iPhone 7 Plus Vs Pixel XL and the Winner Is...

The smartphone industry has been abuzz lately with the launch of flagship phones from Apple, Samsung and Google. Samsung’s Note 7, a promising smartphone that could have been a worthy competitor to Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus, is now grappling with handset recalls subsequent to battery issues. The smartphone wars took an interesting turn with the launch of Pixel XL from Google in October.

- Nidhi Singal

Coming from the creators of the Android operating system, this high-end ‘made by Google’ (outsourced to HTC for production) smartphone, many believe, is poised to take on the current superstar, the iPhone 7 Plus. But will it really?

Brace yourself as we evaluate the two phones on key parameters and rate them on a scale of one to 10.

DESIGN: In the looks department, both the iPhone 7 Plus and Pixel XL score well – the iPhone 7 Plus’s classy black finish and the Pixel XL in quiet black look resplendent. The build quality, too, is excellent. The iPhone has a metal unibody with IP 67 certification, which makes it water and dust resistant, and gives it a definite edge over the Pixel XL, which is IP 53 certified making it resistant only to water sprays. Apple has done away with the antenna lines at the rear, awarding the iPhone 7 Plus a more premium look. The keys and ports continue to be at the same location, minus the 3.5-mm jack. The clickable home button with fingerprint sensor has been replaced with a pressure sensor with haptic vibrations, which blends seamlessly with the design. Pixel XL, on the other hand, has a two-tone glass aluminium body with a smooth surface and curved edges. The fingerprint scanner has been added to the rear. Antenna lines run through the top, side edges and at the bottom rear. Google has added a Type C charging port at the bottom, volume control and power key on the right edge, and a 3.5-mm jack at the top. The battery is nonremovable and the SIM slot tray sits on the left edge. 

APPLE IPHONE 7 PLUS: 10 

GOOGLE PIXEL XL: 10