The Pixel 9a proves how bad of a value the iPhone 16e really is

In less than a month, Apple and Google both released their newest budget smartphones for 2025. Apple has the iPhone 16e, while Google has the Pixel 9a. At first glance, the phones are similar enough. They’re both the cheapest value offering for their flagship siblings, have a big focus on AI features, and have similar price tags.

There’s an argument to be made for each phone. If you need to be in Apple’s ecosystem but don’t want to pay $799 or $999 for an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro, the iPhone 16e gives you all the essentials (with a decent splash of Apple Intelligence) for $599. The Google Pixel 9a is the same type of phone for people who prefer Android, standing in as a lower-cost alternative to the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro with capable specs and its own AI goodies — all for just $499.

While the sum of the iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a may be identical, the parts they consist of are where things get very different. Each phone attempts to do the same thing, but when you look at them side by side and think about what each is giving you for your money, the Pixel 9a quickly highlights how bad of a value the iPhone 16e really is.

From a hardware perspective, the Pixel 9a and iPhone 16e have a few things in common. Each one has an aluminum frame, an IP68 dust/water resistance rating, and a 48MP primary camera. Both phones also support wireless charging and wired charge speeds of around 20W. But it’s with the rest of the spec sheet where things fall apart for the iPhone.

It starts with the display. I love how compact the iPhone 16e’s 6.1-inch screen is, and it being an OLED panel is great, too. But you know what’s not great? Having an outdated 60Hz refresh rate and a measly peak brightness of just 1200 nits. Meanwhile, the Pixel 9a also has an OLED panel and pairs it with a 120Hz refresh rate with up to 2700 nits of peak brightness — meaning it has much smoother animations and a lot more brightness for outdoor visibility. So far, not a great start for the iPhone.

What about cameras? There’s a big disparity there, too. As I mentioned above, both phones have a 48MP primary camera sensor on the back, though the Pixel sports a larger physical sensor for more light and details. Also, in the case of the iPhone 16e, that’s the only rear camera it has. Comparatively, the Google Pixel 9a has an extra 13MP ultrawide camera with a 120-degree field of view. Is it the best ultrawide sensor on the market? No, but it still allows for a much greater level of shooting flexibility than what’s possible on the iPhone 16e.

Battery capacity is another thing to look at. The iPhone 16e’s battery capacity is a little over 3,900mAh. The Pixel 9a’s battery size? 5,100mAh. We still need to test the Pixel 9a for ourselves to see just how good its battery life really is, but at least on paper, that’s a big advantage in the Pixel’s favor.

Finally, there are a lot of other quality-of-life aspects where the Pixel 9a continues to best Apple’s budget iPhone. The Pixel 9a has a USB-C 3.2 port and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. Further, in addition to its under-display fingerprint sensor, it also has the same excellent face unlock as the regular Pixel 9/9 Pro, allowing you to unlock sensitive apps and authenticate Google Wallet purchases using just your face. The iPhone 16e, by comparison, has a slower USB-C 2.0 port, the slightly older Wi-Fi 6 standard, and just Face ID for biometric security.

Of course, there is a counterargument to all of this. The iPhone 16e isn’t trying to be a spec powerhouse. Instead, Apple’s main goal with the phone is to offer its Apple Intelligence suite on a lower-cost handset. In that regard, the iPhone 16e is a success. It’s the cheapest phone in Apple’s current lineup with all the Apple Intelligence features you’d expect — including Writing Tools, phone call and recording transcripts, Genmoji, Image Playground, and the improved Siri.

That’s a fair point, but there’s a counter to that counterargument: the Google Pixel 9a achieves the exact same thing.

The Pixel 9a supports most of the Pixel-exclusive features we’ve come to expect over the years, such as the Pixel Recorder app, all of the Call Assist tools, and more. It also has Circle to Search, the Pixel Studio app, Gemini Live, Google’s usual suite of AI photo editing tools, and so on.

Simply put, the iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a are both “AI phones.” If the argument is that Apple had to sacrifice so many hardware specs to deliver its AI features, that doesn’t hold much weight when the Pixel 9a is equally capable on the AI front — if not more so — and still manages to one-up so many of the iPhone 16e’s specs while also costing $100 less.

On their own, some of the spec differences highlighted above may not matter to you. I prefer a 120Hz refresh rate, but you might be OK with a 60Hz one. A newer Wi-Fi standard and a faster USB-C port are nice, but they aren’t the end-all-be-all. The problem with the iPhone 16e isn’t just one or two spec compromises like that. It’s the fact that the iPhone 16e has so many of them that the Google Pixel 9a does not, all while costing $100 more. And as we just covered above, the iPhone 16e can’t lean on its AI features as a crutch to explain these shortcomings.

If you’re knee-deep in the Apple ecosystem, features like iMessage, Apple Watch support, and AirDrop are still things you can only get on an iPhone. In that case, the iPhone 16e probably makes the most sense as the phone you should buy. But even so, it’s important to be aware of the other options out there.

To someone who’s only shopping for or looking at iPhones, the iPhone 16e can seem like a good value. But that changes the second you bring a phone like the Google Pixel 9a into the equation. The Pixel 9a proves you can make an AI-capable phone with good hardware, modern specs, and a price tag under $500, while the iPhone 16e may lead you to believe that’s impossible. The Pixel 9a is a better deal than the iPhone 16e in almost every conceivable way, and if I were in the market for a $500-$600 phone today, the Pixel is the one I would choose. Hands down.