It might only be April, but it’s been a busy year for smartphones. The one-two punch of the OnePlus 13 and Galaxy S25 series kicked us off in January, and since then, it’s been a bit of an all-out assault on your local carrier store. From countless budget entries from Samsung and Motorola to high-end flagships you’d have to import from Chinese OEMs, 2025 has been a pretty stacked year for new products. And with the Galaxy S25 Edge and a new lineup of Razrs on the way, it’s not slowing down anytime soon.
With just a month separating them, I’ve reviewed two midrange phones looking to tackle the same sort of market with completely different approaches. Both the iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a wear their respective flagship inspiration on their sleeves, but which one actually comes out on top? The answer, frankly, might not surprise you — this is Google’s battle to lose.
6 The Pixel 9a’s display outperforms the iPhone 16e’s by practically every measure
I can’t think of anything more important
There are plenty of ways to measure a smartphone’s success, but to my eyes — quite literally — one spec rises far above the rest. No matter how excellent a single device might be, if it’s rocking a bad screen, you’re not going to like using it. It’s rare to find modern phones with a bad screen (though they exist), and neither Apple nor Google’s 2025 output are among that group. The iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a both meet my personal benchmarks for qualifying as a “usable” display, but it’s the 9a that punches well above its weight.
As best as I can tell, the 6.3-inch Actua panel here is the same one seen on both the Pixel 9 and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold last year, with identical brightness ratings and an indistinguishable appearance in person. Bar none, it’s the best display I’ve ever seen on an A-series phone from Google, and one of the best screens available on a $500 smartphone in our modern era. My only real critique surrounding it comes down to the dated Gorilla Glass 3 protecting the panel, but that’s a nitpick at best, and not actually a consequence of the panel itself.
The iPhone 16e’s screen isn’t bad, per se, but it’s dated. A 60Hz OLED panel without support for an always-on display feels like something out of 2018, not 2025. Likewise, Apple’s panel can’t compete with Google’s when it comes to pure nit ratings, though I wouldn’t call it dim. The end result is a worse panel on a more expensive smartphone, which feels like a bad value all around. I’ll give Apple this: its Ceramic Guard feels better beneath my thumb than Corning’s older glass tech. It’s a small consolation, I suppose.
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5 The Pixel 9a’s color options feel poppy and refreshing
The iPhone 16e is simply black or white
In a world filled with cases, the smartphone color you pick doesn’t matter to the vast majority of buyers. But it certainly matters to me, a person who routinely opts to go caseless in most circumstances. The iPhone 16e isn’t a bad looking device, but compared to the excellent color options Apple chose for the regular iPhone 16, the white and black models feel stale in comparison. Even by Apple’s own midrange standards, it’s a far cry from the rainbow of assortment that was the iPhone 5c last decade.
I wouldn’t say Google hit it out of the park with the Pixel 9a — two of the four colors are, as you might expect, black and white — but the Peony and Iris options are excellent. Peony isn’t new for this series, since the regular Pixel 9 also comes in that bright, saturated pink shade. But Iris is new to this generation, and it looks exceptional. Google specifically noted that shade is a throwback to the “Purple-ish” Pixel 3a, but aside from the dual tone power button, I’ll give the 9a’s design the win here any day of the week.
4 For an Apple Intelligence-ready phone, the iPhone 16e doesn’t feel very smart
The same can’t be said for the Pixel 9a
Apple basically built the iPhone 16e from the ground up to be optimized for Apple Intelligence — it’s in massive letters on the marketing site, after all. The A18 chipset in the iPhone 16e runs circles around the Pixel 9a’s Tensor G4, even with its reduced core count, but Apple specifically chose to use this flagship SoC because of its support for the company’s first-gen AI features. Just a few weeks after announcing the iPhone 16e, the company publicly delayed its next-gen Siri features into, presumably, iOS 19, and that’s on top of an already-disappointing first year.
Google, meanwhile, is pushing ahead. While the Pixel 9a does come with its own fair share of AI-based drawbacks — limited memory means Pixel Screenshots and Call Notes are totally missing here — I don’t think it matters. If you’re interested in AI, Google’s smartphone is undoubtedly the better buy. Not only is Gemini built-in from the jump, but tools like Recorder, Pixel Studio, and Photos’ Magic Editor suite are all still available. Apple was already behind on AI, but after delaying Siri, the iPhone 16e looks like a powerhouse developed for vaporware.
3 When it comes to the camera, two is better than one
Lenses, that is
Both the iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a take good, albeit not exceptional, photos. If you’re really looking for the best mobile photography kits around, you really need to update to their respective Pro lineups, where you’ll find better main sensors and dedicated telephoto lenses. Even still, Apple made a surprising decision to cut back to just a single main sensor, leaving ultra-wide — and any semblance of a macro mode — behind.
Google has kept its dual lens lineup here, and while I wouldn’t say the ultra-wide sensor blew me away during my review period, it’s nice to have nonetheless. Google also managed to squeeze both of its lenses into the chassis, making for a rare modern smartphone that lacks a full-fledged camera bump. It’s a big change for the brand, and while some shoppers might find the design boring, I found it to be a refreshing change for both my pocket and how balanced the device feels in my hand. Nice job, Google.
2 Both phones should feature long-lasting software support
But only Google is willing to put a date on it
Apple’s long held the crown for mobile OS lifespan support, typically providing feature and security upgrades for hardware five, six, or even seven years after launch. It’s taken ages for Android OEMs to catch up, but over the past 18 months or so, we’ve finally arrived. The Pixel 9a, like the Pixel 8 and 9 series before it, supports seven years of OS upgrades and security patches, bringing its EOL date to April 2032. For $500, that’s not just respectable — it’s excellent.
Apple doesn’t put dates on its smartphones, but its track record suggests the iPhone 16e will see a similar lifespan before it’s finally put out to pasture. Likewise, the specs shared between these two phones — especially RAM and storage allotments — are similar enough to point to a pretty equal experience as far as aging smartphones go. If 8GB of RAM becomes an issue on the Pixel, I’d expect to see similar results on the iPhone, and vice versa.
I’m still giving the edge to Google here, if only because the company specifically tells you the Pixel 9a’s end date on its support pages. Apple could decide to push the iPhone 16e to eight full years of iOS upgrades, or it could call it quits after six. Your guess is as good as ours, which makes shopping for a viable long-term midranger a little more difficult on Apple’s side of the fence.
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1 Despite all of its advantages, the Pixel 9a is the cheaper option
Where’s my $100 going here, Apple?
I think everything here — not to mention my fuller thoughts found in my review — points to the Pixel 9a being the winner of this battle, but aside from a handful of asides, I haven’t even brought the price into full view. The Pixel 9a is $100 cheaper than the iPhone 16e, despite arriving with, to my eyes, the more complete smartphone package. It’s a better looking, more colorful smartphone with a better camera array, a higher quality display, and guaranteed software support for seven years. There’s no easy way to say this: The iPhone 16e is a bad deal.
Apple’s offering certainly has its share of advantages, of course. If you’re a mobile gamer, Apple’s A18 chip is undoubtedly more powerful for your needs than Google’s Tensor G4. Likewise, the Apple-made C1 modem is less power-hungry than the Pixel 9a’s Samsung-made Exynos 5300, though I failed to notice any difference in either cell reception or battery drain between the two devices during my respective review period. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the iPhone has, you know, iMessage, which shouldn’t come as a surprise but certainly stands as the reason people are likely buying one.
Still, though, if you’re after the best deal between these two, only the Pixel 9a really feels like a bargain to begin with.
Better luck next year, Apple
At the end of the day, I don’t expect most people are stuck between these two smartphones, despite their relatively similar price points. Mobile ecosystem lock-in isn’t new, and whether you’re on Team Android or Team iOS, you’ve likely made your decision ages ago. Still, the Pixel 9a proves that Android OEMs can build killer smartphones at exceptional (modern) prices, without having to sacrifice their flagship origins. While I have no idea what a hypothetical battle between, say, the iPhone 17e and the Pixel 10a could look like, it’s safe to say that in 2025, Google reigns as the midrange champ to beat.
