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Phones Moved to Pixel after 16 years on iPhone
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ayephoner
macrumors 6502a
This seems a bit disingenuous.
For one, the sticker price of the pixel 9 is $799. it's 1.5 years old, so I'm sure there are deals to be had, but it is 1.5 years old. That price is also for the 128gb model. Add $100 for 256gb.
For two, the iphone 17 pro costs $1100. That's for the 256gb model. You can double that for $200 more, but that still doesn't get you to $1350.
So a price comparison between a generation old, mid tier, low storage pixel on sale to a current generation, flagship, high storage at full price (with tax??) is a wild post to make.
In addition, there are windows laptops for $140 that will "do almost anything" a macbook pro will do, but we all know that comparison isn't about what they can do, but more so how they do those things.
In Europe it costs 1350, and the pixel 9 can be bought for 250, which I just did. While I agree that it's now a bit older (tho not much really), another cool thing about Android is that MSRP isn't the price to go by.
And yes indeed 128 vs 256.
And my point is exactly this; midrange nowadays aren't very different from higher end from a practical standpoint
A computer is wildly different from a phone in that its power comes in handy much more easily. I don't know about you but I don't edit videos on my phone. Both of those can record at 4k60 HDR, the browsing speed is the same too i
Believe.
And while it lacks a telephoto , google has some magic up its sleeve, and main shots better stills than my 17 pro.
ayephoner
macrumors 6502a
That's actually one of the main reasons I switched from android to iphone. Android phones don't hold their value nearly as well. You can get a great deal selling or trading in an older iphone, but not quite as much for a comparable android.
Yes, you have a point about a practical standpoint, but obviously the flagships exist for a reason. You could have a very similar comparison between the pixel 10 pro and the iphone 16. Comparing any current gen flagship to any last gen midrange is going to look somewhat similar.
But when you look at feature/spec line by line, that generic, practical comparison starts to fall flat:
Apple iPhone 17 Pro vs Google Pixel 9 - specs comparison
Compare Apple iPhone 17 Pro vs Google Pixel 9 with our phone comparison tool and get side-by-side specifications.
www.phonearena.com
And I couldn't find a direct comparison of the iphone 17 pro to the pixel 9, but here is the comparison from the 17 pro to the pixel 10 pro. The iphone's CPU and GPU benchmarks are much better. The cameras are graded nearly the same and the only big advantage for the pixel is battery life. I'm sure you can imagine a comparison to the pixel 9 would be a much wider gap.
Apple iPhone 17 Pro vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Main differences
The fiercest rivals are back in the ring
www.phonearena.com
I hear you, although for second hand it's not that stellar in my miserable experience lol.That's actually one of the main reasons I switched from android to iphone. Android phones don't hold their value nearly as well. You can get a great deal selling or trading in an older iphone, but not quite as much for a comparable android.
Yes, you have a point about a practical standpoint, but obviously the flagships exist for a reason. You could have a very similar comparison between the pixel 10 pro and the iphone 16. Comparing any current gen flagship to any last gen midrange is going to look somewhat similar.
But when you look at feature/spec line by line, that generic, practical comparison starts to fall flat:
Apple iPhone 17 Pro vs Google Pixel 9 - specs comparison
Compare Apple iPhone 17 Pro vs Google Pixel 9 with our phone comparison tool and get side-by-side specifications.
And I couldn't find a direct comparison of the iphone 17 pro to the pixel 9, but here is the comparison from the 17 pro to the pixel 10 pro. The iphone's CPU and GPU benchmarks are much better. The cameras are graded nearly the same and the only big advantage for the pixel is battery life. I'm sure you can imagine a comparison to the pixel 9 would be a much wider gap.
Apple iPhone 17 Pro vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Main differences
The fiercest rivals are back in the ring
But the argument certainly goes both ways . I prefer to be able to buy my phone for much cheaper along the road
Btw I bought the p9 for 250 BRAND NEW, from a store, not second hand.
Reading specs sheet is useless frankly, user experience is the only thing that truly matters. But I was mostly talking about power here, some things are more visible, but as far as power goes I don't think flagship vs midrange makes a difference frankly.
I'm not sure what's the point of GPU if you don't care, especially since lately they've moved to specialized UNITS like NPU for specific tasks, although the a19pro has neural accelerators in the GPU.
but what do you do that pushes cpu and
GPU anyway?
HouseLannister
macrumors 68040
Or you perceive you got more back because you paid too much to begin with. 🤣
Simply because I did not notice that this was in an Android forum on MacRumors. My apologies. Would never have bothered to post here had I noticed/known that. Have a great time discussing your choices.
ayephoner
macrumors 6502a
Specs sheets aren't completely useless. There are some very tangible things like screen to body percentage (ie bezel size), brightness, sound quality, etc. But that's why I posted the other article with benchmark scores. I really just did that because you said you thought browsing speeds was identical. It would be a good deal faster on the iphone, but again -to agree with you- it wouldn't be noticeable to your average user 99% of the time.
I play mobile games, ones that do push the processors. That's one of the main reasons I justify buying iphone pro maxes.
ayephoner
macrumors 6502a
I have no idea what you're trying to get at here. I bought an iphone 12 pro max at launch and traded it in 3 years later for over $800 to get an iphone 15 pro max. I just traded that in 2 years later for right at $800 to get a 17 pro max. I don't know how those dollar amounts have anything to do with 'perception'.
Android phones can get you a high trade in value but you need to stay within the same family. A few years ago, I traded in my Pixel 4a that I used for 3 years to Google and lost just $50. That's roughly 90% of the original MSRP. I also scored a Galaxy Tab S7 Plus with headphones for $350 by trading in my Samsung Tab 2 I had for 4-5 years and Samsung gave me more on trade than I paid. You just have to look for sales and trade in opportunities.That's actually one of the main reasons I switched from android to iphone. Android phones don't hold their value nearly as well. You can get a great deal selling or trading in an older iphone, but not quite as much for a comparable android.
Yes, you have a point about a practical standpoint, but obviously the flagships exist for a reason. You could have a very similar comparison between the pixel 10 pro and the iphone 16. Comparing any current gen flagship to any last gen midrange is going to look somewhat similar.
But when you look at feature/spec line by line, that generic, practical comparison starts to fall flat:
Apple iPhone 17 Pro vs Google Pixel 9 - specs comparison
Compare Apple iPhone 17 Pro vs Google Pixel 9 with our phone comparison tool and get side-by-side specifications.
And I couldn't find a direct comparison of the iphone 17 pro to the pixel 9, but here is the comparison from the 17 pro to the pixel 10 pro. The iphone's CPU and GPU benchmarks are much better. The cameras are graded nearly the same and the only big advantage for the pixel is battery life. I'm sure you can imagine a comparison to the pixel 9 would be a much wider gap.
Apple iPhone 17 Pro vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Main differences
The fiercest rivals are back in the ring
The other thing is it's totally different to cry about losing 60-75% on your trade if the phone was over $1000. It's a totally thing to cry about losing 60-75% on a phone you paid $250 and used for several years.
I use the same approach when I buy a Mac. I buy the base model Mac Mini and buy it during sales tax holiday on their Edu website. Out the door $499.99 for a new Mini.
I use an Android phone and an Apple Silicon Mac. Fantastic combo. I use LocalSend to share files over wifi between the two devices, though I think with a new Pixel you're able to use the built-in Quick Share feature on the phone to share files over AirDrop with your Mac.
There's really not much else I feel like I'm missing by not having an iPhone.
HouseLannister
macrumors 68040
Not sure who is giving you $800 for a 3-year old phone (that does not line up with Apple's offerings).
Let's look at current phones. A 17 Pro Max had an original MSRP of $1099 and is worth up to $650 in trade to Apple today. So that is a $449 loss after 1 year of ownership.
You might not get many trade-in deals on Android phones and the sale values on sites like Gazelle are a joke. But you get loads of MVNOs selling Google phones for dirt cheap to start. I could have bought a Pixel 10 Pro XL for $349 last month from US Mobile. That's more than I would lose with Apple on a trade in and I still get to keep my existing phone.
Hence its a perception issue. I spend far less on Android up front, so who cares if I don't get a trade in deal? My total cost of ownership is far less.
ayephoner
macrumors 6502a
They were carrier promotions, but (from what i can tell), even those are better for iphones than android devices.
Of course carriers offer good deals on a locked phone with service activation (and a year of service paid up front). It was definitely a good deal, but it was also very limited. I think it "sold out" in an hour? This was to drum up attention for US Mobile at a loss. Obviously it worked, as we are now talking about them, but it's not at all indicative of the price of android devices overall.
Question:
Does the Pixel (or Samsung or any other phone) have the same unending and irritating notifications to update to the latest OS software?
I have turned off notifications on my iPhone, but the "Update to OS26" notifications still come.
When I set my phone to airplane mode, the "Update to OS26" notifications still seem to come.
I laughed at this one... when Verizon was down in January, while I could not get online that day, I swear I think I got an "Update to OS26" notification even while Verizon was down that day.
I am not saying I would switch because of these notifications... but I am not saying I won't either.
Does the Pixel (or Samsung or any other phone) have the same unending and irritating notifications to update to the latest OS software?
I have turned off notifications on my iPhone, but the "Update to OS26" notifications still come.
When I set my phone to airplane mode, the "Update to OS26" notifications still seem to come.
I laughed at this one... when Verizon was down in January, while I could not get online that day, I swear I think I got an "Update to OS26" notification even while Verizon was down that day.
I am not saying I would switch because of these notifications... but I am not saying I won't either.
HouseLannister
macrumors 68040
Kind of a long non-answer for you:
Android does 90+% of their updates to the apps themselves instead of the OS, because so much of the OS is componentized. For example: If the camera app gets an update, it will update just that app overnight without updating the entire OS or rebooting. You get something patched almost every day and don’t need to go 2 months between point releases like on iOS. Small, constant incremental updates. Even the big Material 3 Expressive we got this year was not part of Android 16.0 and came out over months of small updates to every app that is a part of the whole.
That said, I have never turned down a big Pixel update, because they are always a good thing and don’t have all this drama that iOS 26 got. The changes from Android 15 to 16 to 17 are so minor that you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. I will install them all on day one, so never see any prompts.
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That is one of the advantages of Android. If a device no longer gets OS or security updates you will still receive app updates which will allow you to use your phone. With iOS once Apple turns off the spigot the death watch begins when the device will lose most basic functionality like web browsing and the rest of the browsers are just reskinned Safari browsers.
Not so with Android. Google Chrome will continuously get upgraded and your Android device will continue to work long after it's no longer receiving any updates.
While I don't have an Android phone, I wish that the iOS upgrades would be like that above (bolded). It would save "me" so much time not having to relearn every new iOS upgrade. Dealing with iOS 26 feels to me as if I am clearing the clutter in one room by moving all to another room in the house. It's noting but wasted time...all the learning and learning, and spending time online trying to figure out how to use it.
And no, ladies and gentlemen iPhone users; I am not complaining. Maybe I am starting to get bored of the iPhone?
Such a useless upgrade. "It's nothing but wasted time...all the learning and learning, and spending time online trying to figure out how to use it." You NAILED it.
Unfortunately, that's par for the course. In today's world people tend to get bored much easier and look at alternatives because the Smartphone has been for many years a mature market. There's only so much you can do with a smartphone and it has been done for the most part. Now that we can take pictures, search the web, have a voice assistant, buy stuff online, download apps etc, that's no longer enough to keep people's attention.
So companies, especially Apple since they are considered the smartphone leader where they influence market trends, can no longer keep things the same. So every once in awhile, they decide it's time to repaint the room or hide all the toys under the bed.
The longer they kept the look of iOS7, the more they risked their customers leaving for greener pastures. So now they've changed all the questions you knew and now you and everyone else using an iDevice will spend time finding the answers.
They could have made it BETTER. Instead, they made it stupid.
TSE
macrumors 601
iPhone owners are ones that just need a phone that works.
Android owners are ones that have free time to spare tinkering around and customizing their UI.
My first smartphone was the Samsung Galaxy S 4G. Never again. I have more important things to do. That's also why I choose an iMac over Mac mini + Apple Studio Display any day. I value simplicity so I can concentrate on things in life that are worth my attention and a design that brings joy to my life.
And I know what some of you are thinking," Concentrate on what? Posting on MacRumors?"
To that I say, if I help one single person live a simpler life, I save a lifetime of saved energy and time with a 5 minute post. Now multiple that for two, three, four people...
That's why I said OP will go back to iPhone earlier in this thread. He seems to be a smart man.
Android owners are ones that have free time to spare tinkering around and customizing their UI.
My first smartphone was the Samsung Galaxy S 4G. Never again. I have more important things to do. That's also why I choose an iMac over Mac mini + Apple Studio Display any day. I value simplicity so I can concentrate on things in life that are worth my attention and a design that brings joy to my life.
And I know what some of you are thinking," Concentrate on what? Posting on MacRumors?"
To that I say, if I help one single person live a simpler life, I save a lifetime of saved energy and time with a 5 minute post. Now multiple that for two, three, four people...
That's why I said OP will go back to iPhone earlier in this thread. He seems to be a smart man.
Hmm, that's odd because I own several Android Pixel phones and don't tinker. I use the presets, install the apps I need and that's it. However I will agree with you that once you become comfortable with a product one tends to go back to it, like a worn shoe.
I own an iPhone and I still prefer Android.