professional or not. Principally, on a regular basis customers get two cameras, whereas these prepared to go Professional get three. Apple’s base mannequin packs the identical 48MP main and 12MP ultrawide cameras that its predecessor had, full with the identical 10x most zoom and the identical foolish declare that the 2x optical sensor crop makes it really feel like you have got 4 whole cameras to work with. There’s a visible change to the iPhone 16’s digicam setup, too, now that the sensors sit one above the opposite so you may shoot 3D video to later watch on the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional — one thing that everybody with a base-level iPhone absolutely owns.

The iPhone 16 Professional, however, really does have 4 cameras to work with, and it not lags behind its Professional Max sibling when it comes to performance. It now has the identical 12MP 5x optical telephoto sensor as Apple’s largest iPhone, and it picked up the 48MP ultrawide improve as well, becoming a member of the identical 48MP main digicam discovered on the bottom iPhone 16. I’m, in fact, counting the 12MP selfie digicam as Apple’s fourth, as another justification appears foolish.

Anyway, digicam modifications apart, I feel the true purpose I get pleasure from snapping photographs on the iPhone 16 Professional as a lot as I’m is Apple’s Photographic Kinds. They’re not brand-new — they’ve really been round because the iPhone 13 sequence — however Apple has expanded its types from 4 fundamental choices to round 15 which you can swap between. I all the time begin with the Customary look, which is the simple iPhone colour profile you’re in all probability used to, however I’ve come round to the Stark B&W, a modified model of Amber, and a shot or two with the Vibrant profile when the lighting permits for it. The Photographic Kinds operate quite a bit like Instagram filters, however they’re much more customizable, like a movie simulation on a mirrorless Fujifilm digicam.

With all that out of the best way, let’s get to some digicam samples. Many of the pictures beneath are straight from my iPhone 16 Professional, just because I’ve wanted its longer zoom vary over the previous couple of weeks. Nonetheless, I’ll additionally you should definitely level out any that characteristic completely different Photographic Kinds. Additionally, forgive the overwhelming purple and brown shades — it’s all I’ve bought now that it’s fall within the Mid-Atlantic.

As all the time, I’ll begin with the first digicam, which I used for many of my adventures. I nonetheless suppose it’s a bit too huge for on a regular basis capturing on the equal of a 23mm focal size, however the 2x central crop fixes most of my complaints on that entrance. As long as I keep in mind to punch in, I’ve been fairly proud of what the iPhone 16 Professional can do. The modified Amber Photographic Model I’ve been utilizing provides a pleasant pop to the pumpkins on the prime left, whereas the Dramatic one makes the New York Metropolis subway look brighter and extra sterile than actuality.

Actually, although, I’ve leaned so closely on Apple’s Photographic Kinds this 12 months as a result of, in any other case, there’s not a lot to get enthusiastic about. The default colour profile is correct however a little bit bland, and in contrast to Google’s Pixel digicam or Samsung’s Galaxy flagships, there’s no magic bump in processing after you press the shutter. What you see is mostly what you get, which is nice for those who nail your composition however not practically as forgiving as I’d like.

Once you punch out to the brand new 48MP ultrawide digicam, it’s the identical story. You’ll be able to nonetheless soar from one Photographic Model to the following or just roll with the default look that Apple reverts to everytime you open the digicam. Of the pictures above, I’m happiest with the best way that the crab statue appears to border a part of the Baltimore marina and the best way that the 13mm-equivalent focal size makes the music pavilion to the suitable look bigger and extra imposing.

After all, we’re not simply right here to zoom out. Should you’re after a brand new cellphone that may punch in, the iPhone 16 Professional is an apparent winner over its base-level counterpart. It tops out at 25x zoom to the iPhone 16’s most of 10x, making it the much more versatile decide. The shot to the left illustrates simply how far I’m from One World Commerce Middle, however I managed to pinch all the best way in on the antenna proper because it reaches the clouds. I’m unsure I’d share the 25x zoom picture — it’s okay at greatest — however the 5x telephoto sensor at the very least lends a hand as much as the 10x zoom size. As soon as once more, although, there’s no magic contact after you press the shutter button.

Dropping the lights, I’m much less impressed by the iPhone 16 Professional after darkish. Though the center shot of the neon signal is good and moody, each the statue of Invoice the goat to the suitable and the lights to the left endure a bit as you look intently. The individuals surrounding the statue are noticeably fuzzy, particularly when the sunshine hits the brilliant white of the uniforms, and the glow of the harbor lights can be cool in a film however is much less spectacular once you’re simply making an attempt to seize the scene.

On the brilliant facet, Apple’s video capabilities on the iPhone 16 sequence stay second to none. You’ll need to seize the iPhone 16 Professional for fancy options like 4K at 120 frames per second or recording within the ProRes format for later enhancing, however the iPhone 16 is not any slouch. It nonetheless packs stable stabilization and helps Apple’s Motion Mode.

Regardless of my fairly apparent Android desire, Apple has all the time performed one factor only a bit higher than anybody else: Construct an in-house chipset. For years, the Bionic chip rocked as much as our benchmarks like an Olympian returning to a highschool monitor meet, placing up numbers that almost all Android chipsets couldn’t fairly match. There wasn’t essentially an enormous distinction in day-to-day efficiency, however Apple knew how you can make its chipset look good on paper, and it normally paired it with much less onboard RAM than a comparable Android flagship.

Nicely, in true Apple vogue, some issues simply don’t change. In the identical 12 months Google began delivery all of its Pixel 9 fashions with 12GB of RAM or extra, Apple stays content material to ship its flagship sequence with 8GB of RAM throughout the board, regardless of how a lot storage you determine to spring for. This time, that RAM is backing up the up to date 3nm A18 chipset within the iPhone 16 and the much more highly effective A18 Professional within the iPhone 16 Professional. Sure, for the second 12 months operating, Apple has one chipset for its base pair and one other for its premium fashions, however at the very least they type of have the identical title this time.

As all the time, I sat down and put each of Apple’s up to date chipsets via as a lot of our testing gauntlet as I might handle whereas my colleagues examined the iPhone 16 Professional Max. And by that, I imply my colleague Rob Triggs and I needed to rework most of our checks as a result of Apple refuses to make issues good and straightforward. Once I lastly bought outcomes for the CPU-based Geekbench 6 take a look at and our GPU-intensive 3DMark stress checks, I used to be stunned: Apple’s lead isn’t practically as large because it as soon as was. It’s nonetheless forward when it comes to single-core and multi-core Geekbench 6 efficiency on each chipsets, however the iPhone 16 Professional comes up wanting Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Plus throughout our slate of graphics checks with a steep drop in simply the second of 20 runs.

The bottom iPhone 16 tells nearly the identical story, staying forward of its Android rivals when it comes to CPU efficiency however placing up graphics numbers that land simply behind Samsung all through a stress take a look at. Apple’s sustained efficiency is extra constant than Samsungs — there’s little or no dropoff from the primary run to the final — it simply doesn’t begin fairly as excessive.

By now, you recognize that our managed benchmarking doesn’t imply an excessive amount of on the subject of precise efficiency, although, and that is no exception. Once you set the most recent iPhones free from their benchmarking bonds, they really feel as clean and performant as another flagship cellphone. I’ve primarily been utilizing the iPhone 16 Professional throughout my weeks with Apple’s pocket-sized duo, and it’s straightforward to see how individuals get snug contained in the walled backyard — it simply works.

Over the previous couple of weeks, I’ve put the A18 Professional chipset via a speedrun of adventures. I took the iPhone 16 Professional on a one-day work journey to New York Metropolis, used it as my digicam of alternative for the All Issues Go music pageant, and introduced it to Annapolis, Maryland, for a US Naval Academy soccer sport. It didn’t draw back from any of my day journeys, killing time scrolling social media, tuning out the longest practice trip of my whole life whereas streaming Spotify, and efficiently navigating me via a crowded metropolis on the best way to Navy-Marine Corps Stadium. Nonetheless, I did discover one moderately uncomfortable flaw throughout my adventures: The A18 Professional chipset runs heat. It didn’t take a lot to warmth my iPhone 16 Professional, both — an hour of Apple Maps or a protracted sufficient session with the digicam was sufficient to make the titanium toasty.

Sadly, with that uptick in warmth comes one other drawback: The iPhone 16 Professional’s battery life is passable at greatest. Along with our efficiency benchmarks, we put each the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Professional via a managed battery drain, and the outcomes had been usually lower than spectacular. Apple’s in-house, highly-optimized chipset got here up properly wanting the Samsung Galaxy S24 and the Google Pixel 9 Professional throughout every part from 4K recording to internet looking. The one exception was whereas enjoying 4K video, the place Apple’s greatest greater than doubled the Pixel however simply edged Samsung’s smallest flagship. The bottom iPhone 16 fares a little bit higher, outperforming the iPhone 16 Professional throughout each class however the 4K playback with out heating up practically as a lot.

In actual life, that works out to an iPhone 16 Professional that you just’ll in all probability find yourself charging nearly on daily basis. Some days, I reached bedtime with round 25% cost remaining, which was high-quality to sleep on, however it normally meant I used to be reaching for a charger earlier than lunchtime the following day. In comparison with the Pixel 9 Professional, a cellphone I might simply stretch to 36 hours or extra, I’m questioning Apple’s wonderful optimization.

Worse, Apple’s wired charging doesn’t make up for the battery shortcomings. In a world the place Google’s comparable Pixel 9 Professional is able to 27W wired charging and the Galaxy S24 is able to 25W wired charging, Apple appears content material to cap its smaller telephones at simply 21W. Granted, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Professional have smaller batteries than their Android counterparts, however it’s not an important excuse after they cost so painfully slowly. Apple may need adopted USB-C, however it hasn’t made it any much less complicated.

The iPhone 16 Professional, for instance, took 106 minutes to trickle its 3,582mAh cell from empty to full — a full 20 minutes longer than the Pixel 9 Professional wanted for its 4,700mAh battery and about half-hour greater than the Galaxy S24 required for its 4,000mAh cell. The iPhone 16 was about the identical, taking 107 minutes to fill its barely smaller 3,561mAh battery.

Perhaps you may make up for the woeful wired charging with as much as 25W MagSafe wi-fi charging, however you then’ll have to purchase a particular charger, because the extra common Qi2 wi-fi charging is capped at 15W. On the brilliant facet, you don’t want a top-end USB PD PPS charger to refill the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Professional the best way you’d for many Android flagships.

Is it attainable to verify off practically all of the packing containers however fail the task? In that case, that’s what the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Professional do. They’re each good telephones that match comfortably in my hand, provide unbelievable software program help, and pack dependable rear cameras which are straightforward to choose up and go. Apple’s construct high quality stays a few of the greatest (although Google is now on equal footing), and I admire how easy it’s to arrange a brand new iPhone for those who’ve ever used one earlier than. Nonetheless, the task was to sway me from my Android loyalties, and I don’t suppose both cellphone did that — nor do I feel this era will draw many different Android customers over, both.

Sure, Apple will get excessive marks for lastly planning to deliver AI to the desk, letting customers customise their house screens in a brand-new means, and adopting RCS to make cross-platform communication simpler, however I’ve already been capable of do most of that on Android telephones for years. Google has used RCS in Google Messages virtually because the day I began right here at Android Authority, and customization is what introduced me to Android within the first place, again after I begged my dad and mom for the HTC Droid Unimaginable 4G. Nicely, that and HTC’s clock widget, which I believed was the good option to inform time.

Maybe worse for Apple is that a lot of its different new iPhone 16 options merely fail to excite me. I haven’t used the Motion Button as something apart from a mute change, and the Digicam Management has solely confirmed helpful in a couple of specific eventualities. Add the truth that Apple Intelligence simply isn’t right here but, and a big a part of me appears like I’ve reviewed the iPhone 15 sequence another time. Certain, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Professional had been good in their very own proper, however it’s not what you anticipate when Apple guarantees a bunch of recent options.

Should you had been to interrupt it down characteristic by characteristic, I nonetheless suppose I’d moderately have the Pixel 9 ($799 at Amazon) or Pixel 9 Professional ($999 at Amazon) in my pocket over both of Apple’s smaller flagships. Google will get the sting when it comes to charging, on-device theming, and the maturity of its AI options whereas at the very least tying Apple with its long-term software program help. Certain, you’ll nonetheless present up as a inexperienced bubble to your iOS-toting buddies, however now you’ll be a inexperienced bubble with learn receipts and typing indicators, because of RCS. Should you solely suppose you want two rear cameras, lean in the direction of the Pixel 9. In order for you a 3rd, the Pixel 9 Professional stays my favourite Android cellphone to launch in a very long time.

I wouldn’t simply attain for a Pixel over a brand new iPhone, both. When Apple rolls out the iPhone-est iPhone to ever iPhone, it turns into a lot simpler to be excited concerning the extra distinctive Android choices like Motorola’s Razr (2024) ($699 at Amazon) and Razr Plus (2024) ($999 at Amazon). Each are dual-camera flip telephones, in all probability the perfect US-based examples of their class. The Razr Plus (2024) units the bar for the biggest cowl display screen on a flip cellphone, pairing it with 45W wired charging and taking a daring danger by ditching its ultrawide digicam for a telephoto various. Motorola’s extra reasonably priced Razr (2024) performs it a little bit safer with extra conventional cameras however packs simply as a lot enjoyable into its barely bigger battery and marginally smaller cowl show.

I might go on, selecting out Android telephones that do one factor or one other higher than the iPhone 16 sequence — there are many them, together with the plain ones just like the behemoth Galaxy S24 Extremely ($1419.99 at Amazon) or the common Galaxy S24 fashions. And but, I do know that it will be losing my breath for therefore many iPhone customers. Apple’s walled backyard is tough sufficient to get out of when you’ve invested in it, and I can perceive why when its broader ecosystem is a lot extra mature throughout different classes, equivalent to tablets, smartwatches, laptops, and way more. Google and Samsung are getting there, notably Google now it has a genuinely nice smartwatch within the Pixel Watch 3, however neither model’s respective gardens are fairly as fine-tuned but. However I additionally don’t see Apple’s patch of land as one poised for additional progress into the Android panorama except its central machine, the iPhone, turns over a brand new leaf. Who is aware of, perhaps the promise of a folding iPhone will someday change my tune.