Who came from an iPhone ? Thoughts ?

[jeffchapmanjc]

A smartphone lives and dies by how good its voice recognition and voice controls are. I've seen videos of Gear S3's S-Voice on YouTube, and Samsung has a long way to go to catch up to the likes of Google Assistant and Siri. Sure, you can hope and pray Samsung releases Bixby for the S3, but who knows if that's even in their plans?

 

[Bertolus]

Unfortunately I can't find a good replacement for Newsify RSS reader on Android. It's so beautiful, fast and has perfect support for full article caching. Also the IMDb app on Android sucks.

 

[clerk]

I just picked up a 32 XL last week and am auditioning it. My IP7+ is still at home. So far, things I prefer about Pixel:
1. Amoled Screen. Love this. Makes iphone look dreary in comparison.
2. UI, notifications and overall android experience.
3. Form factor. The IP7+ really is a giant heavy phone from 2013. The pixel looks the same but those couple of mm's make a huge difference in feel.
4. Google Assistant. Blows Siri away.

Things I don't like/miss:
1. Apple Watch. I am not a huge apple watch lover but it is a nice tool to accompany an IP. Android Wear absolutely sucks in comparison. Not even close. I could never wear an AW phone every day. At least I haven't seen one yet.
2. Apple Activity. I miss the ease and simplicity of using my AW for fitness tracking. I would love for someone to give me a comparable solution for Android.
3. Battery. This is a big one. Barely getting a day out of my pixel with moderate usage. Have to flip on saver around 9pm to stretch. IP7+ would be 30-40% after an 18 hour day.

Overall, if I was strictly comparing the phone, I prefer the Pixel. But, losing the AW sucks and the battery thing is annoying. I'm still on the fence about which one to keep.

 

[muzzy996]

I just picked up a 32 XL last week and am auditioning it. My IP7+ is still at home. So far, things I prefer about Pixel:
1. Amoled Screen. Love this. Makes iphone look dreary in comparison.
2. UI, notifications and overall android experience.
3. Form factor. The IP7+ really is a giant heavy phone from 2013. The pixel looks the same but those couple of mm's make a huge difference in feel.
4. Google Assistant. Blows Siri away.

Things I don't like/miss:
1. Apple Watch. I am not a huge apple watch lover but it is a nice tool to accompany an IP. Android Wear absolutely sucks in comparison. Not even close. I could never wear an AW phone every day. At least I haven't seen one yet.
2. Apple Activity. I miss the ease and simplicity of using my AW for fitness tracking. I would love for someone to give me a comparable solution for Android.
3. Battery. This is a big one. Barely getting a day out of my pixel with moderate usage. Have to flip on saver around 9pm to stretch. IP7+ would be 30-40% after an 18 hour day.

Overall, if I was strictly comparing the phone, I prefer the Pixel. But, losing the AW sucks and the battery thing is annoying. I'm still on the fence about which one to keep.

Sounds like you could go either way and because you miss the Apple Watch you're probably better off going back to that combination. We are all different, I like my Android Wear watch and dislike my wife's Apple Watch with a passion but at the end of the day all that matters is we have devices that do what we need, how we want them to do it.

 

[clerk]

Sounds like you could go either way and because you miss the Apple Watch you're probably better off going back to that combination. We are all different, I like my Android Wear watch and dislike my wife's Apple Watch with a passion but at the end of the day all that matters is we have devices that do what we need, how we want them to do it.

The only thing I miss is the activity tracking. Is there a comparable stand alone activity tracker for Android Wear? The NB Run IQ seems to only track running. Perhaps I am just missing something? Thanks.

 

[popkurn611]

The only thing I miss is the activity tracking. Is there a comparable stand alone activity tracker for Android Wear? The NB Run IQ seems to only track running. Perhaps I am just missing something? Thanks.

Have you looked into getting a gear s2 or s3?? I have the gear s2 and you can download S health on the pixel...I am very very happy with the Samsung Galaxy watch and it works flawlessly with my pixel. I track all my workouts on S Health.

 

[clerk]

The S3 is downright huge. I am not sure I can get over the size of that thing. The S2 seems comparable but it's not nearly as nice. Looks like the moto 360 sport.

 

[popkurn611]

The S3 is downright huge. I am not sure I can get over the size of that thing. The S2 seems comparable but it's not nearly as nice. Looks like the moto 360 sport.

Well I have the s2 classic and it's a perfect size!

 

[gone down south]

The only thing I miss is the activity tracking. Is there a comparable stand alone activity tracker for Android Wear? The NB Run IQ seems to only track running. Perhaps I am just missing something? Thanks.

Google Fit?

 

[clerk]

Google Fit?

Doesn't seem to pickup my HR using Jabra elite sports. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

 

[bigsmoke79]

I'm a switcher myself moved from the Nexus 6p to IPhone 7 Plus as the battery on my Nexus was pathetic! however I'm now getting the itch to go back to Android and trying the Pixel XL can anyone with both phones tell me how much difference there is in battery life?

My iPhone has incredible battery and I'd hate for it to take a hit again moving back.

 

[rong21]

I have an iPhone 7 and a Pixel. Love both for different reasons. Biggest difference for me is standby battery. My iPhone standby battery time is light years better than my Pixel.

 

[clerk]

I'm a switcher myself moved from the Nexus 6p to IPhone 7 Plus as the battery on my Nexus was pathetic! however I'm now getting the itch to go back to Android and trying the Pixel XL can anyone with both phones tell me how much difference there is in battery life?

My iPhone has incredible battery and I'd hate for it to take a hit again moving back.

You will take a hit. The IP7+ has epic battery life. I picked up a Pixel XL used on Swappa about a week ago. At first, the battery drain was brutal. Had trouble making it through a day with moderate usage. It seems to have settled down over the past couple of days and now will comfortably last a typical work day for me. But it's no IP7+. I could often go 18 hours of a workday with tons of email, browsing, some music and/or video and end up at 45 to 50%. I personally like to have that all in reserve so I am still struggling with whether to keep the Pixel. I do prefer the Pixel overall to the IP7+ probably just because it's new to me. My rough guess would be your Pixel is going to end up 20 to 20% lower than an IP7+ comparing apples to apples.

 

[bigsmoke79]

You will take a hit. The IP7+ has epic battery life. I picked up a Pixel XL used on Swappa about a week ago. At first, the battery drain was brutal. Had trouble making it through a day with moderate usage. It seems to have settled down over the past couple of days and now will comfortably last a typical work day for me. But it's no IP7+. I could often go 18 hours of a workday with tons of email, browsing, some music and/or video and end up at 45 to 50%. I personally like to have that all in reserve so I am still struggling with whether to keep the Pixel. I do prefer the Pixel overall to the IP7+ probably just because it's new to me. My rough guess would be your Pixel is going to end up 20 to 20% lower than an IP7+ comparing apples to apples.

Cheers for this! that's kinda put me off moving to be honest I know the Pixel XL will have the better amoled screen etc but taking a hit in battery would annoy me! the Nexus 6p experience broke me as a Android user!

I know as Apple make the software/hardware so they can manage battery life better, but surely Google should be able to do the same on hardware they've designed to specifically run their software.

 

[popkurn611]

Cheers for this! that's kinda put me off moving to be honest I know the Pixel XL will have the better amoled screen etc but taking a hit in battery would annoy me! the Nexus 6p experience broke me as a Android user!

I know as Apple make the software/hardware so they can manage battery life better, but surely Google should be able to do the same on hardware they've designed to specifically run their software.

The pixel XL has the best battery life out of any Android device, so if you look at it like that I think that's pretty impressive. I am even getting better battery life on my 5" pixel (not XL) than I did on my galaxy s7 edge

 

[polbit]

My Pixel XL has better battery life than my 6S Plus. I'm actually for the first time impressed with an Android phone and battery.

 

[polbit]

To continue my 6S Plus to Pixel XL exchange:

Pros:
- first Android phone that feels fast and smooth, ALL the time. I've never experienced pure Google phone, but compared to all the Notes I've had before, including Note 7, it's just so consistently smooth. Loving the speed.
- fingerprint sensor is fast and accurate
- Assistant, when it works, is awesome

Cons - it's lots of small things that are starting to drive me a little crazy to be honest. In no particular order:
- Night Shift mode - no adjustability, so during night is really yellow. iPhone has a slider to set the effect. I read a lot of books on my phone in bed, and it's a bit annoying, but switching Kindle to black background works I guess
- Auto Brightness... way too bright when slider set to middle at night, fine during the day. Fine at night when slider to the left, too dim during day. You get the picture. I haven't really thought about auto brightness since Note 4, not sure why this one is so bad.
- voice recognition - for some crazy reason, it does not recognize most of last names in my Contacts. I've never had this problem with iPhone or my cars. Not sure what is up with that.
- the fingerprint scanner on the back. This is total preference, I understand, but for me being trained to use it while phone is laying flat on my desk, it's annoying as heck, can't see myself getting used to it.
- messaging app. I don't care how much you hate Apple, but having one standard app for that is just so convenient. I've spent last few days trying app after app, and nothing really comes close.

Overall, it's a love-hate relationship. Love the speed, enjoy being able to customize so much of it as I'm anal when it comes to set up, but there is so much that could be better. Heck, even the icons - some are round, some are square, some are just whatever. If you can find a set for all the apps you use, great. If you can't, boo...

Anyway, just my .02. Wish there was a clear winner, but in the end, it's a little bit of this, little bit of that...

 

[popkurn611]

To continue my 6S Plus to Pixel XL exchange:

Pros:
- first Android phone that feels fast and smooth, ALL the time. I've never experienced pure Google phone, but compared to all the Notes I've had before, including Note 7, it's just so consistently smooth. Loving the speed.
- fingerprint sensor is fast and accurate
- Assistant, when it works, is awesome

Cons - it's lots of small things that are starting to drive me a little crazy to be honest. In no particular order:
- Night Shift mode - no adjustability, so during night is really yellow. iPhone has a slider to set the effect. I read a lot of books on my phone in bed, and it's a bit annoying, but switching Kindle to black background works I guess
- Auto Brightness... way too bright when slider set to middle at night, fine during the day. Fine at night when slider to the left, too dim during day. You get the picture. I haven't really thought about auto brightness since Note 4, not sure why this one is so bad.
- voice recognition - for some crazy reason, it does not recognize most of last names in my Contacts. I've never had this problem with iPhone or my cars. Not sure what is up with that.
- the fingerprint scanner on the back. This is total preference, I understand, but for me being trained to use it while phone is laying flat on my desk, it's annoying as heck, can't see myself getting used to it.
- messaging app. I don't care how much you hate Apple, but having one standard app for that is just so convenient. I've spent last few days trying app after app, and nothing really comes close.

Overall, it's a love-hate relationship. Love the speed, enjoy being able to customize so much of it as I'm anal when it comes to set up, but there is so much that could be better. Heck, even the icons - some are round, some are square, some are just whatever. If you can find a set for all the apps you use, great. If you can't, boo...

Anyway, just my .02. Wish there was a clear winner, but in the end, it's a little bit of this, little bit of that...

I agree with most of what you say...

I actually HATED the fingerprint sensor on the back, but have gotten so used to it now that it is second nature. I also have set up trusted places and devices so when I'm home and at work or connected to my beats headphones all I have to do is double tap to wake and slide up to unlock. Don't even need to pick up the phone.

The screen itself is so much better than the iPhone that I'd find myself downgrading dramatically in screen quality. I can't seem to give up an AMOLED display. I don't use the night light, but agree that 50% brightness at night is very bright! That should be a good thing though, screen brightness is a plus in my book. I just put it down to 20% at night.

I don't use Google assistant much, but when I do it works very well. I mostly set reminders.

I use Textra for messaging app and like it a lot, it's no iMessage of course but it is super snappy. I use WhatsApp with family members who have iPhones to send videos.

The app icons don't really bother me, majority have changed to round but hey you have the ability to download icon packs, customization with android gives options!

 

[polbit]

I agree with most of what you say...

I actually HATED the fingerprint sensor on the back, but have gotten so used to it now that it is second nature. I also have set up trusted places and devices so when I'm home and at work or connected to my beats headphones all I have to do is double tap to wake and slide up to unlock. Don't even need to pick up the phone.

The screen itself is so much better than the iPhone that I'd find myself downgrading dramatically in screen quality. I can't seem to give up an AMOLED display. I don't use the night light, but agree that 50% brightness at night is very bright! That should be a good thing though, screen brightness is a plus in my book. I just put it down to 20% at night.

I don't use Google assistant much, but when I do it works very well. I mostly set reminders.

I use Textra for messaging app and like it a lot, it's no iMessage of course but it is super snappy. I use WhatsApp with family members who have iPhones to send videos.

The app icons don't really bother me, majority have changed to round but hey you have the ability to download icon packs, customization with android gives options!

I'm really trying to give the sensor on the back a chance. I gave myself a goal of 7 days, and see how it feels after that

 

[Rodzp]

I switched from Android to Apple last year and could not wait to get back to an Android phone.
I just switched to the Pixel XL from a 6s Plus. The two main frustrations with iOS was Siri and notification tones. My alarm system tone, for example, would sound like any other notification on the iPhone with no way to change it. Some apps had the option to change inside of the app settings, most did not. I use different tones to tell me if I need to look at my phone or if it can wait. Siri is equal to the dumb blonde that spent high school on her back only being useful for a couple things.
What I was not expecting is how much faster the pixel is over the iPhone and the camera being substantially better.
I do miss the 3D Touch I thought I would never use it but used it all of the time. Other than that I do not miss anything on the iPhone. The pixel has something similar but it is limited use for all but google apps.
For the last several years I have upgraded every year. This is the first phone I have been this satisfied with ever. I see me keeping it for years and I am truly glad I went with the 128 Gb version.