Android Authority Calls $1,200 iPhone 18 Pro Overpriced, Backs Pixel 11 Pro

The article is commentary rather than a hands-on comparison test, and it treats price as the central issue. According to the publication, the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,200 for 256GB and rises to $2,400 for a 2TB model, with the larger Pro Max adding a further $100. Android Authority calls that "absolutely bonkers pricing for a smartphone," noting that $1,400 Galaxy Ultra handsets were considered steep not long ago. The Pixel 11 Pro, by contrast, dropped its 128GB base configuration this year, so 256GB is offered at the same $1,099 that last year's entry model carried, which the article describes as a $100 increase in starting price. The publication says the gap widens further up the storage tiers, where it estimates savings of more than $200 compared with the iPhone.

On hardware, the article acknowledges that Apple's presentation for the iPhone 18 Pro was full of internal changes, including better battery performance and a new physically adjustable camera aperture, even though the exterior looks much like the iPhone 17 Pro. It describes the variable aperture as impressive hardware-level control of the kind expected from a Pro handset, but says it is more impressed by the direction Google has taken with computational photography. It cites Add Me, which uses AI to put the photographer into the shot, as an example, and says Magic Capture helps in situations where the user wants to experience a moment without watching it through a phone screen. The piece notes that a colleague, Joe Maring, is not similarly impressed by Magic Capture.

Software and AI carry significant weight in the argument. The writer says iOS restrictions on which folders and files apps can access still require workarounds for tasks that Android handles easily, that sideloading region-restricted apps remains unavailable on iOS despite pressure from some governments, and that Apple still does not allow third-party apps to be set as defaults in many categories, including the SMS app. On AI, the article says Gemini established conversational and visual interactions well before Apple, has moved into an "agentic era" with the ability to take actions inside Workspace apps, and is advancing quickly enough that Google looks likely to stay ahead. It says Apple has been trying to deliver on its AI promise with a revamped Siri and is only now showing results.

Weight is the final point raised. The writer says the Pixel 11 Pro is noticeably lighter than the iPhone 18 Pro, a difference that matters to someone with sensitive wrists, particularly when a case and accessories are attached.

The article also places the pricing in a broader context, attributing rising device costs to higher memory prices driven by AI demand, and notes that Pro variants have long cost more than standard models.