Diehard Nexus/Pixel user goes 12 Pro Max

And if the iPhone 13 Pro rumors are true, it'll be really good. With the 120hz Pro Motion Display and supposedly smaller notch by 1/3rd, and potentially thumbprint scanner in power button.

And iOS 15 rumored to add a Always on Display type feature and revised better Widgets and new Control Center and updated better Notifications.

All of this might keep me with the iPhone awhile.
 
And if the iPhone 13 Pro rumors are true, it'll be really good. With the 120hz Pro Motion Display and supposedly smaller notch by 1/3rd, and potentially thumbprint scanner in power button.

And iOS 15 rumored to add a Always on Display type feature and revised better Widgets and new Control Center and updated better Notifications.

All of this might keep me with the iPhone awhile.
Fingerprint scanner and better notifications will get me back on an iPhone. I agree with your post about iOS and Android being a lot more alike than different now.
 
Fingerprint scanner and better notifications will get me back on an iPhone. I agree with your post about iOS and Android being a lot more alike than different now.

Agreed.

It's weird to even say but Android almost seems like it's getting a little bit iOS'ish sort of. Never thought I'd say that.
 
"Pixel fans rejoice: This could be your dream machine".

That's not what your readers are posting in your Comments section.

I don't think Android Authority expected this kind of reaction once people read that it may have a curved screen.
Link
 
"Pixel fans rejoice: This could be your dream machine".

That's not what your readers are posting in your Comments section.

I don't think Android Authority expected this kind of reaction once people read that it may have a curved screen.
Link

Curved screen and I'm out. One thing I love about my 12 Pro Max is the flat screen with squares edges.

I'm tempted to switch out for the 13 Pro Max, that hardware will be another beast with the A15 processor, bigger batteries, 120hz screen, reduced notch, rumored thumbprint scanner in front display which will be supplied by Samsung, new improved camera and more flush with the back of the phone.

I'm shockingly becoming a fan.
 
Curved screen and I'm out. One thing I love about my 12 Pro Max is the flat screen with squares edges.

I'm tempted to switch out for the 13 Pro Max, that hardware will be another beast with the A15 processor, bigger batteries, 120hz screen, reduced notch, rumored thumbprint scanner in front display which will be supplied by Samsung, new improved camera and more flush with the back of the phone.

I'm shockingly becoming a fan.
Not counting on an in-display fingerprint reader (I'd want more corroborating evidence), but at the least it sounds like an improved Face ID is in the cards. Just in time for people who no longer need to wear masks.
 
Digging this split screen wallpaper look;
 

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That is some well appointed wallpaper Zorachus. As if it was selected by an interior decorator. And the panel colors are beautifully balanced.
 
I can't stand Apple and the locked down platform. Short of their top of the line being $0, I doubt I'd ever pick up an iPhone ever. And before anyone talks trash. I had a work iPhone, from 2014-2020. So I'm farmiliar with the platform.
 
So I've had my iPhone 12 Pro Max, since New Year's, going on 7 months now. And I have to say I am still very satisfied with this smartphone, is it the best thing ever? No. Is iOS 14 the best? No. Does the notch still suck? Yep, it;s outdated and ugly and not needed in 2021 and I hate it.

But...the hardware in this 12 Pro Max, is just great. Amazing battery life. Superb screen technology. Speakers loud and clear. Haptic vibration the best. Overall the phone runs very fluid and extremely smooth, after you turn off the animations, it runs so fast.

I still have my Pixel 4 XL, and installed the latest Android 12 beta 3, and to be honest, not really digging the new style of Android 12, and it's funny switching back and forth between my 12 pro Max and the 4 XL, I'm shocked to say this, but for some reason the apps do indeed look and seem nicer and better on iOS than Android. Twitter just scrolls smoother and looks clearer on iOS than Android. Or even Google apps, for some strange reason seem better polished on the iPhone than Pixel, which is crazy.

I'll play with my Pixel at night, and think, yeah I love Android, it's my fav, then I go back to the iPhone, and immediately everything just seems nicer and higher quality, and more fluid and smooth on the iPhone. Which is not what I want to happen LOL But it just is. I know the Pixel 4 XL is old so it's not the fastest phone around today, but there is some slight lag here and there just doing basic tasks sometimes, but other times the Pixel feels super fast and very smooth, but not consistent. Where the 12 Pro Max, just always feels smooth all the time, it's not as lightning fast as the Pixel, no, but it's just always fluid.

So now, if I were to upgrade this Fall, I would have normally said the Pixel 6 Pro hands down, absolutely. But now the iPhone 13 Pro Max, with the smaller notch, 120hz refresh display, and 20% larger battery, I actually find more tempting.
 
The story as usual for me. I like both platforms and I think they both have their own ups and downs. You just have to look at what platform has the most pro's for you, or features you can't go without and accept it. Here are the killer features for me -

IOS -
Hardware integration with the other things I use. I am in the ecosystem pretty deep hardware-wise.
Privacy features. I like that I can have an ad blocker on my phone. I like that I can turn off app tracking.
Updates. The iPhone 6s will be getting IOS 15. That phone was out when the Galaxy Note 5 was. I can't even remember when the Note 5 stopped getting updates.

Android -
Software integration Works better with my google accounts. Gmail, Calendar, Drive.
Variety in hardware. I can choose more than the screen size.
Ease of use. I miss dragging and dropping music and movies on my phone. I miss downloading files and being able to use them directly on my phone.
 
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The story as usual for me. I like both platforms and I think they both have their own ups and downs. You just have to look at what platform has the most pro's for you, or features you can't go without and accept it. Here are the killer features for me -

IOS -
Hardware integration with the other things I use. I am in the ecosystem pretty deep hardware-wise.
Privacy features. I like that I can have an ad blocker on my phone. I like that I can turn off app tracking.
Updates. The iPhone 6s will be getting IOS 15. That phone was out when the Galaxy Note 5 was. I can't even remember when the Note 5 stopped getting updates.

Android -
Software integration Works better with my google accounts. Gmail, Calendar, Drive.
Variety in hardware. I can choose more than the screen size.
Ease of use. I miss dragging and dropping music and movies on my phone. I miss downloading files and being able to use them directly on my phone.
iPhone does this now.
 
I'm pretty disappointed that we won't get Touch ID in the 13. Face ID works much better on my 2021 iPad Pro than on any of the recent iPhones I've tried, but I still prefer the fingerprint scanner. I might pick up a 12 as a secondary phone once the 13 is released, just to see how it performs. I still plan on getting the Pixel 6 Pro as my primary phone unless its curved screen is curved too much.
 
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Agreed on the curved edge screen. I'm a big fan of the totally flat screen on the iPhone 12 PM. Not a fan at all on curved displays, and rumored are the 6 Pro will have a big curved edge due to it's huge size.
 
Thank you HACKWEST @ WRITEME . COM. I finally got an excellent FICO score. My credit score was 490 and I couldn’t get approved for a loan to either buy a house or a car.... NOTHING! It was draining in every aspect of my life because I got kids, I have to protect their future. A few weeks after I encountered Hack West on this page, my score suddenly sky rocketed to 800, using a credit specialist that is linked with MYFICO according to what they mentioned to me. Honesty is there watchword. He told me it would take a few weeks to get it done approximately 15 days and he kept to his word in less than 5 business days I saw a tremendous change in my profile. Now I can apply for just about anything that I want, I can’t thank them enough. Goodluck!
Banned in 3... 2... 1...
 
Thank you HACKWEST @ WRITEME . COM. I finally got an excellent FICO score. My credit score was 490 and I couldn’t get approved for a loan to either buy a house or a car.... NOTHING! It was draining in every aspect of my life because I got kids, I have to protect their future. A few weeks after I encountered Hack West on this page, my score suddenly sky rocketed to 800, using a credit specialist that is linked with MYFICO according to what they mentioned to me. Honesty is there watchword. He told me it would take a few weeks to get it done approximately 15 days and he kept to his word in less than 5 business days I saw a tremendous change in my profile. Now I can apply for just about anything that I want, I can’t thank them enough. Goodluck!

What. The. F. ?
 
I put my SIM into my new Pixel 5a, but still have the iPhone 12 Pro Max, played around with customizing it a bit, as much as stock iOS allows, looks pretty cool like this actually, wish it could be done easier and just a simple thing like on Android, but it's not.

Again I LOVE the hardware, the build quality, the FLAT screen, the speakers and haptic vibration, etc...all of that is GREAT on this 12 Pro Max, but now that I have the Pixel 5a, I'm reminded just how much better stock vanilla Android is, especially in regards to just navigating around the UI and the gesture system, is just implemented far better on the Pixel than iOS, just using the phone and getting around it is just easier and better designed or thought out better. But that's my opinion, obviously zillions of people love iOS just the way it is.
 

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I put my SIM into my new Pixel 5a, but still have the iPhone 12 Pro Max, played around with customizing it a bit, as much as stock iOS allows, looks pretty cool like this actually, wish it could be done easier and just a simple thing like on Android, but it's not.

Again I LOVE the hardware, the build quality, the FLAT screen, the speakers and haptic vibration, etc...all of that is GREAT on this 12 Pro Max, but now that I have the Pixel 5a, I'm reminded just how much better stock vanilla Android is, especially in regards to just navigating around the UI and the gesture system, is just implemented far better on the Pixel than iOS, just using the phone and getting around it is just easier and better designed or thought out better. But that's my opinion, obviously zillions of people love iOS just the way it is.
Pixel 6....soon
 
I put my SIM into my new Pixel 5a, but still have the iPhone 12 Pro Max, played around with customizing it a bit, as much as stock iOS allows, looks pretty cool like this actually, wish it could be done easier and just a simple thing like on Android, but it's not.

Again I LOVE the hardware, the build quality, the FLAT screen, the speakers and haptic vibration, etc...all of that is GREAT on this 12 Pro Max, but now that I have the Pixel 5a, I'm reminded just how much better stock vanilla Android is, especially in regards to just navigating around the UI and the gesture system, is just implemented far better on the Pixel than iOS, just using the phone and getting around it is just easier and better designed or thought out better. But that's my opinion, obviously zillions of people love iOS just the way it is.

I agree. I flirted with an iPhone for about 3 weeks over the summer, but went back to a Pixel 5. I missed the news feed by swiping all the way left and the ability to space out my application folders on the home screen without resorting to filler widgets.
 
Being back on Android and using stock vanilla on the Pixel 5a really is a breath of fresh air. The UI and gesture navigation is just so much better on the Pixel compared to the iPhone. Really night and day better on the Pixel. Swipe on the right side of screen swiping left to go back is soooooo nice to have again.

Google News feed panel on the left is my favorite.

Swiping down anywhere on the homescreen to bring down notifications and controls is great. I hate the iPhone swipe down bringing up some odd and weird search bar thing, so strange why that's even a thing on the iPhone?

Voice to text. Holy cow wow. Android does voice input TEN MILLION times better than iOS. No comparison. Shockingly near perfect on Andtoid and shockingly terrible on iOS.

I voice to text a lot of my messages. On the iPhone it was bad getting so many words wrong seemed like only 60%-70% accurate and the Pixel is like 95% near perfect accurate. Plus the Pixel transcribes in real time super fast immediately, whereas the iPhone if you let sit several seconds will then autocorrect itself taking like 5+ seconds to fix the spelling, and even then only kind of corrects itself not fully. The Pixel does it all right then and there in a blink of an eye. And copy paste and moving the cursor around sentences is also far better on Android.

So OS. Stock Android wins by a billion.

Now the phone and hardware itself? LOL no comparison the iPhone 12 Pro Max is a beast of super high quality smartphone. Fantastic build, excellent hardware, a gorgeous FLAT screen, nice haptic vibration, loud clear speakers. No question this is a super phone.

But the Pixel 5a for being a mid range is actually nice. The display is bright outdoors and has deep blacks and vibrant colors. Plus the candy bar shape of being narrow but tall is far easier to hold and use.

The rounded shape of the 5a is very comfortable in the hand. The squared sharp corners of the 12 Pro Max is not.

Customization. iOS has gotten a little better, but still is frustratingly bad compared to Android. And widgets on the iPhone aren't even that interactive or usable much compared to Android widgets.

And needing stupid apps like Clear Spaces to fill in blank areas of the screen is beyond ridiculous in 2021. Come on Apple let us place an app icon anywhere we feel like on the homescreen.

So to wrap up. I do love the hardware and build quality of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, but even iOS 15 sucks still. It's gotten better for sure, iOS 13 + 14 brought some nice updates, but for me there's still more I want. Like the cool Jailbreak stuff I see on Reddit I wish was baked into stock.

Camera. Still shots and Portrait are far better on my Pixel 5a I just like the still photos the Pixel takes a lot more then the iPhone. But video no comparison, the iPhone totally owns that.

So yeah to wrap up. A high end well built Pixel like the upcoming 6 Pro or even regular 6 should hopefully be the killer awesome Pixel that Google's been needing.

This year if I was recommended a new phone for sure I'd say Pixel 6 and if on a budget then the 5a. But the iPhone 13 Pro Max with it's new features sure sounds tempting too, but only if it could be Jailbreaked.
 
The recent homescreen screenshots I posted here. I already ditched and went back to stock iOS stuff, because customizing the iPhone makes it wonky with the silly Shortcuts app coming up on certain system apps like Camera, Phone, etc...

And creating blank spaces for Widgy widgets is a hassle when changing wallpapers and stuff.

Yes you can customize the iPhone today, but it's some time consuming work to do so, and then it has issues, and any changes you wanna make you almost have to redo it again. Just not worth it at the end if the day.

But I will admit a Jailbreaked fully tweaked iPhone can look super cool with nice useful changes, better then a custom Android phone, but it's a mountain of work to do it, and just not worth it with the issues.
 
Homescreen + Lockscreen but have most my apps on other second screen not shown here.
 

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The recent homescreen screenshots I posted here. I already ditched and went back to stock iOS stuff, because customizing the iPhone makes it wonky with the silly Shortcuts app coming up on certain system apps like Camera, Phone, etc...

And creating blank spaces for Widgy widgets is a hassle when changing wallpapers and stuff.

Yes you can customize the iPhone today, but it's some time consuming work to do so, and then it has issues, and any changes you wanna make you almost have to redo it again. Just not worth it at the end if the day.

But I will admit a Jailbreaked fully tweaked iPhone can look super cool with nice useful changes, better then a custom Android phone, but it's a mountain of work to do it, and just not worth it with the issues.
I was a serial jailbreaker with my iPhones, but also grew weary of the maintenance and used stock iOS with my last iPhone (8 Plus). Same goes for root/ROM with Android. I just stick with stock on my Pixel.
 
Jailbreaking and iPhone today is too much of a hassle and pain in the ass that's why I haven't done it in a while and partly why I don't like the iPhone because without a jailbreak iOS just sucks.

So that's why I'm back on a Pixel.
 
Jailbreaking and iPhone today is too much of a hassle and pain in the ass that's why I haven't done it in a while and partly why I don't like the iPhone because without a jailbreak iOS just sucks.

So that's why I'm back on a Pixel.
I use to jailbreak the iPhone years ago, and honestly because most of the features that I wanted back then it has had now for a while, I have no reason to jailbreak the phone.
 
So the more I use my Pixel 5a, I am reminded how much easier and just better it is to operate the UI and gesture navigation on stock Android compared to iOS and the iPhone. Just moving around the UI and operating the phone, I just find way easier and more fluid to get around on Android compared to iOS.

Yes the hardware and build quality of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, is top notch, just the best. But man iOS feels so outdated and a strange phone to navigate and frustrating to use. I can now say, this Fall I will permanently get rid of the iPhone, and not regret it.

Now this Pixel 5a is fine and all, this phone hardware is ok, but I can only imagine what a higher end Pixel 6 Pro would be like :)
 
So the more I use my Pixel 5a, I am reminded how much easier and just better it is to operate the UI and gesture navigation on stock Android compared to iOS and the iPhone. Just moving around the UI and operating the phone, I just find way easier and more fluid to get around on Android compared to iOS.

Yes the hardware and build quality of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, is top notch, just the best. But man iOS feels so outdated and a strange phone to navigate and frustrating to use. I can now say, this Fall I will permanently get rid of the iPhone, and not regret it.

Now this Pixel 5a is fine and all, this phone hardware is ok, but I can only imagine what a higher end Pixel 6 Pro would be like :)
I will let you know! ;)
 
Now I wish the iPhone was customizable like this guys sweet iPad setup, this looks AMAZING, but wish it wasn't so gosh darned difficult to do on stock iOS, or can it? I don't know what those several widgets are on the left side? And they're all the same shade of matte black

 
The amount of work that goes into mods like this make me want to just say get an android. Both ecosystems are great, just realize your priorities and get what’s functionally better for you.
 
The amount of work that goes into mods like this make me want to just say get an android. Both ecosystems are great, just realize your priorities and get what’s functionally better for you.

At the end of the day I just prefer the UI and layout and how Android OS works over iOS.

But I will admit the hardware is built so well on this 12 Pro Max, and seeing what some of these talented people do with Jailbreak iPhone's is AMAZING cool stuff, a well thought customized JB iPhone is way cooler than a tweaked Android IMO, but to get that iPhone or iPad so customized it's a frigging boat load of work, and trial and error, and not easy, and just so many steps and steps to get it done.F that, I'll go Android.

But one thing did come to me is that the iPhone is about the apps, once you click app and are in it, they are just designed better with more options and polished look over Android apps, fact. So the iPhone isn't about customizing the home screen to look uber bad ass cool, that's not the point, it's to click your app, then the phone shines. If that makes any sense?
 
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I am loving my Pixel phones again. Goodbye iPhone.

So now that I have Android 12 beta 5 on both my Pixel 4 XL and 5a, I have to say I'm really digging this funky cool new design. It's kinda wacky weird, but fun and very fresh.

The Material You think in all the Google System apps is just hip, and cool. The calculator app or clock app is fun to look at.

And the performance is super smooth and very fluid on both phones. And the gesture navigation is just so well thought out and easy and feels great to use.

So sorry, iPhone, but I'm done, iOS feels like it's from the stone age now, and just operates worse IN MY OPINION. I'll wait till some future iOS version down the road to try it out again.
 
Good to have you back Zorachus! How is battery life with the 5a?

Insanely good, thanks for asking :) Ballpark math, but I'd guess 20% better than my iPhone 12 Pro Max battery life. But one area the iPhone wins is standby time. I have the 12 PM just sitting on my kitchen counter the last several days, not charging, and the battery barely goes down, of course I'm not really using it much, but with the phone idel just sitting there in Airplane mode on WiFi the iPhone battery seems to last a long time, several days 4 or 5, and just now at 30%. My Pixel phones on standby just sitting there on WiFi won't last that long, never.

But one thing that kills the battery, was a few Zoom meetings, that last over an hour. Holy cow. Zoom just eats up the battery, but that might happen on every phone?

But overall I'd say this Pixel 5a battery life is outstanding, and easily a full day with heavy extreme use. Is it a 2 day phone on lighter use? Maybe. A day and a half? For sure yes.
 
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Now I wish the iPhone was customizable like this guys sweet iPad setup, this looks AMAZING, but wish it wasn't so gosh darned difficult to do on stock iOS, or can it? I don't know what those several widgets are on the left side? And they're all the same shade of matte black


All those widgets on the left side appear to be stock... might be dark mode, but I'd say that's just plain old iPadOS 14. Now, it'd be nice if you could customize app icons without having to create shortcuts, but it sounds like you might be somewhat unfamiliar with the tablet side of things!

Also: I have this funny feeling your Pixel 5a love affair might not last forever... you have a history of swearing something off only to return to it months later. 😬
 
The past several years I've bought and kept my Pixel phones to use for a full one year.

I used to always trade up or sell and buy another phone every 6 months. But not much recently as I find there's no point anymore.

I've settled in with the Pixel line and like it enough to stay with them each year.

The past 5 years, my phone's have been;

Pixel 2 XL
Pixel 3 XL
LG V30
Pixel 4 XL
Pixel 5
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Pixel 5a

I still have all those Pixel phones, my Wife the 2 XL, my daughter the 3 XL, my son the 5 and me the 5a. Will be giving my 4 XL to Wife now.
 
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