A look at many smartphones in the market today – be it low-end, midrange or high-end – will show you just how much Apple’s iPhone has had a massive influence in the industry, be it the design or even software aspect.
When the Google Pixel was released, many labeled it as the iPhone of Android users thanks to the tight resemblance with Apple’s revolutionary device. A few months down the line, China’s Huawei has jumped in with a new Huawei P10 flagship, another iPhone-esque smartphone that is here to gun down the impressive Google Pixel. So, how do these two fair on against each other? Let’s take a closer look.
Design and display
As noted, the Google Pixel and Huawei P10 have a lot in common in design thanks to the fact that they both take after the iPhone. You will notice the sleek and minimal design the two OEMs take. The front is even more simplistic featuring rounded edges as well as metal backs, although not everywhere.
The Google Pixel has the top third of the back made of glass. This is where you’ll find the fingerprint scanner, camera and LED flash. On the contrary, the Huawei P10 has a more premium-looking body than the Pixel, which is even made sweeter by the variety of colors available. Don’t play around water with any of these two phones because you might regret – they have no IP rating dust and water resistance.
In terms of display, both the Google Pixel and Huawei P10 have the same 1080p resolution, but the latter is slightly bigger at 5.2 inches compared to the 5-inch panel used on the former. The Pixel has an OLED panel that promises to deliver higher quality display as compared to the LCD panel used on the P10, but you’ll be promised of brighter views on the latter.
Hardware and software
The Google Pixel has the best hardware specs from 2016 – a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC that is paired with 4GB RAM and either 32GB or 128GB storage. As for the Huawei P10, you get a Kirin 960 SoC that is paired with 4GB RAM and either 32GB or 64GB storage. Unlike the Pixel, the P10 has room for microSD card storage of up to 256GB.
Using benchmarks, the Huawei-made Kirin 960 is way ahead of the Snapdragon 821, but in real life, you might never notice the difference between the two phones’ performances. They are blazing fast and they can do lots of tasks without any struggles. Still, the Google Pixel gets the upper hand thanks to its stock Android experience, although Huawei has really improved a lot about the EMUI 5.1 skin that runs on top of Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.
The Pixel phone also promises timely updates compared to the Huawei P10.
Camera specs
According to DxOMark, the Google Pixel has the best camera in the smartphone world so far with a rating of 89. You’ll love what you can get out of the 12.3MP sensor with HDR+ mode, EIS and f/2.0 aperture on this phone, including great outdoor shots, solid performance in low-light and sharp pictures thanks to phase detection and laser AF.
The Huawei P10 delivers more of the same results with its new 12MP sensor on the back. However, it goes ahead of the Google Pixel with the addition of a second 20MP monochrome sensor that gives you 2x zoom as well as amazing black and white shots. In fact, this sensor also gets phase detection and laser AF that promises even sharper photos from the P10, but still, the Pixel tops the charts, overall.
Both phones have the same 8MP sensor on the front, although the Huawei P10 has a larger f/2.0 aperture compared to the f/2.4 aperture of the Pixel phone.
Battery capacity and price
These two phones have solid batteries that will take you through the entire day on a single charge, although the Google Pixel has a smaller 2770mAh unit compared to the 3200mAh unit used on the Huawei P10. There’s support for fast charging on both phones, which happens through a USB-C port.
Where the fingerprint scanner of the Pixel is rear-mounted, the Huawei P10 has the same feature on the front panel, just below the screen. In terms of pricing, the Google Pixel starts at $649 in the U.S. and €759 in Europe while the Huawei P10 has a price tag of €649 in Europe, which translates to about $705.
So, which one is your preferred choice between these two? Let us know in your comments below.
For me it is the Pixel. Biggest reason is I want just Google software.