Home Phone comparison Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and Apple iPhone Air - Which is better?

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL vs Apple iPhone Air

82 out 100
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
VS
88 out 100
Apple iPhone Air
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
Apple iPhone Air

Compared 2 smartphones : Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Manufactured in August, 2024, with display 6.8 with chipsetGoogle Tensor G4, vs Apple iPhone Air, Manufactured in September, 2025with chipsetApple A19 Pro. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher pixel density: 486ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 5060mAh vs 3149mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone Air
  • Lighter design: 165g vs 221g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.3
  • Supports Dolby Atmos

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 16/128 GB
- 16/256 GB
- 16/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB		 - 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 8/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and Apple iPhone Air
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
vs
Apple iPhone Air

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED OLED
Size 6.8 in 6.5 in
Resolution 1344x2992 pixels 1260x2736 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 486 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 3000 nits 3000 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 89.5 % 88.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
2362 nits
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
sRGB gamut99 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time2 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Google Pixel 9 Pro XL]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 162.8 mm (6.41 in) 156.2 mm (6.15 in)
Width 76.6 mm (3.02 in) 74.7 mm (2.94 in)
Thickness 8.5 mm (0.33 in) 5.6 mm (0.22 in)
Weight 221 g (7.8 oz) 165 g (5.82 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Gray
- Pink		 - White
- Black
- Gold
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
89.5 %
Apple iPhone Air
88.9 %

Performance

Testing Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and Apple iPhone Air In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Google Tensor G4 Apple A19 Pro
Max Frequency 3100 MHz 4300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.92 (Cortex-A520)
- 3/2.6 (Cortex-A720)
- 1/3.1 (Cortex-X4)		 4/2.51 ()
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Yes Neural Engine
Graphics Mali-G715 MP7 n/a
GPU Cores 896 n/a
GPU Frequency 940 MHz n/a
FLOPS 1792 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
1962
Apple iPhone Air
3756
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
4700
Apple iPhone Air
10670
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)19623756
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)470010670
Geekbench Compute (GPU)6902n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Google Pixel 9 Pro XL]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
1292858
Apple iPhone Air
2118157
CPU395641511982
GPU448762790667
Memory213528370651
UX235197444857
NanoReview Score12928582118157

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 16 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 14 (Upgradeable to Android 15) iOS 26
UI Skin Stock Android n/a

Battery

Volume 5060 mAh 3149 mAh
Max Charging Power 37 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (12 W) Yes (20 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes
Fast Charging Yes (67% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:18 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
21:55
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Web Browsing11:42 hn/a
Video Playback10:46 hn/a
Games05:57 hn/a
Standby Mode92 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6144 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 5x Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.7f/1.6
Focal length25 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung GN1n/a
Sensor size1/1.311/1.56
Pixel size1.2 μm1 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix48 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.8n/a
Focal length113 mmn/a
SensorSamsung S5KGM5n/a
Sensor size1/2.55n/a
Pixel size0.7 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix48 MPn/a
Aperturef/1.7n/a
SensorSamsung S5KGM5n/a
Sensor size1/2.55n/a
Pixel size0.7 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
161
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Video quality
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
152
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Overall camera score
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
158
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Bokeh75n/a
Preview86n/a
Zoom155n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Google Pixel 9 Pro XL]

Front camera

Matrix 42 MP 18 MP
Photo resolution 3648x2736 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length 17 mm 23 mm
Sensor size 1/2.51 n/a
Pixel size n/a 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Optical
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No Yes

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 6.0
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes No
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*1n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)n/a
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B40/B41/B48/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
89.5 dB
Apple iPhone Air
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced August, 2024 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date August, 2024 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1099 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 999
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included No No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

No clear favorite identified yet; updates may follow as new data arrives.

Survey

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Total Votes: 1

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