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I went from a Pixel 2 to an iPhone 12 Pro. That was because when I did that the new Pixels were not out yet and I didn’t like the 3s and 4s much. I like the iPhone for its blocky shape, and it is very good at pretty much everything. Mostly though I got it because I have an iPad Pro I use a lot, and the integration was solid. But I do like the new Pixels quite a bit. If I wasn’t so dependent on the iPad I’d be less likely to keep an iPhone. Oh, and Apple TV too; when you have to buy something it’s that much easier when the confirmations come on the phone.

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In the US, the Pixel 7 is $500 and Pixel 7 Pro is $750 until Monday. Cheaper if you have a trade-in.

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Question for someone who can sign in and check their trade-in offers. What are they offering for the Pixel 6 Pro 128GB?

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$550.

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Even cheaper, I pay $9 per month for 2 years, so it’s $216 - but I had to commit to 2 years of Fi to get the deal. I have 10 months left, but can eat the remaining cost if I switched.

I’m not sure that I want to switch. The main reasons are:

  1. It seems like there are do many more options for accessories for iPhones - like bike phone mounts.
  2. I think I’d really like an apple watch 8 series. I like looking at health / sleep data. Right now I have a Garmin Forerunner 245, but it doesn’t do a great job with the health / sleep data. When I bought it I was running more so I liked the extra activity data, but these days I mostly just care about how many minutes I’m active, my heart rate and zones I’m in, average pace.
  3. Communication would be a bit smoother if we were all on iMessage.

I’d still use Google maps, my gmail account.

Maybe switching is unnecessary, I don’t know. I think I’ll also switch from Google Fi to Mint Mobile. I don’t use a ton of data and I’d probably save at least $10 per month.

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Google Store is running a promo where if you apply my referral code below when buying a Pixel 6a, Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro, then we both get $100 in credit at the Google Store.

RKRZLRINKUY5LDZ7G1UBQTH

If you’re getting a phone anyhow, then you and I would get a bit of extra credit; I’d probably use mine on a new Pixel charging stand or something.

  1. In the US, there will always be way more accessories for either iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy than for a Pixel.
  2. If you’re going to get an Apple Watch, then yea, go all-in with the ecosystem. I like my Pixel Watch but I got it for half-off from a different Google Store promo, and it feels very much like a First Product.
  3. When it comes to sending texts and stuff, it’s just being the lone green bubble in your group chat. But if you’re doing stuff like sending pictures and locations too, then you’ll actually be sending good quality images and more seamless “here’s a map showing where I am” type stuff rather than janky compressed images or quirky links.

Based on the above, sounds like switching makes sense. I have other reasons for staying on Pixel (other Google devices/ecosystem, some specific quirks), but accessories, Apple Watch integration and general iMessage usage aren’t high on my list so I wouldn’t change myself.

3902

Yes, the Apple watch is still generations ahead of the competition - legit reason to switch. I too am on a Garmin and while I like it, the Apple watch does look more all-purpose rather than sports-focused.

iMessage, I just got the family on Messenger. Friends are on whatsapp. Wasn’t even me that organized it, just sort of turned out that way. Still get messages for authentication and other purposes of course.

3903

Prior to the M1 series CPUs, I was always trying to switch away from iPhone to Android. Here’s why it didn’t take (USA perspective):

(1) My entire extended family except for one holdout uses an iPhone. This makes a number of things (air drop, Apple Pay, etc.) very convenient and switching to Android and Cash App or Google Pay, etc. not so much.

(2) If you have a family that likes taking videos of life events, getting an iMessage with good resolution video is almost worth the price of an iPhone. Yeah, you can fight the battle to get folks on other messaging apps that do a good job with videos, but the war is lost when one person sends you a low compression video through SMS by mistake to the group chat and the howling that occurs after that.

(3) I don’t care about cameras on my phones, so as long as the picture looks OK, I’m fine with it.

(4) Prior to the M1 chip, I wasn’t so far into the Apple ecosystem (which is why I still use an iPhone). I dreamed that the Windows Phone app and other attempts to merge Android with Windows would work as great as Apple’s does with its phone, but there really isn’t much comparison here. Yes, Windows and Android do stuff together, but not nearly as seamlessly as Apple. For example, I don’t have to set up an app for an iPhone to work with my computers, all I have to do is give permission for it to connect to it.

(5) Apple Watch Ultra finally fixes my major battery complaints, but there is still work to be done.

(6) Across the board, Apple resale value is higher and the phones last a long time with multiple years of fast, over the air updates.

(7) I live in a town with an Apple Store and have used it for my immediate family tech problems multiple times.

Why do I currently still own a ZFold 4 and a Galaxy Watch pro? Here’s why:

(1) Fold form factor is great. It is a tablet that works like a phone and vice versa. My daughter calls it my iPad phone. It is so good that I want to reward Samsung with a purchase.

(2) Android does an excellent job with notifications. Much, much better than Apple’s version. If Apple is going to steal something else from Android, please steal this.

(3) Google Assistant actually works compared to Siri. I know, I know, Siri doesn’t steal data, etc. but Google Assistant works for me while stealing, so is there a loser here, hehe?

(4) Galaxy Watches with Tizen were OK. Galaxy Watches with Android work better and have better battery life than Apple Watches on the whole. My Watch 5 Pro can last for multiple days on a charge with everything turned on. But the fit is off compared to the Apple Watch Ultra (Pro is circular, but a small circle, and very high on the wrist).

(5) Having owned multiple Pixel phones, I’d never go back. Always had a problem (I think the last I owned was the 5). Not trivial problems, problems like the screen doesn’t work, or people can’t hear me on calls, etc. I have had zero issues with any Samsung phone I’ve owned (back to the OG Note). So Samsung gets my Android money now.

(6) The customization is quite remarkable on my ZFold 4 (as it was on the S22 U and Note 10 before that). It generally takes me multiple hours to get the phone where I like it to be. There is almost no customization in comparison on an iPhone. Their weak attempt at an always on screen (for example) is better than nothing, but it simply doesn’t compare to all of the ways you can fiddle with an Android phone’s multiple screens. So if you like doing the same sorta thing with your Windows PC, you’ll feel right at home with an Android phone. There will be YouTubes to watch and google searches required, but at the end of the day it is a much more satisfying phone experience.

In closing, I remain an iPhone user because (1) family and their videos; (2) iPad, M1 MacBookPro, Apple Watch, iPhone all work great together; (3) I can sell used Apple gear at a higher premium; (4) there’s an Apple Store where I live, so no tech issues that can’t be resolved in some way.

However my favorite phone is the ZFold 4.

Edit: Forgot to mention that in the new esim world of 2022, switching back and forth has been a pain on AT&T. Before I could do a physical sim card switch, go to the AT&T site to reset voicemail, and visual mail worked perfectly on my Android phone. This is not the case anymore. Switching the esim isn’t the problem, it is voicemail that gets screwed up. And if you want to use a different phone for a couple of days and switch back, AT&T’s system is too slow to update changes and it requires a phone call to tech support. So I may be a one phone person shortly.

Obviously, all part of Apple’s evil plan to keep me on an iPhone…

Edit 2: If based solely on what is more affordable in the short-term, Samsung has much better deals on release day and throughout the year than Apple does. After my initial Samsung investment many years ago, I don’t think I’ve paid more than $500 or $600 for a new Samsung phone.

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Thanks for all the info! I think I will take a little time to think about it, and possibly ride out the rest of my Pixel subscription. I was really tempted by XFinity’s deal for $500 off an iPhone, but I’d have to stay for 2 years to see that and while the plan price is better than Fi, it isn’t as good a deal as Mint. Plus, we’ve had too many expenses over the past year and I don’t know if I could justify the new phone and an Apple watch. Maybe there will be a really good Android watch in the next 9 months to make me want to stick with Android.

3905

Good post but this is the most important part for me, and possibly for most people. Cameras are arguably the only reason to spend more than $200 on a phone. And the Pixel camera is so, so good. I have a DSLR and the Pixel pictures are simply much better, even after taking a photo in raw and editing it for an hour (this may speak to my skill as an editor!).

I print an annual photo book and 100% were from my Pixel in 2021. Every picture is slightly better than real life. Here are two snaps I took two days ago, with no intent to ever share them.

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Yeah, I know a lot of people do care about phone cameras, but if I am taking serious pictures, I use my camera because that is how I was raised, hehe. So if picture quality is what drives someone’s phone purchases, then that is something I don’t care about. Or I should say that picture quality is so low on my list of phone priorities that it has no impact for me, but as is evident, others may disagree…

3907

Apparently the Pixel takes something like 60 photos now when you click the shutter, uses AI to match up the scene with a database of high quality photos, and renders it as best as possible drawing the best elements from each frame, inserting artificial portrait lighting (for example) and reducing blur. It actually tests the definition of a ‘photo’ vs a ‘picture’ since there was no particular instant that looked the way the picture does. These tools are not available on a $5,000 camera, or even $500,000 Hasselblad studio lighting plus an editing team, setup. (edit - I know that photographers and Hasselblad are still worthwhile hobbies and professions - we hired one on vacation for example and are pleased with the output, as good pictures still take effort and skill).

Anyway it’s amazing to me.

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I might put up with the Pixel Phone if I explicitly cared about picture quality above all else, no doubt. Their AI is very impressive in this area.

3909

Another post - just for fun I just tried Google’s magic eraser tool. See if you can see the difference. This one is starting to look like a keeper!

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I had no idea about any of that stuff. Sounds like AI art. Trundling along on a Pixel 3 here.

3911

Pretty cool! Got rid of some folks in the background.

3912

Forward all voicemail on your normal number to a free Google Voice number. Then you won’t care what platform you’re using. Voicemail goes there, is transcribed and available no matter what platform or carrier you use.

3913

The unblur tool on the Pixel 7 is pretty cool as well. Can take any photo in your Google Photos library and unblur the face. It can’t work miracles, but has rescued a few older photos I’ve tried it on.

3914

Thanks for this reminder! I used this method with my Note 10, but completely forgot about it because AT&T made it easy to switch.

3915

Ok, I transferred my data from the pixel 3a to the 6a and it all very smoothly!

I’ve encountered something though, that I’m curious about and perhaps someone else here with a 6a (or other newish pixels), can help me out.

With the removal of the pretty much instanteous & great fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone, I’m struggling to get used to the onscreen one, but I guess I’ll just have to live with that now.

Whats bugging me though, is that 2/3 or the time I want to quickly unlock my phone, it asks for the pattern / pin AFTER I’ve already unlocked it via my finger? I’m used to it only requiring that once a week or after a reboot, but not this frequently. Have they changed that somewhere?