I just went from an S10+ to a Pixel 7 Pro! I feel like we may have passed the point of huge advances in phones each year, though I do think the top end Samsungs are considered a higher level (and more expensive) than the top end Pixels, which are more a mid-range phone.

One thing I like about the Google phones is the lack of bloatware. The Samsung had all these apps you couldn't uninstall, it has Samsung accounts as well as google accounts, and so on. I had some of the earlier range of Google phones, having a Nexus 3 and a Nexus 5X, and they were great.

This time I installed GrapheneOS straight away so didn't really get the proper experience of the Google version.

[–] idanoo 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Last year I swapped to a iPhone 14 Pro purely because I have a work MBP + an iPad for a few other apps I needed to use. The ecosystem is pretty good but still love the Pixel range. Also went through the whole range - Nexus 5 (I loved the small form factor!) > Nexus 5X > Pixel 3 > Pixel 4a > Pixel 6. Loved them and no doubt I'll be back eventually 😂

[–] Dave 1 points 10 months ago

I went to OnePlus for a while, then the one Samsung, then to the Pixel. The Samsung was a fantastic specced phone but man was the samsung stuff annoying. A "Bixby" voice assistant button that you can't disable or assign to another function (luckily you could change bixby to a double tap and use single tap for something else). All these AR apps you can't uninstall, a Samsung Store, a required samsung account as well as google account. Regular notifications saying you need to accept the new Samsung terms and conditions.

Having the Pixel with GrapheneOS has it's quirks and definitely isn't for everyone, but it's been refreshing having a phone that needs zero accounts to work.