We love phone showdowns. People cheer their “team”. We get emotionally invested in the products we buy and use.
It’s surprisingly difficult to properly divide up phones into categories where those comparisons are fair. It’s casually easy to look at a landscape of phones under $500 and pick a few for a fight. If you’ve followed my videos and reviews, you know I really like to get more specific about what KIND of device a phone might be.
I don’t think price is the decider as much as functionality or the target consumer demographic.
We should compare “communicator” phones against other communicator phones. Content creation phones should be compared against other creator phones. Gaming phones should be compared against gaming phones (and the Nintendo Switch).
With all that said, allow me to be a hypocrite as I purposely select two phones to fight based on price!
Why the iPhone SE you might ask? Price!
If we match the 128GB of storage on the Pixel 5A, the next closest phone in Apple’s lineup is the iPhone XR, which costs $100 more. When talking to consumers who are seriously shopping under $500, it’s terrible advice to recommend someone spend $100 more to buy a phone that’s almost three years old now.
Of course, we COULD compare the Pixel against other Android devices near this price. The competition for Android mid-rangers is HOT right now.
However, there are only TWO companies that control the entire smartphone vertical. Only Google and Apple offer phones where those manufacturers control the hardware, design, support, operating system, and core services.
There literally is no other direct competition where all those criteria can be met. The only REAL showdown matching all the software, support, and arriving at the same price, is Pixel 5A versus the iPhone SE.
Let’s Go!
Design and Hardware – Pixel 5A
The Pixel picks up its first win!
While Google has recycled the general design we’ve seen since the Pixel 3A, that’s still YEARS better than the recycling job Apple has showcased on the iPhone SE. Generally, the SE is the same phone we’ve seen since the iPhone 6 (released in 2014). The Pixel is a bit of a re-tread. The SE is ANCIENT phone design.
No matter what aesthetics you’re concerned about, the Pixel better satisfies our modern notion of what a phone should look like. Especially from the front, where the larger, higher resolution OLED on the Pixel is significantly nicer to look at, than the smaller LCD on the iPhone.
More than just looks however, we’ve largely reached build quality parity. The iPhone SE is made out of shiny glass. The Pixel 5A is made of a more premium metal than previous Pixel A phones. Both phones have excellent dedicated hardware fingerprint sensors. Both phones now have rated weather and water resistance.
Down to platform differences like the charge/data port, the Pixel 5A moves up to a USB 3.1 Type-C connector. You won’t have to mess with the terrible legacy Lightning connector, which only survives to drive more licensing and accessory purchases for Apple’s bottom line.
Software and Support – Pixel 5A
Normally one would immediately declare an iPhone the winner in any conversation about software support, but we’ve got an interesting combination of events happening for Google.
First, Google has reliably shown that Pixels benefit from improvements and feature drops over years of use. The Pixel 5 received a significant update improving graphics and CPU performance. Google is ahead of the curve on call screening and call waiting features. Android is still the easier operating system to use for managing notifications and alerts.
Google is also doing a better job of delivering new features to older phones through Google Play Services updates. Apple rarely brings new features to older iPhones, and there’s still a persisting idea that new OS updates increasingly slow down older iPhones. Some recent evidence coming to light that Apple still institutes those throttling policies based on local politics. Your OLD iPhone will run faster in France?
It’s fair to say that we shouldn’t buy a phone on the promise of what it MIGHT get in the future, but Google has earned a solid reputation for delivering more functionality through software updates. If techies like to promote Apple software updates as a benefit of iOS (even with Apple’s feature fragmentation), we’re overdue highlighting the work done on Pixel updates.
The gap on individual services has narrowed tremendously. Where Android messaging was a bad joke, RCS is now properly under Google’s purview. Video calling on Duo is competitive with Facetime, and Duo can more easily work across platforms. Nearby Share has closed the gap against AirDrop for file transfers. Siri has improved, but Google Assistant remains the smarter of the two digital assistants.
The “ecosystem” argument for Apple is aging, and Google is catching up to that seamless services integration while still supporting a much wider swath of competing devices.
From a political standpoint, Apple’s recent move to scan phones for CSAM and images of abuse or human trafficking is a troubling move from a company which so heavily advertises privacy.
This has always been a critical philosophical distinction between the two companies, but Apple has significantly moved the goal posts on privacy. Apple still has time to walk back this decision on iOS 15, but it’s looking increasingly unlikely that they will.
Audio and Speakers – Pixel 5A
This is another easy win for the Pixel. The iPhone SE has surprisingly good speakers for its size, but the Pixel takes a win for audio reproduction.
Better still, for folks who like to go wireless, Android natively supports higher quality codecs than what iPhones support, so Bluetooth users are treated to higher fidelity.
AND better than that, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack built in with respectable quality, a reasonable amp, and the ability to use it as an input to connect a microphone.
Even if you enjoy Apple Music, the Pixel 5A is the superior device to consume audio. Especially if you’re considering dabbling with Lossless.
Camera – Pixel 5A
The camera competition is a little closer for the iPhone, but the Pixel is able to outclass it in almost every category.
The main camera sensors are similar, where Apple is still using a smaller sensor on phones up to the iPhone 12 Pro at $999. SE owners get to benefit from all the algorithm refining from Apple on this camera sensor. This is Apple however, and newer features in the iPhone camera app don’t really make it to older and less expensive phones.
While the iPhone SE is more powerful than the Pixel 5A, the Pixel is all around more capable. There’s no reason why the iPhone shouldn’t have a dedicated night mode, but there isn’t one. The 5A handily bests the SE in low light, and competes well against newer phones like the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro.
See if you can pick which phone took which photo! (Hint: the iPhone DID NOT take the better photo!)
Google has added significantly more function to the Pixel camera app while also streamlining the camera viewfinder. It’s a sublime balance. Easier for consumers to point and shoot, while also more capable for advanced composition.
The iPhone SE has the same camera app layout as newer iPhones, but there are empty spaces where functionality is missing, or where settings are duplicated. More people will undoubtedly be MORE familiar with the iPhone camera app, but it hasn’t added additional functionality as gracefully.
Google has added video features like cinematic panning, replicating gimbal-like stabilization. HDR and portrait modes are easily best in class. While photos are heavily processed, a RAW file can be saved for user editing and processing.
A new level guide has been added which beautifully pulses the haptic motor when the phone is flat. It’s a small touch, but instead of distracting the user, it’s a tactile guide. You FEEL the camera when your horizon is level.
At the same price, Google includes a whole second ultra-wide camera. Ultra-wide is super useful in a variety of situations, and it significantly adds to the flexibility of the camera for composition. Overall, you end up with a more broadly functional camera, usable at more focal lengths.
The iPhone scores one performance victory, in that the more powerful processor can shoot 4K video at 60FPS for significantly longer video clips. In fairly cool conditions, I was able to shoot around 15 minutes of 4K60 on the Pixel. After ten minutes, both the Pixel and the iPhone rear cases were over 100 degrees. Even though it was toasty hot, the iPhone was able to keep recording a much longer clip.
It’s a bummer for the Pixel, but 4K60 isn’t exactly a common shooting format. I still use it on my Pixel, but I use it knowing that I’ll need to shoot in shorter bursts, especially when it’s hot outside.
If you need to shoot 4K60 at the expense of every other camera and phone feature, then the iPhone is the right fit for you. If you can compromise on shorter clips in 4K60 (or if you’re more likely to shoot at a lower frame rate or resolution), the WHOLE rest of the camera experience is better on the Pixel.
Network Performance – Pixel 5A
Both phones are solid performers on my WiFi 6 router. Running a speedtest on each, I can see peak data transmission speeds at the limits of my broadband connection.
Transferring a file from my NAS, even though the iPhone app for my NAS is better supported (and has a prettier UI), the Pixel was slightly faster. There was about a 10% penalty for the iPhone. In real world use, downloading a 2GB video file, the Pixel finished in 30 seconds, the iPhone in 34 seconds. Both are plenty fast.
Of course, the Pixel is also a Sub6 5G device. The iPhone SE is LTE only. While carriers are upgrading networking equipment, the Pixel will be better supported over time.
Battery and Charging – Pixel 5A
The iPhone SE includes one perk over the Pixel 5A: wireless charging.
It’s a slower charging which warms the phone up more and might contribute to the phone battery degrading faster over time. With such a small battery in the iPhone SE, that might be a concern. Apple is fitting a small phone with a powerful engine and a SMALL gas tank.
The Pixel 5A is nearly the polar opposite. Packing the largest battery ever found in a Pixel, but with a mid-range processor, it’s incredibly easy to run this phone for two to three days of moderate use.
The iPhone CAN recharge faster when connected to a 20W charger, but Apple doesn’t include that faster charger in the box. Google includes an 18W charger with the 5A. Not the fastest charger available, but decently quick when you need a top off.
Conclusion – Google takes the mid-ranger crown!
Comparing two phones, I can’t remember ever staging a more decisive victory.
There is of course room for personal preferences. The individual who might want the smaller form factor. The individual willing to trade battery life for shorter bursts of heavier compute power. The person who’s simply more familiar with iOS.
However, at a retail price of $450, it’s hard to find many reasons to choose an iPhone SE over a Pixel 5A.
What did we learn from this?
I didn’t do this as COMPLETE clickbait. There is SOME function to this comparison.
Legitimately, these are the new options being sold by Apple and Google at $450. We’re not dancing around trade ins, used pricing, or sale prices. New vs New, this is what a consumer would get.
The goal here in part, we can pick apart how easy it is to rig a comparison.
We can cherry pick the right data to make one community of phone owners feel better about THEIR purchase. We’re not educating potential consumers as much as we are confirming the bias of people who already own the product we want to win.
If you bristled at this comparison out of some notion of “fairness”, your feelings were probably in some way correct. Would we really expect some mythical “AvuRaJ cUnZoOmeR” to pick only two phones to shop SO simplistically? No. I don’t think we would.
This comparison is “factually fair and accurate”, while ringing somewhat disingenuous given the reality of how people might shop gadgets. I went out of my way to showcase two products where this comparison is a bit more obvious.
Hopefully, the next time a reviewer cherry picks two devices with the intent of a less popular product “losing”, we’ll also recognize that bias confirmation…
Thanks for this comparison! I was drilling reviewers to quit comparing the pixel to iphone flagships, an implicit admission that iphone was not competing so well in the cost bracket. Another thing about “ecosystem” that Google fails to even mention. Google offers a carrier service as well. In my experience Fi works extremely well with a pixel. If you want you can get a completely in- house Google solution: Pixel phone, clean optimized Android software, and Fi carrier service also optimized. I’ve been in the Google “walled garden” since Pixel 2.