iPhone 11 vs. Android’s best: An underdog does just enough to take down the champ

It’s time to compare Apple’s iPhone to the leading Android handsets, and it should be a close race. From the launch of the first folding phone to the rise of 5G, dual screens, waterfall displays, and cameras, cameras, cameras, 2019 has delivered a dizzying array of new features. Apple may have surprised everyone with a price cut to its entry-level handset, but can it stack up to the best Android has to offer? Let’s go through the major specs and find out.

THE PHONES

Three phones compete against the iPhone 11 this year:

Samsung Galaxy S10+: I chose this model because it’s cheaper than the official flagship Note 10+. Also, compared to the S10, it’s only $100 more and equipped with a much bigger battery.

Google Pixel 4 XL: The newest Pixel phone has a laundry list of issues, but it’s Google so it gets the nod. Plus it has a better screen and bigger battery than the smaller one.

OnePlus 7T: OnePlus is on a roll. The two phones released in the United States in 2019, the 7 Pro and the 7T, raised expectations for what an affordable model can deliver. The newer 7T offers killer specs and a price that undercuts the iPhone 11’s.

DESIGN

While Samsung pushed design boundaries with an impressive reimagining of the Galaxy S10, the iPhone is starting to feel a little stale. It’s more symmetrical than the other phones here, but the notch, the thickish bezels, and the screen-to-body ratio leave much to be desired. It’s also the thickest of the bunch at 8.3mm.

The giant square camera is a polarizing look, and it makes the iPhone 11 wobble when it rests on a table. The camera bump matches your chosen handset color, and while the new purple and green are nice, the glossy back picks up fingerprints early and often. Rumors suggest that Apple may dump the notch and make other changes for the iPhone 12. I hope that’s the case.

If the iPhone 11 is bland, the Pixel 4 XL is just plain blah. It loses last year’s notch for a sizable forehead, a small chin, and chunky side bezels. Like Apple, Google has added a square camera array in the upper left corner, but the Pixel 4’s bump is black regardless of body color.

I do like Google’s choice of materials, however. The luxurious frosted glass now covers the entire back of the phone, and it resists fingerprints, scratches, and smudges. The brushed-aluminum sides echo the frosted look, and the color options—which adds orange this year to the classics black and white—are