Should I switch from Samsung to Pixel?

[sulla1965]

Only you can answer this question. I've had a lot of Samsung phones, s and note series. But I've also owned a lot of Nexus (Galaxy nexus, nexus 5, 6, 5X and 6P. As a lot of others, I switch phones quite often. Still I prefer samsung. Plus a shiny new s8 will be out in a few months. IMO, wait till then before you abandon ship for Google.

 

[Rumblee1]

Only you can answer this question. I've had a lot of Samsung phones, s and note series. But I've also owned a lot of Nexus (Galaxy nexus, nexus 5, 6, 5X and 6P. As a lot of others, I switch phones quite often. Still I prefer samsung. Plus a shiny new s8 will be out in a few months. IMO, wait till then before you abandon ship for Google.

CORRECT. GREAT ADVICE. My only gripe with samsung, and most other oem's, is that they totally ignore the fact that media listening is very important to a lot of buyers. That's where the Axon7 comes in.

 

[Rumblee1]

Does the pixel XL have a notification light? haven't seen one on it.

WRONG, Pixel most certainly does have a notification light. Its turned off by default. You've got to go to settings and enable it. This doesnt change my mind on the pixel though. I still think it's a ripoff.

 

[Aquila]

CORRECT. GREAT ADVICE. My only gripe with samsung, and most other oem's, is that they totally ignore the fact that media listening is very important to a lot of buyers. That's where the Axon7 comes in.

I was thinking that Samsung may have started taking audio seriously with the Note 7's DAC, but the rumor about no headphone jack at all in the S8 means it's taking itself out of the HiFi audio game. Yes, I know, Bluetooth, blah blah.

 

[ctk4949]

Ive switched from a S7e to Note7 to S7 to Pixel XL. The Pixel is the best of them. Its just sooo smooth!! The Samsung phones are great, but every once in awhile it would lag. Plus the most important things are updates and nothing will get updates faster than Pixel phones.

I also miss use Samsung Pay, but the Gear S3 smartwatch fixed that.

 

[anon(847090)]

IMO, samsung makes really good hardware but the software are the worst. thats why i like pixel.

nexus/Pixel hardware is getting better. i would give google 2 more year and i am sure they will make hardware much better

 

[fragologist]

I've always been a fan of Samsung. I've gone through two other non-Samsung Androids, and both times I was disappointed. They just don't work as well. Has anyone in here switched from S Series to Pixel? and what do you think about it?

I'm a fan of Samsung as well but I grew tired of waiting for needed updates and the crappy bloatware from Samsung and Verizon. So I ordered a pixel xl QB to see what vanilla Android has to offer. It's been years since I strayed from Samsung but I decided to give it a shot.

 

[maj71303]

you might want to just stick with what you got in my opinion. I got a pixel twice and i'm sending it back and ending my experiment with it. The software is the smoothes out there but the hardware is not there in my opinion. With my lifestyle and working outdoors I need that better water resistance others phones have. I'm now back to my iP7 permanently and will see what google does next year. I don't like the excuse they gave of running out of time for certain features and hardware. Lame excuse to say that they can only do IP53, no stereo speakers, and etc because of a lack of time.

For all the fast updates the hardware is lacking to a degree and the updates are just catching up to features some of the OEM's already had and did.

 

[qbngator]

Does the pixel XL have a notification light? haven't seen one on it.

Not as bright or obvious as the Samsungs, but it does have one.

 

[qbngator]

Always on display but apparently Pixel doesn't have it hence why I might go with the V20.

Actually, Pixel DOES have it, but only while it's charging...Which mine never is because the charge lasts so damned long!

 

[qbngator]

you might want to just stick with what you got in my opinion. I got a pixel twice and i'm sending it back and ending my experiment with it. The software is the smoothes out there but the hardware is not there in my opinion. With my lifestyle and working outdoors I need that better water resistance others phones have. I'm now back to my iP7 permanently and will see what google does next year. I don't like the excuse they gave of running out of time for certain features and hardware. Lame excuse to say that they can only do IP53, no stereo speakers, and etc because of a lack of time.

For all the fast updates the hardware is lacking to a degree and the updates are just catching up to features some of the OEM's already had and did.

Sounds like you need a LifeProof case, not another phone... And the single stereo speaker is better than any Samsung single speaker out there (destroys the one on my S7 Edge). Frankly I find it ridiculous people's expectations of sound from such tiny speakers. Get a BT speaker or ear buds.

 

[mikef91]

Actually, Pixel DOES have it, but only while it's charging...Which mine never is because the charge lasts so damned long!

The tap to wake and raise to wake is better than the always on display in my opinion. If I want to see time and notifications, I either tap or raise and it lights up the ambient display. I'd much rather have that than something that's always on. Plus, unless you have the Nougat beta, AOD only shows stock notifications and it's just the icon.

 

[SteelGator]

After being on Samsung fit several phones, they have likely list me for the foreseeable future with the Note 7 debacle. Not because I'm mad at them, but because after using the Pixel from launch, I prefer this phone.

There are a free things I miss from the Note 7, but I don't miss them enough that I see myself going back when the 8s arrive.

The Pixel XL is smooth, the camera is great, and I feel freedom not managing 2 ecosystems again.

 

[qbngator]

Another BIG difference is not having to take a charger anywhere I go. I have the Pixel XL, and I only need to charge this for about an hour per day.

With ALL of my Samsung devices (although the S7 Edge was better), I had to ensure I always had a charger around.

 

[dsignori]

I've had the S4, S5, Note 4, Note 5 and Note 7. Now I have the Pixel XL. I do like the Pixel a lot I must say. It is a great phone. It is smooth and outside of the occasional frustrating halo issues, the camera is really great. Lowlight photography is spectacular for a smartphone.

That said, I miss lots of things from the Note 7:

• Wireless charging
• Waterproofing
• The screen (the Pixel screen is very nice, but nothing is better than the N7 screen IMO, YMMV)
• AoD (I know I can double-tap or lift the phone to see notifications, but is it not as useful as the AoD)
• Samsung Pay (Works pretty much EVERYWHERE around me)
• Actually having a Sound toggle in the notification bar (imagine that..)
• Physical home button (Yes purists, I love the physical home button)
• Double press Home button to open camera ( I know the power button on the Pixel does it, but not as consistently, not as fast and it's not as easy to hit every time as the Home button on Samsungs)
• Some Touchwiz features (secure folder, the dialer, a few others) . That said, Google has FINALLY caught up to 2010 Samsung phones with notification toggles this year. Also, there are some great PIxel software features on 7.1 though which are super useful (app shortcuts, etc).
• sPen features
• Edge Panels

So far the Pixel XL has good battery life, a great camera (mostly), speedy all around, software updates, and unlimited photo storage on the up side. I am happy with it. I may, however, consider going back to Samsung after the Note 8 has been out for a bit ...

 

[anon(1733)]

I can see how many like AOD but I didn't myself. I just switched to the Pixel from the iPhone 7 plus a d V20 and so far I'm glad. The V20 was a decent device. Camera was good but my device had battery issues and it needed to be connected to the charger constantly. The iPhone is a great device but so far I am sorry impressed with the pixel.