Google Pixel XL vs. Apple iPhone 6S Plus: 6 Reasons Pure Android Flagship is Better than its iOS Rival

By Erik Pineda
Google Pixel and Pixel XL
Google Pixel is now available on Google Store, Verizon and Bestbuy CNET

Soon, the Google Pixel 2 will hit the market but the original, the first Google Pixel models, can still hold a candle against the competition, specifically the iPhone 6S Plus that was launched by Apple in 2015. In close comparison, the Pure Android flagship will end up the better device in at least six ways.

Smaller and lighter

The Pixel XL, for instance, has the same 5.5-inch screen size found on the iPhone 6S Plus as well as the iPhone 7 Plus but it is the Google phone that has a smaller form factor and lighter build, Business Insider said, at only 168 grams as opposed to the 192 grams of the 6S Plus and 188 grams of the 7 Plus.

As a result, it's the Pixel phone that is easier to handle that applies both for the regular and XL edition.

AMOLED vs. Retina

AMOLED display when first commercialized by Samsung with the Galaxy flagship series quickly earned praises, and seen as the better display technology even against the iPhone Retina-laced screen. And so the same reaction was given to the Pixel phones when Google decided to go AMOLED with the handsets.

The Pixel XL going against the iPhone 6S Plus will make AMOLED easily stand out with richer color rendering and more pronounced contrast. Not to mention that the Pixel XL's 1440p screen resolution is more vibrant when pitted against the 6S Plus 1080p.

Customization

It's no secret Android welcomes some amount of tweaking for users to really own a mobile device by giving it a personal touch or just to make it more optimal. The changes can be cosmetic or more importantly for the mobile OS to become faster and smoother.

The same can be performed on the iPhone but will require jailbreak solutions, which lately have been hard to come by or became mostly unreliable.

Longer battery life

When Doze was introduced as a new Android feature, the objective was to make smartphones really smart by ensuring that the battery juice will last longer than usual. With the Pixel phones, Doze certainly work wonders as "it does a fantastic job of reducing the Pixel's power consumption," when the device is in idle state, Business Insider said. It should be exciting how the next version of Doze will only get better when Android O becomes official and when Pixel 2 gets out of the box later in the year.

Quick charging

And the Pixel phones, like most recent Android flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S8, charges up real fast largely thanks to the use of USB-C charging port. Rumors said the same connectivity port will be found on the next iPhone release this 2017 but for now both the 6S Plus and iPhone 7 Plus with Lightning port are no match to the Pixel phones in this respect.

AI

For smartphone users that actually care about artificial intelligence, it is well known that Siri on iPhone has been a letdown lately and have been outperformed by Microsoft's Cortana and Google Now. But with the arrival of Google Assistant, regarded as more advanced than the aging and lagging Siri, AI with the iPhone seems too far behind.

The only consolation now for Apple's iPhone is the device is certainly prettier than the Pixel phones as Business Insider noted on its report, Google focused more on functions than form with the handsets. But it's likely the device look will get a better treatment in time for the Google Pixel 2 release date later this 2017.

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