If you want to be hip these days, you either go for an Apple device or a Samsung phone, right? Nope! Wrong! There's a third party emerging like a dark horse on a very boring race track. The Google Pixel! The company is pushing like crazy, and results are starting to show. In the US, Pixels now have 2% market share.
At first glance these two look rather different, but there's a hidden conflict here. Which one should you choose? Read our detailed iPhone 15 Plus vs Pixel 7 Pro comparison to find out!
Verizon-locked iPhone 15 at Walmart: preorder and save $100
The iPhone 15 is also available for preorder with a Verizon subscription. Walmart allows you to save $100 on this device over 36 months. Preorder today for just $21.64/mo.
The iPhone 15 is available for preorder with a carrier subscription for AT&T at Walmart. The device goes for $21.64/mo, saving you a total of $100. Currently, all colors and storage variants are available.
The iPhone 15 Plus can be yours for just $24.42/mo with a Verizon subscription
Walmart allows you to preorder the iPhone 15 Plus with a subscription to Verizon as well. The device goes for just $24.42 a month over 36 months. In total, your savings amount to $100. This is the 128GB configuration.
iPhone 15 Plus: preorder at Walmart and save with a subscription to AT&T
The iPhone 15 Plus is also available for preorder at Walmart, too. This is a locked version of the device. It comes with 128GB of internal storage space. Walmart sells the Apple device for $24.42/mo over 36 installments.
Even though the Pixel 7 Pro and the iPhone 15 Plus seem very similar when it comes to size and weight, the design is quite different between the two. The iPhone 15 Plus more or less mimics its predecessor, keeping the flat sides and back, the aluminum frame, and the square camera bump on the back.
The Pixel 7 Pro, on the other hand, is the polar opposite when it comes to design. It features a gently curved front screen, a curved glass back, and a camera strip stretching from one side to the other on the back of the Pixel, giving it a unique appearance.
So, we're talking about a completely different experience when holding these phones in your hand. Of course, a case equilibrates things a bit, but in the end, it's up to you to pick the one you like the best. Let's talk about colors for a bit. Down below, you'll find the expected colors for the iPhone 15 Plus and the available colors for the Pixel 7 Pro.
iPhone 15 Plus expected colors:
Black
Green
Pink
Blue
Yellow
Pixel 7 Pro available colors:
Obsidian
Snow
Hazel
Display Differences
More is good, right?
The Pixel 7 Pro features a 6.7-inch OLED display with a 1440p resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and up to 1,500 nits of peak brightness. These are impressive numbers, and we've tested them in our lab, confirming that the Pixel has a great display.
The iPhone 15 Plus sports more or less the same display panel as its predecessor, meaning a 6.7-inch OLED with a 60 Hz display refresh rate, 2796x1290 pixel resolution, and up to 1,600 nits of peak HDR brightness (2,000 nits peak outdoor brightness).
The Pixel also has an under-display fingerprint scanner, accompanied by 2D Face ID, while the iPhone 15 Plus comes with the same Face ID as the previous model, it's using some 3D magic and is believed to be more secure.
All in all, the choice here boils down to whether you like curved or flat screens and how important display refresh rate is to you. If you need the 10-120Hz variable smoothness, then the Pixel is the right one for you. If you don't care about it and prefer a flat screen, then get the iPhone 15 Plus.
Performance
An in-house battle
Google switched to its in-house Tensor platform with the Pixel 6 (even though Samsung helped a ton with the design and manufacturing), and the Pixel 7 Pro sports the second generation of the in-house silicon, the Tensor G2. The iPhone 15 Plus, on the other hand, inherits the A16 chip from last year's Pro models.
If we look at some naked synthetic benchmark scores, there's a clear winner here - the A16 is still one of the most potent mobile chipsets out there. In everyday use, you probably won't notice much of a difference, but in the long run, the iPhone 15 Plus has the potential to stay snappy and responsive for many years. Stay tuned for some hard benchmark numbers when the iPhone 15 Plus lands on our test bench.
There's a huge difference in the RAM onboard, the Pixel 7 Pro has twice as much as the iPhone 15 Plus (12 GB vs 6 GB, respectively). It's not a fair comparison, though, because iOS is a different platform, and apps are presumably better optimized and require less RAM. Again, in 2023, RAM on phones shouldn't be an issue, there's enough for pretty much any task and program.
Onboard storage starts at 128GB for the iPhone 15 Plus and goes through 256GB all the way up to 512GB. The Google Pixel 7 Pro comes with the exact same onboard memory configurations.
When it comes to software, things are even more complex. The iPhone 15 Plus runs iOS 17 out of the box (available for download from September 18), and we already have some idea what that looks like, thanks to the WWDC 2023 forum. Apple showcased iOS 17 and some of its coolest features, as a matter of fact, you can download the iOS 17 developer beta and check the out (we also have a dedicated iOS 17 preview article just for you).
The Pixel 7 Pro is currently running Android 13 but as a full-fledged Pixel device, it will be the first to get Android 14 when it officially launches later this year. Many Pixel users are already rocking Android 14 beta software, so be sure to check out our full iOS 17 coverage, as well as our Android 14 coverage for a deep dive.
Camera
Three beats two?
Let's start with the iPhone. There's a slight upgrade to the dual camera system on the iPhone 15 Plus. The main camera has been transferred from last year's Pro model, meaning we're looking at a 48 MP wide camera. The default images are 24MP, and this is achieved by going through 12-megapixel pixel-binned photos and processing them later to output the aforementioned 24MP. The iPhone 15 Plus also has the ability to shoot 48MP HEIC images but all this deserve a separate article. The ultrawide camera remains untouched, it's the same 12MP shooter we all know from the iPhone 14 Plus, and the same goes for the selfie camera.
The Pixel 7 Pro, on the other hand, comes equipped with a very potent camera setup - a 50 MP main camera, a 48 MP telephoto camera with 5X zoom, and a 12 MP ultrawide snapper. We all know how good Google's image processing algorithms are, and the same is true for the iPhone, so we can't say for sure which one will be better unless we pit both models against each other. The detailed camera comparison is coming soon, so stay tuned!
One thing is clear, though: Having a third telephoto camera is an advantage that can't be fully offset by clever software tricks.
Audio Quality
In terms of audio setup, both phones exploit the same design - a bottom-firing loudspeaker coupled with the earpiece acting as a second speaker, thus achieving a stereo setup. This setup works rather well on the Pixel 7 Pro, and when compared to other similarly-sized phones, it sounds big and full.
We can't comment on the iPhone 15 Plus yet, we'll have to run some tests, but what we can do is extrapolate from the iPhone 14 Plus, as this year's Plus is expected to carry the same speakers as its predecessor. With that being said, we expect excellent results when it comes to volume, clarity, and bass response. iPhone devices are hard to beat when it comes to audio, and the size of the iPhone 15 Plus will definitely help in that regard. We can't wait to get the iPhone 15 Plus on our test bench and do some audio tests, so stay tuned for more updates on that soon.
Battery and Charging
Very similar
The Pixel 7 Pro comes with a big 5,000mAh battery and supports 23W wired and wireless fast charging. The ample battery gets drained fast, though. The efficiency of the Tensor is not excellent, especially during gaming or 3D-heavy applications.
The iPhone 15 Plus probably comes with the same battery as its predecessor, a 4,325 mAh cell (Apple doesn't list battery capacities but judging from the listed hours of usage, it should be the same cell). As for charging, despite the new USB-C port, Apple lists 20W as the max wired charging speed, citing 50% in 30 minutes. Battery benchmark score should appear here, once we've completed our test procedures.
The iPhone 15 Plus and the Pixel 7 Pro are very different phones, and they cater to different audiences. The choice between these two phones will ultimately depend on your approach and the ecosystem you belong to. On paper, the Pixel 7 Pro offers more phone for the money, but if you're coming from an Apple device, you'll need to make some adjustments to get into the new and growing Pixel ecosystem.
The same argument applies vice versa - if you're an Android or Pixel user, it will take some time (and money) to get into Apple's ecosystem to reap all the benefits. All in all, these two phones are excellent, and you won't regret getting either of them. Both phones start at $899, so this fact equilibrates the situation even more. There's one piece of advice we can give, you might want to wait for the upcoming Pixel 8 announcement, as the new Pixel 8 Pro might turn out to be a better choice and competitor to the iPhone 15 Plus.
