So my android journey started with the moto G4 plus when I decided I was tired of giving my iphones to my mom every time she broke hers.
I loved that device because it was really simple and bear bones. Stock android if you will, with just a few extra features that were really nice Quality of Life features. That’s what set me on the path towards a pixel after a handful of different brands.
Pixel 4 XL was my first pixel. The big draw for me was the face unlock and the stock experience. At the time, the new spam blocking features from Google assistant were important to me as well. I switched to that after the essential phone brand was officially dead.
Absolutely loved it, so much so that I got my dad a 4a when it released. It was dead simple for him to learn at 60 coming from an iPhone 5. So much that when COVID happened and we switched to masks, I was petty enough to pick up the pixel 5 for the fingerprint scanner (which my dad now has).
I strayed for about a year. I picked up the Galaxy Fold 3 at launch and it was mostly nice. I had so many bad experiences with Samsung, but this was pleasant if not a bit bloated. But I missed the simplicity, I missed the themeing, I missed the Google features.
So around the 10 month mark, my fold inner screen popped off and after having it replaced I put it for sale and bought a Pixel 6 pro second hand. I was skeptical at first because of the bad reviews, but it was a fantastic device in the end. I gifted that to my girlfriend and switched her from iPhone and picked up the Pixel 7 pro.
I always come back to the simpler android, but the pixel flavor is just something special. I’ve never witnessed any of the issues that people suggest that they have in their reviews. It just flows so well in my experience. I’ll be looking forward to trying out a pixel fold when they get to a 3rd generation or so.
I love the simplicity, I love the extra features that Google assistant packs in, most of them are now bundled into the apps as opposed to just being locked to a pixel phone. My favorite part is that they’re affordable (Comparatively). I’m glad to see that in Android 14 the best of the Samsung features are being implemented.