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Switching From iPhone to Google Pixel | A Year with Android

Last year, I chose to switch to a Google Pixel Pro for a full-year after almost ten years of using an iPhone. Let’s start with what motivated me to change phones in the first place.


My Motivations for Switching

Going Through the Motions

During Steve Job’s era at Apple, the company became known for creating groundbreaking products. The iPod revolutionised the music player, and the iPhone transformed the smartphone market. These innovations were necessary because when Jobs came back in 1997, Apple was close to going bankrupt and needed to come up with new ideas to survive.

Today, it feels like Apple's focus has changed now that it's one of the most valuable companies in the world. Innovation poses risk to shareholder value, so they have trended towards making small, predictable iterations to each product line rather than big changes. That's why, when it came time to upgrade my iPhone 13, the newer models didn't seem much different from the one I already had.

This made the idea of buying an Android phone appealing: I could get a Google Pixel Pro with similar or even better features—like a triple 48-megapixel rear camera, a 120 Hz refresh rate, and an always-on display—for a lower price than a regular iPhone 15, never mind the Pro version. This initial good value proposition was a big reason why I decided to switch.

From Rebel to Empire

Beyond the hardware, another reason I switched from an iPhone to a Google Pixel was because I began to see beyond Apple's carefully crafted image. For decades, Apple has marketed itself as a promoter of individuality and creativity. However, events in the last couple of years have painted a different narrative.

For instance, during the legal battle between Epic Games and Apple, emails came to light that revealed a company more focused on keeping users locked into their system and holding back rivals. Specifically, notes for a strategy presentation in 2011, sent by Steve Jobs, emphasised that a main goal for Apple going forward would be to "tie all of our products together, so we further lock customers into our ecosystem." Another email conversation in May 2016 discussed whether Google should be included in Apple’s Voice Over collection for their high level of effort. The response was that Google should be left out to avoid "featuring our competitors on the App Store."

This control isn’t limited to customers and competitors; it extends to the developers who create for the App Store. Apple takes a 30% cut from every sale on the App Store. In 2020, Apple CEO Tim Cook testified beyond Congress, stating, “We treat every developer the same.” However, there is evidence that Apple hasn't always followed its own rules fairly. For example, Apple is said to have given special deals to Amazon and Netflix, allowing them to keep more of their subscription revenue by lowering the fee to 15% for subscriptions made through the App Store.

I recognise that Google has its own problems with unfair practices and how it treats developers, but these stories made me want to rely less on Apple's tightly controlled system. Moving to Android, which promised to be more open and flexible, felt like the logical next step.

Challenging My Assumptions

The final reason I made the switch to the Google Pixel Pro was a desire to challenge my own assumptions. For almost ten years, I had been deeply entrenched with Apple products, mostly accepting the idea that they were the best. Switching to a Google Pixel was a chance for me to examine those beliefs.

However, I realised that trying a new operating system for only two weeks wouldn't be enough. Short trials usually let us enjoy only the best parts while ignoring the challenges. To really understand the differences between iPhone and the Google Pixel, I chose to use Android for a whole year.

I want to note that my MacBook and iPad are essential for my career and creative projects. Because of this, I thought it would be too risky to change my whole tech setup. Hence, this experiment only pertained to the smartphone I was using. Nevertheless, to make this a fair experiment, I decided not to use any apps that only work on Apple devices. This forced me to look for solutions that were cross-platform.

Having discussed my motivations for switching from an iPhone to a Google Pixel Pro, I now want to explore the positives and negatives I have experienced over the past year.


Pros and Cons of Switching

Camera and Photography

First of all, the Pixel Pro’s three 48-megapixel cameras on the back are outstanding. The pictures this phone takes are amazing, showing incredible detail and bright colours. One surprising advantage of switching to this phone is that it has made me more interested in photography. This is really valuable because it has given me a new way to express my creativity over the past year.

I was let down by the selfie camera, especially at night. Selfies from the Pixel look flat and lack the bright, vibrant colours that the back cameras produce. Also, for those who focus mainly on video, the iPhone offers better professional features. For instance, the Pixel doesn't have anything like the ProRes Log options that Apple added to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro. This might not matter much to regular users, but it could be significant for professionals.

The Pixel phone is marketed with useful AI tools in its Camera and Google Photos app. These include features like Video Boost, background noise removal, and Best Take for photos. I think of these features more as fun tricks to show off to friends when you first get the phone, rather than tools for serious creative workflows. For example, Video Boost has a maximum length of 10 minutes, limiting its usefulness. Moreover, there's a downside: these AI features don’t work across the whole operating system and require a good internet connection to function. This raises questions about the balance between AI processing on devices versus in the cloud. It also prompts a more serious question about how my personal data could be used to create Google’s Gemini tool and what this could mean for creative industries and our society in the long run.

A Full Computer in Your Pocket

The second benefit was that, for the first time, I felt like I had a complete computer in my pocket. This change was clear right away, particularly when it came to the web browsing experience on Android.

On iOS, all browsers are essentially just Safari at their core because of restrictions imposed by Apple on other developers. In contrast, Android does not have these limitations, allowing apps like Firefox to let me download extensions just like I can on a desktop computer.

Moreover, Android is much better than iOS when it comes to managing notifications. With iOS, I wrestled with the very basic notification system, ultimately resorting to reducing notifications to a small dot on the Lock Screen. On the other hand, my Pixel phone allows me to control notifications in great detail. For example, with WhatsApp, I can choose to get notifications from only certain contacts and decide whether they are a priority, standard, or silent. I can also snooze notifications for up to two hours without having to clear them away completely or have entire conversations directly from my Lock Screen. Overall, the way Android handles notifications has been a game-changer, showing that Apple has some catching up to do.

This extends to the Android file system and its inherent openness, which provided me with complete access to all my files. I could easily connect my phone to a computer and transfer files without any complicated steps. I could use my phone as a webcam for any computer, including the iPad, simply by using a USB connection, showing just how versatile Android is. During the honeymoon phase, this freedom felt amazing and incredibly liberating as I explored different APKs I could install to maximise the Pixel’s functionality.

Build Quality and Display

I felt quite let down by the build quality of the Google Pixel Pro. The standout feature of the hardware was its lightweight design, which made it comfortable to hold for long durations.

However, in every other aspect, the hardware felt like a step down from my iPhone 13, let alone Apple’s newer models. The back of the Pixel phone is made of matte glass, which was so slippery that it was the first phone I ever dropped and had to use a case for. Additionally, the hardware didn't have the high-quality premium feel I’ve grown accustomed to.

One area I didn’t expect to have problems with was display scaling on the Pixel Pro. As someone using stock Android and experiencing Google’s “pure” vision for the OS, I thought the user interface and app scaling would work perfectly. Unfortunately, using Google’s built-in Display Size and Text settings, I found it impossible to strike a balance that felt right. 

For instance, when I set both options to the default level of 1, the font sizes looked different in various apps. In Gmail, the font size for incoming emails was too small, while the font in the compose window was larger. If I made the display or text size bigger, everything in the user interface felt oversized, like the app drawer on the Pixel launcher.

In the end, I turned on Developer Options and set the smallest width to 500 dp. This made some improvements, but it also caused new problems. For example, the Wise app on Android no longer displayed correctly, with excessive padding around the content. In contrast, iOS handles these issues better by allowing font size adjustments on an individual app basis, resulting in a more flexible and refined user experience.

For most people, these quirks will not be a dealbreaker. However, the feel of my smartphone experience is incredibly important to me, and these inconsistencies were a constant source of irritation over the year.

App Quality

Whilst I earlier criticised, and will continue to criticise Apple’s attempts at lock-in and control, my year-long experience with Android gave me a newfound appreciation for the App Store and the developers that make it what it is.

For example, iPhone and iPad users have access to premium productivity apps, such as Bear Notes by Shiny Frog for markdown; as well as Things 3 by Culture Code for task management. All of which are beautifully designed and reliable. In contrast, the Play Store felt like a barren wasteland of poorly optimised or subpar apps.

As I mentioned earlier, my decision to switch away from using an iPhone to an Android device also involved moving away from apps exclusive to the Apple platform. However, I never felt truly comfortable without my tried-and-tested creative apps. I struggled to find a markdown notes app on Android that I really liked. I ended up using Joplin and UpNote, but they still didn’t completely meet my needs. It was also hard to find a good alternative for managing tasks and projects, especially since popular options like Todoist required a yearly subscription. I’m more than willing to pay for subscriptions to support developers, but the additional cost would have altered the value proposition that was a significant factor in my decision to switch to the Pixel. 

All of this led me to research why apps on the Google Play Store feel worse. A blog post published by the developers of iA Writer offered a valuable perspective, explaining their decision to abandon the Play Store altogether. Citing Google’s practices and rampant piracy as reasons, their decision to stop supporting Android highlighted deeper problems with the Play Store ecosystem and Google’s stewardship of Android.

Faith in Google

This brings me to a bigger topic about ecosystems. At first, I wanted to switch away from Apple because I was feeling locked-in. But I soon realised that I had simply moved from one ecosystem to another. Whether it's Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, or Google, each company is trying to keep their customers tied to their products in some way.

Switching away from Apple's ecosystem of applications didn't address my concerns; it just brought up new ones. This is because the productivity tools within Google's ecosystem seem underdeveloped and are missing essential features that I depend on for my creative work.

One of the most significant examples of this is Google Slides. As a presentation tool, it lags considerably behind PowerPoint and Keynote in both business and creative applications. For instance, features like Magic Move, which have been available in Keynote for many years, do not have a similar option in Google Slides. Instead, Google Slides only provides seven basic transition effects, which makes it seem quite basic in comparison.

I believe this stagnation occurs because improving tools like Slides does not align with Google’s main focus, which is on advertisers. In contrast to Microsoft and Apple, who cater more to creative professionals and business users, Google appears to be less committed to enhancing their products to the same high standard. As a result, I never felt like the Pixel could be a creative powerhouse beyond its rear camera and photography. 

I felt more hesitant the further I moved into Google’s ecosystem, because the company has a history of cancelling projects rather than developing them. There’s an entire website that tracks all the projects Google has “killed.” This reputation for discontinuing projects makes it difficult for me to trust Google as a reliable platform for building my creative projects. As a result, I did not want to get entrenched and rely on features within Google’s ecosystem that might not be around in a couple of months, let alone years. 

This uncertainty extends to their promises as well. For example, while Google has committed to offering seven years of software updates on Pixel devices going forward, it’s hard to take them at their word. Apple, by contrast, has a proven track record of delivering long-term support for creative professionals and their devices. Google, however, lacks this history—leaving their promises to feel more like hopes than real commitments.

Data Collection and Privacy

I want to finish with how the recent antitrust case of United States v. Google has shown some of its own questionable practices, with a judge declaring that the company “is a monopolist.” This characterisation of the tech giant throughout the past year contributed to my sense of discomfort using the Pixel phone. 

Data collection on Android feels pervasive—many apps request unnecessary information and permissions. This made me question how much personal data I was giving away without realising it during this year-long experience.

 This relates to the difference between security and privacy. Security is about keeping your data safe from people who shouldn’t access it, while privacy is about deciding who can see your data in the first place. On Android and iOS, security seems relatively similar depending on your threat model. 

However, when it comes to privacy, I feel iOS is generally better for the average user. For example, with iCloud+, Apple provides features like complete encryption for iCloud data, which Google Drive doesn’t have. Plus, tools like Hide My Email and Safari’s Privacy Relay add extra layers of privacy. Although I don’t think complete privacy is possible in today’s digital world, iOS has always made me feel more in control of my data. This doesn’t mean Apple is flawless. For instance, Apple’s Enhanced Visual Search feature is set to opted in by default, requiring users to go into the Settings to opt out.

Nevertheless, when I submitted data requests to both Apple and Google, my sense that iOS better protected user data was reinforced. Despite having used Apple devices for over ten years, Apple only provided data from nine apps and services, resulting in a download file that was 234.89 MB in size. In contrast, Google provided data from 68 products, leading to a much larger download file of 1.97 GB. Although the size of the files alone doesn’t completely reflect the extent of data collection, it was fascinating to compare the information both companies had gathered.

This experience made me think deeply about the significance of digital privacy. It’s not about hiding our behaviour; it’s about understanding the trade-off we make with our data and how our interactions with these devices change once we become aware of how much information is being recorded.


Would I Make the Same Decision Today?

I began this year-long experiment focused solely on the switch from the iPhone to the Google Pixel. However, it eventually expanded into a broader exploration of ecosystems and data management.

One important thing I’ve realised is that I don’t see Apple as a company that automatically offers a better experience than others. Android’s open and customisable system was a refreshing change.

Ultimately, this past year has been less about picking the best smartphone and more about thinking about the relationship I have with technology. But no matter if you choose an iPhone, a Pixel, or something else, the most important thing is that your devices should improve your life and match your values instead of controlling them.