Monica U Santos Tech 10.20.2016 04:Oct AM EDT

Google Pixel vs Apple iPhone 7: Which One is Worth Buying?

Which is the best flagship smartphone: Google Pixel or Apple iPhone 7? Let's go head to head, comparing design, display, specifications and price.

Design and Display

There are a lot of similarities regarding the design and display of the two smartphones. According to Stuff, from the face and even from the side, Google Pixel's design seems nearly identical to the Apple iPhone 7. It has that sleek, rounded look and similar antenna lines, although there's no fingerprint sensor or home button on the bottom front.

Flip Pixel over and you'll see more of a difference. While the lower half looks very much like an iPhone 6 or 6s, you will see a plastic panel on the upper half that helps set the design apart with a slightly two-tone look.

Apple seems perfectly content with its 4.7in, 750p display on the iPhone 7, which matches the two previous models in resolution, and the latest model does offer increased brightness and a wider color gamut. The Pixel's 5in LCD display bumps up to Full HD, which is 1080p, and thus is sure to be crisper than Apple's standard iPhone 7. Resolution isn't all that matters with a smartphone screen, but they're pretty comparable otherwise and the extra detail of the Pixel shines through.

Specifications

The Pixel isn't waterproof while the iPhone 7 is, a big plus point for Apple.

Both smartphones have their unique fingerprint sensor. The iPhone 7 has its Touch ID sensor built into the home button in the bottom part of the screen. While Google has its Pixel Imprint, a fingerprint sensor at the back of the smartphone. Google says it's on the back of the phone because this is "where your finger expects it."

The iPhone 7's camera may not be as excellent as the iPhone 7 Plus, but it's still a very fine smartphone camera. The 12-megapixel back shooter now adds optical image stabilization, while the f/1.8 aperture and brighter LED flash help turn out reliable great shots. It focuses faster, too, making it one of the best everyday cameras in a smartphone today. Google Pixel has 12.3MP camera has a f/2.0 aperture and 1.55-micron pixels, and the HDR+ shooting mode combines multiple exposures to turn out a better ultimate result. It also shoots 4K video, much like the iPhone 7. Optical image stabilization is curiously missing, but the phase detection and laser autofocus make up the difference rather admirably.