iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Android Ultras: Power, Color Hype, and

iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Android Ultras: Power, Color Hype, and Missed Chances

Nadia Malik Leave a comment

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is the most powerful iPhone Apple has ever shipped, but stack it against Android heavyweights like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra or Galaxy S25 Ultra and the story gets a lot less flattering. Apple’s 2025 flagship looks more like a safe, slightly confused response to the competition than the bar-setting device its price suggests.

Design Shift: Lighter, Weaker, and Weirdly Less Premium

Apple’s big physical change this year is controversial: the iPhone 17 Pro Max switches to aluminum, supposedly to rein in weight and help sustained performance with a new cooling system. On paper, that makes sense. In practice, you end up with a phone that’s more prone to scratches and just doesn’t feel as premium as the previous Pro Max generations.

The back mixes glass and metal with new color options, but instead of coming off as refined, the whole package is being remembered as one of the less likable iPhone designs in recent years. The design direction is questionable enough that older Pro Max models are still being treated as the “real” premium option by people who care about craftsmanship more than owning the latest SKU.

Meanwhile, Android rivals at this price tier are leaning into bold materials, distinctive camera housings, and refined finishes that don’t feel like a step down from last year. When a $1,000-plus phone from Apple starts to feel like a design regression, that’s a problem.

Display and Camera: Familiar Hardware, Limited Excitement

The display on the 17 Pro Max adds an anti-glare finish, which is genuinely useful. But the massive cutout is the same old distraction, and the supposed brightness upgrade doesn’t quite live up to the marketing. It’s still a very good screen, just not a meaningful leap for 2025.

Camera upgrades are similarly modest. Selfie and zoom quality do see improvements, and most people will be happy with the results. The issue is expectations versus delivery: with the hardware and Apple’s processing pipeline, this phone should be pushing the envelope, not just nudging it.

In stills, Apple is now trailing the Chinese “Ultra” crowd. Xiaomi and others are squeezing more dynamic range, flexibility, and low-light performance out of their cameras. The 17 Pro Max can absolutely produce very good to great images, but in this price bracket and this year, “very good” isn’t exactly a flex.

Video: Apple Still Owns This One

Where Apple continues to earn its reputation is video. The iPhone 17 Pro Max basically aces every scenario: any camera, any format, any lighting. Whether you’re a casual user or doing something more serious, you get consistent, reliable footage without juggling confusing settings.

The camera app remains one of the few in the industry that caters properly to both mainstream and pro users. No Android brand has fully matched that balance yet. If video is your top priority, the 17 Pro Max still makes a strong case for itself despite the rest of the compromises.

Performance, A19 Pro, and the Android Chip War

On the silicon side, the upcoming A19 Pro shows where Apple wants to stay ahead: raw CPU muscle. Leaked Geekbench 6 numbers suggest single-core scores north of 4,000 and multi-core above 10,000 for the 17 Pro and Pro Max. Compared to the A18 Pro in the 16 Pro Max, that’s roughly a 15% bump in single-core and 17% in multi-core performance.

The A19 Pro is reportedly built on TSMC’s N3P process. That’s the same node expected for the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 and MediaTek Dimensity 9500, both landing the same month. On paper, we’re heading into a three-way fight where Android flagships won’t be as far behind on efficiency and thermals as before.

The irony is that while Apple pushes performance forward, the new cooling system in the 17 Pro Max isn’t particularly impressive, and iOS 26 is described as unpolished. Extra power on a platform that feels behind the feature curve doesn’t exactly scream value, especially when Android flagships are using their silicon gains to drive more aggressive camera and display tricks.

High-Refresh Displays for All, but Not All Equal

All four iPhone 17 models are rumored to finally get high refresh rate screens. That’s something Android users have had even in mid-range devices for years. However, the base iPhone 17 allegedly still misses out on LTPO, meaning no variable refresh.

So while the Pro models get the fully modern implementation, the vanilla 17 is more of a checkbox solution. It’s better than the old 60 Hz experience, but it’s not as power-efficient or flexible as what we’ve seen on premium Android phones for multiple generations.

Color Hype and the China Comeback

In China, Apple’s rebound has almost nothing to do with AI or deep technical upgrades. The iPhone 17 series has driven a sharp 38% year-on-year revenue jump in Q4 2025, hitting $26 billion, and the biggest catalyst isn’t performance or features. It’s color.

The “Cosmic Orange” iPhone 17 went viral on Chinese social media, picked up the nickname “Hermès Orange,” and became a status symbol. People liked that you could instantly recognize it as the latest model in public. There’s also a cultural angle: in Mandarin, the word for orange (chéng) sounds like the word for success, spawning the slogan “May all your wishes turn orange.”

Subsidies helped too. The base iPhone 17 qualifies for up to 500 yuan in government support, pulling it into a more accessible price zone for China’s middle class.

But even this win comes with strings attached. Early buyers complained about the durability of the orange coating on the titanium frame, especially around ports and buttons, and some say the real-life color looks duller and cheaper than Apple’s own renders. When your biggest growth lever is a paint job, you can’t afford that kind of mismatch.

iPhone 17e: The ‘Cheap’ Model That’s Quietly Smarter

While the 17 Pro Max tries to justify its price with incremental gains, the upcoming iPhone 17e rumors make it look like Apple understands value a lot better at the low end.

The 17e is expected around February 2026 via a low-key press release, just like the 16e. Price is rumored to stay at $599 for 128 GB, the same launch price as the 16e, but with four meaningful upgrades:

  • MagSafe support with up to 25W wireless charging and access to the full accessory ecosystem.
  • The newer A19 chip, matching the regular iPhone 17 instead of lagging a generation.
  • A new Apple C1X cellular modem.
  • An N1 connectivity chip handling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread in-house.

On the flip side, the design is reportedly unchanged from the 16e: notch up front, single rear camera, no move to Dynamic Island. It’s a very Apple move—major internal refresh, familiar external shell.

Still, keeping the same price while bumping silicon, connectivity, and MagSafe support is exactly the kind of value play consumers actually notice. That’s especially true in developing markets and enterprise deployments, both of which Apple reportedly plans to target more aggressively with the 17e.

Apple’s 2025 Problem: Power Without Direction

Put it all together and the iPhone 17 lineup looks technically competent but strategically confused. The 17 Pro Max is the most capable iPhone yet, but its aluminum build feels cheaper, the new design language is divisive, the camera is no longer clearly ahead, and iOS 26 isn’t in great shape.

Meanwhile, Apple is leaning on color trends and subsidies in China for growth and saving its most consumer-friendly value proposition for the supposedly “budget” 17e. Android flagships are pushing harder on cameras, displays, and form factors, while Apple’s hero phone is being carried by video quality and battery life.

If you’re deep in the iOS ecosystem and care about video, the 17 Pro Max still makes sense. But if you’re platform-agnostic or just tired of paying more for smaller jumps, devices like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Galaxy S25 Ultra, Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, or even foldables like the Honor Magic V5 are making Apple’s incrementalism look tired.

Check back soon as this story develops.

Antutu’s January 2026 Rankings: Fastest Android Phones You Shouldn’t Buy

Nadia Malik Leave a comment

Contradiction: Fastest Doesn’t Mean Best

Every year, we anticipate lists of the fastest smartphones, but it’s time to question whether speed should be our only priority. Antutu’s January 2026 rankings reveal the fastest Android phones, but does that necessarily mean these devices are the best choices for consumers? In a landscape crowded with options, speed often overshadows other critical factors like battery life, software experience, and overall value.

Antutu’s Flagship Rankings

The standout in Antutu’s flagship category is the Nubia Red Magic 11 Pro Plus, scoring an impressive 4,104,271 points thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and 24 GB of RAM. While this phone may brag the title of the fastest, it raises questions about its real-world usability. Is a gaming-focused phone with a 1 TB storage option really what consumers need when most daily tasks don’t require such raw power?

Vivo and Realme: Close Contenders

Following closely, we have the Vivo X300 Pro Satellite Edition and the Realme GT8 Pro, both powered by high-end chipsets. The Vivo X300, with its Dimensity 9500 chip, managed to score 4,090,624 points. Meanwhile, the Realme GT8 Pro, also equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, landed at 4,075,525 points. These scores highlight that manufacturers are pushing the boundaries of performance, yet many users might find such speeds unnecessary.

Mid-Range Surprises

In the mid-range category, the competition is more varied with devices using different chipsets like Dimensity 8400 Ultra and Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3. However, the issue remains: while these phones offer respectable performance, they often compromise on features that matter more to the average consumer. Things like camera quality, software support, and build quality are frequently overlooked in favor of raw benchmark numbers.

Marketing Over Substance

It’s hard to ignore the marketing strategies behind these rankings. Companies often tout their high Antutu scores as a primary selling point, overshadowing essential aspects of smartphone ownership. For instance, a phone with a high performance score may still come with a poorly optimized user interface or lack timely updates. This disconnect between marketing hype and user experience is something every potential buyer should consider.

What Consumers Really Want

ultimately, most users seek a smartphone that meets their daily needs without breaking the bank. Features like battery longevity, camera quality, and software experience often take precedence over sheer speed. As we evaluate these rankings, it’s crucial to ask whether these fast devices genuinely offer value for money or if they’re just flashy specs meant to lure consumers.

Final Thoughts

Antutu’s January 2026 rankings give us insight into the fastest Android phones available, but speed isn’t everything. Consumers should remain skeptical and consider all aspects of a phone before making a purchase. As the market continues to evolve, it’s essential to keep an eye on devices that balance performance with practical usability.

Stay tuned to IntoDroid for more Android updates.

Android Quick Share Meets AirDrop, But Almost Nobody Can Use

Android Quick Share Meets AirDrop, But Almost Nobody Can Use It

Nadia Malik Leave a comment

Android finally has AirDrop-style sharing with iPhones — and Google has somehow turned that into a Pixel 10 exclusive.

Quick Share Meets AirDrop: Huge Idea, Tiny Rollout

Quick Share has been Google’s answer to local, wireless file sharing on Android for a while, covering the usual photos, videos, and documents between Android devices.
Now, Google has done what users have been asking for for years: made Quick Share interoperable with Apple’s AirDrop so you can send files directly between Android and iOS/macOS devices without any extra apps.

On paper, this is exactly the kind of boring-but-essential feature that makes everyday tech less painful.
In practice, it’s barely available to anyone, because right now this Android–AirDrop bridge only works on the Google Pixel 10 series.
So yes, the feature users have been begging for is technically here, but almost nobody in the Android ecosystem can touch it yet.

How Quick Share–AirDrop Interoperability Works (In Theory)

Google first announced the Quick Share and AirDrop interoperability back in November 2025.
The promise was straightforward: Android users could send files directly to iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, and Apple users could do the same in the other direction.
No third‑party apps, no cloud workaround, just local wireless sharing between devices in the same physical space.

The actual capability mirrors what you already get inside a single ecosystem.
From Android, you can sling photos, videos, and document files the same way you would between two Android phones.
From the Apple side, it behaves like a normal AirDrop session, just with an Android device on the other end rather than another iPhone.

In other words, this isn’t some watered‑down compatibility layer – it’s meant to feel like native sharing on both sides.
The problem isn’t the idea or the use case.
It’s that Google has shipped a cross‑platform feature and then locked it almost entirely inside its own flagship bubble.

Pixel 10 Only: A Cross‑Platform Feature With a Walled Garden

Right now, if you want to try this Android–AirDrop integration, you need a Google Pixel 10.
Not a Samsung Galaxy, not a OnePlus flagship, not a Xiaomi performance phone, and not some tablet that actually sits between your laptop and phone all day.
Just Pixel 10.

That means every other Android brand is effectively shut out for the moment: Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus, and the rest of the ecosystem are all sitting on the bench.
For a feature explicitly about interoperability, that’s a pretty ironic level of lock‑in.

The Android side of this should have been the most open part of the equation.
Instead, Google has recreated the thing Android fans usually criticize Apple for: a core convenience locked to a tiny slice of hardware.
And because this is a system‑level sharing feature, there’s no easy third‑party workaround that feels as clean or integrated.

Android 16: The Promise of “Later”

The only reason this situation isn’t a complete joke is that Google has already said it plans to widen support.
Eric Kay, Android’s VP of Engineering, confirmed that Quick Share’s AirDrop interoperability is coming to more devices in 2026, tied to Android 16.
So the current Pixel‑only rollout is very clearly a first wave, not the final state.

But the details stop there.
No list of supported chipsets, no vendor breakdown, no hint of whether mid‑range phones will get it or if it’ll be another flagship‑only checkbox.
Just a vague promise that “more devices” will join in once Android 16 ships and gets adopted.

Google has also described this as expanding to “more devices,” not “all Android 16 devices.”
That wording matters.
It leaves plenty of room for fragmentation, where some 2026 phones get the feature while others quietly miss out.
Given Android’s history with uneven feature rollouts, that’s not exactly a paranoid concern.

The Everyday Use Case Is Clear — The Execution Isn’t

The thing that makes this rollout so frustrating is how obviously useful the feature is.
People live in mixed ecosystems now: Android phone, work-issued iPhone, iPad on the couch, Windows or Mac laptop at the desk.
Local file sharing should be the boring part that just works across all of that.

Quick Share talking to AirDrop means no more emailing yourself large photos, no more temporary chat uploads, and no more hunting for USB cables just to move a few videos.
You get fast local transfers between whatever devices you happen to have in your bag.

Instead, we’re stuck in a holding pattern.
If you own a Pixel 10, congratulations, you’re effectively part of a public beta for one of the most overdue cross‑platform features in recent memory.
If you’re on literally any other Android device, you’re reading press blurbs about something you can’t use.

Google’s Missed Opportunity With the Wider Android Ecosystem

The optics here aren’t great for a company that loves to talk about “ecosystem” and “open platforms.”
Launching this as an Android‑wide feature — even just on a handful of partner flagships alongside Pixel 10 — would have sent a very different message.
Instead, it looks like another case of Google using core services to prop up Pixel first and worrying about everyone else later.

Manufacturers like Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, and OnePlus all ship massive Android volumes and already have their own local sharing tools.
Getting them on board early, with a clear Android 16 roadmap and timelines, could have unified this mess.
Instead, those vendors and their users are left guessing what support will look like and when it will hit.

This could have been a rare, genuinely consumer‑friendly move that made tech less annoying regardless of which brand logo is on your phone.
Right now, it’s a nice Pixel 10 selling point and a promise for everyone else.

Should You Care Yet?

If you’re not on a Pixel 10, this feature is something to file under “good to know, not useful yet.”
You don’t need to upgrade hardware just for this — especially when Google hasn’t committed to exactly which non‑Pixel devices will eventually support it.

If you are on a Pixel 10, this is a quality‑of‑life perk.
It makes shifting media and documents to nearby Apple devices less annoying, especially if you hop between an Android phone and a Mac or iPad.
But even here, you’re acting as an early adopter on a feature that clearly isn’t fully rolled out at the platform level.

The real test will be what Android 16 looks like once it’s on shipping phones and tablets in 2026.
If Quick Share–AirDrop interoperability quietly lands on a wide range of devices, this Pixel‑first phase will just be an annoying footnote.
If it stays fragmented or limited, then this will feel like another half‑measure in a space that desperately needs a universal fix.

Check back soon as this story develops.

Google Turns to Pixel Users to Rethink Android Settings

Google Turns to Pixel Users to Rethink Android Settings

Nadia Malik Leave a comment

Everyone assumes Google already knows how you use your Pixel. This latest move shows it really doesn’t—at least not enough to fix Android’s most basic pain points: the settings you hunt for and toggle every single day.

Google Goes to Reddit for Pixel Settings Feedback

In a post on the Pixel subreddit, Google is explicitly asking Pixel owners to help it rethink how settings work on current and future devices. The company wants detailed feedback on “configuring your Pixel phone” and where that process falls apart.

This isn’t about flashy new features or headline-grabbing AI tricks. It’s about the unglamorous basics: managing, toggling, and discovering the right options inside the Settings app. The questions are framed around real-world frustration rather than abstract UX theory.

From Hardware Complaints to Software Pain Points

This isn’t Google’s first public survey of Pixel users. Previously, the company asked for feedback on the original Pixel’s hardware design. That effort focused on physical aspects: how the device feels, how it looks, where buttons are, and so on.

Now the lens has shifted to software. Instead of bezels, colors, and fingerprint placement, Google is drilling into how people configure their phones. The company explicitly frames this round as targeting the “software-side of the Pixel experience in regards to settings and device configurations.”

The scope is narrower but more personal. Hardware quirks might annoy you once; bad settings design can irritate you multiple times a day.

Oreo’s Settings Redesign Is the Starting Point

Android 8.0 Oreo already delivered a noticeable revamp of the Settings app. Google regrouped and reorganized frequently accessed controls, condensing categories and trying to make common options easier to find.

This new feedback push is clearly a follow-up to that redesign, not a replacement. Google says it is continuing the trend of focusing on particular categories inside Settings that people hit often. The goal is to understand how those changes hold up in daily use, not just on a design whiteboard.

In other words, Oreo set the new baseline. Now Google wants to know where that baseline still fails real users.

What Google Actually Wants to Know

The Reddit post doesn’t just ask, “What do you dislike?” and leave it there. Google is specifically asking about pain points with:

  • Managing settings
  • Toggling settings
  • Discovering where a setting lives

The team also wants context, not just complaints. If you’re flipping a certain toggle 20 times a day, Google wants to know why, and in what situations. Are you killing a feature to save battery at work? Turning it back on at home? Fighting with auto behaviors that don’t match how you use your phone?

By tying each complaint to a scenario, Google is trying to avoid fixing the symptom instead of the actual problem. A setting that’s hard to find once is a discoverability issue; a setting you’re constantly toggling might point to a deeper design or behavior mistake.

From Feedback to Future Pixel Software

Google says it hopes to “incorporate this feedback to improve your Settings experience on Pixel devices in the future.” That’s the only concrete commitment.

There’s no promise of specific features or timelines, and no mention of how much weight this public feedback will have compared to telemetry or internal testing. The statement is deliberately broad: collect feedback now, refine the Settings experience on upcoming Pixel devices later.

Still, the focus on “often-used settings” and the explicit call-out of pain points suggest Google is targeting everyday friction: the things you notice immediately when they’re broken or buried.

What This Means for Pixel Owners Right Now

In practical terms, this is an invitation for engaged Pixel users to shape how future Pixels behave—especially around the unsexy but important parts of Android. The Settings app is where power users spend a lot of their time, but it also defines how approachable the phone is for everyone else.

If enough people describe similar scenarios—like repeatedly toggling a network, display, or privacy-related setting—Google has a clear signal on what to prioritize. If feedback clusters around navigation and discovery, that strengthens the case for reorganizing categories again or surfacing certain options more aggressively.

For now, nothing changes on your phone just because you post on Reddit. But it does give Google a structured, public channel to hear exactly how its design decisions land outside Mountain View meeting rooms.

A Quiet but Important Piece of the Pixel Puzzle

This kind of outreach doesn’t make for flashy keynote slides, but it does matter. Settings and configuration are the backbone of the user experience, even if most people only think about them when something is hard to find or behaves unexpectedly.

By returning to the community after the Oreo redesign and asking, essentially, “Where does this still suck in your real life?”, Google is admitting that the job isn’t done. Whether it’s minor category tweaks or bigger behavior changes, the company is clearly using this cycle to gather data for whatever comes next in the Pixel software lineup.

Check back soon as this story develops.