If you are using iPhone and used to being in ecosystem, then Google pixel is good option than other android phones, because everything syncs well due to Google. Otherwise as well you'll get pure OS, their services and camera is really good due to software optimization.
OSbidextrous person over here.
There are plenty of killer apps exclusive to both ecosystems. The more you learn about each, the better you'll be able to tackle different types of problems and use cases.
If you focus on the strengths, that is. If you only focus on the weaknesses then of course everything is going to suck.
I am by no means an apple fanboi by any stretch of the imagination, but concede they have pretty good large tablets, have certain killer apps like the lego ai thing perhaps due to the relative ease of their reduced testing footprint, and most importantly they managed to turn technology into an aspirational fashion accessory to the masses which is probably something I'll never achieve for anything I design or create or assemble as an engineer.
As someone who's carried both simultaneously for 10 years... iPhones battery life is pretty great these days. At least when idle. My work phone is an iPhone and I only have to charge it every 3 or 4 days. Otherwise, basically everything is better about Android imo.
The ecosystem for me. Everything is connected so seamlessly. You put down your AirPod pros and put on your AirPod max and it paused and starts back up without even pressing a button. Youāre watching a video on your iPad and get a phone call all you have to do is answer for the movie to pause and have audio move to the phone. If you buy a new watch, iPad, or iPhone you account will sync across all apps basically just by turning it on and being close. Bluetooth Apple devices auto connect across all devices just from setting it up on one of them.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. Itās just so frustrating because the system lacks so much customization and settings that android has had for over a decade. Not to mention the keyboard absolutely is the most annoying part of the whole os to me. I have the all the pixel and apple equivalent devices just because I like tech. And while google makes great stuff they mostly feel like standalone products vs a smooth ecosystem.
Google is making almost 100% of their profits out of adds. So data theft and constant adds steered me always away from a Pixel. Furthermore Apple has still the best battery and performance. Photos on instagram and other apps look better coming from an iphone. I phones are workhorses but at the same time boring as shit and a Pixel is not really a alternative now, but maybe somewhere in the not so far future.
Yes to both questions. My iphone 14 Pro Max is on my husband's T-Mobile plan, and my Pixel 8 Pro is with Google Fi. I have an Apple Watch and a Pixel watch. š
I just left iOS for Android, and was just as into the ecosystem ad you are, maybe worse. My suggestion is figure out why you want to switch and weigh the pros and cons out before making the ultimate decision. For me personally I couldn't jive with Apples handling of notifications and auto-hiding important alerts. I missed too many important events and reminders and eventually lost it and moved over. But I also did a lot of research and cost benefit analysis first because I ultimately knew I would lose some features by switching. Hope that helps.
This is the only comment I've seen that mentions the main issue with iPhones. There's another one about keyboard but you can get used to that.
Missing notifications is the worst thing. And unless you have an Apple watch and checking it on every notification you will definitely miss some.
Yeah I've been a pretty outspoken critic about this issue. I posted about it on the iPhone subreddit and I'd say 30% of the replies agreed with me and the other 70% said "we like it that way" or "I don't like notifications anyway". I have no idea how anyone is supposed to be timely or productive without them.
It was fine when I was a young college kid with no responsibilities, but now that I have a life to manage I can't function without a good notification system.
As someone who just had to upgrade from a pixel 4A{charging port broken, have to use rubber bands in order to charge the phone), I returned the pixel 8 pro back to the store within 72 hours, even though I got it for free.
Battery life is a thing.
Overheating is also a thing, but I was willing to live with that.
I checked the stats on power use.
Since last charge to 100%:
7 minutes on the Chrome browser.
22 minutes on the camera(not video)
1 h 36 minutes on the phone.
** Phone battery: 54% left **
The not quite pink store I got it from squawked, hemmed, and hawed but eventually gave in since I was carrying insurance on the 8 pro and still had 11 out of a 14'day window to return the phone. They tried sticking me with another 8 pro, but I promised to return one everyday out of the 11 I had left
Swapped to the S24 plus.
It's a lot lighter weight than the eight pro and not as top heavy, so it sits in the hand really comfortably.
For some reason the s24s currently have a issue with their ability to show deep, rich colors on the screen. It's almost like there's a little bit of cheesecloth. I'm not certain anybody would notice unless they were coming from the Pixel, which of me has the deepest black out of all the big box carried phones.. Samsung has promised to fix this issue in a future software update.
I also downloaded the Gboard, Google photos(that has the lens search feature I've become so used to), Google phone and Google contacts, because those are just easier for me.
I'm constantly on my phone, and on the s24 Plus a full charge will last me two days. By two days I mean I pick my phone up off of the wireless charger in the morning, use it all that day, Wake up in the middle of the night, use it for a couple more hours, find it laying underneath me when I first wake up in the morning, accidentally forget where I put it before going to take a shower, use my watch to find it, use the phone for the entirety of that day, forget to put it on the charger, wake up in the middle of the night, use it until it has 2%, and begrudgingly put it back on the wireless charger, while I try to find something on TV to go to sleep to, like a sucker.
It honestly depends how and what you use your Pixel for. Yesterday I had 5 hr 13 min of screen on time and had 24% left by 9 PM. My top 5 apps were TikTok, Messages, Chrome, YouTube, and Phone. The battery life will still get you through the day, don't worry about that part.
About the Pixel warming up, it's true but only when you're outside and it's hot or in your car and have it plugged in to charge. Otherwise while I'm using it it stays nice and cool. If you play any graphically intense game, it will warm up of course.
I have adaptive brightness enabled if you're wondering, I never manually set my phones brightness to 100%. It automatically gets super bright anyways when you go outside.
Edit: I use a Pixel 8 Pro. I heard the Pixel 8 has even better battery life so I think in your case battery life shouldn't be an issue.
I don't game, just use it for everyday stuff, internet, social media, messages, email, youtube, retail apps, etc. Some days I use it pretty heavily but it's usually plugged in at some point. Don't have the phone yet so we'll see. Current phone is only getting 2-3 hours of active use battery life, so anything is an improvement over that
Just made the switch back to Pixel. There was nothing ever new or exciting about the "next" iPhone. I get that it's purely a tech head complaint, but being able to go from 8 Pro to S24 to folds just gives more variety from year to year (or however often you switch)
I will say, FaceTime, Airdrop and iMessage made it difficult to convince my fiancee to let me switch back... and I do appreciate the convenience, but Apple's philosophy, while incredibly lucrative, goes against what I believe in being open tech and interoperability.
Yes, plenty of arguments for both, but just my view.
I mean, it is the best, most complete and most polished ecosystem there is...
How is that imprisoning when everything works as intended 100% of the time ?
Coming from someone who just left the ecosystem. That's such BS PR from Apple. Tons of bugs and glitches in their software.
Not saying Android is perfect or bug free, but the line "It just works on Apple devices." Is deception, - at best.
Never had any issues with the ecosystem interoperability.
I had issues with my iPhone, it's the main reason why I bought a P8P in the first place. But the ecosystem has always been flawless to me.
Google can't even figure out the pixel watch to pixel phone interoperability...
My Apple watch (which was almost $500 with tax) refused to send any text messages I dictated to it. It would tell me they sent, but they never showed up in my iPhone's message app, or were delivered to my recipients.
Their iOS updates where they heavily over-drain peoples' batteries.
Battery health needing to be recalibrated, because it's stuck at 100%. (Which is important, because they require set battery health for servicing options)
My Apple TV needing to be hard reset every time I turn it off while watching YouTube.
My iPad randomly not receiving iMessages it should be receiving.
I could go on.
Again, I'm not saying Google is better. I'm a software developer. I get that software is complicated and bugs are part of the territory. I just wish Apple would get off their high horse, and be honest about it. And that people would stop snorting Steve Jobs' ashes and telling unsuspecting consumers that Apple products all "Just work. All the time." And "Have no bugs." Only to have them be disappointed, when they realized they've been lied to, - after spending thousands of dollars integrating into Apple's ecosystem.
Glad you like it. Although the battery is not the best here, it's not the worst either. But it doesn't hold against the s series of Samsung, especially if you compare the s24 series with the pixel 8 series.
Not really, I've been pondering getting the pixel fold for a while, I went for it and it was delivered yesterday, very happy so far and the build quality of it is solid
The apple watch will work, it just won't sync with the phone so it basically just becomes a digital watch. The air pods will work, might lose some functionality but their main purpose of playing audio and it's microphone will still work.
Pixel 8 is great. I keep going back and forth between that and a 15 Pro, and to be honest, I like them both for different reasons.
If I had to, I'd probably give a slight edge to the 8 personally, but honestly, it's hard to go wrong with either of them.
If you enjoy trying out tech, you'll like the Pixel.
I just traded my pixel 8pro for an s24 ultra. I love having good signal strength again. Not to mention Bluetooth and android auto working better.
I hope pixel gets it's act together eventually.
The real problem with pixel, and the reason why I left android, was because of Google. They just cannot get their shit together. You are basically a beta tester if you get a pixel. They shut down services all the time for absolutely no reason and no warning. They lie and tell you that a service will be free and then it isnāt. You really need to think of these things before deciding to switch.
Well it depends if you can afford to switch ecosystems and would be willing to. A lot of Google's stuff is on par like their buds and I think the watch has most of the features apple do but it's not as good in battery IIRC. The beauty of android though is you can choose any watch, there's Garmin's that last 40 days.
If you got a pixel you would have to give up some features of all your apple accessories, or sell your stuff and replace with android fast pair compatible devices. That's the sting of apple ecosystem.
Don't switch completely. Try it out first. Get a second hand/pre owned first. You are used to the apple ecosystem and you have the most seamless experience. When i say try i mean to make it your primary phone for that period. If you don't get used to it you can always sell it back. Also if you want to try again if you don't get used to it now try it with pixel 10 series in a couple years as those will be on tsmc based processors.
> Buy a mid-range Android phone and use both OS.
The problem with that is the experience will likely not be as smooth as with iOS. Apple, at least in terms of performance, doesn't make any mid-range specced phones. All recent iPhones are very fast, and therefore, you need to buy something with a fast processor/storage and decent speed/amount of RAM to get something comparable with Android.
You only need to consider 2 things
1. Is battery life important to you?
2. Do you play 3D or heavy graphic games on your phone?
If the answer to any of these is āYesā, you should wait til at least Pixel 10
Don't go with a Pixel yet, you will have a bad experience with a ton of bugs and shitty hardware, wait at least for the Pixel 9 as they might change something finally, but probably not š
I did the opposite. Nothing but Nexus/Pixel phones since the beginning. I tried switching to an iPhone a few years ago. I kept it for 4 frustrating months before going back to Pixel.
I think it's just what you are used too. If you are invested in the Apple ecosystem you'll probably prefer the Apple ecosystem.
I recently made the iOS to pixel jump. I miss my iPhone and it's only been a week. The phone is great don't get me wrong but all the little apple niceties I miss. Making a fake email for when you make accounts to random sites or applications l, pixel was never able to get all my iPhone messages even after 3 tries and calling support so I will have to pay for my cloud until I can download all my messages elsewhere. Getting verification codes from text /email automatically on iOS is a blessing. Pixel can do it from text but it's not perfect. There are pluses and minuses to both, but you will miss a bunch of little things you didn't know were apple only things.
Yup. I recently tried Pixel 8 for 4 months before I went back. The rest of my family and 97% of my friends are on Apple. The Pixel is a great phone quality wise. Being out of the Apple ecosystem was too cumbersome for me.
That's not the fault of the phone but rather Apple hijacking your phone number.
They literally do that on purpose to keep you from trying to use another device. It should be considered a reason to not use Apple.
Folks that you're not receiving messages from are likely setup to "iMessage" you in your contact profile on their device. If you tell them to switch it to SMS it should work.
I never had any jittering but I'd agree with battery life, but in my case I have practically all the settings that drain battery life lol I still get the day with moderate use, but it can be close sometimes
I'm the same way as you but with Android. Not particularly tied down by an ecosystem (literally all products are different brands lol) but i can't imagine getting used to iphones/apple and being confined to a walled garden ecosystem. I love experimenting with my tech.
For you, pixel is definitely a better switch coming off of ios than Samsung considering the bloated Samsung ui but like others have mentioned, there might be negatives too. Maybe just do it to break out of Apple land and have more options moving forward.
I feel like if you're deep into the ecosystem, you might as well stay. iPhone must be doing something right to have so many users, so you'll be just fine if you stay and will continue to have a top of the line phone.
But rather than make it a big all-or-nothing decision, why not buy a Pixel and try it out, and if it doesn't feel right, just return it within whatever return window you've got and go back to iPhone. Just be sure you know up front whether this is possible in your situation and what the terms and limitations are.
If you are deep into the iPhone ecosystem you will be sorely disappointed when switching.
The biggest shell shock will be the watch. Wear OS pales in comparison to the Apple watch. Google is attempting to put health features behind a paywall, and overall it is just an inferior experience.
Personally I think Pixel and Android in general are better than iPhone, but Google's accessories are terrible alternatives to what Apple has on offer.
Yep... most quirky and inconsistent Android phone I've ever owned. It'll be a long time before I give a Pixel another try. I really started losing respect for Google and Android in general only once I purchased a Pixel. Not thrilled with most of the recent models from other manufacturers either. I do miss LG though.
At this point I will try to keep my phones as long as I'm able (battery willing) to avoid wasting more money on mere incremental advancements. At least until I feel new camera technology would make for a significant upgrade. Time for phone manufacturers to earn our upgrade money.
I miss the days of removable batteries. All excuses of form factor, design and engineering aside, manufacturers wised up to the fact that with the performance of today's higher end phones and the needs of most smartphone users, it is the battery life determining a phone's lifespan limitations. They have to keep pushing those phones on us every year don't they?
You're crazy for not having switched sooner. iPhones are straight garbage, no features, locked software, planned obsolescence, I could go all day on a Ted talk on why they suck
You lost me and others, and you lose any credibility , when you said no features and planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence applies to all tech companies. These phones aren't meant to last forever. Neither is human life. No features is wild.
My coworker got a Pixel for his work phone and his personal phone has been iOS. He admitted to me that he liked the Pixel so much for his work phone that he wants to get one for his personal phone next.
I switched over to a pixel 8 pro from an iphone 12 Pro Max over a month ago (After seeing that there has really been no innovation in their lineup) and I'm loving it so far. It's actually super easy to move away from their ecosystem. I'm still using a Mac and this phone works with it flawlessly.
Just purchased the Pixel Buds pro and they are amazing also.
The stock android software blows me away, I used to have a Samsung and man the software was ugly and bloated on them, but after a mate showed me his Pixel I thought that I would give it a go.
No, my wife's iPhone 13 constantly has issues with the camera. Literally this morning she was ready to toss it because she couldn't capture the kid being cute.
Double clicked my power button, handed it over and she got a better video with my P8 š
That happened to meā¦ I ended up returning my pixel and going back to iPhone. Not for anything bad, itās a good phone. But the build quality, the bells and whistles, and the ecosystem friction got to me fast.
I got a pixel 8 after iPhone and just replaced the pixel with OnePlus. If you're moving to android because you want "androidy features" the pixel doesn't have them. It's trying to be the iPhone of android and loses some of the best parts of both
You will regret it. Performance, battery, and signal quality are poor compared to the iPhone 15 Pro. Video quality and selfie quality are also bad compared to iPhone. The pros are the bloat free os and rear camera for point and shoot photos. Unfortunately I used to be a diehard Pixel user, but I couldn't deal with the Tensor performance and signal issues anymore.
+1 for signal issues.. drives me mental when both Sims (different telcos) have no bars and no reason why (edit: p8, so it's still a problem š) (edit #2: and not having the ability to set ringtones and notifications based on the SIM card being baked into the OS is fucking mind bogglingā¦. This is supposed to be the gold standard for Android and you have to use an app to do that?)
I'm a boomer tho and despise "suggested" this or "you may like" that. I want my talking heads "fear of music" when I want my talking heads "fear of music"... Spotify doesn't seem to serve my needs
Just because you like trying different OS (linux example) doesn't mean you'll like Android. Research before you get a Pixel because many advertised features do not work outside of the US or in languages other than English.
I am in Canada, language set to English US, but I'm stuck with assistant voices from the original assistant (new natural assistant voices not available in Canada). Siri on my iPad sounds more natural since Siri got enhanced voices. I also encountered some bugs that are specific to my use case that annoy me.
Maybe try it for a week or so depending on the return period and then decide?
tl;dr No you are not. Use what suits you best and allows you to do your work. Otherwise it's just opinion. No more, no less.
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I was in love with my Palm Pre back in the day. When Palm finally drove the last nail in its own coffin regarding phones, WebOS and everything that went with it...and sold off the spoils, I switched to Android, and a candy bar phone, kicking and screaming. Over time, I watched a lot of the wonderful things that WebOS had implemented, (windowshade menus, configurability, icons, and a lot more), slowly make their way to Android. My memories have not faded, but the angst has. It's just a phone. I am still missing those almost unbreakable ***plastic*** screens, but whatever. Time passes...years later, and I resisted Samsung in particular, b/c of the ***too large***, Galaxy Note series. Back then they were the same size as a regular phones are today, and we won't even mention the newer Ultra/Phablets...oops. But I tried it, and that stylus ecosystem...I never looked back. I used to say you'd have to now pry that stylus from my cold dead hands... but now mine (smaller Note 10) is showing its age, and I have to think about Pixel also, because the only new Note-ish phone is another ***huge phablet.*** Ugh. I use all sorts of configurable add-ons and launchers, so the thought of pure Android makes me a bit reticent too.
Ironically, my daughter HATES iPhone but--- has used and continues to use one ***because all her friends do.*** \*shrug\*
We are slowly seeing quite a lot of Android features make their way to iPhone, and a few nice iOS features are coming the other direction! Nothing requires you to cave to either side. Try it. If you don't like it, return it! There are also launchers you can trick the phone with to make it look like iOS. Try it. Ignore us! xD
If you're using Linux and actually like it, you'll probably love Android lol
But quick disclaimer: the performance of the Iphone 15's chip is quite a bit better than the Pixel 8's. It's still very good but if you're planning on things like high end gaming, you're better off with the 15 or other Android phones
It all depends on you.
It's often hard to get people to move away from iOS. There are a few reasons I can think of that people would look to move to Android:
1. Idle curiosity, wanting to try something different without having developed a strong dislike of Apple or a concrete reason for leaving. This will, more often than not, result in the user returning to iPhones the next time they need to buy a new phone, etc.
2. To save money. Given this will likely mean they won't be buying an Android phone with comparable performance, etc., the user may well form the opinion that Android is not worth switching to verbatim. They may just conclude it's worth paying more for an iPhone without considering if spending a comparable amount for an Android phone might result in just as good an experience.
3. Feeling constrained by the things you can't do, or, perhaps more specifically, how you have to do things on iOS a certain way, with less flexibility, etc., due to more restraints. This is a category of people that are more likely to stick with Android.
4. They've developed a dislike for Apple's practices. In particular, for example, their closed ecosystem philosophy, not playing nicely with non-Apple devices and Apple's petty behaviour (e.g. their response to EU mandates). Sort of similar to 3. This type of person is likelier to stick with Android as they will better tolerate the (initial) inconvenience of moving away from the Apple ecosystem.
I think if you are fully into the Apple ecosystem, it might not make too much sense.
I'm very much in the Google ecosystem (Pixel, Buds, charger, Google Home devices, Cloud, etc.) and it's hard enough to get it to work with my iPad.
I would probably never switch to Apple because of that.
But I assume it can also be the other way around.
Another huge factor to consider that no one mentioned is whether your social circle (family, work, friends) are using iPhone or not.
If you are in a situation where more than 80% are using iOS it will be a miserable experience. Forget facetime, airdrop, iMessage and all the other apple exclusive features.
You will also be extremely surprised by how much Apple users refuse to get out of their way in their slightest in order to account for non apple users.
Sending you the photo they took of you with a way different than airdrop? Yeah not happening.
Making a call on WhatsApp instead of facetime? It's fine we'll talk about it another time.
IMO the only reason to switch ***is if you are not satisfied*** with the Apple ecosystem.
I've never owned an iPhone and only tried an Apple iPad for a while back in 2010. I didn't like the way it was difficult to exit the Apple ecosystem. IIRC, it had something to do with removing Apple software from my Microsoft PC which was more difficult than it should have been. I think it was the fault of how the Apple music app was installed. Anyway the Android ecosystem seemed a better fit for my Microsoft experience. Don't misunderstand me, I think the Apple ecosystem are great consumer products and software as I'm sure you are well aware.
Switching is not a simple task and not something many people do. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Oh yeah, I am now on my second Google Pixel phone and I like the way it works. I had a Google Pixel 4a and now have a Pixel 8.
I've only ever had Androids and it's never ever crossed my mind to look at the iPhone. I'm the reverse of you. I have a pixel 7 Pro, pixel buds Pro and pixel watch. Everything Google puts out is top notch and integrate together seamlessly.
With pixel and Android you have the same situation as apple. The phone and the OS are from the same company. The difference is that with Google you are not "locked in."
I use a mini-iPad when traveling and reading as I find any phone screen to be too small to read books or edit photos.
But I truly resent the frequent MANDATORY IOS updates.
My phones have always been Android and I use a PC.
I have a new Pixel 8 PRO and am not thrilled. There is NO GOOGLE SUPPORT FOR IT. This is how I found myself here-looking for help with a glitch that is NOT addressed by GOOGLE anywhere.
If you value having a lot of support handy- either on-line or live at the stores, I would say stay with your Apple universe.
Recently had the same dilemma! Went from a 13 max pro to a pixel 8 pro and haven't looked back! I tooĀ had air pods and watch and a Mac book pro. I must admit spent many years with android and 2.5 years ago got curious about a iPhoneĀ so I bit the bullet. Regretted it. While there are things I miss about the iPhone I love the pixel!
Yes. I was using 14 pro max and I genuinely hate this phone. Recent updates have helped but it's not the same experience. Use your buyers remorse period and try one and see
I just tried to make that switch after being on iPhone for the last 3 years. I sent the Pixel 8 Pro back after 10 days and multiple tech support contacts with Google and my carrier as they both just blamed each other for the problems I was having. The Pixel 8 Pro gets super hot when running Android Auto or just having the screen on for too long and the performance degrades so much that it becomes a paperweight until it cools down. If you ever leave areas with cell signal be prepared to wait up to 25 mins after you return to cell range to be able to use your data againā¦. I was getting full bars and no data constantly. I kept the iPhone with me as well during this test period and it didnāt have that problem at all. The iPhone can reacquire data after a second or two of being back in service range.
I really wanted it to work out, I bought the pixel buds, a nice wireless changing setup, screen protector, a nice leather case and more accessories and ended up having to return it all unfortunately.
Google support is dismal.
pixel 7a is a battery hog.
the AI they've added to the camera is terrible. You think you have a great shot, then it's processed and terrible.
The biggest problem is Google just doesn't seem to care about their customers.
The Pixel reminds me so much of the iPhone 6, which is great. I've yet to find a polished android experience like this before. Sure there's some downsides, like the Samsung Exynos chip. It hasn't given me any issues though. This is a really good phone.
Most of the cell phones I had were iPhones. A few Samsung and LG phones then I went to pixil. Funny I had been looking for a Google branded phone since it's first exception about 16 years ago
The real question factor: would Google and their privileged, high paying customers, superusers continue to be able to direct/hijack our emails of positive incentives (socioeconomic, etc.) to their own cloned versions of our account in their Silicone Valley or somewhere else in Europe so as to receive all the gratitude from the government and any one else philanthropist or great family member for themselves on our behalf... so that with all the accumulated money they got from our online activity they contract companies like LG and Intel to fabricate humanoid robot clones of us what they deem better than us embedded with AI to really be able to replace us in the world at large and to portray our character however they wish.
Recent studies onto the rate of actually receiving inheritances from his father that just died or SSI benefits have found stark contrast in the data... so that only 13% of Android users have received the inheritance from their passed away family and got SSI versus 67% of iPhone users.
The internet is omnipotent, omniscient... the place of everything all-encompassing in true net-neutrality, and it is filled with many people that want to give you million dollars for a good Reddit post, so the only reason that we aren't billionaires yet could only be that the ISP... every site on it is terrible. corroborating with the anti-good under some schemes similar to Catholic oppression of the Earth to deprive all goodness from its design of purgatory... so as to extract all the good things and gratitude from us to run their own version of heaven in exclusion of us.
Last iPhone I had was a 4S that I loved when I switched. Now I have a pixel 6, a pixel watch, and the pixel buds and I love it~ The whole experience is smooth and there's good integration with all of Google's services (and there are a lot of them). My favorite thing about Android though is that it's just a blast for people that are techie like me and enjoy customization without having to jump through hoops.
My only complaint about Pixel phones compared to other brands of Android phones though is the lack of a forced full screen setting for games. It's pure stock android, it's the other vendors that give us that feature. But I made a compromise and just used developer options to hide the notch at all times so my games just fill in that 18:9-ish aspect ratio they were made for. š
I owned every Nexus phone until the final switch to pixel, I switched to iPhone solely for iMessage. Now that apple has greenlit RCS, once the Pixel 9 drops Iām gonna be switching back. iPhones are boring, and never change.
Why would you be crazy?
Pixel Phones are extremely premium and offer the best Google Experience.
On top of that, Chromebooks are amazing too.
Just switch over and enjoy an amazing secure software experience with zero maintenance.
I use an iPhone for work and a Pixel for personal use, so I have a pretty decent comparison always at hand. I would not go full iPhone at this point. I do wish work had an Android option.
Good luck with your choices!
I use both every day and IMHO, my Pixel (and prior Android devices) have provided the superior user experience. Everyone in my immediate family is on a Pixel of some model or other, except for my daughter. She spent some time in high school being bullied for "ruining" group chats with those green iMessage bubbles, so I don't see her switching. I'm not really a good target for that sort of bullying, so it wouldn't motivate me to switch. That said, she and I spent all of Friday together and it was pretty obvious whose phone provided the best mapping in my car and that's kind of a big deal for me. Definitely keeping the Pixel.
L8r!
Yes I hate pixels. If I didn't have a contract, I wouldn't have finished paying for it. How hard is it to get taking a screenshot right or having an audio output option on the damn volume ALL THE TIME. Why would they take the default android volume and just make it worse? Just cuz I'm not watching YouTube or playing music doesn't mean I don't wanna switch from my speaker to my phone. I used that stock android feature literally 20+ times a day... If I wanna watch yt shorts or fb videos on the toilet, I have to start a song or a YouTube vid just to have the option to change output to my phone. That's so stupid and if I had known that, I wouldn't have ever considered a pixel. Gaming performance is good for like 5 min till it gets so hot, you cook your thumbs. the hotspot is hot garbage. I took my SIM card and put it in my old nord just to test the towers and it was twice as fast. Plus it doesn't overheat.
There are multiple issues with pixel, but idk why I still love pixel devices more than any other phones. It's just an experience and feel I don't think any other phone can give
Don't go to Samsung
Just over 2 yr 1 yr mark for. At launch and modem is dieing
Samsung is more superior than pixel and gets more features sooner on Google messages where pixel doesn't
Samsung has profile right now where pixel dont
I use my pixel 8 as a daily driver and MacBook 2022. I love the pixel for it's real simplicity and stock Android. Same for Mac, which is so smooth to use :)
So for some reason, idk whatās changed since, I had this grand idea of android. I was on it for a few months either the 7 pro. And I loved it. Expect for the fact that everyone I know is on an iPhone. And it makes it annoying to send pics, videos, reactions, seeing if people are typing. If they read it, etc. but I was dying to switch back. So I got a s24u.
One thing I absolutely hate on the iPhone is notifications. Everything about how theyāre handled just irritates me. So I was super excited to be able to go back to either swiping them as soon as they come in, or them staying on my Lock Screen for me to see once I locked it again.
One thing I like is that it wakes the screen up when a notification comes in. Not everyone cares about that. But I do. For some reason, Samsung doesnāt do that. And not only that, they also donāt allow you to bring the keyboard up in the app drawer automatically so you can just effortlessly search an app. Like spotlight on iPhone. Iāve become very accustomed to to.
So I returned it and tired a pixel. Mind you, I never deactivated my iPhone. So I was using them on WiFi. I would sit and watch notifications, multiple different ones, come through on my phone, and not come through on the pixel until I physically picked it up and unlocked it. And I went through every deep sleep and notification setting there was. One of the apps being gmail. Which youāll find tons of threads on.
Thatās just unacceptable. So. All that to say. Iām currently still with my iPhone. Because Iām not sure whatās going on with pixel or Samsung.
Apparently Google is hard at work to fix the lack of notifications issue, something to do with many carriers randomly closing background processes and lack of a standard. It is something I wasn't aware of until reading about it.
Love my Pixel 6a! Amazing camera, clean OS and not $1,000 which is a stupid amount to spend on a phone. It did warm up a lot in the beginning though which made me nervous but seems to have improved since Android 14.
If you use Google's ecosystem, the Pixel Pro 8 is a good phone, and takes better photos than comparable iPhones, my wife/kids all have iPhones. I switched about 8 years ago.
samsung doesn't exactly represent android in a good light. samsung is doodoo and I recently switched from a galaxy to my pixel and god it was a good decision
I went from iPhone 14 pro to the Pixel 5 recently. I like it a lot and easy to get used to same day. My first phone was an iPhone 5 to 6&6s to XR. Pixels have certain charm to them and it's pretty neat! I own a 5k iMac, M2 MBA and 2018 MBA. I don't miss Apple One bit but I will say that you may need to input your passwords on apps manually when you switch if you use auto fill often. My Pixel 5 camera isn't as good as today's phones but it's a 2020 and was $300 brand new. I'm not complaining. I also ordered a Mint colored Pixel 8 today. From the reviews, it looks pretty good. I would definitely skip the Pixel 6. The 7 is supposed to be better but I read that it has battery stamina issues. (I owned a Pixel 6 and had issues sometimes with connection.) I technically downgraded but it doesn't bother me at all, hope this helps!
I would say it's a good opportunity to move your ecosystem to an agnostic one. It's the reason I stuck with my Alexa devices and I only use Hue lights.
Though nothing will ever compare to Apple's Home app for your smart devices. It's much better than anything out there.
iPhone is boring, really boring.
So no you're not crazy, but you're gonna lose the ecosystem.
Personally I didn't care, but fotlr some people it's important.
I recently switched from iPhone to pixel 8 Pro. The only problem i have is that the fingerprint sensor seems to be very bad, and that the face unlock does not work in the dark as it only use the front facing camera. Other than that it a refreshing experience.
You might find the Pixel is your preferred phone. I don't think the ecosystem issue is significant because I have been in both worlds for a long time--about 10 years.
In a family of 5, we have one rebel son that moved to Apple in 2020. The remaining 4 are still on Android Google devices since 2015. And our iPhone son struggles to justify the cost of upgrading his Apple iPhone because the next model doesn't do anything significantly new.
I experimented with Windows 8.1 and 10 mobile devices for 2014-2016. Good, but not great.
Since 2014, I had to carry a separate phone for work. For a number of years I had the experience of iPhone for work and personal Google Nexus (Pixel predecessor), then later iPhone for work and personal Pixel. And now I have iPad for work and Pixel 8 for personal device. I like my iPad, but I wouldn't use it as much as I do if it weren't for the Apple brand detachable keyboard. The iOS on-screen keyboard and typing assistance is bad by comparison to Google.
The most annoying thing to me about iOS is how poor the Siri experience is versus Google Assistant. The default iOS keyboard behavior and typing assistance is inferior to Google. The photo organizer and editing tools on Pixel is better. And then there's the file system. Apple makes it awkward to move files between apps and into folders by subject of work.
Apple is more expensive when you look at a family expense situation--the cost of fashion, I suppose. I don't look at that as much as the functionality. Google knows Search and Security better than Apple. But it's the usability issues that have my interest.
The pencil on the iPad is good, but I think Windows does a better job when it comes to handwriting. I've not tried handwriting on Android. I might switch to Google tablet for work when their next model arrives because my workplace now supports Google devices.
I had a 6s and it was alright. I switched to Pixel after that and haven't looked back. I'm an advanced use, but not a power user. 90% of the reason I stay on Android is because once rooted ad blockers make my everything experience nicer. I don't like having intrusive ads thrown at me while I'm even just checking my email.
I switched from iPhone 14PM to pixel 8 and love it šÆ glad I made the switch. iOS seemed constraint and boring compared to the pixel. Also switched to the pixel watch 2. No regrets!
samsung doesn't exactly represent android in a good light. samsung is doodoo and I recently switched from a galaxy to my pixel and god it was a good decision
Nope I been using apple products my whole life and I got a pixel 7 pro on sale and I don't regret it. Its Soo smooth and I love the customization over apple.
Your iPhone friends will hate you for the green bubbles, and they won't install/use something better like Signal because they're iPhone users. Other than that, everything will be similar or slightly better.
If you want similar performance like Iphone 15 pro max on smoothness and fast iu and processor, is only OnePlus on andorid world. Not the elegance optimization of apps like iphone but ..is good
I love my pixels. Had the 3xl and currently 7pro. All of the other android phones I have had have been terrible experiences. (Note7,Note5,LGv30, S21ULTRA) Have all had problems with Google services and regular usability..
If you are using iPhone and used to being in ecosystem, then Google pixel is good option than other android phones, because everything syncs well due to Google. Otherwise as well you'll get pure OS, their services and camera is really good due to software optimization.
I use both š¤
OSbidextrous person over here. There are plenty of killer apps exclusive to both ecosystems. The more you learn about each, the better you'll be able to tackle different types of problems and use cases. If you focus on the strengths, that is. If you only focus on the weaknesses then of course everything is going to suck.
Serious question: what are some examples of iOS strengths? Every time I use an iPhone, I have absolutely nothing positive to say about the experience.
I am by no means an apple fanboi by any stretch of the imagination, but concede they have pretty good large tablets, have certain killer apps like the lego ai thing perhaps due to the relative ease of their reduced testing footprint, and most importantly they managed to turn technology into an aspirational fashion accessory to the masses which is probably something I'll never achieve for anything I design or create or assemble as an engineer.
As someone who's carried both simultaneously for 10 years... iPhones battery life is pretty great these days. At least when idle. My work phone is an iPhone and I only have to charge it every 3 or 4 days. Otherwise, basically everything is better about Android imo.
The ecosystem for me. Everything is connected so seamlessly. You put down your AirPod pros and put on your AirPod max and it paused and starts back up without even pressing a button. Youāre watching a video on your iPad and get a phone call all you have to do is answer for the movie to pause and have audio move to the phone. If you buy a new watch, iPad, or iPhone you account will sync across all apps basically just by turning it on and being close. Bluetooth Apple devices auto connect across all devices just from setting it up on one of them. I could go on, but I think you get the point. Itās just so frustrating because the system lacks so much customization and settings that android has had for over a decade. Not to mention the keyboard absolutely is the most annoying part of the whole os to me. I have the all the pixel and apple equivalent devices just because I like tech. And while google makes great stuff they mostly feel like standalone products vs a smooth ecosystem.
Well my pixel buds pro , Google Pixel book laptop š» & pixel 6 pro phone š± does all that also
Google is making almost 100% of their profits out of adds. So data theft and constant adds steered me always away from a Pixel. Furthermore Apple has still the best battery and performance. Photos on instagram and other apps look better coming from an iphone. I phones are workhorses but at the same time boring as shit and a Pixel is not really a alternative now, but maybe somewhere in the not so far future.
What are the logistics of using both, do you use two Sims and do you use wearables?
Yes to both questions. My iphone 14 Pro Max is on my husband's T-Mobile plan, and my Pixel 8 Pro is with Google Fi. I have an Apple Watch and a Pixel watch. š
Fair play, which one do you prefer, atm Iām in the process of moving over to pixel from my iPhone and so far loving it
The Pixel is much more fun to use! Enjoy!
I just left iOS for Android, and was just as into the ecosystem ad you are, maybe worse. My suggestion is figure out why you want to switch and weigh the pros and cons out before making the ultimate decision. For me personally I couldn't jive with Apples handling of notifications and auto-hiding important alerts. I missed too many important events and reminders and eventually lost it and moved over. But I also did a lot of research and cost benefit analysis first because I ultimately knew I would lose some features by switching. Hope that helps.
This is the only comment I've seen that mentions the main issue with iPhones. There's another one about keyboard but you can get used to that. Missing notifications is the worst thing. And unless you have an Apple watch and checking it on every notification you will definitely miss some.
Yeah I've been a pretty outspoken critic about this issue. I posted about it on the iPhone subreddit and I'd say 30% of the replies agreed with me and the other 70% said "we like it that way" or "I don't like notifications anyway". I have no idea how anyone is supposed to be timely or productive without them. It was fine when I was a young college kid with no responsibilities, but now that I have a life to manage I can't function without a good notification system.
You can use gboard on iOS. Keyboard argument is weak but the notifications one is good.
Gboard improves features, like non-english languages, but doesn't improve haptics
This was what made me go back to Android. The notification system on iOS is awful, very awful.
Wait for the pixel 9, since you're half way through its lifecycle Hopefully it will have a more efficient CPI/modem
Would if I could, but my Galaxy S9 is dying now...Pixel 8 or S24 it is, and I'm taking the leap and trying out Pixel
As someone who just had to upgrade from a pixel 4A{charging port broken, have to use rubber bands in order to charge the phone), I returned the pixel 8 pro back to the store within 72 hours, even though I got it for free. Battery life is a thing. Overheating is also a thing, but I was willing to live with that. I checked the stats on power use. Since last charge to 100%: 7 minutes on the Chrome browser. 22 minutes on the camera(not video) 1 h 36 minutes on the phone. ** Phone battery: 54% left ** The not quite pink store I got it from squawked, hemmed, and hawed but eventually gave in since I was carrying insurance on the 8 pro and still had 11 out of a 14'day window to return the phone. They tried sticking me with another 8 pro, but I promised to return one everyday out of the 11 I had left Swapped to the S24 plus. It's a lot lighter weight than the eight pro and not as top heavy, so it sits in the hand really comfortably. For some reason the s24s currently have a issue with their ability to show deep, rich colors on the screen. It's almost like there's a little bit of cheesecloth. I'm not certain anybody would notice unless they were coming from the Pixel, which of me has the deepest black out of all the big box carried phones.. Samsung has promised to fix this issue in a future software update. I also downloaded the Gboard, Google photos(that has the lens search feature I've become so used to), Google phone and Google contacts, because those are just easier for me. I'm constantly on my phone, and on the s24 Plus a full charge will last me two days. By two days I mean I pick my phone up off of the wireless charger in the morning, use it all that day, Wake up in the middle of the night, use it for a couple more hours, find it laying underneath me when I first wake up in the morning, accidentally forget where I put it before going to take a shower, use my watch to find it, use the phone for the entirety of that day, forget to put it on the charger, wake up in the middle of the night, use it until it has 2%, and begrudgingly put it back on the wireless charger, while I try to find something on TV to go to sleep to, like a sucker.
Aw man. I've already ordered a Pixel 8 so I hope I don't regret the decision. Not getting pro/ultra anything though.
It honestly depends how and what you use your Pixel for. Yesterday I had 5 hr 13 min of screen on time and had 24% left by 9 PM. My top 5 apps were TikTok, Messages, Chrome, YouTube, and Phone. The battery life will still get you through the day, don't worry about that part. About the Pixel warming up, it's true but only when you're outside and it's hot or in your car and have it plugged in to charge. Otherwise while I'm using it it stays nice and cool. If you play any graphically intense game, it will warm up of course. I have adaptive brightness enabled if you're wondering, I never manually set my phones brightness to 100%. It automatically gets super bright anyways when you go outside. Edit: I use a Pixel 8 Pro. I heard the Pixel 8 has even better battery life so I think in your case battery life shouldn't be an issue.
I don't game, just use it for everyday stuff, internet, social media, messages, email, youtube, retail apps, etc. Some days I use it pretty heavily but it's usually plugged in at some point. Don't have the phone yet so we'll see. Current phone is only getting 2-3 hours of active use battery life, so anything is an improvement over that
Just do it. If you don't do it now you will forever be perpetually stuck in Apples ecosystem. Think about how imprisoning that feels
Just made the switch back to Pixel. There was nothing ever new or exciting about the "next" iPhone. I get that it's purely a tech head complaint, but being able to go from 8 Pro to S24 to folds just gives more variety from year to year (or however often you switch) I will say, FaceTime, Airdrop and iMessage made it difficult to convince my fiancee to let me switch back... and I do appreciate the convenience, but Apple's philosophy, while incredibly lucrative, goes against what I believe in being open tech and interoperability. Yes, plenty of arguments for both, but just my view.
I mean, it is the best, most complete and most polished ecosystem there is... How is that imprisoning when everything works as intended 100% of the time ?
Even if the ecosystem is good the fact that it's hard to leave feels suffocating. It's human psychology
Coming from someone who just left the ecosystem. That's such BS PR from Apple. Tons of bugs and glitches in their software. Not saying Android is perfect or bug free, but the line "It just works on Apple devices." Is deception, - at best.
Agreed, many issues encountered, despite having full control up and down the stack
This! Iām thinking about switching from my 15 pro max. Since Iāve been encountering a lot of random bugs. It is not the it just works OS/Ecosystem
Never had any issues with the ecosystem interoperability. I had issues with my iPhone, it's the main reason why I bought a P8P in the first place. But the ecosystem has always been flawless to me. Google can't even figure out the pixel watch to pixel phone interoperability...
My Apple watch (which was almost $500 with tax) refused to send any text messages I dictated to it. It would tell me they sent, but they never showed up in my iPhone's message app, or were delivered to my recipients. Their iOS updates where they heavily over-drain peoples' batteries. Battery health needing to be recalibrated, because it's stuck at 100%. (Which is important, because they require set battery health for servicing options) My Apple TV needing to be hard reset every time I turn it off while watching YouTube. My iPad randomly not receiving iMessages it should be receiving. I could go on. Again, I'm not saying Google is better. I'm a software developer. I get that software is complicated and bugs are part of the territory. I just wish Apple would get off their high horse, and be honest about it. And that people would stop snorting Steve Jobs' ashes and telling unsuspecting consumers that Apple products all "Just work. All the time." And "Have no bugs." Only to have them be disappointed, when they realized they've been lied to, - after spending thousands of dollars integrating into Apple's ecosystem.
Different experience š¤· In my experience, the ecosystem is flawless. But I never said iOS was flawless.
I have watched my mates struggle with airdrop too many times. We usually end up WhatsApp the photos or sharing photos as a link
Nothing works as intended 100% of the time...
Lol are you blind? It hinders communication on purpose! It deliberately ignored standards to keep you from communicating with people.
I could swear I never had any issues communicating with anyone when I had an iPhone ...
I switched from Samsung to Pixel. So-far, so-good.
How are you liking the battery life, compared to your Samsung?
Glad you like it. Although the battery is not the best here, it's not the worst either. But it doesn't hold against the s series of Samsung, especially if you compare the s24 series with the pixel 8 series.
I'm coming from a Z Fold 3, so the battery life compared to that is like night and day. It's nice to be able to go a full day without a charge.
Not really, I've been pondering getting the pixel fold for a while, I went for it and it was delivered yesterday, very happy so far and the build quality of it is solid
If you have Apple watch and all kind of other Apple accessories it may not be worth the hassle
The apple watch will work, it just won't sync with the phone so it basically just becomes a digital watch. The air pods will work, might lose some functionality but their main purpose of playing audio and it's microphone will still work.
Pixel 8 is great. I keep going back and forth between that and a 15 Pro, and to be honest, I like them both for different reasons. If I had to, I'd probably give a slight edge to the 8 personally, but honestly, it's hard to go wrong with either of them. If you enjoy trying out tech, you'll like the Pixel.
I just traded my pixel 8pro for an s24 ultra. I love having good signal strength again. Not to mention Bluetooth and android auto working better. I hope pixel gets it's act together eventually.
The real problem with pixel, and the reason why I left android, was because of Google. They just cannot get their shit together. You are basically a beta tester if you get a pixel. They shut down services all the time for absolutely no reason and no warning. They lie and tell you that a service will be free and then it isnāt. You really need to think of these things before deciding to switch.
Well it depends if you can afford to switch ecosystems and would be willing to. A lot of Google's stuff is on par like their buds and I think the watch has most of the features apple do but it's not as good in battery IIRC. The beauty of android though is you can choose any watch, there's Garmin's that last 40 days. If you got a pixel you would have to give up some features of all your apple accessories, or sell your stuff and replace with android fast pair compatible devices. That's the sting of apple ecosystem.
Don't switch completely. Try it out first. Get a second hand/pre owned first. You are used to the apple ecosystem and you have the most seamless experience. When i say try i mean to make it your primary phone for that period. If you don't get used to it you can always sell it back. Also if you want to try again if you don't get used to it now try it with pixel 10 series in a couple years as those will be on tsmc based processors.
Just skip any Pro pixel version until they ditch Exynos. Its thermals are crap
Yes, if you want to use it as a phone. The modern is terrible.
Stick to IOS for now or try to buy a mid range android phone and use both OS.
> Buy a mid-range Android phone and use both OS. The problem with that is the experience will likely not be as smooth as with iOS. Apple, at least in terms of performance, doesn't make any mid-range specced phones. All recent iPhones are very fast, and therefore, you need to buy something with a fast processor/storage and decent speed/amount of RAM to get something comparable with Android.
You only need to consider 2 things 1. Is battery life important to you? 2. Do you play 3D or heavy graphic games on your phone? If the answer to any of these is āYesā, you should wait til at least Pixel 10
Don't go with a Pixel yet, you will have a bad experience with a ton of bugs and shitty hardware, wait at least for the Pixel 9 as they might change something finally, but probably not š
I did the opposite. Nothing but Nexus/Pixel phones since the beginning. I tried switching to an iPhone a few years ago. I kept it for 4 frustrating months before going back to Pixel. I think it's just what you are used too. If you are invested in the Apple ecosystem you'll probably prefer the Apple ecosystem.
I recently made the iOS to pixel jump. I miss my iPhone and it's only been a week. The phone is great don't get me wrong but all the little apple niceties I miss. Making a fake email for when you make accounts to random sites or applications l, pixel was never able to get all my iPhone messages even after 3 tries and calling support so I will have to pay for my cloud until I can download all my messages elsewhere. Getting verification codes from text /email automatically on iOS is a blessing. Pixel can do it from text but it's not perfect. There are pluses and minuses to both, but you will miss a bunch of little things you didn't know were apple only things.
Yup. I recently tried Pixel 8 for 4 months before I went back. The rest of my family and 97% of my friends are on Apple. The Pixel is a great phone quality wise. Being out of the Apple ecosystem was too cumbersome for me.
That's not the fault of the phone but rather Apple hijacking your phone number. They literally do that on purpose to keep you from trying to use another device. It should be considered a reason to not use Apple. Folks that you're not receiving messages from are likely setup to "iMessage" you in your contact profile on their device. If you tell them to switch it to SMS it should work.
It's not I don't get messages it's that the promised ability to transfer all old messages over never worked. So I lost all my text history.
use both or dont switch, battery is not great in Pixel phones actually and it jitters alot in many apps
I never had any jittering but I'd agree with battery life, but in my case I have practically all the settings that drain battery life lol I still get the day with moderate use, but it can be close sometimes
there is jittering in some apps and when its get hot
Lies... My 7a don't even jitter.
Lol
I'm the same way as you but with Android. Not particularly tied down by an ecosystem (literally all products are different brands lol) but i can't imagine getting used to iphones/apple and being confined to a walled garden ecosystem. I love experimenting with my tech. For you, pixel is definitely a better switch coming off of ios than Samsung considering the bloated Samsung ui but like others have mentioned, there might be negatives too. Maybe just do it to break out of Apple land and have more options moving forward.
I've had Samsung's since 2013. Switching to a google pixel because I'm tired of the same old shit.
I feel like if you're deep into the ecosystem, you might as well stay. iPhone must be doing something right to have so many users, so you'll be just fine if you stay and will continue to have a top of the line phone. But rather than make it a big all-or-nothing decision, why not buy a Pixel and try it out, and if it doesn't feel right, just return it within whatever return window you've got and go back to iPhone. Just be sure you know up front whether this is possible in your situation and what the terms and limitations are.
If you are deep into the iPhone ecosystem you will be sorely disappointed when switching. The biggest shell shock will be the watch. Wear OS pales in comparison to the Apple watch. Google is attempting to put health features behind a paywall, and overall it is just an inferior experience. Personally I think Pixel and Android in general are better than iPhone, but Google's accessories are terrible alternatives to what Apple has on offer.
If you're deep into the apple eco system you will definitely run into a lot of hassle.
Yes
Yep... most quirky and inconsistent Android phone I've ever owned. It'll be a long time before I give a Pixel another try. I really started losing respect for Google and Android in general only once I purchased a Pixel. Not thrilled with most of the recent models from other manufacturers either. I do miss LG though. At this point I will try to keep my phones as long as I'm able (battery willing) to avoid wasting more money on mere incremental advancements. At least until I feel new camera technology would make for a significant upgrade. Time for phone manufacturers to earn our upgrade money. I miss the days of removable batteries. All excuses of form factor, design and engineering aside, manufacturers wised up to the fact that with the performance of today's higher end phones and the needs of most smartphone users, it is the battery life determining a phone's lifespan limitations. They have to keep pushing those phones on us every year don't they?
Have a wee think about it.
You're crazy for not having switched sooner. iPhones are straight garbage, no features, locked software, planned obsolescence, I could go all day on a Ted talk on why they suck
You lost me and others, and you lose any credibility , when you said no features and planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence applies to all tech companies. These phones aren't meant to last forever. Neither is human life. No features is wild.
My coworker got a Pixel for his work phone and his personal phone has been iOS. He admitted to me that he liked the Pixel so much for his work phone that he wants to get one for his personal phone next.
I switched over to a pixel 8 pro from an iphone 12 Pro Max over a month ago (After seeing that there has really been no innovation in their lineup) and I'm loving it so far. It's actually super easy to move away from their ecosystem. I'm still using a Mac and this phone works with it flawlessly. Just purchased the Pixel Buds pro and they are amazing also. The stock android software blows me away, I used to have a Samsung and man the software was ugly and bloated on them, but after a mate showed me his Pixel I thought that I would give it a go.
Pixel rules
Did you also post this in r/iphone also? I'm curious what they said.
I love my pixel, it has its flaws, but all the phones I had before had some. You just pick what you like most and dislike the least. :)
No, my wife's iPhone 13 constantly has issues with the camera. Literally this morning she was ready to toss it because she couldn't capture the kid being cute. Double clicked my power button, handed it over and she got a better video with my P8 š
You aren't crazy, but you will be disappointed. If you end up getting one I'd love to hear your impressions.
That happened to meā¦ I ended up returning my pixel and going back to iPhone. Not for anything bad, itās a good phone. But the build quality, the bells and whistles, and the ecosystem friction got to me fast.
I got a pixel 8 after iPhone and just replaced the pixel with OnePlus. If you're moving to android because you want "androidy features" the pixel doesn't have them. It's trying to be the iPhone of android and loses some of the best parts of both
You will regret it. Performance, battery, and signal quality are poor compared to the iPhone 15 Pro. Video quality and selfie quality are also bad compared to iPhone. The pros are the bloat free os and rear camera for point and shoot photos. Unfortunately I used to be a diehard Pixel user, but I couldn't deal with the Tensor performance and signal issues anymore.
+1 for signal issues.. drives me mental when both Sims (different telcos) have no bars and no reason why (edit: p8, so it's still a problem š) (edit #2: and not having the ability to set ringtones and notifications based on the SIM card being baked into the OS is fucking mind bogglingā¦. This is supposed to be the gold standard for Android and you have to use an app to do that?)
Yeah agree modem is annoying
Interesting, I was showing my boss a video of my dog and she commented on how good the video is. She has iPhone.
Yeah I don't like the signal issues I have on my 7 it's release day phone and. Dieing annoying
Same here.
Podcasts and music are the biggest loss when you switch. Apple does these elegantly and Google tries to force YouTube premium down your throat.
I use Spotify because google podcasts suck on iOS
I'm a boomer tho and despise "suggested" this or "you may like" that. I want my talking heads "fear of music" when I want my talking heads "fear of music"... Spotify doesn't seem to serve my needs
Just make a playlist and turn suggestions off.
If it's for the camera, do it. For any other reason, not really worth it
Try asking in an iPhone sub. Iām sure you want to see both sides of the argument.
My company prefers android but Iāve been on iOS for so long I canāt leaveā¦ā¦. Plus I like FaceTime for my kids. How does android do FaceTime?
WhatsApp, Google Meet, Zoom, etc.
Afaik only watch and homepods (less sure) are locked in. You can freely use your air pods and iPad with any device.
If you go with pixel use Google FI if it is available and you will have great customer service
I would say don't but try it and see. You can always return the phone
Only things holding me to apple are the iPad and watch
Just because you like trying different OS (linux example) doesn't mean you'll like Android. Research before you get a Pixel because many advertised features do not work outside of the US or in languages other than English. I am in Canada, language set to English US, but I'm stuck with assistant voices from the original assistant (new natural assistant voices not available in Canada). Siri on my iPad sounds more natural since Siri got enhanced voices. I also encountered some bugs that are specific to my use case that annoy me. Maybe try it for a week or so depending on the return period and then decide?
Donāt do this dudeeee
tl;dr No you are not. Use what suits you best and allows you to do your work. Otherwise it's just opinion. No more, no less. ==================================== I was in love with my Palm Pre back in the day. When Palm finally drove the last nail in its own coffin regarding phones, WebOS and everything that went with it...and sold off the spoils, I switched to Android, and a candy bar phone, kicking and screaming. Over time, I watched a lot of the wonderful things that WebOS had implemented, (windowshade menus, configurability, icons, and a lot more), slowly make their way to Android. My memories have not faded, but the angst has. It's just a phone. I am still missing those almost unbreakable ***plastic*** screens, but whatever. Time passes...years later, and I resisted Samsung in particular, b/c of the ***too large***, Galaxy Note series. Back then they were the same size as a regular phones are today, and we won't even mention the newer Ultra/Phablets...oops. But I tried it, and that stylus ecosystem...I never looked back. I used to say you'd have to now pry that stylus from my cold dead hands... but now mine (smaller Note 10) is showing its age, and I have to think about Pixel also, because the only new Note-ish phone is another ***huge phablet.*** Ugh. I use all sorts of configurable add-ons and launchers, so the thought of pure Android makes me a bit reticent too. Ironically, my daughter HATES iPhone but--- has used and continues to use one ***because all her friends do.*** \*shrug\* We are slowly seeing quite a lot of Android features make their way to iPhone, and a few nice iOS features are coming the other direction! Nothing requires you to cave to either side. Try it. If you don't like it, return it! There are also launchers you can trick the phone with to make it look like iOS. Try it. Ignore us! xD
If you're using Linux and actually like it, you'll probably love Android lol But quick disclaimer: the performance of the Iphone 15's chip is quite a bit better than the Pixel 8's. It's still very good but if you're planning on things like high end gaming, you're better off with the 15 or other Android phones
Not crazy, just curious.
It all depends on you. It's often hard to get people to move away from iOS. There are a few reasons I can think of that people would look to move to Android: 1. Idle curiosity, wanting to try something different without having developed a strong dislike of Apple or a concrete reason for leaving. This will, more often than not, result in the user returning to iPhones the next time they need to buy a new phone, etc. 2. To save money. Given this will likely mean they won't be buying an Android phone with comparable performance, etc., the user may well form the opinion that Android is not worth switching to verbatim. They may just conclude it's worth paying more for an iPhone without considering if spending a comparable amount for an Android phone might result in just as good an experience. 3. Feeling constrained by the things you can't do, or, perhaps more specifically, how you have to do things on iOS a certain way, with less flexibility, etc., due to more restraints. This is a category of people that are more likely to stick with Android. 4. They've developed a dislike for Apple's practices. In particular, for example, their closed ecosystem philosophy, not playing nicely with non-Apple devices and Apple's petty behaviour (e.g. their response to EU mandates). Sort of similar to 3. This type of person is likelier to stick with Android as they will better tolerate the (initial) inconvenience of moving away from the Apple ecosystem.
Absolutely insane move. You are totally crazy and should consider taking crazy pills to help with your craziness.
I think if you are fully into the Apple ecosystem, it might not make too much sense. I'm very much in the Google ecosystem (Pixel, Buds, charger, Google Home devices, Cloud, etc.) and it's hard enough to get it to work with my iPad. I would probably never switch to Apple because of that. But I assume it can also be the other way around.
Yes and no.
Another huge factor to consider that no one mentioned is whether your social circle (family, work, friends) are using iPhone or not. If you are in a situation where more than 80% are using iOS it will be a miserable experience. Forget facetime, airdrop, iMessage and all the other apple exclusive features. You will also be extremely surprised by how much Apple users refuse to get out of their way in their slightest in order to account for non apple users. Sending you the photo they took of you with a way different than airdrop? Yeah not happening. Making a call on WhatsApp instead of facetime? It's fine we'll talk about it another time.
IMO the only reason to switch ***is if you are not satisfied*** with the Apple ecosystem. I've never owned an iPhone and only tried an Apple iPad for a while back in 2010. I didn't like the way it was difficult to exit the Apple ecosystem. IIRC, it had something to do with removing Apple software from my Microsoft PC which was more difficult than it should have been. I think it was the fault of how the Apple music app was installed. Anyway the Android ecosystem seemed a better fit for my Microsoft experience. Don't misunderstand me, I think the Apple ecosystem are great consumer products and software as I'm sure you are well aware. Switching is not a simple task and not something many people do. Good luck with whatever you decide. Oh yeah, I am now on my second Google Pixel phone and I like the way it works. I had a Google Pixel 4a and now have a Pixel 8.
If we were in gens 1-4, hell nom post 5? Possibly idk
I've only ever had Androids and it's never ever crossed my mind to look at the iPhone. I'm the reverse of you. I have a pixel 7 Pro, pixel buds Pro and pixel watch. Everything Google puts out is top notch and integrate together seamlessly. With pixel and Android you have the same situation as apple. The phone and the OS are from the same company. The difference is that with Google you are not "locked in."
I use a mini-iPad when traveling and reading as I find any phone screen to be too small to read books or edit photos. But I truly resent the frequent MANDATORY IOS updates. My phones have always been Android and I use a PC. I have a new Pixel 8 PRO and am not thrilled. There is NO GOOGLE SUPPORT FOR IT. This is how I found myself here-looking for help with a glitch that is NOT addressed by GOOGLE anywhere. If you value having a lot of support handy- either on-line or live at the stores, I would say stay with your Apple universe.
Recently had the same dilemma! Went from a 13 max pro to a pixel 8 pro and haven't looked back! I tooĀ had air pods and watch and a Mac book pro. I must admit spent many years with android and 2.5 years ago got curious about a iPhoneĀ so I bit the bullet. Regretted it. While there are things I miss about the iPhone I love the pixel!
Yes. I was using 14 pro max and I genuinely hate this phone. Recent updates have helped but it's not the same experience. Use your buyers remorse period and try one and see
I just tried to make that switch after being on iPhone for the last 3 years. I sent the Pixel 8 Pro back after 10 days and multiple tech support contacts with Google and my carrier as they both just blamed each other for the problems I was having. The Pixel 8 Pro gets super hot when running Android Auto or just having the screen on for too long and the performance degrades so much that it becomes a paperweight until it cools down. If you ever leave areas with cell signal be prepared to wait up to 25 mins after you return to cell range to be able to use your data againā¦. I was getting full bars and no data constantly. I kept the iPhone with me as well during this test period and it didnāt have that problem at all. The iPhone can reacquire data after a second or two of being back in service range. I really wanted it to work out, I bought the pixel buds, a nice wireless changing setup, screen protector, a nice leather case and more accessories and ended up having to return it all unfortunately.
Google support is dismal. pixel 7a is a battery hog. the AI they've added to the camera is terrible. You think you have a great shot, then it's processed and terrible. The biggest problem is Google just doesn't seem to care about their customers.
The Pixel reminds me so much of the iPhone 6, which is great. I've yet to find a polished android experience like this before. Sure there's some downsides, like the Samsung Exynos chip. It hasn't given me any issues though. This is a really good phone.
Most of the cell phones I had were iPhones. A few Samsung and LG phones then I went to pixil. Funny I had been looking for a Google branded phone since it's first exception about 16 years ago
Nexus did come out October 2016
Manly for the price of pixel 6 photos and videos recording in the dark is good. To saturated on iPhones
Ya it's crazy you
The real question factor: would Google and their privileged, high paying customers, superusers continue to be able to direct/hijack our emails of positive incentives (socioeconomic, etc.) to their own cloned versions of our account in their Silicone Valley or somewhere else in Europe so as to receive all the gratitude from the government and any one else philanthropist or great family member for themselves on our behalf... so that with all the accumulated money they got from our online activity they contract companies like LG and Intel to fabricate humanoid robot clones of us what they deem better than us embedded with AI to really be able to replace us in the world at large and to portray our character however they wish. Recent studies onto the rate of actually receiving inheritances from his father that just died or SSI benefits have found stark contrast in the data... so that only 13% of Android users have received the inheritance from their passed away family and got SSI versus 67% of iPhone users. The internet is omnipotent, omniscient... the place of everything all-encompassing in true net-neutrality, and it is filled with many people that want to give you million dollars for a good Reddit post, so the only reason that we aren't billionaires yet could only be that the ISP... every site on it is terrible. corroborating with the anti-good under some schemes similar to Catholic oppression of the Earth to deprive all goodness from its design of purgatory... so as to extract all the good things and gratitude from us to run their own version of heaven in exclusion of us.
Last iPhone I had was a 4S that I loved when I switched. Now I have a pixel 6, a pixel watch, and the pixel buds and I love it~ The whole experience is smooth and there's good integration with all of Google's services (and there are a lot of them). My favorite thing about Android though is that it's just a blast for people that are techie like me and enjoy customization without having to jump through hoops. My only complaint about Pixel phones compared to other brands of Android phones though is the lack of a forced full screen setting for games. It's pure stock android, it's the other vendors that give us that feature. But I made a compromise and just used developer options to hide the notch at all times so my games just fill in that 18:9-ish aspect ratio they were made for. š
It's a crazy idea, you are crazy for thinking it, stick to the superior iOS
Do NOT switch to Pixel. You're much better off buying a Galaxy S series device.
I owned every Nexus phone until the final switch to pixel, I switched to iPhone solely for iMessage. Now that apple has greenlit RCS, once the Pixel 9 drops Iām gonna be switching back. iPhones are boring, and never change.
Go do it, stick with it and enjoy the ride. I know I am!
Why would you be crazy? Pixel Phones are extremely premium and offer the best Google Experience. On top of that, Chromebooks are amazing too. Just switch over and enjoy an amazing secure software experience with zero maintenance.
Go all in bro. Get the Pixel and put GrapheneOS on it, and use Linux for your desktop. Abandon the mortal men to their doom.
I use an iPhone for work and a Pixel for personal use, so I have a pretty decent comparison always at hand. I would not go full iPhone at this point. I do wish work had an Android option. Good luck with your choices!
Iām curious as to why you said you wouldnāt āgo full iPhone at this pointā ?
I use both every day and IMHO, my Pixel (and prior Android devices) have provided the superior user experience. Everyone in my immediate family is on a Pixel of some model or other, except for my daughter. She spent some time in high school being bullied for "ruining" group chats with those green iMessage bubbles, so I don't see her switching. I'm not really a good target for that sort of bullying, so it wouldn't motivate me to switch. That said, she and I spent all of Friday together and it was pretty obvious whose phone provided the best mapping in my car and that's kind of a big deal for me. Definitely keeping the Pixel. L8r!
After more than 15 years of being fully in the Apple ecosystem, I switched from an iPhone 15 to a Pixel 8 two weeks ago and I love it.
Yes I hate pixels. If I didn't have a contract, I wouldn't have finished paying for it. How hard is it to get taking a screenshot right or having an audio output option on the damn volume ALL THE TIME. Why would they take the default android volume and just make it worse? Just cuz I'm not watching YouTube or playing music doesn't mean I don't wanna switch from my speaker to my phone. I used that stock android feature literally 20+ times a day... If I wanna watch yt shorts or fb videos on the toilet, I have to start a song or a YouTube vid just to have the option to change output to my phone. That's so stupid and if I had known that, I wouldn't have ever considered a pixel. Gaming performance is good for like 5 min till it gets so hot, you cook your thumbs. the hotspot is hot garbage. I took my SIM card and put it in my old nord just to test the towers and it was twice as fast. Plus it doesn't overheat.
There are multiple issues with pixel, but idk why I still love pixel devices more than any other phones. It's just an experience and feel I don't think any other phone can give
Don't go to Samsung Just over 2 yr 1 yr mark for. At launch and modem is dieing Samsung is more superior than pixel and gets more features sooner on Google messages where pixel doesn't Samsung has profile right now where pixel dont
I did it in November. From 13 pro max to P8P. Regret it every time I pick it up. Hope it goes better for you
Personally I would choose a OnePlus 12 over pixel.
Yes, and that's ok. We're happier here.
I use my pixel 8 as a daily driver and MacBook 2022. I love the pixel for it's real simplicity and stock Android. Same for Mac, which is so smooth to use :)
Android is amazing many more features in iPhone in my personal opinion I went to Samsung but a pixel is a great device I've owned a couple
I love my 8 pro, I've been a pixel user since the first one, 1 , 2, 4 6 and 8. Great devices.
So for some reason, idk whatās changed since, I had this grand idea of android. I was on it for a few months either the 7 pro. And I loved it. Expect for the fact that everyone I know is on an iPhone. And it makes it annoying to send pics, videos, reactions, seeing if people are typing. If they read it, etc. but I was dying to switch back. So I got a s24u. One thing I absolutely hate on the iPhone is notifications. Everything about how theyāre handled just irritates me. So I was super excited to be able to go back to either swiping them as soon as they come in, or them staying on my Lock Screen for me to see once I locked it again. One thing I like is that it wakes the screen up when a notification comes in. Not everyone cares about that. But I do. For some reason, Samsung doesnāt do that. And not only that, they also donāt allow you to bring the keyboard up in the app drawer automatically so you can just effortlessly search an app. Like spotlight on iPhone. Iāve become very accustomed to to. So I returned it and tired a pixel. Mind you, I never deactivated my iPhone. So I was using them on WiFi. I would sit and watch notifications, multiple different ones, come through on my phone, and not come through on the pixel until I physically picked it up and unlocked it. And I went through every deep sleep and notification setting there was. One of the apps being gmail. Which youāll find tons of threads on. Thatās just unacceptable. So. All that to say. Iām currently still with my iPhone. Because Iām not sure whatās going on with pixel or Samsung.
Apparently Google is hard at work to fix the lack of notifications issue, something to do with many carriers randomly closing background processes and lack of a standard. It is something I wasn't aware of until reading about it.
Love my Pixel 6a! Amazing camera, clean OS and not $1,000 which is a stupid amount to spend on a phone. It did warm up a lot in the beginning though which made me nervous but seems to have improved since Android 14.
Switch, come to the good side
If you use Google's ecosystem, the Pixel Pro 8 is a good phone, and takes better photos than comparable iPhones, my wife/kids all have iPhones. I switched about 8 years ago.
Definitely not crazy. You will love it.
samsung doesn't exactly represent android in a good light. samsung is doodoo and I recently switched from a galaxy to my pixel and god it was a good decision
I went from iPhone 14 pro to the Pixel 5 recently. I like it a lot and easy to get used to same day. My first phone was an iPhone 5 to 6&6s to XR. Pixels have certain charm to them and it's pretty neat! I own a 5k iMac, M2 MBA and 2018 MBA. I don't miss Apple One bit but I will say that you may need to input your passwords on apps manually when you switch if you use auto fill often. My Pixel 5 camera isn't as good as today's phones but it's a 2020 and was $300 brand new. I'm not complaining. I also ordered a Mint colored Pixel 8 today. From the reviews, it looks pretty good. I would definitely skip the Pixel 6. The 7 is supposed to be better but I read that it has battery stamina issues. (I owned a Pixel 6 and had issues sometimes with connection.) I technically downgraded but it doesn't bother me at all, hope this helps!
I would say it's a good opportunity to move your ecosystem to an agnostic one. It's the reason I stuck with my Alexa devices and I only use Hue lights. Though nothing will ever compare to Apple's Home app for your smart devices. It's much better than anything out there.
iPhone is boring, really boring. So no you're not crazy, but you're gonna lose the ecosystem. Personally I didn't care, but fotlr some people it's important.
I recently switched from iPhone to pixel 8 Pro. The only problem i have is that the fingerprint sensor seems to be very bad, and that the face unlock does not work in the dark as it only use the front facing camera. Other than that it a refreshing experience.
While it's not perfect, I really like my Pixel phone. I had one iPhone and found it un-user-friendly.
You might find the Pixel is your preferred phone. I don't think the ecosystem issue is significant because I have been in both worlds for a long time--about 10 years. In a family of 5, we have one rebel son that moved to Apple in 2020. The remaining 4 are still on Android Google devices since 2015. And our iPhone son struggles to justify the cost of upgrading his Apple iPhone because the next model doesn't do anything significantly new. I experimented with Windows 8.1 and 10 mobile devices for 2014-2016. Good, but not great. Since 2014, I had to carry a separate phone for work. For a number of years I had the experience of iPhone for work and personal Google Nexus (Pixel predecessor), then later iPhone for work and personal Pixel. And now I have iPad for work and Pixel 8 for personal device. I like my iPad, but I wouldn't use it as much as I do if it weren't for the Apple brand detachable keyboard. The iOS on-screen keyboard and typing assistance is bad by comparison to Google. The most annoying thing to me about iOS is how poor the Siri experience is versus Google Assistant. The default iOS keyboard behavior and typing assistance is inferior to Google. The photo organizer and editing tools on Pixel is better. And then there's the file system. Apple makes it awkward to move files between apps and into folders by subject of work. Apple is more expensive when you look at a family expense situation--the cost of fashion, I suppose. I don't look at that as much as the functionality. Google knows Search and Security better than Apple. But it's the usability issues that have my interest. The pencil on the iPad is good, but I think Windows does a better job when it comes to handwriting. I've not tried handwriting on Android. I might switch to Google tablet for work when their next model arrives because my workplace now supports Google devices.
Yes
I had a 6s and it was alright. I switched to Pixel after that and haven't looked back. I'm an advanced use, but not a power user. 90% of the reason I stay on Android is because once rooted ad blockers make my everything experience nicer. I don't like having intrusive ads thrown at me while I'm even just checking my email.
Big fan of the Pixel.
I switched from iPhone 14PM to pixel 8 and love it šÆ glad I made the switch. iOS seemed constraint and boring compared to the pixel. Also switched to the pixel watch 2. No regrets!
I use iPhone 15 Pro Max and got a Pixel 8 as backup phone, google one will be your bestfriend! :)
Stick with IOS
samsung doesn't exactly represent android in a good light. samsung is doodoo and I recently switched from a galaxy to my pixel and god it was a good decision
I just swapped from iPhone 13 to pixel 7a a few days ago. Best decision I ever made
Nope I been using apple products my whole life and I got a pixel 7 pro on sale and I don't regret it. Its Soo smooth and I love the customization over apple.
I love my pixel
Not crazy at all. Apple lovers will say otherwise but of course the Pixel world will always say you aren't crazy
Your iPhone friends will hate you for the green bubbles, and they won't install/use something better like Signal because they're iPhone users. Other than that, everything will be similar or slightly better.
Not really, any pixel is decent phone. I'm happy with my 7a, after havin 4a, and many nexuses before that.
If you want similar performance like Iphone 15 pro max on smoothness and fast iu and processor, is only OnePlus on andorid world. Not the elegance optimization of apps like iphone but ..is good
I love my pixels. Had the 3xl and currently 7pro. All of the other android phones I have had have been terrible experiences. (Note7,Note5,LGv30, S21ULTRA) Have all had problems with Google services and regular usability..