The newly-announced Pixel 10 looks set to be the new sweet spot smartphone for Google fans, striking the best balance of price and features of the line-up. But if you’re not already a convert, the Samsung Galaxy S25 and Apple iPhone 16 are the obvious alternatives.
All three phones are compact yet powerful, with capable cameras and streamlined software. They all cost pretty much the same, too. Which makes picking one that little bit harder. While I’ve yet to get my hands on a Pixel, I’ve spent plenty of time with the other two – so by focusing on the spec sheets, does one stand out above the others? Read on to find out.
Price
As the baby of the new Pixel range (at least until the inevitable Pixel 10a shows up), the Pixel 10 is also the most affordable – but it’s still not what I would call cheap, retailing for $799/£799 with 128GB of on-board storage. You’ll be able to pay more for a 256GB model if you need extra space. On the plus side, these prices aren’t any higher than last year’s Pixel 9, and compete almost beat-for-beat with its closest rivals.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 also starts at $800/£799 for a 128GB handset, at least officially. Seeing as it’s been out for the best part of eight months, you can find it for less if you shop around: the best I’ve seen is $720/£650 SIM-free, or even less with a new line activations in the US. The same is true for the 256GB model, which launched at $860/£859. The USA didn’t seem to get the 512GB version, which originally cost £959 in the UK.
Unsurprisingly the Apple iPhone 16 will also set you back $799/£799 in 128GB guise. Apple doesn’t really do discounts, and retailers aren’t that keen to drop prices either, but there are some deals to be had on new connections. That’s also the case for the 256GB variant, originally $899/£899, and the 512GB model, which launched at $1099/£1099.
Design
Their distinctive rear camera layouts aside, all three handsets have the hallmarks of a modern smartphone. They’ve each got flat glass on the front and rear, a flat central frame made from metal, and rounded-off corners. Size-wise there’s very little in it, with all three being among the most palm-friendly phones on sale right now.
The Pixel 10 lands in Obsidian, Frost, Lemongrass and Indigo colours. That last one is a nod to the original Pixel handset’s distinctive “Really Blue” hue. All four have a colour-matched frame made of ‘satin metal’ aluminium, with Google’s signature pill-shaped camera bar protruding out of the rear panel. On the front, a central selfie camera has been punched through the display.
Samsung’s effort can be had in Navy, Mint, Silver Shadow and Icy Blue colours; CoralRed and PinkGold are also available if you buy directly from the Samsung web store. Its three rear cameras are stacked to the left side as a set of individual lenses. There’s a central punch-hole selfie camera up front.
The iPhone 16 has the most going on at the sides, with Apple’s touch-sensitive Camera Control surface sitting beneath the power button on the right side, and the customisable Action button on the left in place of the traditional mute switch. It only has two rear cameras, stacked vertically at the left side, set inside a raised oblong island. Up front, Apple’s signature Dynamic Island cutout disguises the selfie camera and FaceID facial recognition hardware. You can pick one up in Ultramarine, Teal, Pink, White or Black colours.
Display
How big do you want your ‘small’ phone to be? The Pixel 10 is the largest of the three, with a 6.3in OLED panel. While its 2424×1080 resolution means it isn’t the pixel density champ, you’d need a microscope to notice. It’s comfortably the brightest of the three on paper, managing a peak 3000 nits, and its 120Hz refresh rate ensures smooth scrolling.
The Galaxy sits in the middle with a 6.2in OLED, which also tops out at 120Hz. The 2340×1080 resolution is plenty sharp, and its claimed peak brightness of 2600 nits isn’t a huge step behind the Pixel’s.
Apple is the smallest of the bunch, at 6.1in. the iPhone 16’s OLED only manages 60Hz, too, meaning scrolling and motion look noticeably less smooth. A 2000 nit peak brightness also puts it on the back foot. It’s still good for the price, but in a pure hardware comparison it loses out to Google and Samsung.
Cameras
With Google, Apple and Samsung all concentrating on algorithms and picture processing rather than chasing top-tier camera hardware, you shouldn’t spend too much time obsessing over pixel count here – but in theory, the Pixel 10 has edged ahead with the addition of a dedicated telephoto lens. It has a 48MP lead lens with macro focusing abilities, a 10.8MP zoom lens with 5x optical and up to 20x Super Res magnification, and a 13MP ultrawide.
The Galaxy S25 has a 50MP main camera with optical image stabilisation, a 12MP ultrawide, and a 10MP optically stabilised telephoto good for 3x optical zoom. There’s no macro close-up function here.
Apple, meanwhile, has stuck with two cameras; you’ll need to step up to the iPhone 16 Pro if you want a dedicated zoom lens. You’re getting a 48MP lead lens with optical image stabilisation, and a 12MP ultrawide that can also take macro stills.
Performance & battery life
Google reckons its new Tensor G5 chipset, designed in-house and built by TSMC on a power-efficient 3nm process, has a CPU that’s up to 34% faster than last year’s G4. It also has a TPU dedicated to AI number-crunching that’s 60% quicker, and is paired with 12GB of RAM. Until benchmarks prove otherwise, though, I’m betting it’ll be the least powerful of the three phones seen here – at least in synthetic benchmarks.
Tensor chips have never been record-breakers, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite inside the Galaxy S25 is as quick as it gets in Android land right now. Samsung has also gone with 12GB of RAM. The iPhone 16 only has 8GB of memory, but its Apple A18 chipset is arguably even more potent, with apps and games that are brilliantly optimised for its architecture.
The Pixel 10 will probably either take the gold or silver medal when it comes to battery life. Google says it’s good for “30+ hours” of use, which translates to a 4970mAh cell. The Galaxy S25 makes do with 4000mAh, which isn’t a lot to keep the top-tier Snapdragon chip juiced up. The iPhone 16 has an even smaller 3561mAh cell, but Apple routinely manages to stretch its smartphones for far longer than their battery capacities suggest.
Crucially, the Pixel is the first big-name Android phone to come with Qi2 magnetic wireless charging. That puts it on par with the iPhone and its MagSafe charging, while the Galaxy S25 just supports regular wireless charging – no magnets included. All three charge at roughly the same speeds, whether through a cable or wirelessly.
Google Pixel 10 vs Galaxy S25 vs iPhone 16 early verdict
Without having handled the Pixel 10, I’m not yet ready to give a definitive verdict just yet – but first impressions suggest Samsung in particular should be worried. By adding a dedicated telephoto camera and bringing Qi2 magnetic wireless charging to Android, Google’s latest is very compelling indeed. There’s little to separate them on size and screen, and both have mature takes on the latest version of Android.
How the two fare on battery life and performance remains to be seen, though the Samsung wins out for value now you can find them on sale for a fair bit less than the original retail price.
As for the iPhone? Anyone already in Apple’s ecosystem will need some major convincing to make the switch to Android, and while no longer having to give up their MagSafe accessories helps, I’m almost certain the iPhone 16 will be the more powerful handset. It should potentially last longer per charge, too. The Pixel should comfortably take the lead for zoom photos, though.
