Anything outside of a pure Google phone is NOT representative of what Android is as an OS and I can totally understand why people would leave it for iOS. I did too.
Android's problem has always been the absolutely garbage gunk apps the carriers forcefully push on their customers. Stuff that no one uses anyway but it can't be uninstalled and a lot of times, can't be disabled so they totally keep on sucking battery and other resources.
And then there's garbage like touchwiz. Not all of it us bad and it's been streamlined a lot lately but still is an overlay add on over what google intended for the os to be.
Today, the pure Google OS (what comes in the Google Pixel phone) is simply awesome! Fast, fluid, well optimized, full of well though out/useful features and as always, highly customizable. For those who left Android due to problems with the OS, do yourself a favor and pick up a Pixel. Pure Android > iOS
I agree with what you wrote. It's just very hard for some of us to try Pixel because it was just the first generation of Google's new endeavor and the price is so high compared to the deals you can get from Samsung and HTC. Now that early adopters like you have blazed the trail, it won't be such a scary purchase to make.
My Edge was free. Originally, when we got the deal from AT&T for the Note 7, the second Note 7 was only about $200. When the recalls happened and we had to downgrade to S7's or S7 Edges, we could get the second phone fully free.
And despite the Touchwiz, that Note 7 phone was sweet. No it was not pure Android but it was really a wonderful user experience. When it was not trying to melt, that is. My first one was great. The second one was scary. I think had the second recall not been imminent and if I had held onto it for another week, it would have melted down. It was overheating badly toward my last couple of days with it. I had severe overheating problems with my loaner S7, too. Samsungs are tons of fun to use, but you have to know what you're getting into buying one. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't dare go with them if I didn't already have other flagship backups around. That company is going to have to prove themselves on the S8.
I was on the waiting list for a Pixel 128 GB version and when I saw the HTC 10 was selling for almost half as much and offering a high quality audio experience as well, and that owners were saying uniformly positive comments about the HTC 10, I took myself off the list just as the Pixel was about to ship, because I also got hit with an unexpected vet bill for about $572 at the time. I have no regrets. Like I said, I'm very impressed with what I got especially for the price I paid. It's even cheaper now. The audio on it really is amazing. But the external speaker system is just okay. Meh.
I think they priced the Pixels extraordinarily high considering, unlike IPhone, resale value is unknown and so much else was unknown at the time. I think now after it's been out long enough to prove itself, Pixel could be a formidable challenger to iPhones. But it was a tough sell initially.
I also balked at hearing the ear mesh is actually made of cloth not metal--from that Jerryrig Everything guy on You Tube. As someone who is always cleaning pocket lint out of my phone mesh, I didn't think the Pixel would survive me.
I do think on the hardware, they cut some corners. I get that they were experimenting a little. I just didn't want to be the Guinea pig after what we went through with the Note 7. My husband and I wanted to experiment with Android this year, but it was scary getting so close to a thousand dollars on one unproven phone. And after that vet bill came our way, I definitely couldn't. I was pretty crushed to cancel my order at the time, though. I was set to get the Daydream VR headset for free, too. Sigh.
Ultimately I do think I'll return to iOS over the summer because I miss the Apple Watch and how it works with my iPhone and I want to use the Apple Watch in the pool. I also miss arguing with Siri, as weird as that sounds. She's a snarky witch.
I'm glad I can use either Android or iOS when I need to.
days again lol
