Compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, there's a lack of contrast with the night sky appearing to be dark gray. There's a greater halo effect, too, further detracting from the image's sharpness and clarity. The light appears to be too intense, washing out the finer details of the moon.

The $999 iPhone 16 Pro and $1,199 iPhone 16 Pro Max have everything we've come to expect in a year-over-year upgrade. They lack Apple Intelligence at launch but make up for it in other ways.

This time around we’re comparing the very best smartphones Google and Apple have to offer, the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. Both of these smartphones were launched rather recently.