Move from Windows phone to Pixel 2?

[mtbmike24]

7 year WP user here and a 950xl owner as well. The pixel 2 xl is my first Android device ever. Here are my thoughts after 3 months with the pixel 2 xl

First off like others have mentioned the screen on the 950 is better for sure but as far as Android goes I like it. It was a mixed bag for a while but have gotten used to it. Bluetooth voice does not seem to work great nothing like my 950xl or any wp device for that matter. No reading text out loud over Bluetooth automatically however it does alert me of a new message and I can ask Google to read my last text so I guess that's a small work around.

The battery life is incredible on my 2Xl I'm getting almost 2 days with 4 to 6 hours of screen on time on average best I have gotten is 17 hours and 8 hours screen on time.

Music apps are full of adds to the point that they are almost unusable at times. For me I just use Amazon prime music and it works great and has no adds.

The my 2XL is so fast compared to the 950xl.
Notifications work great OneDrive works awesome. Outlook work awesome though I like outlook a bit better on WP. The Outlook app has the calendar built into to it so its really quick to transition back and forth.
Google assistant works better and faster for most things. Cortana was very inconsistent for me on W10. I have a Microsoft band as well and it works better with Android than it does look it WP although I can't talk to band like I could with wp. The band tells me I need the Cortana app to do this but still have not been able to get it to work. Other than that I can type to respond and it works great. Blue tooth is also better for me.

As for the camera I think the pixel has a slight better camera than the 950 but dam the 950 takes great photos. Keep in mind there is no manual controls in the camera app on the pixel.

As far as the headphone jack and lack of a sd card I thought this would be a problem for me but i have to say it's been fine so far I think the head phone jack is on its way out in most phones and bluetooth headphones sound great.

The smoothness of my 2xl is better or just as good as any wp10 device out and after 3 months with the pixel I have zero lag any were and it's snappy as hell it's a great phone . Everything about the pixel is faster. This goes for the first gen pixel as well. My wife has one and she came from the 950 and has zero regrets she loves her pixel. Her pixel is twice as fast with every task as my 950xl and it is still getting updates until 2019 i believe. I wouldn't steer you away from the old pixel at all. It's great as well and has a headphone jack.

Overall I like w10m OS better on how it flows to a degree than Android but stock Android is not bad at all and I got used to it rather quickly. The apps are way better on Android including some of Microsoft's own apps. I am completely content to stick to the pixel as I get all the latest updates and security patches first and I like that especially with Android.

One more thing the finger print scanner is way better than iris on the 950 and I love being able to use it to log into some apps. Also I love being able to pay with my phone again.

Call quality is fantastic and reception is awesome as well much better reception than my 950xl.

Over all I think you would be very happy with the change I know I have been so far. Good luck with your decision. Just for reference I have the unlocked version using it on at&t.

 

[Dirigent82]

I did this exact move early in 2017. I initially went with a Samsung phone and installed MS services and Nine email. I tried the MS launcher and while good used Nova.
I have since switched to the Pixel 2 with the same setup except use the Pixel launcher.
I found that the Pixel is a much better device for MS users for a few reasons.
1. We get updates from Google just like we did from MS.
2. Samsung has alot of extra apps installed that are unneeded if using MS applications
3. The phone runs like butter which was another benefit I missed from my 950.

I do miss the accessory options that Samsung had and the better Bluetooth device handling but otherwise the Pixel I feel more at home with.

Here's a question: With Windows phone, any WiFi networks you connected to would be remembered across all of your Microsoft devices and you wouldn't have to set up the network as long as you already connected one device to it. Does this work with non-Windows phones? I know you can link your Android to Windows 10, but does that functionality work?

 

[Kayza]

One drive and all Microsoft apps link seamlessly with the Microsoft launcher.

They work well with other launchers as well. In fact, for a long time, MS stuff has worked better with Android than with Windows phone - which is why for a lot of people the demise of Windows phone was no shock.

 

[Kayza]

Music apps are full of adds to the point that they are almost unusable at times. For me I just use Amazon prime music and it works great and has no adds.

There are other options if you decide to look further at some point. Certainly, if you are willing to pay, you can get ad-free music players, but there are also free ones without ads.

One I like is VLC - it's also on Windows (desktop) and it works pretty much the same way, so if you've used it there you'll feel right at home

 

[pseudoware]

On the subject of music, if anyone's interested, Amazon Music Unlimited is 99 cents for the first 3 months if you're a Prime member.

I was a long time Zune/Xbox/Groove Music subscriber, with the 10 downloads/month. Sorry to see that service go. So far, I'm pretty happy w/AMZ as a replacement. Even better w/Alexa.

Edit: OK, this thread has me feeling nostalgic over WP. I remember awesome apps like Cocktail Flow and ImageWind (the Twitter one, not Flickr). For all the shortcomings, the platform did offer some great mobile experiences.

 

[Tsepz_GP]

Hi there, new to the Android forums.

I'm currently using a Lumia 950, looking to move to Android in the somewhat-near future and have been researching/window shopping. I'm starting to lean towards the Pixel 2. I like the idea of a straight Android phone and more frequent updates, though I really abhor the lack of a headphone jack.

I plan on using numerous Microsoft services on the phone, probably using the app Nine to continue using Outlook contacts/email/calendar/etc, and probably installing some sort of launcher (Microsoft, Launcher 10, Squarehome, etc.)

So, like I said, I'm still researching and not in a giant hurry. The Huawei Mate 10 seems interesting and looks like it will be coming to AT&T (and possibly Verizon) which seems to garner very positive reviews internationally, but it is heavily skinned and will have plenty of bloatware. I don't particularly care for the Samsung Galaxy phones.

So, are there other big differences between the Android phones to consider? Are the UI skins a big issue? Is the Pixel 2 a smart move?

Any particular reason you want to use Nine instead of the Official Microsoft apps that are available in Android?

By the way give:
Pixel 2 XL
Huawei Mate10 Pro
LG V30
HTC U11+

A good look.

 

[libra89]

Any particular reason you want to use Nine instead of the Official Microsoft apps that are available in Android?

I'm not the OP but I use Nine because it does a perfect job with syncing contacts and calendar with Outlook hosted email addresses.

The Microsoft Outlook app is only good with contacts, but it doesn't even connect to the phone calendar which is a fail. I'm going to guess that the OP is aware of this.

 

[Dirigent82]

Well, I ended up switching today and getting the Pixel 2. I've been playing with it and setting it up for awhile. So far, I'm liking the phone itself. Certainly buttery smooth and fast. Such a change from my Lumia 950!

I'm not the OP but I use Nine because it does a perfect job with syncing contacts and calendar with Outlook hosted email addresses.

The Microsoft Outlook app is only good with contacts, but it doesn't even connect to the phone calendar which is a fail. I'm going to guess that the OP is aware of this.

Yes, this is why I wanted to go with Nine, which I've set up. Question though: Since I needed to enter my Google account for the Play Store, it initially synced all my contacts from Gmail. When I set up my Outlook contacts in Nine, I now have duplicate contacts everywhere: dialer, SMS, contacts. I turned off syncing for Gmail contacts, but is there an easy way to get rid of the Gmail contacts throughout the phone?

Edit: The fingerprint scanner is pretty slick! Enjoying that very much.

 

[libra89]

Well, I ended up switching today and getting the Pixel 2. I've been playing with it and setting it up for awhile. So far, I'm liking the phone itself. Certainly buttery smooth and fast. Such a change from my Lumia 950!



Yes, this is why I wanted to go with Nine, which I've set up. Question though: Since I needed to enter my Google account for the Play Store, it initially synced all my contacts from Gmail. When I set up my Outlook contacts in Nine, I now have duplicate contacts everywhere: dialer, SMS, contacts. I turned off syncing for Gmail contacts, but is there an easy way to get rid of the Gmail contacts throughout the phone?

Edit: The fingerprint scanner is pretty slick! Enjoying that very much.

Congrats on the Pixel 2!

Yeah, just go to accounts, tap the Google account logo and turn off sync for contacts there. After doing that, don't forget to set your default contacts account to be saved to Nine. (I think you have this option in the contacts app)