Pixel 3 Vs iPhone XS Vs Galaxy S9 - GearUP^
Pixel 3 Vs iPhone XS Vs Galaxy S9 - GearUP^
It’s the battle of the big phones: a shootout between the Pixel 3 XL from Google, the iPhone XS Max from Apple and the Galaxy Note9 from Samsung. When you compare specs and the overall experience between all three, which one reigns supreme? Hey everyone, welcome to Gear Up, the WatchMojo series that looks at the latest in gadgets, gear and games. I’m Marc Saltzman, and in this video, we pit these top-of-the-line smartphones up against one another – one from Apple, one from Google and one from Samsung -- and by comparing a few key criteria, here’s how they fared. Let’s start off with:
1. Screen size and quality.
iPhone vs Android
iPhone X [10] S Max has the largest screen of the three with its 6.5-inch display. Galaxy Note 9 comes in at 6.4 inchesand the Pixel 3 XL has a 6.3-inch display. So, very similar. All three OLED screens are gorgeous, but Pixel 3 XL wins in the resolution department with its 523 pixels per inch density – and with iPhone XS Max being the lowest at 458 ppi. But the Pixel 3 XL has that giant notch. I mean, it’s big. Like Samsung wrote when it trolled them on social media: you could land a plane on it. iPhone XS Max has one, too, but nowhere as big. Pixel and Samsung have that cool Always-on display, as well. All three displays are a stunner, so it’s a 3-way tie here. I do like Google’sPixel Stand, so you can turn the Pixel 3 XL into a smart speaker, with the display showing your personal assistant answers, album art, and more.
Number 2: Performance
On paper, the phones offer comparable performance. Samsung rocks a Snapdragon 845 and 8 gigs of RAM or system memory. Google Pixel 3 XL has the same Snapdragon chip but with only 4GB of RAM, and Apple has its ownA12 Bionicchip with 4GB of RAM. But Apple and Google get props for optimizing their phones for these chips, and iPhone XS Max pulls out ahead here in a few different speed and performance tests – both in benchmarks and real-world use. Winner here for pure speed: iPhone.
Number 3: Cameras
Top 5 Best Starter DSLR Cameras - GearUP^
In 2018, all three companies – Apple, Samsung and Google – didn’t do too much to improve last year’s impressive cameras on their respective devices, but they each added some additional software tricks, behind the scenes, to optimize performance. All 3 flagship phones have a 12-megapixel rear camera, with the iPhone XS Max and Galaxy Note9 each offering both a wide-angle and telephoto camera, with dual optical image stabilization and 2x optical zoom. The Pixel 3 XL is still only a single lens camera on the back – but don’t discount it as Google has upped its game in many departments including portrait mode with a bokeh background blur effect, Super Res Zoom, Night Sight for better low-light performance and other features they’re unlocking over time like its smart burst mode with A.I. that picks the best photo. All 3 cameras can shoot 4K. For front-facing cams, they’re all impressive but Google pulls out ahead with its extra camera for Group Selfie Cam to capture more people in your shot.Apple, however, uses its True Depth front camera for Animoji and Samsung has the so-so AR emoji feature. The winner for best photo phone? It’s tough – I mean, look at these photos taken with these 3 phones -- and it’s tough to pick a standout. But when push comes to shove – when looking at portraits, landscapes, night shots, macro photography, and video quality -- I’m declaring the Note9 as the winner in the photography department, narrowing beating out iPhone XS Max and Google Pixel 3. But it’s as close as it gets.
Number 4: Storage
Google offers you just 64 gigabytes to start with but there’s also a 128GB model. Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 starts at 128GB and gives you a 512GB option. iPhone XS Max is available in 64, 256 gigs and 512GB. Therefore, Pixel 3XL is the only one maxed out at 128 gigs. Plus, both Apple and Google don’t let you expand the storage like Samsung does, with a microSD card, but Google does give you unlimited photo storage. Still, across the board, the clear winner here is Samsung.
Number 5: Battery life
OK, as you know, the size of a phone’s battery isn’t the whole storyas the processor plays a role here, how efficient is the phone's software at power management, what you’re doing on the device and what wireless radios are active and so on. All that being said, the Pixel 3 XL has a 3430 milliamp battery, Note9 has a 4000 milliamp battery and Apple doesn’t specify the mah number or milliamp hours, but its estimated to be about 3200…the smallest out of the 3 phones…Apple claims the XS Max lasts 90 minutes longer than iPhone X. In various battery tests posted online, Galaxy Note9 is the true workhorse – not just because they have the largest battery but in most of the tests it’s the winner – but two sources claim iPhone Xs Max squeaks by Note9 in one test that had it at just 12 minutes longer. All phones offer wireless charging.For battery performance, it’s a tie between Samsung and Apple. Sorry, Google. OK… As for things like operating system, it boils down to personal taste of course, whether you like iOS or Android. There are cases to be made for each camp. In other extras, all phones are waterproof to some degree. The Galaxy Note 9 has the integrated S Pen – which is now powered by wireless Bluetooth – which gives you more precision when interfacing with your device. Samsung supports both Google Assistant and Bixby. Pixel 3 has some cool Google Assistant features built in, as you’d expect, and Apple has Siri, but you can add Google Assistant but not full-featured as Siri as it’s not cooked int the OS. Let’s wrap up on price versus value.The Pixel 3 XL is the least-expensive of the big phones but there isn’t as much storage and battery life isn’t as good. For a little more cash, you could get a Galaxy Note 9 with a stylus and longer battery, bigger screen an expandable storage. And then there’s the iPhone XS Max, which is not cheap, oh boy, but the fastest phone, the best battery, and a graceful operating system if you’re into Apple stuff. Is there one hands-down winner? No. as you can see, each has their pros and cons, their differentiating features and some drawbacks – but you can’t go wrong with any of these big flagship phones. Be sure to get your hands on each of them at your favorite store or carrier kiosk to see what feels just right in your hands. Hey, thanks for watching Gear Up; I'm Marc Saltzman. Let us know what you you’d like to see more of going forward on Gear Up. And for more tech-tastic lists, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com. Ciao for now.
