For me it’s probably the ability to sideload apps, among other things. Apps like NewPipe which would never make it to the Play Store are apps that I use every day, because they are just good apps. Also, I just like the UX of my Pixel compared to an iPhone - I couldn’t live without things like a back button, and I sort of don’t like the iOS UI.
Pixel 7 Pro w/GrapheneOS. Being able to control what my phone is sending or not sending + the battery life gain from everything not phoning home is amazing.
My friend recently went on a trip into the mountains for some hiking, they took some photos that made me ask if it was from a DSLR camera, but it was just from a Pixel 7 Pro. Amazing how far phone cameras have come.
I can build my own ROM and add any tweaks I want to the source
Full filesystem access, not the circus act iOS is running with their "file management"
I can run any browser I want, download any file I want
I can sideload any app I want, and install open source apps from F-Droid
I can use projects like ReVanced to install modified apps effortlessly, and don’t have to go through the AltStore/Apple Developer BS to install simple things like uYou
I can entirely replace my home screen with a different launcher app if I wanted to
I have a Pixel 4a because I refuse to spend more than $200 on a phone. The battery is starting to not last very long so either I am going to replace the battery or get a Pixel 6a for $200. I’d really prefer to not need a new phone because I like the headphone jack.
Just made the change to a Pixel 6a from my really old Samsung Galaxy.
My only requirement was about size. I wanted something “smaller”, first I thought about going with a newer Samsung from their mid-range ‘A’ category, but after seeing how big those things were, I decided to look outside the Samsung ecosystem.
I discovered GrapheneOS and as an open-source enthusiast, I really liked the idea. The professionalism of the dev team and the bloat free aspect of the OS made me get a Pixel.
The size is not that bad, but I wish it would be a bit smaller. So far I’m really liking it. I love the camera of this thing (even without GCam). The physical button placement was a bit weird for me at first, but I’ve gotten used to it.
I usually abuse my phones till they die, so I was looking for something that would last and I really think that I will be able to go for 5 years with this phone without an issue.
Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?
I love the phone. Its my first non low-end android, and I can’t see myself going back to an iPhone. I love the assortment of emulators available for Android, and the pixel 7 main camera is very good. The selfie camera could use some work, but picture taking is not what I got this phone for anyway.
Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?
My previous phones were an iPhone 11 and an iPhone 5C before that. I have a Moto G pure (low end android) for a little bit, although it was more of a secondary phone instead of something to switch to, as it is very sluggish to use. The iPhone 11 was a good phone, the selfie camera is still better than my current pixel phone. I definitely craved the feeling of freedom I got from my Motorola though, despite its shortcomings. So I went ahead and got my pixel.
How often do you upgrade to a new phone? Very rarely, I might be upgrading more often now though due to pixels having shorter security update Windows than iPhones.
What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.
None at the moment, although I am planning on getting Pixel buds.
Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)
For now I am android all the way. I have a Lenovo Thinkpad with Windows 11 on it, I have tried to switch to Linux but my laptops display needs fractional scaling as the dimensions of the screen are different from the resolution. So until fractional scaling gets better on nvidia cards I’ll have to stay with Windows.
I use a Pixel 5 with MicroG Lineage OS. I like it quite a bit: it’s fast, has good battery life, and thanks to Lineage OS, it doesn’t spy on me (as much). I do miss having an SD card slot and headphone jack, but those are hard to find anywhere these days, unfortunately.
I don’t have a specific upgrade schedule: I upgrade phones when the need arises. My last phone (Nexus 6) was showing its age: it was slow, the battery struggled to hold a charge, and the USB port was worn out. Switching to Lineage OS and a wireless charger helped with these problems somewhat, but it was still time for an upgrade. My phone before that (Droid Razr M) was stuck in a boot loop, so had to upgrade that, as well.
I have an iPad 3 sitting around somewhere, but otherwise, not much of an Apple person. I try to use Linux whenever possible (I know Android isn’t a traditional GNU/Linux system, but with Lineage OS and Termux, it’s close enough for me).
Google Pixel 6. I upgraded from an iPhone 8 a year ago. I love how open the os is, letting me do a bunch more then what’s on the app store.
For headphones I have Soundcore Q30. They’re decent Bluetooth headphones, that were pretty cheap when I bought them.
I use Windows with WSL. I tried switching to Linux for over a month, but I had too many issues with Windows only apps.
I also love usb-c. Almost all my devices can charge using the same cords. The only exceptions are my laptop with a 200W brick, and my diabetes pump. Nothing I can do about those.
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