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Google Pixel 4a vs Apple iPhone XS Max

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Google Pixel 4a vs Apple iPhone XS Max

54 out of 100
Google Pixel 4a
VS
59 out of 100
Apple iPhone XS Max
Google Pixel 4a
Apple iPhone XS Max

Here we compared two smartphones: the 5.81-inch Google Pixel 4a (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G) that was released on August 3, 2020, against the Apple iPhone XS Max, which is powered by Apple A12 Bionic and came out 23 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 4a
  • Modern USB Type-C port
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
  • Delivers 21% higher peak brightness (805 against 663 nits)
  • Has 2 SIM card slots
  • Better grip in hands – the body is 8 mm narrower
  • The phone is 1-year and 11-months newer
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone XS Max
  • Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
  • 85% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (665K versus 359K)
  • Has a 0.69 inch larger screen size
  • The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
  • Handles Qi wireless charging up to 10W
  • Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Google
  • Slow-motion recording at 240FPS
  • 93% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1320 and 685 points

Review

Evaluation of Google Pixel 4a and Apple iPhone XS Max crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Pixel 4a
vs
iPhone XS Max

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 5.81 inches 6.5 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2340 pixels 1242 x 2688 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.4:9
PPI 443 ppi 456 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 700 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio 83.3% 85.41%
Display features - Always-On Display - DCI-P3
Display tests
RGB color space 95.3% 98.8%
PWM 255 Hz 240 Hz
Response time 6.2 ms 11.2 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
Pixel 4a +21%
805 nits
iPhone XS Max
663 nits

Design and build

Height 144 mm (5.67 inches) 157.5 mm (6.2 inches)
Width 69.4 mm (2.73 inches) 77.4 mm (3.05 inches)
Thickness 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) 7.7 mm (0.3 inches)
Weight 143 g (5.04 oz) 208 g (7.34 oz)
Waterproof No IP68
Rear material Plastic Glass
Frame material Plastic Metal
Colors Black Silver, Gold, Gray
Fingerprint scanner Yes, rear No
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of Google Pixel 4a and Apple iPhone XS Max in the benchmarks
SoC
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Apple A12 Bionic
Max clock 2200 MHz 2490 MHz
CPU cores 8 (2 + 6) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 470 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 2 cores at 2.2 GHz: Kryo 470 Gold (Cortex-A76) 		- 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Tempest
- 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex
Lithography process 8 nanometers 7 nanometers
Graphics Adreno 618 Apple A12 GPU
GPU shading units 256 256
GPU clock 825 MHz 1100 MHz
FLOPS ~422.4 GFLOPS ~576 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
Pixel 4a
359268
iPhone XS Max +85%
665855
CPU 115287 167833
GPU 70626 157230
Memory 78602 121395
UX 92505 215799
Total score 359268 665855
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature 41.4 °C 45.2 °C
Stability 99% 66%
Graphics test 6 FPS 34 FPS
Graphics score 1003 5704

Memory

RAM
RAM size 6 GB 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory clock 2133 MHz -
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 64, 256, 512 GB
Storage type UFS 2.1 NVMe
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) iOS 12 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
ROM Stock Android -
OS size 15 GB 16 GB

Battery

Capacity 3140 mAh 3174 mAh
Max charge power 18 W 18 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No Yes, Qi (10 W)
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (50% in 25 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:27 hr 03:29 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 08:45 hr 09:13 hr
Watching video 11:16 hr 10:50 hr
Gaming 04:05 hr 04:38 hr
Standby 99 hr 80 hr
General battery life
Pixel 4a +6%
26:51 hr
iPhone XS Max
25:23 hr

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 12.2 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4000 x 3000 4032 x 3024
Zoom Digital Optical, 2x
Flash Dual LED Quad LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 30FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 120 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Lenses 1 (12.2 MP) 2 (12 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 12.2 MP
- Aperture: f/1.7
- Focal length: 27 mm
- Pixel size: 1.4 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- Optical stabilization
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Focal length: 28 mm
- Pixel size: 1.4 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.5", Apple iSight X (CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens - - 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
- Focal length: 52 mm
- Pixel size: 1 micron
- Sensor: 1/3.4" (CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- Optical stabilization
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support 		- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Samples Photo samples of Google Pixel 4a from DxOMark Photo samples of Apple iPhone XS Max from DxOMark
Selfie camera
Megapixels 8 megapixels 7 megapixels
Image resolution 3264 x 2448 3088 x 2316
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 24 mm 32 mm
Pixel size 1.12 microns -
Sensor type CMOS BSI CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.8" -
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS

DxOMark camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display 		- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.1 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 3.1 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG 		- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Galileo
NFC * Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM * 2 1
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby -
eSIM support * Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat * 15 16
5G support No No

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack Yes No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
Pixel 4a +11%
86 dB
iPhone XS Max
77.2 dB

Other

Category Mid-range Flagship
Announced August 2020 September 2018
Release date October 2020 September 2018
SAR (head) 1.37 W/kg 0.99 W/kg
SAR (body) 1.39 W/kg 0.99 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint 		- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
* Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone XS Max is definitely a better buy.

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