this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2023
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I've been an Android user all my life. Nexus, 2 one pluses, Samsung flip, and now on Pixel. I've also been pretty anti apple. I feel Android isn't being able to hold it's weight very well anymore. I find the experience a little meh and the below average battery doesn't help. I'm not happy with the Pixel at all. Back in the day, I felt Apple was just overpriced and didn't bring anything to the table and was almost exclusively garbage. Over the last one year I've been thinking more and more about giving it a try. I might switch into an iPhone 15 this year to see how it is. What doesn't help is trying to pick TWS earbuds. All of them have some issue or the other. The new XM5s rely too heavily on foam tips (and Sony made a design where finding third party replacement is a pain), Beoplay Ex has average ANC which is important to me. From all my research, it's looking like the Airpods might be the most well rounded in what I'm looking for, I just need to compromise on the sound quality. I might get the airpods even if I decide to stick to Android. I don't know, man. I feel like there's nothing I'm truly happy with in the market anymore (and I'm willing to spend, just give me something good) and I'm hoping Apple is the least worst of the lot so I might give it a try this year. Windows is the only thing I can never switch away from. Sorry for the rant, I've been struggling a bit to find good products but it's like all these companies just hate us.
I am unfortunate in that I am the owner of a pixel by choice, and given an iPhone by my employer. I hate Apple's "exceptionalism" and inconsistencies, that they kept the lighting connector alive for so long, that they removed the audio jack even though I have good BY headphones, their constant bait for their ecosystem/cloud storage and whatnot, now this arbitrary cap on USB capabilities (the list is seemingly endless). iOS is also such a frustrating user experience. The perspective of typing long form on an iPhone is off-putting enough to often compel me to pick up the laptop or the pixel given how stupid the keyboard completion and text entry UX are. Don't get me wrong, I also think Android is a terrible OS, but at least it's not forcing its shortcomings down our throats. For instance, I use nova launcher and sesame shortcuts, so that I just type what I want (contacts, common actions, app-specific shortcuts, settings, directions, ...) and barely do any menu/app navigation at all. And that's what I want: to order my phone about my immediate needs and get immediate feedback/answers. Apple UX is about prettifying a workflow which I don't want in the first place, stripping out elements of UX which I might need, and leveraging a hard to reach zoo of applications which never interact/complement each other. They really managed to turn an incredibly powerful device into a dumb phone. Did I mention already how frustrating the user experience is?
Man, this sounds awful. I don't even know what to do anymore. I think the most infuriating thing in the pixel for me is audio output. I'm always connected to some Bluetooth audio device. Switching between them(or deciding I want my output to be from the phone's speakers) is insane. Only if some media is playing, can I switch otherwise I have to either go start playing something on Spotify or disconnect devices to be able to see the option of picking my output. The functionality is there but they've locked it behind some arbitrary logic. And coming from OnePlus I was blown away that suddenly I need 2 hours to completely charge my phone?! Wtf! 2 hours? For a phone that barely lasts the day on regular use!