I work as a dev, and as a result am able to get new devices and daily drive them for extended periods. I figured I'd give you guys my honest take on what I learned, maybe someone finds it useful.
Over the last 12 months I've used the S25U for 7 months, the Pixel 10 Pro XL for 4 months, and the S26U now for a week.
My past phones:
Ericsson W810i -> HTC Wing -> G1 -> Galaxy S -> LG G2 -> Galaxy S3 -> LG G4 -> Nexus 6p -> Pixel 2 XL -> Note 10 -> S22U -> S23U -> S24U -> S25U -> Pixel 10 Pro XL -> S26U
Why change?
I was with Samsung for a long stretch and just got bored. I wanted to go back and try the Pixel, it seemed like Google had fixed the modem and battery issues.
What did I learn? - The Good
- The Pixel camera still produces some of the most consistent photos, and I loved not having to deal with the Samsung shutter lag. No blurry shots. I was almost never disappointed in the photo I got.
- The GBoard on Pixel is on a whole another level, this needs to be on a Samsung asap!
- The face unlock has a more secure implementation than the one on samsung knox, this doesn't seem like a big deal and the finger print in more secure. I get the technical argument, but it was a major "annoyance" that I noticed once I switched away from the Pixel that I wish my Samsung had a solution for.
- Being able to select text from the app switcher was just *chefs kiss*
- Now Playing, I loved being able to go back and look at what was playing or even whats playing now
- Fluidity on Pixel is amazing, despite being under powered. It makes me think that if Google managed to get their shit together (fix price or offer a better processor) this could actually be a very good phone.
What did I learn? - The Bad
- The Pixel is easily one of the WORST values on the market right now, there is just no way to justify the price for what you get. The device feels premium, but it almost feels like premium phone that someone shoved a shit tier processor in.
- "Vanila Android" is a load of horse shit they shovel and Pixel users don't want to admit it. They claim Samsung is bloat, it's the bare minimum in customization. Pixel is less customizable than a iPhone, and that alone should be a red flag.
- UI Polish, it's a myth. I felt like I lived with 4 different phones over the 4 months I had the phone, each month brings a massive update.. Sometimes it breaks shit, sometimes it gets better, but ultimately there is ZERO consistency. It feels like Google has engineers vibe coding and pushing broken things all the time. Here are some bugs I've encountered that others have also posted about (not the full list)
- Critical bug that deletes photos: https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1qwy9ha/critical_bug_i_lost_all_my_trip_photos_due_to/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1sb28ax/weird_screen_freezing_issue_on_pixel_10_pro_xl/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1suta9w/anybody_else_deal_with_this_audio_bug/
All in all... by month 4 of the Pixel I was beyond annoyed, done with, and wanted to switch. The s26 feels familiar but also lacking, somehow it feels like a side step form the s24u/s25u.
Heres to hoping we see a full refresh with the s27u because the current US market is garbage for phone options and Samsung is clearly doing the bare minimum.