This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
I was Android user ever since from version 2.3 or so, but last 5 years I've been using an iPhone. I'm a bit curious what makes you consider switching? With the direction Google seems to be taking Android nowadays, I don't see any reason to switch back.
edit: I see you've answered this already elsewhere - personally my experience with iPhone has been nothing but stable and boring, which I like. I don't want to fiddle that much around with my systems anymore lol
I'm going to throw in a sleeper pick and recommend the Motorola Edge 2025.
I'm still running the 2023 version and I dare anyone to tell me the difference between that series at 700 or so versus a 1000 dollar Samsung.
The reality is that once you pass the 600 dollar mark, your primary difference is whether the phone uses Snapdragon or Mediatek chipsets. And the people who tell you that make any kind of regular use difference outside of heavy gaming are flat out lying to you.
Save your money. Motorola is the last company that is seemingly still trying to price their products sanely rather than chasing Apples policy of "charge as much as we can until people say no"
If good multiple cameras is what you look for in a phone, you can't go wrong with a Google Pixel. It comes with a clean OS as well. Don't listen to the others who say to flash a custom ROM, as doing that will gimp the phone's experience and potentially stop some of the apps from running.
The only things affected might be some banking apps and google nfc payments. Graphene OS is still the best alternative for Pixel Android for both privacy and security.
I agree that Graphene OS is the best alternative far privacy and security, but we're giving advice to an iPhone user who probably expects their phone to just work. The OS can always be flashed later if the phone is a Google Pixel.
Well, I mean Graphene has a web installer via chrome, making it on par with standard Google web installers. It’s not difficult, but I agree regarding the works out-of-the-box part of any argument. When looking for the closest equivalent for ios, Pixel is the only true alternative.
Regardless of what brand you choose, buy it from the manufacturer. I bought my prior Samsung from Verizon and the bloatware was horrible.
Is this even a thing you can avoid anymore? You connect to the network with their SIM installed and it immediately downloads the apps they say you need.
I don't know what carrier you use, but after I bought my new phone from the OEM I didn't have that happen
I bought a new phone a couple months ago and on the first setup it installed their app. Then when I traveled soon after the eSim I was using installed something else when I connected to that network.
Samsung's phones are pretty superior but the software is pretty bloated. And i don't think anyone should trust Nothing anymore because of all the controversies going around.
Google pixels on the other hand has a good bloat free OS. Also i think those 911 call failures and overheating issues that you mentioned might get fixed via a new update. I think you should go with the Pixel 10 Pro, You could also consider installing GrapheneOS on that bad boy.
Google pixel /thread
I would not use anything that didn't run pure Android.
Pixels just get astroturfed into oblivion, for 10 years they've offered the best Android experience by far.
The only mediocre aspect is battery life/charging. Other than that, Pixel is always the way to go.
$1000 is too much for a phone.
If you wait for a deal to January, you can probably get a Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus for under $700.
If you want to really save money, you can get an S24 and it will still have half a year of upgrades.
The s24 series has 7 years of updates
Sorry. I meant half a decade. You are correct.
Don't spend iPhone money on an Android. Definitely don't on a Samsung unless you like having both Google and Samsung's versions of basic applications such as phone, messages, calendar, browser etc.
Motorola do a very minimally customised Android .
Yea my $200-300 Motorola's have been good for years. Why waste 4x on a phone?
There's definitely benefit in going further up market (the $600 range tends to be where diminishing returns really kick in, where the differences between a $300 phone and a $600 phone are pretty obvious, the $600 and the $1000 phone are much harder to spot the differences) and if you buy a used generation or two old device you can really save some cash. My wife and I both got Pixel 7s last year for about $250 a pop, and they've still got several years of updates left on them
Not all Samsung phones are the same. Carrier versions are usually the one's that come neutered and bloated. While international versions are unlocked and allow to uninstall anything. Including Google's applications. I wished they wouldn't be working on permanently locking the boot loader, that is their real sin.
Samsung is on my shit list. Their spammy, ad riddled UI is infuriating.
I don't trust them. They lock their phones down and don't let you remove their bloatware or block their ads/notifications.
Fuck them. Never buy Samsung.
I've been on Samsung for years and I don't get this argument anymore. There's no ads on my phone, and one ui is pretty smooth.
I do use my own launcher so maybe that covers it up, but new Samsung isn't like what they were a long time ago.
they also didn't donate any money to trump's vanity projects unlike apple and google.
I agree and disagree. I switched from a Pixel to an S series and I have to say I like the Samsung better.
While the Samsung UI used to be a sore spot, I think the Pixel design language shift of the past couple years is far worse. All the big colorful pills with too much whitespace... Samsung brings back a proper notification shade with lots of quick buttons, like it used to be 3 or so versions ago with a Pixel. I put my custom launcher on and basically forgot it's Samsung.
There's spots all over Android that have been rough that Samsung just, smooths out. It's like they're actually using the phone and willing to take matters into their own hands when Google isn't, because Google is focused on AI assistants and letting everything else rot. Samsung lets you customize, whereas Pixel keeps walking you toward an iOS style experience one step at a time.
DeX, if you have a use for it, is awesome. During my lunch break at work can unplug my laptop from my dock, connect my phone, and have a personal workstation for watching videos, whatever. I also have a much better Private Folder with multiple apps. It's like Samsung understands that with one device we need separation. Google has been saying a competitor to this is coming, but at this point it's so far behind I'll believe it when I see it.
Samsung doesn't hold you hostage in format wars. My old Pixel in 20fucking23 couldn't support external storage with anything but FAT32. That's insane. It was screwing me up trying to easily back up a large file and that was no problem for the Samsung. Same with casting, Google is all in on Chromecast and nothing else, Samsung can CC but it can also Miracast. So now I can cast to any TV instead of only some.
Samsung's hardware is usually better. They try new things sooner so you have a refined ultrasonic fingerprint sensor while Pixel was still doing illuminated, depending on your version the processors are better.
Now, places where Samsung sucks are obvious and you stated a few. No unlocking is bullshit. I own the phone, I should be able to unlock it. If you're into tinkering then stay away, but Samsung's do tend to have higher resale value, so if you want to get into ROMs then you can always sell the Samsung and grab a cheap used Pixel. Samsung kept the headphone jack and uSD around a little longer, but they're both long gone on today's models so that's moot.
Samsung (and I can see where they're coming from) was concerned with how much control Google had over Android so they made their own first party apps for everything. This means a lot of duplicate apps. I will say that while some can't be easily uninstalled, they can be easily ignored. I just don't use most of them and I'm fine. They don't really force them on you or keep changing them to the default handler or anything. I'm OK with it, but I could see some people being annoyed.
That's about it honestly... Samsung reminds me a bit of the early Nexus era days. Lots of customization, interesting tech, and work being put into the OS. Google is just plodding along, content to lock people into an iPhone clone and sell AI. I say give them both a try. If you pick up used or a refurb you can save a fortune and easily switch if you don't like it without losing much if anything.
I would either get a pixel and put graphene os on it, or just get the iPhone. Android is trash for privacy.
Get a OnePlus 13. They're ~$900 now but that will soon drop when the new model drops, or black Friday or whatever.
No bloat, great specs, a new battery technology that lasts for 2 days for me.
A friend of mine showed me their nothing phone, one with the glyph lights in the back. It wouldn't have been an expensive version, but even so the back plate felt very plasticy. Is that still the case with them?
Nothing's releases this year were underwhelming unfortunately
I switched from a Pixel to a Samsung and I would like to inform you that Samsung is bullshit. The phone is nice and all but I'm always fighting the software. Google Pixel software stays out of your way and occasionally helps you.
As a Pixel 6 Pro user who occasionally has to interact with the Samsung devices my parents use, holy moly I don't know how anybody puts up with this. We're talking fullscreen advertisement lockscreen bloatware that can be disabled but not uninstalled, added to the phone out of nowhere with a recent update. The worst android keyboard I've ever used in my life. A UI and all of Samsung's versions of existing apps that I'm constantly fighting just to use the phone. It's ridiculous. I genuinely don't know how anyone can run a Samsung device without installing a custom ROM or something it's actually insane.
None of that comes activated by default. Sure, there are some dark patterns that trick people into activating bullshit. But anyone with half a brain and a minimum attention span not rotten yet by social media will click no on those prompts. Once disabled at the first startup, Samsung doesn't bother you ever again. You can uninstall every single Samsung app and substitute with your favorite, no issue. This includes all Google apps, except play services because of Google.
As for ads and uninstallable bloat, it's probably a carrier version. Those do get bloated and get ads. But otherwise, the international unlocked versions don't show any ads at all. I've never seen an ad in my S25 phone and use nearly all Foss apps. The phone has never refused to uninstall anything. The effort to do that is pretty minimum, no tech knowledge required. Just learn to say no to software, it's not rocket science. People got conditioned to saying yes to every prompt just to make it go away. This is how they get you. But it is not mandatory or out of your power to disable that stuff.
And for the UI, it's a subjective matter of taste. I've never liked any of the alternative launchers either, they all suck in some minor way that breaks their gimmick. OneUI is fine and perfectly functional, it even has more customization and QoL features than stock launcher and other truly bullshit launchers like Xiaomi's.
I've not run into any of these issues....but as I went from iPhone to samsung perhaps its all just a matter of perspective. Perhaps the Pixel is superior.
I check each year what the reviews are saying and the Samsung always seem to edge out on top for what I want - a large device (i get the Ultra) with a premium build and great camera. I also have a samsung watch so the integrations work quite nicely. I found the google wallet on the watch constantly asked for my pin while the samsung wallet only would the first time since I put it on. Oh and you have to unlock your device to use Google Wallet as your travel payment...with samsung wallet I can just tap and go which is much more preferable to me as it means my eyes are up and paying attention to my world, not looking at my phone unlocking it.
If your wanting to switch for privacy reasons I would go for a Pixel and put a custom ROM on it.
Is there a reason you are tied to the idea of it being a flagship? I've been using the A series of Pixels forever and love them.
This i 100% agree with, the construction of the A series phones is easier to hold and less fragile, and the performance difference is negligible unless you play mobile games
Need advice on $1000 flagships
Get a $500 non-flagship. Basically the same but a bit less AI-noise in the pictures it takes.
I can recommend the Xperia line, especially if you liked the old iPhones better than the phablet ones.
If you're seeking privacy, I bought a Pixel 9 from a clearance sale (at a $200 discount) and the only difference for me personally is a one year support timeline difference. You can install GrapheneOS using their official guide and never touch the Google OS.
Just jumped from Android to iOS, and I maintain Android phones for family, seen lots of both since the iPhone 4.
My advice...
Cheap out.
Either keep your phone or get an iPhone on firesale. There is no point to getting a Pro.
Android freaking sucks now, as you can either get a custom ROM and break finance apps, or bog your phone down (and let it go obsolete, quickly) with the stock operating system and rampant spyware via every app you install. You can't even uninstall bloatware anymore, like you used to. And it will get worse once sideloading is gone.
And flagship Android phones are awful. They either cost a fortune unlocked and 'mostly stock,' or they run absolutely horrid, spammy, battery sucking UIs (looking at you, Samsung).
...Apple pro phones are no different. I just went on a whole vacation with iPhone 16 Plus and 17 Pros side by side, and its just not worth spending more on anymore. The UI has regressed some. But at least Apple reigns in/restrics apps you install and keeps the experience pretty clean.
If you want great pictures, grab a nice point and shoot with optical zoom and sensor stabilization. They're incredible now. In fact, on a recent trip, I discovered my 2008 Canon takes better zoom photos than brand new iPhone 17 Pros.
EDIT:
If you must get an Android phone, get one with as close-to-stock a UI as possible.
I do not game on phones, but my best experiences have, ironically, been with 'gaming' phones like the Razer Phone 2 and Asus phones. They have gigantic batteries, lots of RAM, and lean, stock UIs that let you disable/uninstall apps, hence they're fast as heck and last forever. I only gave up my Razer Phone 2 because the mic got clogged up with dust, and I miss it.
It depends what experience you are looking for and why you are switching. Plus what region you are in because some phones are not available/the same in all countries.
But I prefer Pixel with Graphene OS installed. Very private and granular controls, but not always the smoothest experience because locking down for privacy isn't convenient.
Stock I really like the Samsung S series. Decent UI and doesn't feel bogged down.
I think for "gotchas" you should consider how you message people and how you pay for things. Not that those are deal breakers for you, but they seem to be the most prevalent daily use cases that can't always be gotten around.
Get a pixel. They are less expensive, especially at last year's model. Way less vendor bloat. Easiest device to deGoogle, ironically. I'm running GrapheneOS on a pixel 7 I spent $700 a couple years ago. Get your freedom while you still can
Honestly, if you’re coming from IPhone you won’t find any meaningful advice on Lemmy. Everyone here hates iPhones, and will try to sell you on phones with little to no market support. They’ll tell you to wipe the device and boot load your own OS.
I haven’t used an android in years but their strength is the flexibility in apps and you have a lot more options in terms of app ecosystem. That said I don’t know how long you’ve had an iPhone but if you exclusively use the apple ecosystem like MacOS, Apple Music, Apple TV it’s not worth changing it unless you are fully committed to starting over.
The other thing to consider is the camera. If you take photos every single day the Samsung phones will be your best bet.
Not sure where you're located, but if you're in the EU you can consider Fairphone for an extremely repairable phone instead. The 6 doesn't have the specs of proper flagships, but it's quite a step in the ethical direction in my opinion.
