What just happened? Google has launched a set of ads that throw plenty of shade at Apple's iPhone, mocking the 14-year-old device for having plateaued and being an aging smartphone that was once great but can no longer keep up with fancy new handsets, such as the Pixel 7 Pro, and their AI features.
Google's "BestPhonesForever" ad campaign is a series of five ads that invoke the memory of Apple's old 'I'm a Mac and I'm a PC ads' due to the amount of jabs they contain, though the target this time is the iPhone.
The 'Plateau' ad is a highlight, the name itself referring to the iPhone peaking. The Pixel explains that it can unblur the iPhone's photos before Apple's handset reels off all the Pixel features it doesn't have and confesses to being jealous of its AI abilities.
There's also a reference to iMessage's blue bubbles, which the iPhone says is the only thing it's famous for. The handset then runs out of power and the Pixel calls for a Lightning cable – though this year's iPhone 15 models are expected to feature USB-C instead of Apple's long-used proprietary port.
The Seeing Stars ad again focuses on the Pixel's camera, as well as its Astrophotography mode.
Sketchy Wi-Fi is about Google including a VPN in the Pixel.
Lifesaver, which has a Ted Lasso reference, is focused on the Pixel's power-sharing feature.
And Opening Up shows off the Pixel Fold, which is a jab at Apple for not yet having a foldable device in its lineup.
For all that Google wants to talk about the iPhone having plateaued and not offering some of the Pixel's high-end features, the truth is that eight of the top 10 best-selling smartphones globally in 2022 were iPhones – the other two were Samsung models.
Looking at shipments, Apple moved around 224.7 million iPhones across the whole of last year, while Google shipped just 9 million Pixel smartphones during the same period. Still, the ads are pretty good, and it's a change from seeing similar adverts from Samsung, which once mocked the Pixel 3 XL notch.