(Sorry this got so long. Somehow I got out of hand writing it.)
I'm a regular switcher. I've had everything you can think of switching back and forth between ecosystems at will. I had an OG Droid, iPhone 4, 5, Bionic, Razrs, iPhone 6, 6s Plus, 7 Plus, Sammy Galaxies, you name it, I've had it. Even a Droid Charge that was the worse phone I've ever owned. However, I got tired of the Android lag and I got tried of having to figure out a way to my Android phone work. Every time I turned around there was something else that wouldn't work and I'd have to find a work around. And the Android lag. My goodness. How can anyone stand the lag? I've never had lag on any iPhone I've ever owned. Never. In fact, no Apple device I've ever owned has lagged. Even after several updates, no lag. iPads, Macs, iPods, you name. No lag. And as for figuring out a work around, with Apple, it just works. Simple easy, no problems and no work arounds.
So, I decided last year not to switch back to Android. In fact, it was after receiving my 6s Plus, I decided I was sticking with Apple. And I have until now. For some reason I got caught up in the iPhone 7 hype and ordered 1. Why? Good question. I had every intension of skipping the 7. The only real reason that pushed me to it was the LTE Advanced. I'm still on unlimited data and I'm afraid that Verizon will one day say that's it. You can no longer switch your SIM card to another phone, which will stick me with that tech forever. So, any time they upgrade the network to a faster speed, I jump on it. And yes, LTE Advanced is faster. My downloads averaged 35Mbps on LTE and now on LTE Advanced, they're over 60 Mbps, so it's faster. However, my iPhone 7 cannot keep an LTE signal. Now, maybe I got a bad device. Maybe the new radios on the towers are having issues. Maybe the 7 just isn't a good device. Maybe maybe maybe. All of these maybes forced me to try out a Google Pixel XL.
Since Google is in charge of the hardware, I had hoped it wouldn't lag, and I hoped that there wouldn't be work around to make things work. So far, it's only been a week, but I haven't seen any lag, thankfully. But of course, I've still had to remember work arounds for certain things. For example, Bluetooth constantly loses Media ability. I have to turn it off and back on to resync that ability. It won't automatically connect to my truck and start playing Sirius like my iPhone did. So I have to actually open the Sirius app and start it. These are nice things that you take for granted with a device that "just works." However, how important is your cellphone signal to you? I can say without a doubt, that is the overall reason I'm switching to the Pixel XL. The radios are unbelievable!
Say what you want about Apple vs Android, but Apple's always had the better radios, in my opinion. I've always had better luck with signals with my iPhones until the 7. However, the Pixel blows any smartphone I've ever had out of the water. And I mean ANY smartphone I've ever had! I've never been able to maintain a phone call at my desk with any smartphone. So far this week, I've talked exclusively at my desk with no loss and no person saying that they couldn't hear me or understand me. You see, I work in an area devoid of cell towers. There's not much around here, so 2 bars is a good day. Then you factor in my old building with all the concrete and metal, it's tough for a signal to get through. The Pixel makes it. No phone has ever kept a LTE signal in this building. No phone, until now. I have yet to see a 1X or 3G symbol here. My 7 would bounced constantly all day long, but the pixel is rock solid. It's dropped to 1 bar, but still kept it's LTE and still kept on surfing. The 7 couldn't get out of 3G once it was in 3G. I had to switch it to airplane mode when I left work, and then back to get my LTE back. Simply driving 51.5 miles back to my house wouldn't do it. It'd be stuck in 3G until I rebooted or went to airplane mode. Now, I don't think this is the fault of the phone, but rather the last iOS update. I got that update on the 6s Plus 1 day before getting my iPhone 7 and the 6s got stuck in 3G mode on the way home. Airplane mode wouldn't bring it back though. I had to call Verizon and get them to resend the setup to the phone to make it come back to LTE.
I'm getting off topic here and really starting to drone on. I guess my point is, I'm switching from the iPhone 7 Plus to the Google Pixel XL permanently. I'll be selling my iPhone 7 Plus on Swappa this weekend and sticking with the Pixel XL, well... until the lag returns, or maybe the iPhone 8 comes out.
I'm a regular switcher. I've had everything you can think of switching back and forth between ecosystems at will. I had an OG Droid, iPhone 4, 5, Bionic, Razrs, iPhone 6, 6s Plus, 7 Plus, Sammy Galaxies, you name it, I've had it. Even a Droid Charge that was the worse phone I've ever owned. However, I got tired of the Android lag and I got tried of having to figure out a way to my Android phone work. Every time I turned around there was something else that wouldn't work and I'd have to find a work around. And the Android lag. My goodness. How can anyone stand the lag? I've never had lag on any iPhone I've ever owned. Never. In fact, no Apple device I've ever owned has lagged. Even after several updates, no lag. iPads, Macs, iPods, you name. No lag. And as for figuring out a work around, with Apple, it just works. Simple easy, no problems and no work arounds.
So, I decided last year not to switch back to Android. In fact, it was after receiving my 6s Plus, I decided I was sticking with Apple. And I have until now. For some reason I got caught up in the iPhone 7 hype and ordered 1. Why? Good question. I had every intension of skipping the 7. The only real reason that pushed me to it was the LTE Advanced. I'm still on unlimited data and I'm afraid that Verizon will one day say that's it. You can no longer switch your SIM card to another phone, which will stick me with that tech forever. So, any time they upgrade the network to a faster speed, I jump on it. And yes, LTE Advanced is faster. My downloads averaged 35Mbps on LTE and now on LTE Advanced, they're over 60 Mbps, so it's faster. However, my iPhone 7 cannot keep an LTE signal. Now, maybe I got a bad device. Maybe the new radios on the towers are having issues. Maybe the 7 just isn't a good device. Maybe maybe maybe. All of these maybes forced me to try out a Google Pixel XL.
Since Google is in charge of the hardware, I had hoped it wouldn't lag, and I hoped that there wouldn't be work around to make things work. So far, it's only been a week, but I haven't seen any lag, thankfully. But of course, I've still had to remember work arounds for certain things. For example, Bluetooth constantly loses Media ability. I have to turn it off and back on to resync that ability. It won't automatically connect to my truck and start playing Sirius like my iPhone did. So I have to actually open the Sirius app and start it. These are nice things that you take for granted with a device that "just works." However, how important is your cellphone signal to you? I can say without a doubt, that is the overall reason I'm switching to the Pixel XL. The radios are unbelievable!
Say what you want about Apple vs Android, but Apple's always had the better radios, in my opinion. I've always had better luck with signals with my iPhones until the 7. However, the Pixel blows any smartphone I've ever had out of the water. And I mean ANY smartphone I've ever had! I've never been able to maintain a phone call at my desk with any smartphone. So far this week, I've talked exclusively at my desk with no loss and no person saying that they couldn't hear me or understand me. You see, I work in an area devoid of cell towers. There's not much around here, so 2 bars is a good day. Then you factor in my old building with all the concrete and metal, it's tough for a signal to get through. The Pixel makes it. No phone has ever kept a LTE signal in this building. No phone, until now. I have yet to see a 1X or 3G symbol here. My 7 would bounced constantly all day long, but the pixel is rock solid. It's dropped to 1 bar, but still kept it's LTE and still kept on surfing. The 7 couldn't get out of 3G once it was in 3G. I had to switch it to airplane mode when I left work, and then back to get my LTE back. Simply driving 51.5 miles back to my house wouldn't do it. It'd be stuck in 3G until I rebooted or went to airplane mode. Now, I don't think this is the fault of the phone, but rather the last iOS update. I got that update on the 6s Plus 1 day before getting my iPhone 7 and the 6s got stuck in 3G mode on the way home. Airplane mode wouldn't bring it back though. I had to call Verizon and get them to resend the setup to the phone to make it come back to LTE.
I'm getting off topic here and really starting to drone on. I guess my point is, I'm switching from the iPhone 7 Plus to the Google Pixel XL permanently. I'll be selling my iPhone 7 Plus on Swappa this weekend and sticking with the Pixel XL, well... until the lag returns, or maybe the iPhone 8 comes out.